Shadow on-call
Shadowing is a role in an on-call schedule that monitors or aids the existing on-calls. It's commonly used for:
- Training new on-calls, where a more experienced person oversees and helps out
- Monitoring activity, like a department or tech lead getting notified alongside the on-call rotation
- Supplementing, like joining the on-call rotation for an hour to help with a change or to preempt noise or alerts related to a task
Anyone shadowing is notified at the same time as anyone in the schedule or stage being shadowed!
Shadow a shift
It's common for folks new to an on-call rotation to work with a shadow for the first few shifts. When your new friend is scheduled for their first shift, set them up to shadow:
- Go to the Schedule page and click the plus sign next to observers on the left sidebar. You'll see a form:

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Choose the person from the list that's shadowing. This is the person who'd like to receive a copy of any pages.
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Choose which stage you'd like the shadow to observe. If left blank, they'll observe the whole schedule.
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If you'd like the shadow to continue forever, leave the End time blank.
If you're looking for a short bit of help, set an End time. The shadow ends at the time specified.