How to create an alert group
An alert group is the list of people to be notified — the on-call team, the operations team, a supplier. The group says who; the alert configuration says when the group is responsible.
Groups are what you should set up first, since an alert configuration can't assign groups that don't exist.
You need write access to create alert groups.
How to create an alert group
- Open the building you want to work on. See How to switch building and search for a building.
- Go to Incidents > Alert groups in the sidebar.
- Click Add group.
- Fill in Name. The name has to be unique — if it already exists, the message says A group with this name already exists.
- Add the members. See the section below.
- Click Create.
You get the confirmation Group created.
How to add members
- Click Add user.
- Choose the user in Select user.
- Choose a notification method: Notify by email, Notify by phone, or both. Choose neither and the message says Select notification method.
- Set the member's Priority.
- Click Save.
For each member you can use the user's registered contact details, or override them with a Notification email and Notification phone for this group.
Note: If you choose Notify by phone for a member with no phone number, the notification doesn't arrive. The number comes from the user's profile unless you override it here — see How to enter your phone number for SMS alerts.
What Priority does
Priority determines the order members are notified in when the alert configuration is set to Notify by priority: the highest priority first, then onwards down the list if nobody acknowledges. If the configuration is set to Notify all, everyone is notified at once and priority has no effect.
From an incident, whoever was notified can use Send to the next person to pass it along the order. If you're last, the message says You are the last person in the group.
How to pause a member
If somebody will be away for a period — holiday, illness — pause the member rather than removing them:
- Open the group.
- Click Pause member on their row.
- Set Pause until with the date they're back.
The member shows as Paused until {date} and isn't notified in the meantime. Use Activate to bring them back earlier.
How to share the group across several buildings
Tick Share group with other buildings owned by … The group then becomes available across that owner's whole portfolio, and shows as Shared in the list. Useful for an on-call team covering several buildings — you avoid maintaining the same list in several places.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to ongoing incidents when I change the member list?
Properate warns you before saving. The Changes will be applied dialog shows which alert configurations and incidents are affected, and tells you that notifications for new and existing incidents go to the updated list.
Can I delete a group that's in use?
Yes, but read the warning: Delete this group? It will be removed from related alert configurations. Configurations that lose their only group notify nobody afterwards.
Why isn't a member getting notifications?
Check in this order: is the member paused, do they have a notification method, do the contact details exist, and is the alert configuration set to Mute.
Tip!
Build groups around roles, not people — "Evening on-call" rather than "Kari and Per". When staffing changes you swap the members in the group, and every alert configuration pointing at it follows automatically.