06.1
Show the working set
Operators need an immediate view of active environments, pending work, image versions, regions, and faults. The surface should favor comparison over decoration.
The goal is to understand the working set in a few seconds.
06.2
Group by purpose
Machines are easier to reason about when grouped by task batch, experiment, or occupation rather than by incidental infrastructure identifiers.
Physical location still matters, but it should support the operational story instead of replacing it.
06.3
Make transitions explicit
Booting, practicing, verifying, restoring, and retiring are distinct states with different expectations. Clear transitions make stuck or inconsistent episodes visible.
A status vocabulary is valuable when every term maps to an observable condition.
06.4
Keep humans in control
The control plane should make it easy to pause a batch, inspect one machine, preserve an artifact, or retire a compromised image.
Automation scales the work. Operator control keeps it trustworthy.