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💼 OPS05-BP03 Use configuration management systems

• ID: /frameworks/aws-well-architected/operational-excellence/operate/ops09/bp03

Description

Setting aside dedicated time and resources for reviewing the state of operations ensures that serving the day-to-day line of business remains a priority. Pull together operations leaders and stakeholders to regularly review metrics, reaffirm or modify goals and objectives, and prioritize improvements.

Desired outcome

• Operations leaders and staff regularly meet to review metrics over a given reporting period. Challenges are communicated, wins are celebrated, and lessons learned are shared.
• Stakeholders and business leaders are regularly briefed on the state of operations and solicited for input regarding goals, KPIs, and future initiatives. Tradeoffs between service delivery, operations, and maintenance are discussed and placed into context.

Common anti-patterns

• A new product is launched, but the Tier 1 and Tier 2 operations teams are not adequately trained to support or given additional staff. Metrics that show the decrease in ticket resolution times and increase in incident volumes are not seen by leaders. Action is taken weeks later when subscription numbers start to fall as discontent users move off the platform.
• A manual process for performing maintenance on a workload has been in place for a long time. While a desire to automate has been present, this was a low priority given the low importance of the system. Over time however, the system has grown in importance and now these manual processes consume a majority of operations' time. No resources are scheduled for providing increased tooling to operations, leading to staff burnout as workloads increase. Leadership becomes aware once it's reported that staff are leaving for other competitors.

Benefits of establishing this best practice

• Ensures operations receives the same attention and resources as service delivery and new offerings.
• Provides early visibility into risks before they impact business outcomes.
• Operations teams gain insights into impending business changes and initiatives, enabling proactive efforts.
• Leadership gains visibility into operational metrics, improving prioritization and allocation of resources.

Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established: Medium

Implementation guidance

1. Dedicate time to review operations metrics between stakeholders and operations teams. Review report data in the context of the organization's goals and objectives to determine if they are being met.
2. Identify sources of ambiguity where goals are unclear or where conflicts exist between requested outcomes and actual deliverables.
3. Determine where time, people, and tools can aid operations outcomes. Map these to KPIs and define targets for success.
4. Revisit reviews regularly to ensure operations is sufficiently resourced to support the line of business.

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