Most software engineers know that they are typically tasked with on-call shifts, but new software engineers entering the field may be asking themselves – What do I even do if I get scheduled for an on-call shift? This is a common question that often doesn’t get answered until that first on-call shift, and unfortunately that can be overwhelming for a young professional who is nervous about their first on-call shift, let alone their first incident.

Whenever you're providing a service to businesses or individuals that they rely on, it's important to make sure that it's up and running as much as possible without disruptions. But the reality is that, despite your best efforts, downtime does happen. Regardless of when incidents strike, whether it’s 2 PM in the middle of the working day or 2 AM, it's important to have people available to diagnose and resolve issues as soon as possible.

In today's fast-paced digital landscape, incident management is crucial for maintaining operational excellence. During this process, on-call management models play a critical role in promptly addressing and resolving incidents. On-call management involves the organization of teams to ensure prompt response and resolution of incidents and is necessary to streamline incident resolution, ensure 24/7 availability, and allow for fair and transparent on-call rotations.

A family member’s birthday, that concert you’ve waited all year to see, an impromptu weekend getaway with friends — there are a lot of reasons software engineers might want to switch on-call shifts. And rather than have to frantically send Slack messages to your teammates, wouldn’t it be nice to automate the process and quickly find the coverage you need?