Tools can't buy you good MTTR.. but these 3 practices can

Context

It’s a scenario we’ve all witnessed: teams equipped with cutting-edge observability tools still struggling to catch issues before customers notice.

They’ve invested heavily in top-tier APM solutions, container and infrastructure monitoring, and log accessibility. Yet, their on-call engineers remain overwhelmed. Incidents happen more frequently than anyone would like, and the spotlight they find themselves in post-incident is never the kind they want.

For engineering teams, being called out for production issues is a tough pill to swallow. The key lies in post-incident action plans that lead to meaningful, systematic improvements.

While production incidents can’t be entirely eliminated, well-thought-out preventive measures can dramatically improve operational health.

Tools Are the Baseline—Not the Answer

While tools are essential, they primarily address infrastructure or service-level issues. However, most real-world incidents cascade across multiple stacks, often affecting features, products, or customer experiences—areas that are rarely solved by out-of-the-box tools.

To reduce MTTR, teams need processes that improve detection, diagnosis, and resolution speed.

Measures for reducing MTTR drastically:

Here are three processes that I have seen help teams in improving MTTR significantly:

1. Improving Actionability of Alerts (Faster Detection)

   • Trustworthy alerts are a cornerstone of effective incident management. Engineers need a single source of truth to detect issues early—before customers or business stakeholders notice.

   • Poorly configured alerts can destroy this trust, leading teams to rely on escalations from support or business teams instead. Monitoring alert quality is critical. For example, many companies using Doctor Droid track alert quality to ensure non-actionable alerts don’t erode confidence in their systems.

2. Instrumenting Custom Metrics

   • Custom metrics are invaluable for tracking operational health and catching issues tied to features and product breakages. Unlike generic service-level metrics, custom metrics provide leading indicators that can help teams spot potential failures before they escalate.

   • By focusing on metrics relevant to their features and customer experience, teams can gain clarity and react faster.

3. Faster Fixing Through Runbooks and Quick Links

   • Developer experience during on-call is often overlooked. Simple resources like runbooks or quick links for known issues can dramatically reduce the cognitive load on engineers.

   • For example, a link to a pre-built log query can save critical minutes during an incident. These tools empower teams to pinpoint issues faster, enabling quicker resolutions.

Conclusion:

No matter how much you spend on tools, improving MTTR requires engineering investment in processes that enhance detection, diagnosis, and resolution. Custom metrics, actionable alerts, and developer-friendly resources are what truly make the difference.

Engineering teams that focus on these practices find themselves more prepared, more resilient, and better positioned to handle the inevitable challenges of production.

Want to monitor your alerting quality and improve MTTR? Doctor Droid has helped 40+ companies take their incident management to the next level. Get started for free and improve your alerts today!