Documentation Grafana Cloud Alerts and IRM IRM Manage Notifications Notification rules

Configure notification rules

Notification rules in Grafana IRM determine how and when users receive alerts about incidents. These rules allow each team member to customize their notification preferences based on their role, availability, and preferred communication channels.

Notification format

To provide clearer context, notifications for on-call shifts now include the rotation name alongside the layer information. This helps teams quickly identify which rotation triggered an alert, especially when multiple rotations share the same layer level (e.g., L1).

The enhanced notification format is: [L<layer_number>] <rotation_name> <username>

For example, a notification for the “Trading Platform Primary” rotation would appear as: [L1] Trading Platform Primary john.trader

If a rotation name is not available, the notification gracefully falls back to the previous format: [L1] john.trader

Override shifts are not affected and will continue to appear as: <user_handle>

This feature improves clarity and helps reduce incident response times by providing immediate context.

Types of notification rules

There are two types of notification rules:

1. Default notification rules: These rules specify how a user is notified for standard escalation events
2. Important notification rules: These rules are triggered when an escalation event is marked as “important,” bypassing the default notification settings

Configure default notification rules

To set up or modify your default notification rules in Grafana IRM:

1. In Grafana Cloud, navigate to the IRM tab of your Profile
2. Click Notification rules and locate the Default notification rules section
3. Click Add notification step to create a new step in your rules
4. Select the action in the first dropdown menu: Notify by or Wait
5. Then select the notification method or timeframe from the second dropdown menu (e.g., Slack, push, SMS)
6. Configure the timing for this notification step (immediately, after 5 minutes, etc.)
7. Add additional notification steps as needed
8. Drag and drop notifications step to arrange them in the order you want notifications to be sent
9. Click Save to apply your changes

Example default notification sequence

Default notification rules can include multiple steps that create an escalation pattern. For example:

1. First notification: Slack message (immediate) - [L1] Trading Platform Primary @john.trader
2. Second notification: Push (after 5 minutes)
3. Third notification: SMS (after 15 minutes)
4. Fourth notification: Phone call (after 30 minutes)

This approach ensures that if you miss a notification through one channel, you’ll receive it through another channel after a designated waiting period.

Important notification rules

Important notification rules are designed for critical alerts or incidents that require immediate attention. When an escalation step is marked as “important,” it bypasses the default notification rules and follows these steps instead.

When to use important notification rules

Important notification rules are best for:

• Escalation steps specifically marked as “important” in escalation chains
• High-severity incidents requiring immediate attention
• Critical system alerts
• Escalations that have reached a critical threshold

Configure important notification rules

To set up or modify your important notification rules in Grafana IRM:

1. In Grafana Cloud, navigate to the IRM tab of your Profile
2. Click Notification rules and locate the Important notification rules section
3. Click Add notification step to create a new step in your rules
4. Select the notification method from the dropdown menu (e.g., phone call, SMS, mobile app)
5. Configure the timing for this notification step (typically immediate or short intervals)
6. Add additional notification steps as needed, arranging them in the order you want notifications to be sent
7. Click Save to apply your changes

Example important notification sequence

An effective important notification rule configuration might include:

1. First notification: Mobile app push important (immediate)
2. Second notification: SMS (after 1 minute)
3. Third notification: Phone call (after 5 minutes)

This aggressive notification pattern ensures that critical incidents receive immediate attention.

Best practices for notification rules

• Start with less intrusive methods for default rules (Slack, email) before more intrusive ones (SMS, phone)
• Use direct and immediate methods for important rules (mobile app, phone calls, SMS)
• Keep notification steps simple and logical to ensure reliable delivery
• Test your rules regularly to ensure they work as expected

Related configurations

Notification rules work in conjunction with:

• Notification channels: Configure the methods used to deliver notifications
• On-call schedules: Manage on-call rotations for incident response