FinOps assessment
This article helps you understand the FinOps assessment capability within the FinOps Framework and how to implement that in the Microsoft Cloud.
Definition
FinOps assessment refers to the process of measuring the effectiveness of a FinOps practice, aligning activities with organizational goals, and identifying areas for improvement to drive FinOps maturity.
Assess organizational practices early. Don't wait for new teams, reorgs, or process changes. Understanding where your FinOps journey starts is as important as knowing where you're going.
Define the organizational objectives and quantifiable metrics associated with those objectives. To achieve those goals, capture the maturity of a set of activities related to those objectives and outline the path. Automate metrics to quantify progress that help the FinOps team identify objectives being met and areas that need attention.
Review metrics and reassess teams on a recurring basis. Adjust focus areas as organizational needs change over time. Focus on impact and maximizing cloud value.
Getting started
When you first start managing cost in the cloud, use the native assessment tools.
- Review the How to conduct a FinOps iteration tutorial to identify the best capabilities to start with.
- Complete the Microsoft FinOps Review for a lightweight, self-guided assessment.
- Start small and focus on the capabilities identified in the previous step.
- Document assessment results and plan to reassess progress in 1-3 months.
- Add the recommendations to your roadmap based on impact and effort.
- Define monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals with well-defined key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Establish buy-in, ownership, and accountability across all stakeholders.
Building on the basics
- Review KPIs periodically in cross-functional meetings or dashboards.
- To make adoption and measurement easier, automate KPIs, dashboards, and alerts.
- Scale the assessment out across divisions and deeper into each division for breadth and completeness.
- Automate the assessment process and use telemetry to establish a streamlined process.
Learn more at the FinOps Foundation
This capability is a part of the FinOps Framework by the FinOps Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing cloud cost management and optimization. For more information about FinOps, including useful playbooks, training and certification programs, and more, see the FinOps assessment capability article in the FinOps Framework documentation.
Related content
Related FinOps capabilities:
Other resources: