Cost optimization
On this page 9 topics
Overview
Topics
- Infrastructure utilization
- cloud cost drivers
- FinOps basics
Learn first
3.5 h of practice (estimate)
Learning outcomes
- Identify the main cloud cost drivers of a system (compute, storage, data transfer, managed services).
- Attribute costs to services and teams with tagging and unit economics (cost per order).
- Reduce cost with rightsizing, autoscaling, commitments, storage tiers, and architectural changes.
- Weigh cost savings against reliability and engineering time.
Lessons
Lab and exercises
Lab
SRB-015-LAB1 · Cost per order
Outcomes: 1–4 · Time: ~3.5 h
- Take a sample cloud bill for the combined Shop plus FulfillCo platform and group it by driver (compute, storage, transfer, managed services).
- Attribute costs to services and teams with a tag scheme and a shared-cost rule; compute cost per order.
- Deliver a savings plan with levers, estimates, risks, and sequencing.
Acceptance: savings estimate traceable to bill line items.
Exercises (assessment: cost analysis review)
| ID | Outcome | Task |
|---|---|---|
| SRB-015-EX01 | 1 | Given a bill, group lines into the four driver categories and name the top three. |
| SRB-015-EX02 | 1 | Case: transfer cost doubled after a service split. Explain the likely cause and how to confirm it. |
| SRB-015-EX03 | 2 | Design a tag scheme and allocation rule for shared Kubernetes cluster costs. |
| SRB-015-EX04 | 2 | Compute cost per order for three months of totals and orders; explain the trend. |
| SRB-015-EX05 | 3 | Choose three levers for a bill dominated by compute and estimate savings with assumptions. |
| SRB-015-EX06 | 4 | Case: the plan proposes removing a standby replica to save cost. Write the risk assessment and a decision. |
| SRB-015-EX07 | 4 | Compare a three-year commitment versus on-demand for a load that may fall by 40%; recommend with reasoning. |
Show solutions
- EX01 Group by service type; top drivers usually compute, managed database, and transfer; verify with your data.
- EX02 Cross-zone or cross-region calls between split services; confirm via flow logs or transfer line items by usage type.
- EX03 Required tags: service, team, environment; allocate cluster cost by resource requests or usage; report the untagged share.
- EX04 Cost per order = month cost / orders; if totals rise slower than orders, unit cost fell; state caveats such as seasonal volume.
- EX05 Rightsizing, non-production schedules, and storage lifecycle; compute estimated hours or GB saved times price from bill lines.
- EX06 Saving versus recovery objective and availability commitment; likely reject or replace with a cheaper redundancy option, recorded with the owner.
- EX07 Commit only to the stable baseline portion; partial commitment covers the floor and leaves variable load on demand.
- Outcomes 3 and 4 are also covered by the lab savings plan and risks.
Workplace evidence: a cost reduction you delivered with numbers.
Quiz
Outcomes: O1 cost drivers · O2 attribution and unit economics · O3 optimization levers · O4 cost versus reliability.
A self-check for you: nothing is graded, saved or sent anywhere. Choose an answer, then check it. You can try again as often as you like.
Practical part
Submit the cost analysis and savings plan (SRB-015 assessment) and complete SRB-015-LAB1. Pass: at least 8/10 on the quiz, cost per order computed, and savings estimates traceable to bill line items with risks recorded.
Common mistakes
Optimizing the smallest line items; savings that quietly reduce redundancy.
Assessment
Cost analysis review.
Workplace evidence
A cost reduction you delivered with numbers.
Career relevance
Architecture economics (SRA-008) and financial analysis (ARC-039).