Incident Response Best Practices
Learn how to handle incidents effectively using CommHero.
The Golden Rules
- 1. Communicate early and often — Silence is worse than uncertainty
- 2. Set expectations — Always include an ETA, even if it's "investigating"
- 3. Tailor the message — Different audiences need different info
- 4. Update when things change — New ETA? Send an update
- 5. Close properly — Confirm resolution and provide context
The Response Timeline
Within 1 minute
Detect issue, create incident, execute initial notification template. Users know something is happening.
Within 5 minutes
Begin investigation. Send second notification with initial findings and updated ETA if you have better info.
Every 15-30 minutes
Keep stakeholders updated. If nothing changes, still send an update: "Still investigating, no new ETA" is fine.
When resolved
Send resolution message. Explain what happened, how you fixed it, and what you're doing to prevent it.
What NOT to Do
❌ Don't wait for perfect information
Send the initial notification immediately. People want to know ASAP. Updates can follow as you learn more.
❌ Don't blame anyone
Focus on resolution, not blame. Post-mortems are for analysis. Incidents are for communication.
❌ Don't use jargon
"API latency spike" means nothing to customers. Say "some users experiencing slow load times."
❌ Don't over-communicate to internal teams
Put all technical details in one message, not 10 fragmented messages. Use threaded replies or updates.