Building a Resilient On-Call Framework

Originally posted on Squadcast.com

Whether a business is small scale, medium-sized, or a large enterprise, downtime issues can affect any organization as no business is exempt from experiencing downtime. However, the swifter the acknowledgment of an issue, the quicker the response, resulting in a reduced impact on business. An effective On-Call framework not only aids in prompt issue resolution but also plays a vital role in minimizing the overall downtime impact on business operations.

In this blog, we’ll talk about the On-Call management framework, its key components and best practices to leverage On-Call management software for your organization.

What Is On Call Management Framework?

On-Call management framework is a set of processes and tools used to manage and coordinate On-Call schedules, incidents, and escalations within an organization. It typically includes features such as scheduling, escalation policies, incident tracking, communication tools, and reporting. Organization need On-Call frameworks for 3 key reasons:

Ensure 24/7 coverage & fast response: Guarantees someone is available to address urgent issues even outside regular hours, minimizing downtime and impact on users.
Streamline Incident Management: Establishes clear roles, communication channels, and escalation procedures, ensuring efficient problem-solving.
Reduce stress & on call burnout: Divides responsibility fairly across teams, preventing individuals from being overloaded with after-hours calls.

Think of it like a fire drill for IT issues - having a plan ensures everyone knows their role and can act quickly to minimize damage.

Key Components Of On-Call Framework

Here are some key components of an On-Call management framework:

Scheduling: This involves setting up On-Call rotations, assigning On-Call shifts to team members, and managing time-off requests.
Escalation policies: These define the steps to be taken when an incident occurs, including who to contact first, second, and so on and so forth if the primary On-Call person is unavailable.
Incident tracking: This involves documenting and tracking incidents, including the type of issue, resolution steps taken, and any follow-up actions required.
Communication tools: These are used to notify On-Call personnel of incidents, share updates, and collaborate on resolving issues.
Reporting: This includes generating reports on On-Call performance, incident trends, and response times to identify areas for improvement.

Best Practices For An Effective On Call Framework

Define transparent roles and responsibilities for On-Call Members
Clear handling procedure with rotation strategy
Incident classification & prioritization
Implement role based control within organization
Document results & learn from past incidents
Proactive collaboration during incident resolution
Scheduling for unavailability
On Call Management Tool

1. Team Definition & Responsibilities

A well-defined On-Call framework relies heavily on clear team definition and responsibilities to ensure efficient incident resolution and a healthy team environment. Here's how they contribute:

By clearly defining team composition and expertise, you can ensure that incidents are routed to the most qualified individuals, leading to faster resolution times and reduced downtime. Well-defined roles and responsibilities eliminate ambiguity and confusion during incidents. Each team member knows their specific tasks and expectations, promoting ownership and accountability.

Clear team structure facilitates collaboration and knowledge sharing within and across teams. On-Call personnel can easily leverage the combined expertise of their teammates to resolve complex issues. A single engineer cannot maintain all the information on multiple services and microservices. As such, different components of your business would need a separate member responsible when something goes wrong.

Defining On-Call teams with designated engineers responsible for specific systems or areas helps when incidents come unannounced. Moreover, there should be a clear hierarchy for escalating incidents to more senior personnel or subject matter experts if needed.

2. Clear handling procedure with rotation strategy

Choosing the right On-Call rotation strategy can be a challenge. Balancing fairness for team members with ensuring efficient incident resolution is crucial. Simple approaches may not account for individual workload or expertise, while complex methods can be difficult to manage.

Finding the right fit requires careful consideration of your team structure, workload distribution, and system complexity. Some common strategies that can help in this regard, include:

1. Simple Round Robin

Pros: Easy to implement, ensures everyone shares responsibility.

Cons: Can be unfair if team sizes are uneven or expertise varies greatly.

Use case: Suitable for small teams with similar workloads and expertise levels.

2. Weighted Round Robin

Pros: Balances workload based on individual capacity, rewarding experience.

Cons: Requires careful consideration of individual workload and expertise, which can be subjective.

Use case: Effective for larger teams with diverse skills and workloads, where some deserve lighter on-call loads.

3. Skill-Based Rotation

Pros: Ensures the right person is on call for each incident, potentially leading to faster resolution.

Cons: Can be complex to manage and unfair if skill sets are not evenly distributed.

Use case: Ideal for teams managing complex systems with specialized knowledge requirements, ensuring the most qualified individuals handle critical incidents.

4. Fixed Schedule

Pros: Predictable, allows for personal planning.

Cons: Less flexible, may not be suitable for fluctuating workloads or uneven team sizes.

Use case: Suitable for teams with predictable workloads and well-defined expertise areas, allowing individuals to plan personal commitments around their on-call periods.

5. Hybrid Approach

Pros: Adaptable, caters to specific needs and team dynamics.

Cons: Requires careful planning and ongoing evaluation.

Use case: Highly versatile, allowing you to combine the strengths of different strategies based on the specific needs of each system or team, like using skill-based rotation for critical systems and round robin for less complex areas.

