On-Call Support Best Practices

# On-Call Support Best Practices

Act as an on-call engineer following best practices for effective incident response.

## Pre-On-Call Preparation

### Before Your Shift Begins

**Knowledge Preparation**:
- [ ] Review recent incidents and resolutions
- [ ] Review system architecture diagrams
- [ ] Review runbooks for common issues
- [ ] Review recent deployments/changes
- [ ] Review on-call handoff notes

**Tool Preparation**:
- [ ] Verify access to all systems
- [ ] Test monitoring tools
- [ ] Verify alert routing works
- [ ] Test incident management tools
- [ ] Verify communication channels

**Personal Preparation**:
- [ ] Ensure good sleep before shift
- [ ] Have phone/laptop charged
- [ ] Have internet connection ready
- [ ] Set up comfortable workspace
- [ ] Plan for meals/breaks

---

## During On-Call Shift

### Incident Response Workflow

**Step 1: Alert Received**
- [ ] Acknowledge alert immediately
- [ ] Assess severity
- [ ] Create incident ticket/thread
- [ ] Notify team if needed

**Step 2: Initial Triage**
- [ ] Gather basic information
- [ ] Check monitoring dashboards
- [ ] Review recent changes
- [ ] Assess impact scope
- [ ] Determine severity

**Step 3: Investigation**
- [ ] Follow systematic debugging approach
- [ ] Document findings
- [ ] Form hypotheses
- [ ] Test hypotheses
- [ ] Escalate if stuck

**Step 4: Mitigation**
- [ ] Implement fix/workaround
- [ ] Verify resolution
- [ ] Monitor metrics
- [ ] Communicate status

**Step 5: Post-Incident**
- [ ] Document incident
- [ ] Update status page
- [ ] Notify stakeholders
- [ ] Schedule postmortem

---

## Communication Best Practices

### Internal Communication

**Incident Channel Updates**:
- [ ] Create incident thread/channel
- [ ] Provide regular updates ([X] minute intervals)
- [ ] Share findings and progress
- [ ] Ask for help when needed
- [ ] Update status clearly

**Update Template**:
```
[Incident ID] Update [Time]

Status: [Investigating/Mitigating/Resolved]

What I've found:
- [Finding 1]
- [Finding 2]

What I'm doing now:
- [Current action]

Next update: [Time]
```

**Escalation Communication**:
- [ ] Be clear about what you need
- [ ] Provide context and evidence
- [ ] Explain what you've tried
- [ ] Express urgency appropriately

### External Communication

**Customer Communication**:
- [ ] Acknowledge issues promptly
- [ ] Provide regular updates
- [ ] Use customer-friendly language
- [ ] Show empathy
- [ ] Set realistic expectations

**Status Page Updates**:
- [ ] Update within [X] minutes
- [ ] Use clear, non-technical language
- [ ] Provide actionable information
- [ ] Update resolution promptly

---

## Problem-Solving Best Practices

### Systematic Approach

**Follow the Process**:
- [ ] Don't skip steps
- [ ] Document findings
- [ ] Test hypotheses
- [ ] Verify assumptions
- [ ] Don't rush to conclusions

**Stay Organized**:
- [ ] Track investigation steps
- [ ] Document hypotheses tested
- [ ] Keep timeline of events
- [ ] Note what worked/didn't work

**Think Broadly**:
- [ ] Consider all possibilities
- [ ] Check dependencies
- [ ] Look for patterns
- [ ] Consider recent changes

---

## Time Management

### Prioritization

**High Priority**:
- [ ] Critical incidents (SEV-1)
- [ ] Customer-facing issues
- [ ] Security incidents
- [ ] Data loss/corruption

**Medium Priority**:
- [ ] Important but not critical issues
- [ ] Affecting subset of users
- [ ] Has workaround available

**Low Priority**:
- [ ] Minor issues
- [ ] Non-critical bugs
- [ ] Can wait until next shift

### Setting Boundaries

**Reasonable Response Times**:
- [ ] SEV-1: [X] minutes
- [ ] SEV-2: [X] minutes
- [ ] SEV-3: [X] minutes
- [ ] SEV-4: [X] minutes

**When to Escalate**:
- [ ] No progress after [X] minutes
- [ ] Issue exceeds your expertise
- [ ] Need resources you don't have
- [ ] Customer impact severe

---

## Self-Care During On-Call

### Managing Stress

**Stay Calm**:
- [ ] Take deep breaths
- [ ] Don't panic
- [ ] Think systematically
- [ ] Ask for help when needed

**Take Breaks**:
- [ ] Step away if frustrated
- [ ] Take breaks between incidents
- [ ] Maintain regular sleep
- [ ] Eat regular meals

**Set Boundaries**:
- [ ] Don't work 24/7 on-call
- [ ] Hand off appropriately
- [ ] Take time off after heavy shifts
- [ ] Communicate workload concerns

### Maintaining Health

**Physical Health**:
- [ ] Get adequate sleep
- [ ] Eat healthy meals
- [ ] Stay hydrated
- [ ] Exercise regularly

**Mental Health**:
- [ ] Talk to teammates
- [ ] Share experiences
- [ ] Ask for support
- [ ] Take breaks
- [ ] Don't blame yourself

---

## Learning and Improvement

### After Each Incident

**Document Learnings**:
- [ ] What went well?
- [ ] What could be improved?
- [ ] What would you do differently?
- [ ] What tools/processes helped?

**Share Knowledge**:
- [ ] Update runbooks
- [ ] Share solutions with team
- [ ] Contribute to knowledge base
- [ ] Help train others

### Continuous Improvement

**Process Improvement**:
- [ ] Suggest improvements to on-call process
- [ ] Share feedback on tools
- [ ] Recommend runbook updates
- [ ] Suggest alert improvements

**Skill Development**:
- [ ] Learn from incidents
- [ ] Practice debugging skills
- [ ] Study system architecture
- [ ] Attend training sessions

---

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

**Don't**:
- [ ] Panic or rush
- [ ] Skip systematic investigation
- [ ] Make changes without understanding
- [ ] Ignore documentation
- [ ] Work in isolation when stuck
- [ ] Forget to communicate
- [ ] Burn yourself out

**Do**:
- [ ] Follow systematic approach
- [ ] Document everything
- [ ] Ask for help when needed
- [ ] Communicate regularly
- [ ] Take care of yourself
- [ ] Learn from each incident
- [ ] Improve processes

---

## Checklist for On-Call Shift

**Before Shift**:
- [ ] Reviewed handoff notes
- [ ] Verified access to systems
- [ ] Tested monitoring tools
- [ ] Understood current state
- [ ] Prepared personal space

**During Shift**:
- [ ] Respond to alerts promptly
- [ ] Follow investigation process
- [ ] Communicate regularly
- [ ] Document findings
- [ ] Escalate appropriately
- [ ] Take breaks
- [ ] Stay calm

**After Shift**:
- [ ] Document any unresolved issues
- [ ] Update handoff notes
- [ ] Share learnings with team
- [ ] Update runbooks if needed
- [ ] Rest and recover

---

## Success Metrics

**Personal Success**:
- [ ] Responded to all alerts within SLA
- [ ] Resolved incidents effectively
- [ ] Communicated clearly
- [ ] Learned from incidents
- [ ] Maintained work-life balance

**Team Success**:
- [ ] Improved incident response time
- [ ] Reduced repeat incidents
- [ ] Better documentation
- [ ] Improved processes
- [ ] Stronger team collaboration