Problem It Solves

Organizations often rely on ad-hoc messages or emails to report incidents (outages, security alerts, production bugs), which leads to inconsistent data capture, slow response times, and missed notifications. Without a unified process, it’s easy for critical issues to slip through the cracks. By embedding a custom incident form that writes every entry into a central Table and spins up a Slack channel with automated alerts, you standardize response procedures. Every incident is logged, visible in real-time, and assigned to the right responders immediately.

Process Overview

1. A team member opens the “Report Incident” form in Zapier Interfaces and enters details (Incident Type, Severity, Description, Affected Systems).

2. Upon submission, Zapier writes the incident to an “Incidents” Table with a unique Incident ID, timestamp, and default status of “New.”

3. Zapier automatically creates a new Slack channel named “incident-[ID]” (for example, “incident-123”) and invites the on-call team.

4. Zapier posts an initial alert in that channel containing key incident details and links to the Table entry.

5. Team members triage and update the incident status in the Table (In Progress, Resolved), and Zapier posts status changes to the Slack channel.

6. Once the incident is marked “Resolved,” Zapier posts a final summary message, archives the Slack channel after a set period, and updates the Table.

Key Features & Capabilities

• Branded Incident Form
  Build a “Report Incident” form in Zapier Interfaces—collect structured details like Incident Type (Outage, Security, Bug), Severity (Critical, High, Medium, Low), Description, and Affected Systems—so every report is consistent.

• Centralized Table Logging
  Each submission writes to an “Incidents” Table, capturing all fields plus requester name, timestamp, and status. This becomes your single source of truth for all incidents.

• Automated Slack Channel Creation
  For every new incident, Zapier creates a dedicated Slack channel (e.g., “incident-456”) and adds the preconfigured on-call group, ensuring real-time collaboration without manual channel setup.

• Real-Time Alerts & Updates
  Zapier posts the initial incident details to the new Slack channel, and every status change in the Table (e.g., “In Progress,” “Resolved”) triggers a follow-up message so the team stays informed within Slack.

• Status Tracking & Audit Trail
  Use the “Status” column in the Table to move through stages (New, In Progress, Resolved). Each update is timestamped, and Zapier logs those updates to Slack, creating a clear audit trail.

• Channel Archiving
  Once an incident is closed, Zapier can automatically archive or rename the Slack channel after a defined period (for example, “incident-123-resolved”) so historical context remains available but the channel list stays uncluttered.

Typical Use Cases

• IT Operations Team
  When a server outage occurs, an engineer fills out the “Report Incident” form with “Outage” and “Critical.” Zapier logs it, spins up “incident-789” in Slack, and instantly notifies the on-call NOC engineers to start remediation. As they update status to “In Progress” and then “Resolved,” those changes post to Slack so stakeholders see real-time progress.

• DevOps & Security
  A security analyst discovers unauthorized access. They report it through the form (“Security,” “High”), Zapier creates “incident-342” channel, and alerts go to the security-ops team. They track all investigation updates in Slack and the “Incidents” Table, ensuring a clear post-mortem record once resolved.

Prerequisites & Client Responsibilities

• Slack Workspace Access
  Provide the Slack workspace and a bot or app token so Zapier can create channels, post messages, and invite users.

• On-Call Team Group
  Identify which Slack user group or channel (for example, @on-call) should be invited to every new incident channel.

• Form & Table Schema
  Confirm the fields you need on the incident form (Incident Type, Severity, Description, Affected Systems, Requester Name). Approve the “Incidents” Table schema with columns for Incident ID, all form fields, Status, and Timestamps.

• Status & SLA Definitions
  Define the status workflow (New, In Progress, Resolved) and any SLAs (for example, “Critical” incidents must move from New to In Progress within 15 minutes) so Zapier can send reminders if needed.

• Notification Channels
  Decide if you want additional alerts (email, PagerDuty, SMS) for certain severity levels or status changes, and provide the necessary credentials for those services.

• Team Permissions
  Identify who needs “Viewer” access (to see all incidents) vs “Editor” access (to update statuses or modify form fields) in Zapier.

Pricing

• One-Time Setup: $600
  (Design and publish the branded “Report Incident” form in Zapier Interfaces, configure the “Incidents” Table, build and test Slack channel creation and posting Zaps, and set up status update workflows.)

• Monthly Support: $120/month
  (Maintain form and Table integrations, adjust Slack channel naming conventions or on-call group settings, and troubleshoot any incident workflow issues.)