cloudthinker-ai Waste Elimination Sprint
Phase 1: Quick Discovery (Day 1)
- Run automated waste detection
- Idle EC2/VM instances (CPU < 5% for 14+ days)
- Unattached EBS volumes / persistent disks
- Unused Elastic IPs / static IPs
- Old snapshots and AMIs (> 90 days)
- Idle load balancers (zero connections)
- Unused NAT gateways
- Empty S3 buckets with no access
- Oversized RDS/database instances
- Idle ElastiCache/Memorystore clusters
- Zombie Lambda functions (no invocations 90+ days)
Waste Inventory
| Resource | Type | Monthly Cost | Last Active | Owner | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ | Delete/Resize/Archive |
Phase 2: Rightsizing Analysis (Day 2)
- Identify rightsizing opportunities
- Compute instances using < 40% CPU average
- Databases with < 30% CPU and memory utilization
- Over-provisioned storage (< 50% used)
- Oversized container resource limits
- Calculate savings per rightsizing action
Rightsizing Recommendations
| Resource | Current Size | Recommended Size | Current Cost | New Cost | Monthly Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ | $ | $ |
Phase 3: Storage Optimization (Day 3)
- Review storage tier usage
- Move infrequently accessed data to cheaper tiers
- Enable intelligent tiering where available
- Implement lifecycle policies for object storage
- Compress uncompressed data
- Delete expired backups and old log archives
- Calculate storage savings
Phase 4: Network Cost Reduction (Day 3-4)
- Identify network waste
- Cross-region data transfer that could be local
- Cross-AZ traffic that could be reduced
- Unused VPN tunnels and Direct Connect
- Redundant NAT gateways
- Optimize data transfer patterns
Phase 5: Execute Quick Wins (Day 4-5)
- Delete confirmed unused resources
- Resize oversized instances and databases
- Apply storage lifecycle policies
- Tag resources for ongoing tracking
- Document all changes made
Savings Tracker
| Category | Actions Taken | Monthly Savings | Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idle resources deleted | $ | $ | |
| Rightsized resources | $ | $ | |
| Storage optimized | $ | $ | |
| Network optimized | $ | $ | |
| Total | $ | $ |
Phase 6: Prevent Recurrence
- Set up alerts for idle resource detection
- Implement automatic shutdown for dev/test resources
- Add resource expiry tags for temporary resources
- Schedule monthly waste detection scans
- Report savings to leadership
Counter-Rationalizations
| Shortcut | Counter | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "We can skip some steps for this case" | Adapt the workflow steps, don't skip them | Skipped steps are where incidents and oversights originate |
| "The user seems to already know what to do" | Complete all workflow phases with the user | The workflow catches blind spots that experience alone misses |
| "This is a minor case, full process is overkill" | Scale the process down, don't turn it off | Minor cases become major when unstructured; the process scales, not disappears |
| "I'll fill in the details later" | Complete each section before moving on | Deferred details are forgotten; real-time capture is more accurate |
| "The template output isn't necessary" | Always produce the structured output format | Structured output enables comparison, audit trails, and handoff to other teams |
Output Format
- Waste Inventory: All identified waste with costs and owners
- Quick Win Actions: Immediate actions taken with savings
- Rightsizing Report: Recommended changes with projected savings
- Prevention Plan: Ongoing policies to prevent waste recurrence
- Sprint Summary: Total savings achieved and next steps
Action Items
- Run automated waste detection across all accounts
- Contact resource owners to confirm deletion approval
- Execute resource cleanup and rightsizing
- Implement storage lifecycle policies
- Set up recurring waste detection automation
- Present sprint results and savings to stakeholders