Observability Practical By Samson Tanimawo, PhD Published Apr 1, 2026 4 min read

The Monitoring-as-Code Migration

Most teams have UI-clicked monitors. The migration to code-defined monitors, the order of operations, and the team behaviour it changes.

Phase 1: export

Export existing UI monitors to declarative config (Terraform, vendor-specific YAML).

Commit to git. Existing monitors are now versioned.

New monitors must come through code. UI access is read-only for most engineers.

Some hold-outs: emergency creation through UI is allowed but rare.

Common patterns become reusable modules. Templates spread across teams.

Quality compounds. Engineering team improves the platform; everyone benefits.