Bad Machinery: Managing Interrupts Under Load
6 hours ago
- #Flow State
- #Team Productivity
- #Operational Load
- Teams should balance project and operational load, with SRE suggesting a maximum of 50% time on operational tasks.
- Operational load includes tasks that can interrupt work at any time and require immediate attention.
- Managing operational load effectively prevents stress and ensures 'make time' for creative tasks.
- Human factors like 'Flow State' are crucial for productivity and creativity but are easily disrupted by interruptions.
- Teams should minimize context switches to maintain productivity and reduce stress.
- Polarizing work time between project work and operational tasks can improve focus and efficiency.
- Oncall duties should be full-time roles to prevent project work interruptions.
- Tickets should be assigned to dedicated personnel rather than distributed randomly to avoid context switching.
- Roles like 'push manager' should be clearly defined to facilitate smooth handovers.
- Teams should conduct regular ticket and page scrubs to identify and address root causes of interrupts.
- Policy adjustments can help manage customer interrupts more effectively, balancing respect for customers and team well-being.