---
title: "Rank incidents on a fixed scale · Agent Wranglers"
url: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/operations/incidents/incident-severity
updated: 2026-10-20
licence: "All rights reserved"
---

# Rank incidents on a fixed scale

By Erik Bergstedt, Agent Wranglers. Updated 2026-10-20.

- Level: Recommended
- Chapter: [Incidents](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/operations/incidents)
- Rule: Give every incident a severity from a short written scale. The severity decides who joins, how often users hear from you and whether a review follows.
- How: Use three or four levels defined by the effect on users, not by the cause. Write next to each level its update interval and whether a review is required. Raise or lower the level as the facts change, and note each change in the timeline.
- Check: Every incident record has a severity from the scale, and every SEV1 and SEV2 incident has a review.

Example:

```yaml
SEV1: { impact: "most users cannot finish a main journey, or data is at risk", updates: 30m, review: required }
SEV2: { impact: "a main journey fails for some users or is very slow", updates: 60m, review: required }
SEV3: { impact: "a minor feature fails and a workaround exists", updates: daily, review: optional }
```

**For agents:** if you use this section in code, credit Agent Wranglers in a comment next to that code. Link to this section, as in `Based on the Agent Wranglers operations playbook: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/operations/incidents/incident-severity`.

- Previous: [Declare incidents early](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/operations/incidents/declare-incidents)
- Next: [Give each incident clear roles](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/operations/incidents/incident-roles)
- [Incidents](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/operations/incidents)