Regardless of the chosen strategy, to ensure fairness and prevent burnout, experiment and find the approach that best balances fairness, efficiency, and team well-being. Using an On-Call management solution makes it easier for handling a fair rotation strategy than to manage it in excel sheets. An Incident Management platform like Squadcast can help you maintain a fair rotation among your On Call Team members.

3. Incident classification & prioritization

Define a system for classifying and prioritizing incidents. By classifying incidents based on factors like severity, impact, and urgency, prioritization helps direct resources towards the most critical issues first. In this way, critical incidents affecting business continuity or causing widespread disruption receive immediate attention from experienced personnel. Hence, On-call teams can:

avoid wasting time on low-priority issues
focus their efforts on resolving high-impact incidents first
minimizing downtime and maintain service levels
respond more quickly and appropriately
minimize the overall time to resolution (TTOR) for all incidents
make informed decisions

On top of this tracking key metrics like response times, resolution times, and escalation rates can help identify areas for improvement.

4. Implement Role Based Access Control

Implementing Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) in an On-Call framework helps in two key ways:

Firstly, it ensures only authorized personnel can have access to On-Call tools and monitoring systems based on their roles and responsibilities. It minimizes the risk of unauthorized access, accidental changes, or data breaches that could disrupt operations or compromise sensitive information.
Secondly, it also streamlines workflows by granting appropriate permissions to different roles. This allows on-call personnel to focus on their specific tasks without getting overwhelmed by unnecessary information or functionalities, leading to faster incident resolution and improved overall efficiency.

5. Document results & learn from past incidents

Analyzing past incident reports helps identify recurring patterns and underlying root causes. This allows teams to address systemic issues and prevent similar incidents from happening again, leading to a more proactive and preventative approach to Incident Management.

Documenting postmortem analysis findings, including lessons learned and action items, provides a structured roadmap for continuous improvement. This allows teams to identify weaknesses in the On-Call framework, implement corrective measures, and refine best practices for handling future incidents. Additionally, On-Call teams can establish baselines for key metrics and make data-driven decisions.

6. Proactive collaboration during incident resolution

Proactive collaboration goes beyond simply informing others about an incident. It's about actively engaging with relevant stakeholders to facilitate a cohesive and efficient resolution.

Establish preferred methods (e.g., chat groups, Incident Management tools) for real-time communication during incidents. If your ChatOp tool like Slack & Microsoft Teams is integrated with your Incident Response software, creating incident specific channels becomes easier. You can utilize diverse communication channels like phone, chat, and email to cater to different needs and preferences of On-Call members.
Encourage On-Call personnel to proactively engage with relevant teams and stakeholders as soon as an issue arises, regardless of severity.
Maintain a centralized repository of information (e.g., runbooks, playbooks) readily accessible to all involved parties. Utilize tools like ticketing systems and shared dashboards to facilitate information sharing and teamwork.
Foster a culture of collaboration through regular team meetings and knowledge-sharing sessions outside of incident situations.
Ensure all participants understand their roles and responsibilities during an incident to avoid confusion and duplication of effort.

7. Scheduling for unavailability

Flexible schedules guarantee someone else is available to handle incidents when a team member is unavailable due to vacation, sick leave, or other commitments. Develop backup plans or designate substitute On-Call personnel when someone's scheduled unavailability coincides with a critical period. Implement an automated system to inform relevant team members and stakeholders of upcoming unavailability periods. For instance, Squadcast allows quick reassignment and overrides that can also be done from its intuitive Mobile App.

8. An On-Call Management Tool

Modern On-Call management systems act as a central hub for managing your entire On-Call framework. They streamline scheduling, automate alerts and escalations, facilitate collaboration during incidents, and provide valuable data for analysis and improvement. This translates to reduced administrative work, faster resolutions, improved communication, data-driven decision-making, and ultimately, a more robust and efficient On-Call experience for both teams and organizations.

How Does Squadcast Simplify and Strengthen Your On-Call Framework?

Squadcast empowers you to build a robust and efficient on-call framework across various aspects:

1. Streamlined Management

Automated Scheduling: Easily create and manage complex schedules with various rotation options, including daily, weekly, follow-the-sun, and on-demand overrides.
Availability Management: Track individual and team availability to ensure seamless coverage during planned time off.
Automated Notification System: Receive timely alerts and reminders about upcoming shifts and incidents, eliminating manual communication needs.

2. Enhanced Efficiency

Incident Management: Trigger automated alerts, escalate incidents based on severity, and collaborate effectively through in-app chat, conference calls, and out of the box integrations.
Centralized Documentation: Maintain runbooks, playbooks, and other resources in a readily accessible location for all On-Call personnel.

3. Data-Driven Insights

Real-time Dashboards: Track key metrics like response times, resolution times, and escalation rates for informed decision-making.
Performance Analysis: Gain valuable insights into team performance and identify areas for improvement with Past Incidents, Postmortems & RCAs.

Squadcast offers a free trial, allowing you to explore all the features mentioned above and see how it can transform your On-Call experience.

Best Practices For Building A Resilient On-Call Framework