A lightweight incident update template that keeps people calm
During incidents, silence creates anxiety and side‑channel pings. A short, consistent update is the fastest way to keep people aligned and protect focus.
The 4-line update
- What we see (impact + scope)
- What we tried (one or two actions)
- What we’ll try next (one action)
- Next update time
Impact:
Tried:
Next:
Next update:
Example
Impact: checkout errors are up in US-East for premium customers. Tried: rolled back the last deploy, error rate dropped 40 percent. Next: disable the new rate limiter, verify in 10 minutes. Next update: 2:30 PM PT.
A pragmatic cadence
- First update within 10 minutes of declaring an incident.
- Every 20-30 minutes while impact is unresolved.
- Immediate update after a major change (rollback, mitigation, escalation).
What to avoid
- Speculation without evidence.
- Long paragraphs or detailed blame analysis.
- Changing the cadence without saying so.
If the update is external, keep it about impact and next update time. Internal updates can include mitigations.
Consistent updates protect the incident lead’s focus and reduce side conversations.