waste-elimination-sprint

name	waste-elimination-sprint
enabled	true
description	Use when performing waste elimination sprint — runs a focused sprint to identify and eliminate cloud resource waste. Covers idle resource detection, rightsizing opportunities, orphaned resource cleanup, storage optimization, and quick-win cost reductions that can be implemented within days rather than weeks.
required_connections	[{"prefix":"cloud-provider","label":"Cloud Provider"}]
config_fields	[{"key":"cloud_provider","label":"Cloud Provider","required":true,"placeholder":"e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure"},{"key":"sprint_duration_days","label":"Sprint Duration (days)","required":true,"placeholder":"e.g., 5"},{"key":"target_savings_percent","label":"Target Savings Percentage","required":false,"placeholder":"e.g., 20%"}]
features	["COST_MANAGEMENT","FINOPS","OPTIMIZATION"]

Waste Elimination Sprint

Phase 1: Quick Discovery (Day 1)

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)

1. 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
2. Calculate savings per rightsizing action

Rightsizing Recommendations

Resource	Current Size	Recommended Size	Current Cost	New Cost	Monthly Savings
			$	$	$

Phase 3: Storage Optimization (Day 3)

1. 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
2. Calculate storage savings

Phase 4: Network Cost Reduction (Day 3-4)

1. 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
2. Optimize data transfer patterns

Phase 5: Execute Quick Wins (Day 4-5)

1. Delete confirmed unused resources
2. Resize oversized instances and databases
3. Apply storage lifecycle policies
4. Tag resources for ongoing tracking
5. 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

1. Set up alerts for idle resource detection
2. Implement automatic shutdown for dev/test resources
3. Add resource expiry tags for temporary resources
4. Schedule monthly waste detection scans
5. 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