Incident Response 101 for Small Teams

What this guide covers

This guide focuses on creating the first lightweight incident process before the team has formal SRE coverage. The goal is to make the operating decision clear before a stressful incident forces the team to improvise.

• One channel and one owner is enough to start.
• Decide the customer communication path before you need it.
• Add process only after the simple version proves itself.

How Sandglass supports the practice

Define one alert channel, one owner, one customer communication path, and one review habit. Add complexity only after the simple path works. Sandglass supports the continuous side of this work with checks, incidents, alert routing, and public status visibility.

• Back the practices here with HTTP, ping, TCP, content, SSL certificate, and heartbeat checks.
• Route incidents to email, Slack webhook channels, and generic webhooks so the right people respond fast.
• Use a public status page to keep customers informed while the team works the incident.

Common mistakes to avoid

Borrowing enterprise process too early creates ceremony. Small teams need clarity and speed first.