On-call shifts pose significant challenges for engineers. When system issues occur, it is typically the on-call engineer’s responsibility to diagnose and remedy the problem rapidly. This often involves poring over various data logs, a process that can be both time-consuming and mentally taxing, particularly outside of regular working hours.
A range of tools currently exist to aid in incident management. Observability tools and incident management platforms can assist by keeping an eye on systems and flagging any detected issues to engineers. However, these tools offer mostly raw data and typically require human intervention to analyze and interpret, which can add to the stress and time pressures experienced by engineers.
Merlinn is a recently-released, open-source, AI-backed assistant created specifically to support engineers during on-call shifts. Merlinn has the ability to autonomously monitor alerts and incidents, examine them in detail, and provide timely and useful insights. Importantly, Merlinn can be smoothly integrated with a variety of already popular tools like Datadog, PagerDuty, GitHub, and Slack, enabling it to pull in information from different sources to form an extensive, holistic analysis of an issue.
Key features of Merlinn include automatic root cause analysis (RCA), combination with various tools, and a user-friendly experience. When an alert is triggered, Merlinn investigates the incident and carefully scrutinises logs and data, then presents its findings to the engineer. This significantly speeds up root cause identification and cuts down the time needed to resolve issues. Integration with Slack enables engineers to interact directly with Merlinn, asking any further questions and receiving on-the-spot advice on how to best manage incidents.
Merlinn’s effectiveness is reflected in its ability to lighten the workload of engineers by reducing the time they spend identifying and resolving issues. By automating RCA and offering actionable insights, Merlinn allows engineers to use their time more effectively, namely on resolving problems rather than on analysing data. This ultimately optimises incident management efficiency and alleviates stress and workload pressures for engineers navigating on-call shifts.
In conclusion, Merlinn presents a practical and efficient solution for on-call incident management. It uses artificial intelligence to automate the investigation process while delivering real-time insights, thereby enabling engineers to respond to and resolve issues faster and more effectively. The smooth incorporation of Merlinn into existing workflows should lead to smoother and less stressful on-call shifts, while ensuring that systems remain up and running, minimizing downtime.
