capability-assess-observability

Assess and record observability platform, logging, tracing, and alerting decisions in infrastructure.md.

Updated Mar 31, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/learnn-com/engineering-kb --skill capability-assess-observability-learnn-com
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: capability-assess-observability
Source: https://github.com/learnn-com/engineering-kb/tree/main/.skills/capability-assess-observability
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/learnn-com/engineering-kb --skill capability-assess-observability-learnn-com

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Choosing and documenting an observability strategy (monitoring platform, logging, tracing, alerting) is often ad-hoc and undocumented. This Skill guides a structured assessment, writes the decision into the project's adoption files, and records it as a decision log so the rationale stays consistent and traceable. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Resolution Cascade: Resolves the decision via argument override, existing adoption confirmation, or a full assessment, making repeated runs idempotent. - Guideline-Driven Evaluation: Reads observability guidelines (tool comparisons, decision trees, structured logging, metrics, alerting) plus project context like the PRD to recommend a platform such as Grafana, Datadog, or Prometheus. - Adoption & Decision Recording: Writes only the observability section of infrastructure.md (preserving other sections) and composes /capability-record-decision to create an ADR or ADL. - Use Case: During project bootstrap, run the assessment to pick a monitoring stack, document it in adoption/tech/infrastructure.md, and backfill a decision record if one is missing. ## Quick Start Ask the AI to assess the observability strategy for this project and record the chosen platform, logging, tracing, and alerting approach in infrastructure.md.

Frequently Asked Questions about capability-assess-observability

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I choose an observability platform for my project?▼

Evaluate options like DataDog, New Relic, Grafana Stack, ELK, and Prometheus/Grafana using a decision matrix that weighs budget, scale, AI features, and self-hosted versus managed hosting. The skill reads guideline documents and project context to produce a recommendation.

How to document observability decisions in a project?▼

Write the platform, logging, tracing, and alerting choices into the observability section of adoption/tech/infrastructure.md, then record the rationale as an ADL or ADR via a decision-recording skill. This keeps adoption and decision history consistent.

Grafana vs Datadog for monitoring, which should I pick?▼

The assessment compares both using a decision tree: Grafana Stack suits self-hosted, budget-conscious setups, while Datadog fits managed platforms with broader built-in features. Budget, scale, and AI feature needs drive the final recommendation.

Can I skip the assessment and specify a platform directly?▼

Yes, pass a choice argument such as grafana or datadog to override the assessment. The skill confirms the choice, checks for conflicts with existing adoption, and proceeds directly to writing the decision.

What happens if infrastructure.md already exists?▼

Only the observability section is added or updated; all other sections owned by the infrastructure assessment skill are preserved. If the file is missing, it is created with just the observability section and a warning.

When is observability not applicable to a project?▼

For CLI tools or libraries without runtime services, observability may not apply. In that case the skill writes a minimal section noting observability is not applicable with the reason, instead of forcing a platform choice.