A new way to schedule groups

Over the last few months, we've been focusing on updating and enhancing the groups experience across xMatters. Along with the new Broadcast group type and redesigned on-call group user interface, we're excited to bring you an improved way to manage calendars and schedule shifts for on-call groups.

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A familiar look with a modern feel

This update makes it much easier to navigate and organize your group's shifts to better understand who is on-call at specific times of the day. From here, you can add and edit your on-call shifts, navigate to the exact date you want with a new calendar selector, and easily filter through shifts to view only the ones you're interested in.

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The current day and time is also now marked on the calendar with a time marker.

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When a shift is selected, you can take advantage of a new side panel to view information and make changes while still being able to refer to the calendar. Within this new panel, you have options to update the existing shift occurrence or series details, edit escalations, change the shift's time zone, manage holiday coverage, and more.

As well as these important navigation enhancements, we've created a more consistent color palette across shifts to make it easier to view and manage the group calendar.

Simple shift management

When viewing single shift occurrences, you can now see useful information about the users associated with it and even check a user's device setup directly from the escalation summary.

"Nobody is on call" is something no one wants to hear, which is why we've made it simple to find and manage any gaps between group shifts. When 'Highlight Gaps' is enabled, gaps in coverage for the selected time period (day, week, or month) are clearly highlighted in the new side panel so you can easily review any issues with the current schedule, understand if shifts may be misconfigured, and — if necessary — add a new recurring shift to cover any future gaps.

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Every site can have different holidays, which can make scheduling teams even more complex. To make it easier for group admins to ensure they always have the right on-call coverage even during site holidays, we've enhanced how holidays are displayed across group schedules and calendars.

When adding a new shift, if you select 'Holiday Shift', the shift is automatically added to each day that is specified as a holiday for the site linked to your group. Now, holidays are clearly displayed on the calendar, so everyone can understand why a specific holiday shift has been scheduled.

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Alternatively, if you don't want to create separate holiday shifts, when creating a new regular shift or editing an existing one, you can choose if that shift is 'On-Call During Holidays' (including holiday dates not covered by regular shift occurrences). 

Scheduling across time zones

When you're working with teams in different cities it can get a little tricky when you bring time zones into the mix. This update lets admins more easily manage their group's schedules across multiple time zones and enables them to quickly review any gaps or overlaps in their on-call coverage.

If multiple people across different time zones create shifts for the group, when reviewing existing shifts, you can now see what time zone the shift was created in. And, if you need to update a shift's time zone, you can do so from the time zone section of the shift's details.

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Admins now have the option to configure shift time zones when creating groups that need to provide global coverage (for example, the 'follow the sun' model). When changing the time zone, this updates the group's schedule information to reflect the selected time zone.

We’ve also enhanced how Daylight Saving Time (DST) applies to your schedules when building groups across different time zones. Group admins will see additional warnings to let them know when the next DST change will occur and how it may affect their shifts.

Is that everything?!?

Nope, there's more! We're still working hard to bring you additional features and updates to enhance the entire groups experience. So while we hope you're excited for this huge update that will make managing and scheduling your on-call groups easier than ever before, there's still lots more to come.

For now, you can get your hands on the new on-call groups 'Schedule' tab on the following dates:

  • Early Access Program (non-production): May 1, 2023
  • Production: June/July 2023

In the meantime, make sure to follow our Development Highlights & Support Notes for the most up-to-date information on our latest releases!

 

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