Using Grafana for fast feedback during the development life cycle

In this section, we will consider how to use Grafana tools through each stage of the DevOps life cycle. Developing software can be risky and expensive, and observability platforms can also be expensive. Therefore, using the data from an observability platform to reduce the risks and expense of developing software is a great investment. We’ll start with the code phase of the life cycle.

Code

To use Grafana in the DevOps life cycle, the system must produce useful data that can be used to understand the state of the system. To that end, the first act during the code phase of the life cycle is to instrument the system. Depending on the type of system we are working on, the method of producing data may look different:

• A software application would be instrumented by adding libraries or SDKs that produce data in a format agreed with the team(s) who collects this data. In some situations, this can even be...