Common Workflows

Common Workflows

Learn common patterns for using the Overwatch Chrome Extension effectively.

Alert Response Workflow

Scenario: Production alert triggered in monitoring platform

1. Alert Detection

   • Monitoring platform triggers alert
   • Navigate to alert details page
   • Extension automatically detects context

2. Review Context

   • Click extension icon to review extracted data
   • Verify affected services and metrics
   • Check severity and impact scope

3. Create Incident

   • Click “Create Incident” in overlay
   • Review pre-populated incident details
   • Add any additional context
   • Submit incident creation

4. Get AI Guidance

   • Review suggested procedures
   • Check similar past incidents
   • Select most relevant solution

5. Execute Resolution

   • Follow turn-by-turn guidance
   • Monitor progress in real-time
   • Document resolution steps

6. Verify Fix

   • Confirm metrics return to normal
   • Mark incident as resolved
   • Capture learnings for team

On-Demand Problem Reporting

Scenario: Investigating issue without formal alert

1. Identify Problem

   • Notice anomaly in dashboard
   • Observe performance degradation
   • Detect error patterns in logs

2. Report Problem

   • Press Ctrl+Shift+R or click extension icon
   • Select “Report Problem”
   • Describe issue in detail (minimum 50 chars)

3. Provide Context

   • Extension auto-extracts dashboard context
   • Add manual details about observations
   • Select problem type and urgency

4. Get Solutions

   • AI analyzes problem and context
   • Solutions ranked by confidence
   • Turn-by-turn guidance displayed

5. Follow Guidance

   • Execute suggested troubleshooting steps
   • Monitor results after each step
   • Report success or failure

6. Document Outcome

   • Mark solution as successful/unsuccessful
   • Add notes about what worked
   • Solution captured for future use

Performance Investigation

Scenario: Investigating performance degradation

1. Detect Degradation

   • Review performance dashboards
   • Identify affected metrics
   • Note time range of issue

2. Capture Baseline

   • Document normal performance metrics
   • Note current degraded metrics
   • Calculate deviation percentage

3. Report with Context

   • Use on-demand reporting feature
   • Describe performance issue with metrics
   • Include baseline vs current comparison

4. Analyze Patterns

   • AI identifies potential root causes
   • Review suggested diagnostic procedures
   • Check for recent changes

5. Execute Diagnostics

   • Follow diagnostic procedures
   • Collect additional metrics
   • Narrow down root cause

6. Apply Fix

   • Implement recommended solution
   • Monitor performance recovery
   • Verify return to baseline

Multi-Platform Correlation

Scenario: Issue affecting multiple monitoring platforms

1. Initial Detection

   • Alert in primary monitoring platform
   • Check other platforms for correlation

2. Gather Context from Each Platform

   • Use extension on each platform
   • Extract context from Datadog, New Relic, etc.
   • Note timing and correlation

3. Create Unified Incident

   • Create single incident with primary platform
   • Add context from other platforms manually
   • Document cross-platform correlation

4. Coordinated Investigation

   • AI analyzes multi-platform context
   • Identifies service dependencies
   • Suggests investigation order

5. Execute Coordinated Fix

   • Follow service-specific procedures
   • Monitor all platforms during fix
   • Verify resolution across platforms

6. Document Cascade

   • Capture how issue propagated
   • Document resolution sequence
   • Share learnings with team

Error Tracking Workflow

Scenario: Investigating application errors

1. Error Detection

   • Error appears in monitoring platform
   • Review error message and stack trace
   • Check error frequency and affected users

2. Extract Error Context

   • Use extension to capture error details
   • Include stack trace and error message
   • Note affected services and endpoints

3. Report or Create Incident

   • Use on-demand reporting for investigation
   • Or create formal incident if critical
   • Include full error context

4. Analyze Root Cause

   • AI analyzes error patterns
   • Suggests potential code issues
   • Links to similar past errors

5. Fix and Deploy

   • Follow suggested code fixes
   • Test fix in staging
   • Deploy to production

6. Monitor Resolution

   • Verify error frequency decreases
   • Check affected user metrics
   • Confirm fix is effective

Keyboard Shortcuts

Speed Up Your Workflow:

Action	Windows/Linux	macOS
Toggle Overlay	Ctrl+Shift+O	Cmd+Shift+O
Report Problem	Ctrl+Shift+R	Cmd+Shift+R
Create Incident	Ctrl+Shift+I	Cmd+Shift+I
Search Procedures	Ctrl+Shift+P	Cmd+Shift+P
Capture Screenshot	Ctrl+Shift+S	Cmd+Shift+S
Copy Context	Ctrl+Shift+C	Cmd+Shift+C

Best Practices

For Alert Response

1. React Quickly: Extension speeds up context gathering
2. Trust Auto-Extraction: Verify but don’t re-type extracted data
3. Add Human Context: Supplement automated extraction with observations
4. Follow Procedures: Don’t skip steps to save time
5. Document Outcomes: Help improve future recommendations

For Problem Reporting

1. Be Specific: Detailed descriptions get better solutions
2. Include Metrics: Numbers and values help AI analysis
3. Note What You Tried: Helps eliminate ineffective solutions
4. Select Correct Type: Accurate problem categorization improves results
5. Report Outcomes: Successful resolutions help everyone

For Investigation

1. Start with Context: Gather all available data first
2. Use Extension Throughout: Capture context at each step
3. Document as You Go: Don’t wait until end to document
4. Share Learnings: Update procedures with new discoveries
5. Close the Loop: Always report final outcome

Next Steps

• Platform Guides → - Platform-specific workflows
• On-Demand Reporting → - Detailed reporting guide
• Troubleshooting → - Resolve workflow issues
• Configuration → - Optimize settings

Need Help?

For workflow questions, contact support@overwatch-observability.com.

---

Related Documentation:

• Installation - Extension setup
• User Guide - Platform usage
• Integrations - Monitoring platforms