Alexis Lê-Quôc, co-founder and CTO of Datadog, outlines a strategic approach to IT monitoring by classifying metrics into work and resource categories, emphasizing the importance of focusing alerts on actionable work metrics to enhance system effectiveness and reduce unnecessary alerts. Datadog internally tracks a vast array of metrics to convert data into actionable insights, and has honed a method for determining which metrics to monitor and alert on, advocating for regular reviews of metrics and alerts to ensure systems are performing optimally. By prioritizing work metrics, which measure the productivity of systems, and selectively alerting on resource metrics only when they indicate potential failures, teams can preemptively address issues before they impact customers or escalate stress levels. This method aligns with the goals of knowing system performance and minimizing stress, providing a framework for improved monitoring strategies that can be further explored through a trial of Datadog's services.