# Observability Noise

> A defect in which logs, metrics and alerts are too many and too low in signal to act on.

Record: `architecture:observability-noise`
Kind: anti-pattern
Layer: [Enforcement Core](https://banes-lab.com/records/layer/enforcement-core.md)
Severity: discouraged
Scope: observability_traceability
Canonical: https://banes-lab.com/ontology#architecture-observability-noise

Listed in [Architecture principles](https://banes-lab.com/api/records/architecture.md), after [Personal Data Oversharing](https://banes-lab.com/records/architecture/personal-data-oversharing.md) and before [Log-as-Control-Flow](https://banes-lab.com/records/architecture/log-as-control-flow.md).

## Repair

- Refactored by: define_signal_quality, reduce_cardinality, add_runbook_owner, sample_or_aggregate
- Detected by: high_alert_ack_without_action, high_cardinality_metrics, logs_without_context, duplicate_alerts
- Violated by: Emit excessive, low-signal logs, metrics, traces, or alerts without severity, ownership, cardinality control, or actionability.
- Measured by: alerts acknowledged without action, high-cardinality metrics
- Enforced by: alert-ownership rules, metric cardinality limits

## Severity

- [discouraged](https://banes-lab.com/records/vocabulary/severity-discouraged.md)

## Category

- [Anti-patterns](https://banes-lab.com/records/architecture-category/anti-patterns.md)

## Force

- [Observability traceability](https://banes-lab.com/records/force/observability-traceability.md)

## Negated by

- [Alerting](https://banes-lab.com/records/architecture/alerting.md)

## Linked from

- [Anti-patterns](https://banes-lab.com/ontology/principles/architecture-category-anti-patterns.md)
- [Observability / Auditability / Traceability](https://banes-lab.com/ontology/principles/architecture-category-observability-auditability-traceability.md)
- [Core Vocabulary](https://banes-lab.com/ontology/lexicon/lexicon-category-core-vocabulary.md)
- [Severity levels](https://banes-lab.com/ontology/schema/the-vocabulary-severity.md)
- [The forces](https://banes-lab.com/ontology/schema/the-forces.md)