Fundamental FinOps : The First KISS

Editor's note : I've decided to take a stab at making articles on a semi-regular basis. If the community appreciates the information, I'll be happy to keep writing more as this is somewhat of a passion project for me, but I want to focus my energy on the most valuable contributions for my audience. Please show your support with reactions and comments to this post.

What is the "KISS" reference?

Capitalizing on February 14th being Valentine's Day, I thought it would be prudent to bring forward one of my favorite acronyms / self-reminders : Keep It Simple, Stupid! Apologies to those that thought they'd see me in radical black & white stage make-up - you'll appreciate that I didn't go that direction. Instead, I'll be using cheesy references to the more romantic terminology, given the date.

I'm also using this opportunity to introduce this series of articles that I'm planning to write around Fundamental FinOps. The idea is not to break new ground into complex re-allocation concepts, debating thought leadership on the overlaps of existing methodologies, or reinventing the wheel on what has already been done. Instead, the concept here will be to put into writing some of the things that it is easy to forget when we start moving deeply into those heavier conversations. Sometimes we just need a reminder to keep it simple, and don't overthink the task at hand.

Why is it important to KISS?

I wrote my first article as somewhat of a reaction to conversations that were happening around me. I had some constructive feedback from some readers (not all of whom reacted on the post) and I started to realize that I wanted to do more of this. I've always been the type to put a lot of my own voice into my writing, but I always failed to find a good topic. Now that I felt like I found that topic, FinOps, I started brainstorming all kinds of articles I wanted to write on the topic. I realized I was starting to get over my skis. I'll be the first to admit that, while I have been in the field for quite a while and am quite knowledgeable on FinOps, I am by no means the expert on the topic. I am an expert, given my time and experience working in the field, but I would never proclaim to know everything there is - especially because I don't come from a finance background.

This led me to my "First KISS" (I warned you that I would be making cheesy references...). I was overanalyzing the topics. When I came back to my thought-board, I tasked myself with scratching off every topic that I didn't feel equipped to cover right now. What I was left with was a list of topics that still ranged in knowledge from beginner to expert level. I decided to 'undo' the scratches and move them to a "maybe later" list. Then I started to curate what to cover next, and I found that the topics I was most passionate about sharing were the ones that would help emerging FinOps specialists to get started and feel encouraged in their activities. The FinOps Foundation (in the future I'll interchangeably use "F2" to reference them) is littered with pro-level knowledge, and those that are truly engaging in FinOps at a professional level are likely engaged with them already.

Here's another example, which is going to require a bit of an admission. Despite having a creative mind, I am a TERRIBLE artist. You'd likely have noticed the banner on this article by now. For my previous article, I relied on AI artwork to build an image for me, largely because I'm not the most knowledgeable in copyright and attribution rules (also because of some of my own morality conflicts with regard to AI artwork). I started to realize I was putting too much pressure on myself for something that I didn't really want to spend too much effort in building going forward. Spending 15 minutes on my iPad, I put together my own simple image that encapsulated the concept. I'll probably update it with some sort of an overlay related to the topic in the future. If a friend or colleague wants to do a prettier workup for me, I will probably adopt that. For today, it's simple and effective.

Boiling ideas down into a reduction without reducing people

This isn't a food blog, so you won't find a recipe for my favorite wine reduction. The concept, however, is the same. What I did in the above examples was taking the time to boil down my complex thoughts into something that is easier for me to talk about without trailing off on tangents. I tend to do that. By keeping it simple, I'm condensing the flavor and increasing value of the output.

When reducing a concept, it's important to consider your audience. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to train on several topics including onboarding new hires to my team, ongoing mentoring / support within my team, and even leading FinOps Certified Practitioner training sessions. Something that I learned very early in my career was how bad it felt when trainers would talk down to their audience. From that experience, I was determined to always avoid that in my own training sessions. Similarly, when reducing this content it will always be my intention to not speak down to my intended audience. I won't be perfect at this, but I will appreciate any feedback if I do make that mistake.

Takeaway : Don't shy away from your KISS, but don't force it

With practice, you'll know when it's the right moment. Sometimes you'll miss an opportunity, and that's okay, too. Understand that we're all human and we're all learning. There is also a risk of over-simplifying your message. When that happens, there are consequences. You might lose your audience or you may not provide as much value as you could have. When it's right and the stars have aligned, you'll find that your KISS should feel natural. And if you're ever in doubt, you can always ask a friend for their advice.

Happy Valentines Day to all!