Docs/Tools/Incident Management

Incident Management

What is the Incident Management Feature?

The Incident Management Tool allows teams without dedicated incident management software to track and resolve incidents directly within DevStats. This ensures accurate calculation of key metrics such as Mean Time to Recovery (MTTR), a critical component of the DORA Metrics Dashboard.

By declaring active incidents and marking them as resolved, teams can maintain a reliable record of incident handling and response times. This tool is designed for teams aiming to improve their incident response process and monitor their MTTR effectively, even without external tools.

Prerequisites for Manual Creation

  1. Open Settings → Incidents.
  2. Select API or DevStats Incident Management as the incident source.
  3. Click Save Settings, then open Incidents.

This source supports both API submissions and manual incident management. You do not need an API token to create incidents through the interface. The Declare Active Incident and Create Resolved Incident buttons are hidden when Git Provider, Incident.io, or Datadog is the selected source.

When Incidents Contribute to MTTR

An active incident without a resolution date (resolved_at) is excluded from MTTR. To include it, set its status to Resolved and provide the correct Resolved At date and time.

For each eligible resolved incident, recovery time is resolved_at - started_at. With Average selected, MTTR is the average of these durations. The incident must match the report's repository/squad filters, start on or after the selected period's start, and be resolved on or before its end.

Using the DevStats Interface

DevStats provides two options for managing incidents via the user interface. Only resolved incidents that match the report filters contribute to MTTR:

  1. Create Resolved Incidents Use this option to record incidents that have already been detected and resolved. Provide their start and resolution dates so they can contribute to MTTR when they match the report filters.
  2. Declare and Track Active Incidents This option allows you to manage incidents in real-time. Declare an active incident when it occurs, and update its status as you investigate and resolve it. Once resolved, change the status to "Resolved" and provide the resolution date and time. Until then, the incident does not contribute to MTTR.
How-to: Create Resolved Incidents (Option 1)

  • Step 1: Navigate to "Resolved Incidents" Tab

Make sure you are on the "Resolved Incidents" tab. Click the "Create Resolved Incident " button to begin logging the incident.

User interface:

  • Step 2: Fill Out Incident Details

Fill out the incident details, such as an incident name, a description of the incident itself, the start and end date, and the related repository. Don't forget to indicate how the incident got "Detected by": Automated monitoring: Detected by tools monitoring your application.Customers: Reported by a customer experiencing an issue.Internal: Identified by a team member.

  • Step 3: Save the Incident

Once all details are filled in, click the "Save" button to record the resolved incident in the system. The resolved incident can contribute to MTTR when it matches the report period and filters.

User interface:

How-to: Declare and Track Active Incidents (Option 2)

  • Step 1: Navigate to "Active Incidents" Tab

Make sure you are on the "Active Incidents" tab. Click the "Declare Active Incident " button to begin logging the incident.

User interface:

  • Step 2: Fill Out Incident Details

Fill out the incident details, such as an incident name, a description of the incident itself, the status of the incident, the start date, and the related repository. Don't forget to indicate how the incident got "Detected by": Automated monitoring: Detected by tools monitoring your application.Customers: Reported by a customer experiencing an issue.Internal: Identified by a team member.

  • Step 3: Save the Incident

Once all details are filled in, click the "Save" button to record the active incident. It remains excluded from MTTR until a resolution date is saved.

User interface:

  • Step 4: Mark the Incident as Resolved

To resolve an active incident, click "Edit " button for the incident you want to update.

  • Next, change the incident status to "Resolved" and update the "Resolved At" field with the correct resolution date and time. Once saved, the incident will be marked as resolved, and it can contribute to MTTR when it matches the report period and filters.

Using the DevStats API

If you use an external incident management tool, you can submit and update incidents programmatically via the DevStats API. This allows you to integrate incident tracking directly into your existing workflows without using the DevStats UI.

Guide: Create and Update Incidents Using the API Incident API Endpoints