Scenario 2: Payment Gateway Issues
- Check if issue is with our service or the gateway
- If gateway is down, activate fallback payment processor:
kubectl set env deployment/payment-service -n payments USE_FALLBACK_PROCESSOR=true - Notify customer support to alert users of potential payment issues
Scenario 3: Deployment Issues
- Identify problematic deployment:
kubectl describe deployment payment-service -n payments - Rollback to last known good version:
kubectl rollout undo deployment/payment-service -n payments
Escalation
- First Escalation: Database Team (if database issue)
- Second Escalation: Platform Team (if infrastructure issue)
- Third Escalation: Payment Gateway Account Manager (if gateway issue)
Communication Templates
Status Page Update
We are currently experiencing issues with our payment processing system. Our team is investigating the issue and working to restore service as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Customer Support Message
We're currently experiencing technical difficulties with our payment system. Our engineering team has been notified and is working on a fix. In the meantime, please [alternative payment instructions if applicable].
---
### Incident Response Process
When an incident occurs, a structured response process helps ensure efficient resolution.
#### Incident Command System
Adopt an Incident Command System (ICS) to coordinate response efforts:
**Key Roles:**
1. **Incident Commander (IC)**: Coordinates the overall response
2. **Communications Lead**: Handles internal and external communications
3. **Operations Lead**: Implements technical fixes
4. **Scribe**: Documents the incident timeline and decisions
**Example Incident Command Checklist:**
```markdown
# Incident Commander Checklist
## Initial Response (First 5 Minutes)
- [ ] Acknowledge the alert/incident
- [ ] Determine if this is a real incident requiring response
- [ ] Declare the incident and its severity level
- [ ] Create incident channel (e.g., #incident-20250408-1)
- [ ] Page required responders
- [ ] Assign initial roles (Comms Lead, Ops Lead, Scribe)
## Assessment Phase (5-15 Minutes)
- [ ] Establish what we know and don't know
- [ ] Identify affected systems and services
- [ ] Determine customer impact
- [ ] Set initial response priorities
- [ ] Decide if additional responders are needed
## Coordination Phase (Ongoing)
- [ ] Hold regular status updates (every 15-30 min)
- [ ] Track action items and owners
- [ ] Ensure communications are going out as needed
- [ ] Manage escalations to additional teams
- [ ] Consider if severity level needs adjustment
## Resolution Phase
- [ ] Confirm that service has been restored
- [ ] Verify with monitoring and spot checks
- [ ] Communicate resolution to stakeholders
- [ ] Schedule postmortem
- [ ] Declare incident closed
Communication Templates
Prepare templates for common communication needs:
Example Status Page Update Template:
# Status Page Update Template
## Initial Notification
**Title**: [Service Name] - Service Disruption
**Status**: Investigating
**Message**: We are investigating reports of issues with [service name]. We will provide updates as we learn more.
## Update Template
**Title**: [Service Name] - Service Disruption Update
**Status**: Identified / Working on Fix
**Message**: We have identified the cause of the disruption with [service name] and are working on a fix. [Optional: Add specific details about impact]. We will continue to provide updates as we make progress.
## Resolution Template
**Title**: [Service Name] - Service Restored
**Status**: Resolved
**Message**: The issues affecting [service name] have been resolved. [Brief explanation of what happened]. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. If you continue to experience issues, please contact support.
Incident Response Automation
Automate repetitive aspects of incident response:
Example Incident Bot Commands:
/incident start payment-failure p1
- Creates incident channel
- Pages on-call team
- Creates incident doc from template
- Posts initial status message
/incident page database-team
- Pages database on-call engineer
- Adds them to the incident channel
/incident status "Identified database connection issue, working on fix"
- Updates incident doc
- Posts to status page
- Notifies stakeholders
/incident mitigate "Rerouted traffic to backup database"
- Records mitigation action in timeline
- Updates incident status
/incident resolve
- Updates status page
- Schedules postmortem
- Collects metrics about the incident