Creating Systems that are Safe with Liz Fong-Jones

Podcast - Google SRE Prodcast

Published Sep 25, 2024

Summary:

1. Host and Guests:
   • Hosted by Steve McGee and co-hosted by Jordan Greenberg.
   • Guest Liz Fong-Jones, former Google SRE and Field CTO at Honeycomb.
2. Main Focus:
   • The podcast primarily discusses observability in software development, building on Liz’s expertise and work at Honeycomb.
3. Key Topics Covered:
   • Definition and Importance of Observability:
     • Liz clarifies the concept of observability, distinguishing it from traditional monitoring, emphasizing its importance as systems become more complex.
   • Challenges in Current Tech Environment:
     • Discussion on the shift from simple monitoring metrics to comprehensive observability due to more complex systems needing deeper introspection.
   • Innovation at Honeycomb:
     • Liz shares about Honeycomb’s advancements in leveraging observability data, such as integrating SLOs (Service Level Objectives) with observability tools for better system management.
   • Deployment Confidence:
     • Liz advocates for safe deployment practices, highlighting the ability to deploy changes any day (including Fridays) because of high observability confidence, moving away from traditional hesitations about end-of-week deployments.
   • Industry Evolution and Advice:
     • Liz and the hosts discuss evolving roles in tech, the changing face of operations towards more integrated platform engineering, and offer career advice for those entering the field.
4. Noteworthy Quotations:
   • Liz’s perspectives on SRE roles and practices: Emphasizes a shift from gatekeeping to enabling rapid and safe feature deployment.
   • Observability is described as a spectrum with varying degrees of comprehensiveness, stressing the integration of observatory practices in real-time system management.
5. Educational Insight:
   • Prospective technologists are encouraged to actively understand and utilize observability, with an emphasis on continual learning and adaptation to new technologies.

Listen to the episode: YouTube