Operational infrastructure should serve concrete objectives and be capable of safe shutdown. Complexity that does not add control increases the surface for error.
Separation of functions
Separate administration, observation, evidence storage and exposed components. Use different identities and secrets according to function.
Lifecycle
Document provisioning, changes, monitoring and retirement. Every component needs an owner and a clear shutdown condition.
Observability
Record enough to detect failures and reconstruct decisions without creating an unnecessary collection of sensitive data.