Example Training Materials for Escalation

1. Introduction to Escalation Training

Objective: This training material is designed to help team members understand escalation triggers, procedures, and their responsibilities during incident management. By the end of this training, team members will be able to recognize when to escalate an issue, how to do so effectively, and understand their roles in the escalation process.

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2. Overview of Escalation

• What is Escalation?
  • Escalation is the process of raising an issue to a higher level of expertise or authority when initial attempts to resolve it have been unsuccessful or when specific conditions are met.
• Why is Escalation Important?
  • Ensures timely resolution of critical issues
  • Minimizes impact on operations
  • Involves the right level of expertise and resources for problem-solving

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3. Escalation Triggers

Key Triggers for Escalation:

1. Severity of Impact:
   • Critical systems down or safety concerns
   • Major business functions disrupted
2. Time Thresholds:
   • Issue unresolved after a designated time frame
   • Example: An incident unresolved for 15 minutes may need to be escalated to Level 2
3. Lack of Resolution:
   • Recurring issues despite previous troubleshooting
   • Initial troubleshooting steps prove ineffective

Exercise: Review a list of sample incidents and identify which ones require escalation based on severity, time, and lack of resolution.

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4. Escalation Procedures

Step-by-Step Escalation Guide:

1. Recognize the Need for Escalation:
   • Assess the situation against escalation triggers.
2. Document the Issue:
   • Collect information, such as error messages, actions taken, impact assessment, and relevant metrics.
3. Notify the Appropriate Contact:
   • Use the designated communication channels (Slack, PagerDuty, email, etc.).
   • Provide a clear and concise status update.
4. Track and Document Actions:
   • Record the escalation in the incident management system.
   • Keep logs of who was notified and any updates received.

Role-Playing Scenario: Divide participants into groups and assign them a mock incident. Each group must determine if escalation is required and demonstrate the escalation procedure.

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5. Roles and Responsibilities

Incident Responder:

• Recognize triggers and initiate escalation
• Document all relevant information
• Provide updates to higher-level support teams

Operations Manager:

• Define and maintain escalation paths
• Assign ownership and ensure documentation is current

Subject Matter Expert (SME):

• Take over escalated incidents and work toward resolution
• Communicate findings and next steps to responders

Activity: Discuss case studies where effective escalation saved critical systems from downtime. Participants should outline how each role contributed to the resolution.

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6. Communication Channels and Contact Information

• Level 1 Support: On-call responders, reachable via Slack or PagerDuty
• Level 2 Support: SMEs, available on Microsoft Teams or direct phone
• Level 3 Support: Senior leadership, contacted through emergency communication lines

Hands-On Practice: Set up communication preferences in collaboration tools and simulate sending an escalation alert.

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7. Automation and Tools

• AWS Tools Overview:
  • AWS Systems Manager Incident Manager: Automates incident handling and escalations.
  • Amazon SNS: Configures automatic notifications for certain metrics.
  • AWS Lambda: Demonstrates how automated tasks can trigger escalation procedures.

Interactive Session: Walk through an example of setting up an automated escalation using Amazon SNS. Discuss when and how to rely on automation to improve efficiency.

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8. Post-Incident Review

• Importance of Documentation:
  • Helps improve future incident responses
  • Provides a knowledge base for common issues
• Debrief Process:
  • What worked well during the escalation?
  • What could have been improved?

Group Activity: Conduct a mock post-incident review where participants analyze an incident, discuss escalation actions taken, and suggest improvements.

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9. Quiz and Knowledge Check

1. Quiz Questions:
   • What are the three main triggers for escalation?
   • How do you document an incident before escalating?
   • Who do you notify when escalating to Level 2?
2. Practical Assessment:
   • Participants are given a scenario and must follow the complete escalation process, from recognizing the issue to notifying the appropriate contact.

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10. Continuous Learning and Practice

• Ongoing Training: Schedule regular practice drills to keep skills sharp.
• Resources: Access to updated runbooks, case studies, and tool documentation.