People as a System (PaaS) #6: Observability in Human Systems
Monitoring tells you something broke. Observability tells you why. In engineering, we instrument systems to understand internal state.
In organizations, we often rely on sentiment and escalation.
That is insufficient.
graph LR
A[System State] --> B[Monitoring]
A --> C[Observability]
B --> D[What Broke?]
C --> E[Why It Broke?]
C --> F[Internal State]
C --> G[Context & Patterns]
D --> H[Reactive Response]
E & F & G --> I[Proactive Improvement]
style A fill:#3fb848,stroke:#1a5d2a,stroke-width:3px,color:#fff
style B fill:#fffcf0,stroke:#2d8a3e,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style C fill:#5fd869,stroke:#2d8a3e,stroke-width:3px,color:#2b2d42
style D fill:#fffcf0,stroke:#2d8a3e,stroke-width:1px,color:#666
style E fill:#fffcf0,stroke:#3fb848,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style F fill:#fffcf0,stroke:#3fb848,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style G fill:#fffcf0,stroke:#3fb848,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style H fill:#fffcf0,stroke:#2d8a3e,stroke-width:1px,color:#666
style I fill:#1a5d2a,stroke:#1a5d2a,stroke-width:3px,color:#fff
Observability in PaaS
If People are a System, then we must design:
- Feedback loops
- Competency visibility
- Clear outcome tracking
- Retrospective mechanisms
- Leading indicators, not just lagging metrics
High-trust organizations do not avoid measurement.
They refine it.
graph TD
A[Observability in PaaS]
A --> B[Feedback Loops]
A --> C[Competency Visibility]
A --> D[Outcome Tracking]
A --> E[Retrospectives]
A --> F[Leading Indicators]
B --> G[Continuous Improvement]
C --> G
D --> G
E --> G
F --> G
G --> H[High-Trust Organization]
style A fill:#3fb848,stroke:#1a5d2a,stroke-width:4px,color:#fff
style B fill:#5fd869,stroke:#2d8a3e,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style C fill:#5fd869,stroke:#2d8a3e,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style D fill:#5fd869,stroke:#2d8a3e,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style E fill:#5fd869,stroke:#2d8a3e,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style F fill:#5fd869,stroke:#2d8a3e,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style G fill:#2d8a3e,stroke:#1a5d2a,stroke-width:3px,color:#fff
style H fill:#1a5d2a,stroke:#1a5d2a,stroke-width:4px,color:#fff
The Danger of Vanity Metrics
Activity is not performance.
Busyness is not contribution.
Output is not outcome.
Observability requires disciplined signal selection.
Ask:
- Are we measuring impact?
- Are we surfacing friction early?
- Are we making trade-offs visible?
Clarity reduces noise.
Noise increases anxiety.
graph LR
A[What We Measure] --> B{Type?}
B -->|Vanity| C[Activity]
B -->|Vanity| D[Busyness]
B -->|Vanity| E[Output]
B -->|Real| F[Impact]
B -->|Real| G[Early Friction]
B -->|Real| H[Visible Trade-offs]
C & D & E --> I[Noise & Anxiety]
F & G & H --> J[Clarity & Action]
style A fill:#3fb848,stroke:#1a5d2a,stroke-width:3px,color:#fff
style B fill:#2d8a3e,stroke:#1a5d2a,stroke-width:3px,color:#fff
style C fill:#fffcf0,stroke:#ff6b6b,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style D fill:#fffcf0,stroke:#ff6b6b,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style E fill:#fffcf0,stroke:#ff6b6b,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style F fill:#5fd869,stroke:#3fb848,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style G fill:#5fd869,stroke:#3fb848,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style H fill:#5fd869,stroke:#3fb848,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style I fill:#2b2d42,stroke:#2b2d42,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
style J fill:#1a5d2a,stroke:#1a5d2a,stroke-width:3px,color:#fff
Psychological Safety as Fault Tolerance
Fault tolerance allows systems to fail safely.
Psychological safety allows people to surface issues early.
Both increase reliability.
Leaders must design environments where:
- Problems are exposed early
- Feedback flows laterally
- Improvement is continuous
Observability is not control.
It is systemic awareness.
And awareness drives intelligent adaptation.
graph TB
A[System Design]
B[Human Design]
A --> C[Fault Tolerance]
B --> D[Psychological Safety]
C --> E[Systems Fail Safely]
D --> F[People Surface Issues Early]
E --> G[Increased Reliability]
F --> G
G --> H[Early Problem Exposure]
G --> I[Lateral Feedback Flow]
G --> J[Continuous Improvement]
H & I & J --> K[Systemic Awareness]
K --> L[Intelligent Adaptation]
style A fill:#3fb848,stroke:#1a5d2a,stroke-width:3px,color:#fff
style B fill:#3fb848,stroke:#1a5d2a,stroke-width:3px,color:#fff
style C fill:#5fd869,stroke:#2d8a3e,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style D fill:#5fd869,stroke:#2d8a3e,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style E fill:#fffcf0,stroke:#3fb848,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style F fill:#fffcf0,stroke:#3fb848,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style G fill:#2d8a3e,stroke:#1a5d2a,stroke-width:3px,color:#fff
style H fill:#fffcf0,stroke:#3fb848,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style I fill:#fffcf0,stroke:#3fb848,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style J fill:#fffcf0,stroke:#3fb848,stroke-width:2px,color:#2b2d42
style K fill:#2d8a3e,stroke:#1a5d2a,stroke-width:3px,color:#fff
style L fill:#1a5d2a,stroke:#1a5d2a,stroke-width:4px,color:#fff
Previous Post
People as a System (PaaS) #5: Conway’s Law and Organizational Architecture
Share this post