Hey there, folks! March 5th marked a major milestone for us at incident.io as we unveiled our on-call product to the world. After nine months of hard work, from listening to our customers to coding, testing, and refining, we were thrilled to present our biggest product launch yet.
The release of On-call symbolized a significant step forward in our company’s journey. It brought about changes in our core principles and pushed us to adapt from our usual fast-paced release culture to a period of complete silence as we built something complex and groundbreaking.
The challenge
The launch of On-call brought about several changes in how we operate. Meeting our alert availability commitments required us to maintain our pace while upholding even higher standards of reliability.
Handling the high demand for On-call while ensuring top-notch customer support for all our users compelled us to elevate our support and product response processes.
Adapting our culture
Delivering magic for our customers is at the core of our work ethic. While last year we rolled out a changelog every single week to keep everyone updated on fixes and features, On-call demanded a different approach. We kept it under wraps during development to make a big splash at launch, all while safeguarding our work from competitors.
Building in secrecy meant relying on internal feedback loops. We started using the product early on, shared it with our team, and streamlined adoption and feedback processes. Keeping the entire company informed and engaged helped us gather valuable feedback and celebrate each milestone.
Design partners and the beta launch
We are fortunate to have passionate customers who deeply care about our products. With a group of dedicated design partners, we held regular catch-ups to gather feedback and refine the product.
Our product engineers worked closely with customers, ensuring that their input directly influenced our decisions. This collaborative effort with our users has been instrumental in shaping our product and enhancing the customer experience.
De-risking by launching in stages
Prior to the On-call launch, we introduced our Alerts product to existing customers. This allowed us to deliver early value and mitigate risks associated with the full On-call launch. While it required us to balance product support with development, it prepared us for the eventual release.
Shifting focus after the launch
Following a successful launch, our focus shifted to accommodating customer requests, implementing new features, and addressing feedback. Engaging with customers and incorporating their opinions is where we thrive, and we welcome the opportunity to enhance our product based on their feedback.
Reflections
The journey to launching On-call tested our team’s adaptability, resilience, and dedication to excellence. With the product now in the hands of many organizations, we are excited to continue refining and expanding our offerings, always keeping our customers at the forefront of everything we do.
We appreciate your support on this journey with us. Seeing On-call making a difference for so many organizations makes all the hard work and late nights worth it.
