In today's workplace, communication tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams are essential for staying connected at work. However, as orchestration and automation needs increase, so does the volume of notifications flooding these channels. What’s meant to streamline work can quickly become overwhelming. We call it "ChatOps fatigue" - when teams get so many alerts, they start tuning them out.
The alert overload problem
When every system, tool, and workflow sends notifications to your chat platforms, important messages can get buried in the noise. Team members start ignoring alerts altogether, defeating their purpose and potentially missing critical information.
We asked our internal teams for their recommendations on how to reduce ChatOps fatigue and alert overload. Tackling the alert problem is step one. Tines Engineering Manager Tom Abernathy shared his thoughts on what an alert should look like: “Alerts should be three things: urgent, actionable, and targeted. Anything else is just noise."
What makes a good alert?
Before implementing any automation process that sends messages to your team's chat platforms, consider these criteria:
1. Is it urgent or time-constrained?
Alerts should notify people about issues requiring immediate attention or have a specific deadline. If the information can wait, it shouldn't be an alert.
2. Is it actionable?
Every alert should have a clear next step. Team members should know exactly what to do when they receive the notification.
3. Is it targeted?
Alerts should only reach the people who need to see them. Broadcasting to entire channels when only specific individuals need to take action creates unnecessary noise and ultimately undermines your goals.
🪄Tip
It’s good to remember that not everything needs to trigger a notification, like the example "User X viewed their HelpDesk ticket." This information lacks urgency and doesn't require immediate action. Such updates are better suited for dashboards or reports that team members can check on their own time.
Building a better ChatOps framework
Matt Muller, Tines Field CISO, recommends implementing a ChatOps framework with these best practices in mind:
Respect work hours and time zones
Weekend pings often get ignored, and notifications sent at 3 AM local time will likely be cleared without action when the recipient wakes up. Schedule your automated communications thoughtfully.
Stagger reminder pings
If you send multiple reminders simultaneously, people will likely only pay attention to the most recent one. Space them out for better effectiveness.
Make different use cases visually distinct
Use emojis, formatting (bold/italics), and other visual cues to differentiate between types of notifications. When every alert looks identical, people may assume they've already addressed it.
Include one-click actions
Whenever possible, include buttons or links that allow recipients to take action directly from the notification. Don't make them hunt for the right system or page.
Provide off-ramps
Include options for recipients to indicate if an alert seems incorrect or if they've already addressed the issue. This feedback can help improve your automation logic.
Tom adds one more of his own to Matt’s list: move non-urgent information to dashboards. "Many people worry that their metrics/telemetry can't live anywhere other than Slack or Teams, but a much more sustainable approach is building dashboards that people can check on their own time. That way,” Tom adds, “creating a new metric doesn't mean more notifications – it just means a new panel on a dashboard."
Implementing these practices in your organization
Regardless of your tech stack, you can implement these best practices to reduce alert fatigue:
1. Audit your current notifications: Review and evaluate all automated messages against the urgent/actionable/targeted criteria.
2. Create a communication framework: Establish clear guidelines for what constitutes an alert versus what belongs in a dashboard or report.
3. Use visual differentiation: Implement a consistent system of visual cues to help recipients quickly identify the type and urgency of notifications.
4. Add interactive elements: Where possible, include buttons that allow recipients to take action directly from the notification.
5. Collect feedback: Regularly ask your team about notification effectiveness and adjust accordingly.
Conclusion
Orchestration and automation should reduce workload, not create more noise. By implementing thoughtful ChatOps practices, you can ensure your team receives only the alerts that truly matter, allowing them to focus on their most important work.
Remember: The goal isn't to eliminate notifications but to make each count. When every alert is urgent, actionable, and targeted, your team will be more responsive and effective – and feel a lot less fatigued.
Ready to implement better notification practices in your organization? Start by auditing your current alerts and creating a framework that suits your team's needs.
You can also check out these stories from our Library on orchestrating and automating your communication channels: