Field note · 2026-02-20
Preparing a messaging app for Hari Raya traffic
Festive weeks compress ordinary evening peaks into longer stretches. Greeting texts, voice notes, and photo albums move together. If your last quality check ran on a quiet Tuesday in January, it will not predict Hari Raya behaviour.
Start with a peak-hour review two to three weeks before the holiday. Agree on the message mix you expect—short text, voice, and image—and measure each separately. Image bursts often reveal buffer pressure that text alone never shows.
Confirm with your team who watches the dashboards during the first two festive evenings. A findings brief is useless if nobody is assigned to act when reconnect storms begin.
Finally, write down what "good enough" means for those nights. Perfect delivery under festival load is rare. Knowing your acceptable delay band keeps the war room focused on real incidents instead of noisy alerts.