Why
Not all recommendations are valid. Triage filters noise so engineers receive actionable tickets. An architect review gate for complex items prevents technically unsound recommendations from causing outages (e.g., rightsizing a database during peak season).
What
Define a two-stage review process: FinOps triage (filter noise, validate savings) → architect review (for complex/risky changes).
How
Define Triage Criteria
| Triage Decision | Criteria | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-approve | Simple, low-risk, <$500 savings | Assign directly to team |
| FinOps review | Medium complexity, $500–$5K savings | FinOps validates, then assigns |
| Architect review | Complex change, >$5K savings, or production-critical | Architect reviews feasibility |
| Reject | False positive, already addressed, or not worth effort | Close ticket with reason |
Establish Weekly Triage Meeting
30–60 minutes weekly. FinOps practitioner walks through new tickets, classifies each, and assigns or escalates. Architect joins for complex items (15–30 min per item).
Track Triage Metrics
Track: tickets triaged per week, rejection rate (target <30%), time from ingestion to assignment, backlog age.
Deliverable Checklist
- Triage criteria defined (auto-approve / review / architect / reject)
- Weekly triage meeting scheduled
- Triage metrics tracked