Synopsis
Detection is only the beginning
A cost alert tells you that something moved. It does not tell a cloud leader why it moved, who owns it, or what decision is safe. Mean Time to Explanation measures that missing stretch of work.
Observation
Define the clock in plain language
MTTE is an internal operating measure, not an AWS standard. Start the clock when a material cost question is accepted for investigation. Stop it when the team has an evidence-backed explanation, a named owner, known limits, and a next action.
Diagnostics
Make fast explanations defensible
Use start and stop events someone else can audit. Track recurring questions separately from novel investigations. Before stopping the clock, record the cost movement, scope, supporting and contradicting evidence, owner, unknowns, and decision.
Limits
Speed cannot reward guessing
Do not reward premature certainty. Pause explicitly for missing access or data, and measure explanation quality alongside speed.
Kulshan
Remove collection work, not judgment
Kulshan automates repeatable read-only collection. The gain should be less console-hopping, not removal of human review.
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