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Best Practices

Build automation rules that are reliable, clear, and easy to maintain.

Automation in Upstat works best when used thoughtfully. These best practices will help your team avoid common pitfalls and get the most value from your automations.

Start Simple

Begin with high-impact, low-complexity rules:

  • Automatically notify someone when an incident is created with severity Critical
  • Add labels or comments based on known patterns (e.g., linked services, tags)
  • Set up gentle reminders for incidents that go unacknowledged

You can always build more complex rules later. Starting small helps you validate the value without creating noise.

Use Delays Strategically

Delayed actions are ideal for escalation logic and time-based reminders.

Examples:

  • “If unacknowledged after 5 minutes, post a comment”
  • “If still open after 30 minutes, notify the team lead”

Avoid stacking multiple delays unless there’s a clear escalation flow.

Be Cautious With Notifications

Overuse of notifications leads to alert fatigue, where responders start ignoring messages. Only send alerts when action is truly needed.

To reduce noise:

  • Prefer in-app comments or labels over direct alerts
  • Use delays to give humans time to act before automation steps in
  • Combine multiple checks into one automation rule to prevent overlap

Use Labels and Statuses to Create Logic Breakpoints

Adding a label like escalated or changing the status to Monitoring can act as a signal to automations to stop or redirect behavior.

You can structure your rules so they check for:

  • Label = escalated before triggering follow-ups
  • Status != Resolved before sending reminders

This helps your automations become more context-aware.

Keep Rules Project-Specific

Automations are scoped to individual projects in Upstat.
What works in one project may not make sense in another.

  • Customize rules based on incident volume, response team size, and severity policies
  • Don’t copy-paste automations across projects without reviewing their context

Document and Name Rules Clearly

Good naming helps your team understand what a rule does without opening it.

Examples:

  • Escalate High Severity if Unacknowledged (5m)
  • Auto-label Customer Incidents
  • Notify Team Lead When Mitigated

Consider adding descriptions for even more clarity.

Monitor and Adjust Over Time

Automation is not set-and-forget. Review triggered actions regularly to see:

  • Are they working as intended?
  • Are they still relevant?
  • Are they causing unintended side effects?

Update or disable outdated rules as your workflows evolve.

Summary

  • Start small and build confidence before layering complexity
  • Use delays and labels to reduce noise and increase control
  • Keep project-specific needs in mind
  • Name and document rules clearly
  • Review automation impact over time to keep it effective

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