Observability vs. monitoring in software development

The text discusses the roles of monitoring and observability in software development, emphasizing their importance in maintaining the health and performance of applications, particularly within cloud-native and complex, distributed environments. Monitoring involves tracking predefined metrics and key performance indicators to detect deviations from expected behavior, providing real-time insights and alerts for quick responses. In contrast, observability offers a deeper understanding by analyzing a system's internal state through its external outputs, using telemetry data like logs, metrics, and traces to diagnose complex issues. Both practices, when integrated into CI/CD workflows, enhance productivity by enabling early issue detection, faster feedback loops, and more confident releases. The text highlights how CircleCI, by integrating observability and monitoring tools, supports a proactive approach to application health and reliability, aiding teams in building resilient systems that meet performance and user expectations.