How to set-up an high priority incident

When raising an incident, always explain how the issue affects the business, not just what is technically broken.

Ask yourself:

• What business processes are impacted?

• Which customers, teams, or jurisdictions are affected?

• Is a regulatory, compliance, or filing obligation at risk?

Best practice

Describe the impact in plain business terms, for example:

• Clients are unable to submit Pillar Two filings

• Filing deadlines are at risk

• Client-facing teams are blocked from delivering services

Avoid vague statements such as:

• “System not working”

• “Major issue”

• “Urgent problem”

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2. Quantify the Business Impact

Wherever possible, quantify the impact. This helps incident managers quickly understand the scale and seriousness of the issue.

Examples of useful quantification:

• Number of affected clients or users

• Number of countries or entities impacted

• Regulatory deadlines at risk (including dates)

• Financial exposure (e.g. penalties, revenue at risk)

• Operational disruption (e.g. teams blocked for X hours)

Example

Instead of:

“Clients cannot complete filings”

Use:

“15 enterprise clients are unable to generate Pillar Two filing outputs, putting EU filing deadlines at risk within the next 5 business days.”

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3. State the Urgency Explicitly

Urgency explains how quickly the issue must be resolved.

When defining urgency, clarify:

• Is there a fixed deadline?

• Is the impact increasing over time?

• Will delays result in regulatory, contractual, or reputational risk?

Example

“This issue must be resolved within 24 hours to avoid missed regulatory filing deadlines.”

Being explicit avoids assumptions and speeds up prioritisation.

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4. Add a Business Emergency Contact

Every high-priority incident must include a business contact who can:

• Confirm business impact

• Answer follow-up questions quickly

• Make time-sensitive decisions if needed

Include:

• Name

• Role

• Team

• Best contact method (phone / Slack / email)

This ensures the incident response team can validate urgency and avoid delays caused by missing context.

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5. Why This Matters

Providing clear business impact, urgency, and a business contact:

• Enables faster and more accurate prioritisation

• Reduces back-and-forth clarification

• Ensures critical incidents receive appropriate attention

• Protects clients, compliance obligations, and revenue

Well-documented incidents lead to faster resolution and better outcomes for everyone.

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