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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
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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:

  1. Go to the Schedule page and click the plus sign next to observers on the left sidebar. You'll see a form:

    Adding a new shadow to the schedule.

  2. Choose the person from the list that's shadowing. This is the person who'd like to receive a copy of any pages.

  3. Choose which stage you'd like the shadow to observe. If left blank, they'll observe the whole schedule.

  4. 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.