PagerDuty Integration

Overview

PagerDuty integration enables StatusApp to create incidents in PagerDuty, automatically triggering on-call schedules and escalation policies. Perfect for teams that need sophisticated incident management and on-call coordination.

Setup

Prerequisites

PagerDuty account (Professional plan or higher)
StatusApp Professional plan or above

Configuration Steps

In PagerDuty, go to your Service
Navigate to Integrations tab
Click Add Integration
Select Events API V2
Give it a name (e.g., "StatusApp")
Copy the Integration Key
In StatusApp, go to Settings → Notification Channels
Click Create Channel
Select PagerDuty
Paste the Integration Key
Click Test to verify
Click Save

How It Works

Monitor Fails: StatusApp detects a problem
Incident Created: StatusApp automatically creates an incident in PagerDuty
On-Call Notified: PagerDuty notifies the on-call person based on your schedule
Escalation: If not acknowledged, PagerDuty escalates per your policy
Resolution: When monitor recovers, incident auto-resolves in PagerDuty

Incident Details

Each PagerDuty incident includes:

Monitor name and URL
Current status
Response time metrics
Duration of outage
Region where issue detected
Links back to StatusApp dashboard
Error messages and context

PagerDuty Features

Automatic Incident Creation

Incidents created immediately when monitor fails
Full context about the issue
Accessible to entire on-call team

Auto-Resolution

Incidents automatically resolve when monitor recovers
No manual cleanup needed
Complete incident timeline tracked
MTTR automatically calculated

Escalation Policies

Define escalation rules in PagerDuty
1st level: on-call primary
2nd level: on-call backup (after N minutes)
3rd level: manager (if still unacknowledged)
Custom policies per service

Mobile App Alerts

Push notifications to PagerDuty mobile app
Alerts even if phone asleep
One-touch acknowledgment
Resolve from app

Incident Analytics

Track MTTA (Mean Time To Acknowledge)
Track MTTR (Mean Time To Resolve)
Identify frequently escalated services
Measure team response effectiveness

On-Call Management

Setting Up On-Call Schedules

In PagerDuty:

Create On-Call Schedule
Add team members with availability
Set rotation frequency (weekly, daily, etc.)
Define timezone for schedule
Assign schedule to escalation policy

Escalation Policy

Create escalation rules:

Level 1 (0 min): Notify on-call primary
Level 2 (15 min): Escalate to backup if not acknowledged
Level 3 (30 min): Escalate to manager if still not acknowledged

Integrating with StatusApp

Create PagerDuty integration in StatusApp
Assign to critical/production monitors
When issue occurs, on-call is automatically notified
Incident resolved automatically when monitor recovers

Assigning to Monitors

Per-Monitor Assignment

Create or edit a monitor
Go to Notifications section
Select your PagerDuty channel
Can combine with Slack, email, etc.
Save the monitor

Recommended Setup

Tier 1 - Critical Production:

PagerDuty (immediate escalation)
Slack with @oncall mention (awareness)
SMS to primary on-call (backup alert)

Tier 2 - Standard Production:

Slack with team mention (no escalation)
Email to ops

Tier 3 - Development/Staging:

Email only

Best Practices

Configure Wisely

Assign PagerDuty only to truly critical monitors
Use appropriate escalation timelines (15-30 min between levels)
Don't create incidents for every alert (noisy services reduce effectiveness)
Use PagerDuty thresholds and confirmation checks

On-Call Rotation

Regular handoff before end of shift
Clear documentation about each service
Runbook links in incident description
Training for new on-call members

Incident Response

Acknowledge incidents quickly
Post updates in PagerDuty to keep team informed
Link related incidents
Resolve in PagerDuty when truly fixed

Review and Improve

Weekly: Review PagerDuty incidents
Monthly: Calculate MTTA and MTTR
Quarterly: Review escalation policies
Identify patterns in recurring incidents

Troubleshooting

Incidents Not Creating

Check Configuration:

Verify Integration Key is correct
Test the channel (button in channel settings)
Confirm PagerDuty service exists

Check Monitor:

Verify monitor has PagerDuty channel assigned
Confirm monitor is actually failing
Check alert confirmation thresholds

Check PagerDuty Service:

Ensure service hasn't been deleted
Confirm team has access to service
Try adding integration to different service

Incidents Not Resolving

Possible Causes:

Monitor still in failed state
Manual hold on incident in PagerDuty
Auto-resolution disabled

Solutions:

Verify monitor actually recovered
Check if incident manually held
Manually resolve in PagerDuty if needed

Not Receiving Notifications

Check PagerDuty:

Verify you're on-call in the schedule
Check notification rules are enabled
Confirm phone/email is correct
Test PagerDuty notifications directly

Check StatusApp:

Verify channel is assigned to monitor
Test StatusApp channel
Confirm monitor is in failed state

Integration with Other Channels

PagerDuty + other channels for complete coverage:

Slack + PagerDuty:

Slack notifies team for awareness
PagerDuty alerts on-call engineer
Slack thread for coordination

Email + PagerDuty:

Email for detailed records
PagerDuty for real-time escalation
Good for audit trail

SMS + PagerDuty:

PagerDuty primary alert
SMS as backup if PagerDuty app not available

Advanced Scenarios

Multiple On-Call Teams

Setup:

Create separate PagerDuty services per team
Create separate StatusApp channels per service
Assign monitors to appropriate channel
Each team has own on-call schedule

Service Dependencies

Scenario: One service depends on another

Solution:

Monitor both services
Same PagerDuty service for both
Escalation handles dependency automatically

After-Hours vs Business Hours