Choosing Between dbt Tests and a Data Observability Platform

Your data platform team has a limited budget this quarter and can invest engineering time in exactly one of two initiatives: (A) writing a comprehensive suite of dbt tests across your 40 most business-critical models (uniqueness, referential integrity, accepted values, and custom business-rule assertions), or (B) standing up a dedicated data-observability platform that automatically monitors freshness, volume, and distribution across every table in the warehouse with no tests written by hand.

1. Describe a specific incident scenario that (A) would catch and (B) would not, and a specific incident scenario that (B) would catch and (A) would not.
2. Given that you can only fund one this quarter, what additional information would you want before deciding, and what would make you lean toward each option?
3. Explain why "we'll do both eventually" is not a satisfying answer to give your manager this quarter, and how you'd actually justify a sequencing decision.