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Best practices for a successful chaos engineering journey
Unleashing the Full Potential of Chaos Engineering — Part 2
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” ― Benjamin Franklin
Welcome to Part 2 of the chaos engineering blog series! In Part 1, we took a deep dive into the various experimentation modes in chaos engineering, exploring their unique benefits and applications. Now, in Part 2, we will shift our focus to the essential best practices that will empower you to achieve success in chaos engineering. Building on the foundation laid in Part 1, we will delve into practical strategies and insights gathered from years of experience in the field.
Before we get started, a word of caution.
The best practices presented in this blog post are based on my personal experiences in chaos engineering. Over the course of more than a decade, I’ve had the privilege of gaining practical insights through my own experiments, as well as supporting colleagues, teams, and customers in their chaos engineering endeavors. However, please adapt them to your specific context and requirements, as every organization and system is unique. These practices should only serve as helpful guidance. They are not an exhaustive checklist. Experimentation, iteration, and patience are crucial for success in chaos engineering. Use these best practices as a reference, but be prepared to make adjustments based on your own experiences.
Buckle up!
(Note: BP stands for Best Practice.)
BP0 — Beware of the Chasm
The first best practice might be a bit of a surprise but that is something I see literally all the time and it prevents the wide adoption of chaos engineering within organizations.
According to the book called Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore., technology adoption starts with innovators and progresses to early adopters, early majority, late majority, and finally laggards. Innovators and early adopters are driven by their passion for technology and are willing to make sacrifices to be among the first to try new things. They’re the ones you see camping outside…
