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Major Incident Management (MIM) Templates

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Major Incident Management (MIM) Templates

Major Incident Management (MIM) workflows automate and accelerate major incident management with preset actions.

When starting a major incident, AI Incident Assistant will prompt you to select a MIM template. For more information about handling major incidents, see the Manage Major Incidents documentation. 

As major incident management processes vary across services and scenarios, you can configure multiple templates.

Configure MIM templates in the web app at Workflows > MIM Templates. 

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In the MIM Templates list, you can see information about each existing template:

  • Template Name

  • Description

  • Number of actions

  • Number of entities

  • Last updated time

  • Status (Enabled or Disabled)

To make a template the default, click the Star icon. Default templates appear first in the selection list when initiating a MIM. 

To edit an existing template, click the Pencil icon. 

To create a new MIM template from an existing one, click the Clone icon. 

To delete a template, click the Trash Can icon.

Use the Search bar at the top of the page to find a specific template.

Create or Update a MIM Template

To create a new MIM template, click New Template. 

Choose between the Guided Setup, Quick Start, or Start from Scratch. 

Clone a template

If your organization has already created one or more MIM templates, you can create a new template using an existing one.

Use the Clone button to copy an existing template. Choose a unique name for the new template. You can then edit or add fields to the new cloned template. 

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The Guided Setup walks you through each step of creating the template in a step-by-step wizard. This option is especially helpful if it's your first time creating a MIM template. 

Quick Start creates a basic preset template containing an incident announcement, recurring status updates, and a resolution summary.

After finishing the guided setup or quick start, you can edit any fields as needed in the full template builder.

To open the full, blank template builder, select Start from Scratch.

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At the top left of the page, use the Template Status toggle to determine whether the template is active or inactive. Only active templates can be selected when initiating a major incident.

Populate the Template Details, Communication Entities, and Actions Timeline sections to create a new template:

Template Details

In the Template Details section, provide basic information to help other users understand the template's purpose.

Field

Description

Template Name (Required)

A clear, descriptive name for the template.

Description

Details about how and when this template should be used.

Incident Priority

Select whether the incident priority is predetermined in this template, or if it should be chosen at MIM creation. 

Select one of the following options:

  • Set on MIM Creation - users select the priority each time they create a MIM using this template. 

  • Preselect in Template - the same priority is always used whenever this template is selected. If you select this option, choose the Default Priority from the drop-down menu. 

Communication Entities

In the Communication Entities section, configure which channels or communication sources (such as chat channels, ServiceNow tickets, or emails) will be monitored for updates, used to post automated actions, or used for on-call paging. Multiple communication entities can be added to a single MIM template.

If your template has existing communication entities, basic information about each entity will be displayed in the Communication Entities section of the template. 

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To add a new communication entity, click the + button on the right side of the Communication Entity section, or + Add First Entity to open the Add Communication Entity page. 

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 Populate the following information:

Field

Description

Entity Type (Required)

Select the communication channel used for this entity. This channel can gather context, push updates, or be used for paging, depending upon the selected entity type or usage context. 

The following entity types are available: 

  • Meeting URL

  • MS Teams Chat/Meeting

  • MS Teams Channel

  • Slack Channel

  • Email

  • ServiceNow Ticket

  • On-Call Paging

The options that appear in the list will depend on integrations configured for AI Incident Assistant. 

Note: If you select MS Teams Chat/Meeting, users will need to select an existing chat when starting the major incident. If you need automatic creation, we recommend using a Teams Meeting which includes a chat.

Label (Required)

A descriptive name for the communication entity. 

Hint Text 

Additional information to help users understand the purpose of the communication entity. 

Usage Context

How the communication entity will be used. This section will only appear if you selected Meeting URL, MS Teams Chat/Meeting, MS Teams Channel, Slack Channel, Email, or ServiceNow Ticket as the Entity Type. 

Select one or both of the following:

  • Context Source - AI Incident Assistant will ingest and aggregate content from this entity to gain context and awareness. Information gathered can be used to power actions. 

    Emails cannot be used as a context source. 

  • Output Destination - Automated actions can be posted from AI Incident Assistant to this communication entity. 

    Meeting URLs cannot be used as an output destination. 

Required Entity

This setting will only appear if you selected Meeting URL, MS Teams Chat/Meeting, MS Teams Channel, Slack Channel, Email, or ServiceNow Ticket as the Entity Type. 

Select the box to require users to provide a value for this entity when creating the incident. 

Include Banner Message

This section only appears if you selected MS Teams Channel, MS Teams Chat/Meeting, or Slack Channel as the Entity Type and Output Destination for the Usage Context. 

When enabled, AI Incident Assistant will post and continuously update the incident banner message with the title, status, impact, and key findings.

ServiceNow Tables

This section only appears if you selected ServiceNow Ticket as the Entity Type. 

Add one or more ServiceNow table names. Users will input record numbers from the tables entered here when creating the incident. 

Biggy Spotter Agent

This section only appears if you selected MS Teams Channel, MS Teams Chat, or Slack Channel as the Entity Type. 

The Biggy Spotter Agent actively listens to the channel, and when an intent to perform an action is detected, it identifies potential risks and suggests steps to complete the action.

Select the Biggy Spotter Agent behavior:

  • Always active - AI Incident Assistant always monitors the channel and contributes to the incident by default. 

  • User controlled - Users specify whether they'd like to enable the agent when creating the incident.

