Reducing Fatigue for On-Call SWEs with AI, Mentorship, & More with Dr. Sally Wabha

In this episode of the Modern Web Podcast, recorded live at All Things Open in Raleigh, NC, hosts Rob Ocel and Danny Thompson sit down with Dr. Sally Wahba, Principal Software Engineer at Splunk. Dr. Wahba shares her experience tackling on-call burnout, offering insights into reducing fatigue through better observability, automation, and thoughtful team practices. The conversation also touches on mentorship and growth in the tech industry, including practical advice for junior engineers navigating the transition from academics to professional roles and tips for companies to better support new talent. Chapters 00:00:13 - Introduction to Marketing This Dot 00:01:00 - Asking for Help Effectively 00:02:21 - Reducing On-Call Fatigue 00:04:42 - Observability Best Practices 00:07:07 - Balancing Alerts and On-Call Efficiency 00:09:30 - The Role of On-Call in Modern Engineering 00:11:29 - Insights from the Grace Hopper Celebration 00:13:56 - Mentorship and Team Dynamics 00:16:14 - Rapid Changes in Technology and Adaptation 00:18:39 - Automation, Observability, and Debugging Challenges 00:21:04 - Addressing the Talent Gap and Junior Engineer Growth 00:24:00 - Closing Thoughts and Where to Learn More Follow Dr. Sally Wahba on Social Media Twitter: https://x.com/sallyky Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/sallywahba/ Sponsored by This Dot: thisdot.co