Troubleshooting Agile Check Your Dipstick, Continuously!
Feb 11, 2026
They compare continuous sensors to manual dipstick checks using car maintenance as an analogy. They explore how continuous monitoring reduces surprises while periodic checks can let problems grow. They discuss alert fatigue, refining alerts to surface real issues, and designing on-call systems that get attention. They suggest automating important checks and tracking business usage metrics to catch declines early.
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Tire Pressure Light That Changed With Driving
- Douglas Squirrel describes a continuous tire-pressure warning that fluctuated as the car warmed up and initially confused him.
- He realized the display reflected physics (temperature → pressure) and that the continuous indicator changed unexpectedly over time.
Oil Leak Found By Manual Dipstick Check
- Jeffrey Fredrick tells of a friend who had an oil leak and had to check oil manually with a dipstick.
- The friend was surprised when oil dropped faster than expected because he only checked periodically.
Continuous Monitoring Beats Periodic Checks
- Douglas contrasts continuous automatic feedback with sporadic manual checks and notes continuous updates change behaviour.
- Continuous monitoring reduces surprise and makes people act sooner than intermittent dipstick checks.
