On-Call Rotation
On-Call Rotation / On-Call Schedule
An on-call rotation is a schedule that determines which team members are responsible for responding to alerts and incidents outside of normal working hours.
Why On-Call Rotations Matter
Modern systems need 24/7 monitoring, but humans need rest. On-call rotations balance: - System reliability requirements - Team member wellbeing - Fair distribution of burden - Coverage during holidays/vacations
Common Rotation Patterns
Weekly rotation: One person on-call for a full week. Simple but can be exhausting.
Daily rotation: Shifts change daily. More transitions but shorter stints.
Follow-the-sun: Global teams hand off based on timezone. No nights!
Primary + Secondary: Two people on-call. Secondary backs up if primary is overwhelmed.
On-Call Rotation Best Practices
1. Minimum 4 people per rotation to avoid burnout 2. Maximum 1 week per month on-call per person 3. Compensate fairly - On-call is real work 4. Allow swaps - Life happens, enable trading shifts 5. Consider timezones - Don't make one timezone always take nights 6. Plan for holidays - Rotate holiday burden fairly
Metrics to Track
- Pages per shift - False positive rate - MTTA (Mean Time To Acknowledge) - Escalation rate - Team sentiment surveys