The problem is always around abuse. If it becomes known that you can get a big bonus by wasting a lot of money on useless infra first and then reducing it, other people will start playing the game.
How do you reward cloud cost awareness without creating perverse incentives?
It's always the same answer: managers who pay attention to the details. People familiar with your work should be able to tell if you're gaming the system or not.
Will they also be paying what they owe on the added costs that could have been noticed earlier with due diligence? I'm imagining that what they'll receive instead is the compensation expected and agreed upon by both parties negotiated during either initial hiring or the multiple points in the year that allow for easy communication about changing payroll expectations, instead of hawking for dimes at first sight.
