The Standards Drift

Edition #7: The Standards Drift

"Which version of our tagging standard should we follow? The one from last year or the updated one from Q2? What about these exceptions, are they allowed for all cloud accounts?"

A cloud team discovered app teams were following different versions of their tagging requirements. Some used the original standard, others followed an updated version with new mandatory keys, and a few had exceptions that were never officially documented.

This is The Standards Drift - where standards evolve informally over time without proper change management, leaving teams confused about what's actually required.

Standards get adjusted for new use cases, exceptions get approved for specific teams, interpretations shift based on different monitoring tools settings or constraints. But without versioning and communication, teams end up following different understandings of the "current" standard.

Preventing Standards Drift requires systematic standards management through Practice 1: Standards from the How We Govern: The 5 Practices guide:

Build standards together - collaborate with teams to define requirements while the path is still flexible

Design standards that are implementable - include examples, reusable code, and patterns teams can actually use

Exceptions are inevitable - build clear processes with justification, expiration, and periodic review

Review and revise regularly - keep standards current and incorporate successful patterns teams have developed

Promote what works - evolve standards based on what's effective in practice, not just theory

When standards have systematic lifecycle management, teams get consistent guidance instead of conflicting interpretations.

- Keep on Herding, Bob

What's Happening in Cloud Governance 📡

6 lessons game developers can learn from Epic Games' cloud governance strategy: Epic Games achieved 20% cloud cost reduction while supporting 500 million Fortnite players through systematic governance. Their approach of immediately removing improperly tagged resources shows how real-time standards enforcement drives compliance at scale.

Building cloud operations for sustained business value: A leadership perspective: Mike Thomson from Unisys reinforces that "well-designed governance enables faster, more confident decision-making. When teams understand the guardrails, they can move quickly within them." Focus on outcomes, not restrictions.

Storm clouds or silver linings? IT cost management strategies: Crayon's Survey of 2,300+ IT leaders reveals governance maturity gaps - only 19% have fully integrated FinOps strategies, and 40% fear AI will become their top cost challenge. Shows how governance challenges influence fundamental architectural decisions.

5 FinOps Strategies Every DevOps Team Should Adopt: Matt Biringer outlines practical approaches for embedding cost management into DevOps workflows. Key insight: provide role-based visibility rather than monolithic dashboards that overwhelm teams with irrelevant data.

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