  • Disabled - The Biggy Spotter Agent is excluded from this channel. 

When should we select this channel?

This section only appears if you selected MS Teams Channel or Slack Channel as the Entity Type. 

Choose when this channel should be selected. Select from the following options: 

  • Set when executing the MIM - Users will input this channel when creating a new major incident.

  • Create this channel automatically - Automatically create this channel when the MIM automation starts, and reuse it for all actions.

  • Preset the value now - Define the channel now and it will automatically be available for all MIM automations using this template.  If you select this option, choose a Teams channel from the drop-down menu. 

When should we collect these email addresses?

This section only appears if you selected Email as the Entity Type. 

Choose when an email address should be selected. Select from the following options: 

  • Set when executing the MIM - Users will input the email address when creating a new MIM automation.

  • Preset the value now - Define the email addresses now and it will automatically be available for all MIM automations using this template. 

Paging Configuration

This section only appears if you selected On-Call Paging as the Entity Type.

Configure settings related to your on-call tool. Populate the following fields:

  • Paging Service - the on-call service used to page responders. Only tools you have integrated are selectable. 

  • Paging Mode - how users will pick the paging targets during a major incident. The following options area available:

    • Paging Directory - users can pick from a pre-configured paging target directory.

    • All Available - users can search any target from the source system.

    • Static - fixed targets are always paged automatically when a major incident is created. 

  • Custom Message Template (Optional) - custom description used when paging. Default is blank. 

  • Default Paging Targets - This option only appears if you selected Paging Directory or Static as the Paging Mode. Select the targets that will be selected by default when creating the major incident. Paging targets will only appear as a selectable option if they have been configured in the integration. See the On-Call Integrations documentation for more information. On-Call

Click + Add Entity to add the communication entity.

You can edit or delete any existing communication entity. In the list of communication entities, click the Pencil icon to edit a communication entity, or click the Trash Can icon to delete an entity.

Actions Timeline

In the Actions Timeline section, define automated actions. Use automated actions to automatically update stakeholders, or invoke action plans or custom prompts. 

If actions have already been configured for this template, a timeline of when each configured action occurs during a major incident is provided. For each action, basic information about what occurs during execution is displayed.

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Output destination

There must be at least one communication entity configured as an output destination to add an action. 

Click the + button to open the Add Action page. 

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Populate information in the following sections:

Section

Description

Basic Information

Contains descriptive information about the action that helps other users understand its purpose. Populate the following fields:

  • Action Title - descriptive title for the action

  • Description - optional summary of what the action does

Schedule

Determine what type of schedule the action should follow. 

In the Schedule Type field, select from the following options:

  • On Creation - action occurs once when the incident opens.

  • One-Time - action occurs only once at a specified time. When this schedule type is selected, choose the amount of time after the incident begins when the action should occur. 

  • Recurring - action occurs at a recurring interval. When this schedule type is selected, choose the interval at which the action reoccurs. The minimum interval is every 10 minutes. 

  • On Resolution - action occurs when the incident is resolved. 

Context Sources

Determine whether all context sources defined in the Communication Entities should be used to aggregate information and content. 

In the Use All Context Sources field, toggle on to aggregate content from all communication entities marked as context sources. 

Toggle off and the Select Specific Specific Sources field will appear, where you can choose one or more specific communication entities.

Context Lookback Period

Choose whether AI Incident Assistant will evaluate context from the start of the incident or only since the last action occurred.

Select From Incident Start to always analyze the full context from incident creation to now. 

Select From Last Execution to only analyze the new context available since the last action occurred. 

Skip when no meaningful updates

This option only appears if you selected One-Time, Recurring, or On Resolution as the Schedule Type.

When this option is enabled, actions will not be posted if nothing substantiative has happened in the context sources since the last action. A record of the action will still be logged in the timeline.

Output Destinations

Choose where the content generated by AI Incident Assistant will be posted. 

In the Post to all output destinations field, toggle on to send the content to all configured output destinations. 

Toggle off and the Select Specific Destinations field will appear, where you can choose a communication entity.

Execution

In the Execution section, choose what type of execution you'd like to take place when this action occurs. 

You can choose from the follow exection types:

  • Prompt - Generate content from a freeform prompt instruction. This option does not use action plans.

    In the Prompt Instruction field, describe in natural language what content AI Incident Assistant should generate for this action. 

  • Action Plan - Run an existing action plan and post the results. 

    Select an Action Plan from the drop-down menu, and optionally enter Action Instructions to help AI Incident Assistant learn how to effectively execute the action.

  • Alpha Agent - Begin an autonomous multi-step investigation and execution. This option can use multiple action plans as well as the instructions in the prompt itself. 

    In the Alpha Agent Instructions field, describe in natural language the steps that the alpha agent should perform. The agent will determine what tools or action plans to use for each step. 

    Example:

    1. Check monitoring in Datadog for affected services 

    2. Look up related incidents in BigPanda 

    3. Check ServiceNow for recent changes to impacted systems 

    4. Summarize findings and recommend next steps 

Approval Settings

Choose whether you would like to require approval prior to posting the AI-generated content. 

Click the Require Human Approval box to require a review of the draft before posting. 

If this option is selected, the user who starts the major incident will receive a direct message from AI Incident Assistant requesting approval prior to posting actions.

Click Create Action to save the action.

You can edit or delete any existing action. In the actions timeline, click the Pencil icon to edit an action, or the Trash Can icon to delete it.

In this section: