I joined Cisco in 2021 to work on their ongoing efforts to build AppDynamics Cloud; a cloud-native full-stack observability platform. The project underwent an overhaul in 2023 when it was re-marketed and re-architected as Cisco Observability Platform (with the emphasis on platform). We went from designing a singular product to designing a platform experience that would deliver multiple observability products as inter-connected modules.

It did not last long. Cisco had finalized the Splunk acquisition in early 2024, effectively ceasing all work on Cisco Observability Platform. Splunk’s existing product, Splunk Observability Cloud, became the new cloud-native Observability kid on the block.

Splunk’s acquisition also brought in other products such as Splunk IT Service Intelligence, which I’ve also had the opportunity to contribute to via various projects.

My insights through these transitions

When you are designing effectively the same developer tool for 4 years across multiple iterations, all the while trying to catch up to competition, you learn that:

1. Enterprise developer tools rely on feature parity and the sales network to sell well,
2. Chaotic product strategies will lead to uncertainty in design direction, and
3. Building a product from scratch requires faster execution cycles and a bias towards shipping.

Case studies

Any observability software’s has two core functions for the various teams of developers and software reliability engineers that use it: monitoring application performance, and troubleshooting issues. The following case studies showcase work done in improving both facets.