Systems Tell You When They Are Failing

Failures that feel sudden are usually not.

The system showed signs. Changes were getting slower. Small fixes were introducing new problems. Understanding the system required more effort than it used to.

These are not random frustrations. They are signals.

The difference between systems that fail and systems that recover is not whether the signals exist. It is whether anyone is paying attention to them.

Ignoring those signals does not remove the problem. It allows it to grow until it can no longer be ignored.