Cross-Region Incident Coordination

Multi-region incidents need cross-region coordination. The pattern that keeps regions in sync.

One IC

One incident commander runs a multi-region incident. Per-region leads execute locally; the IC owns the global picture and the cross-region decisions. Multiple ICs across regions produces conflict, not coverage.

• Single global IC. One named IC per incident, even when multiple regions are affected. The IC aggregates; regional leads execute.
• Per-region leads. Each affected region carries its own named lead. Reports up to the IC; runs the local response.
• IC bench. The IC pool is deep enough to cover handoffs across timezones. Long incidents need multiple ICs in sequence.
• Explicit handoff. Each IC handoff is documented with current state, open decisions, and active actions. Continuity survives the handoff.

One channel

One main channel keeps the global picture readable. Per-region sub-channels carry technical detail without flooding the main thread.

• Main incident channel. Global Slack channel for status updates and decisions only. No raw debugging here.
• Per-region sub-channels. Technical detail and debugging stays local to the region’s sub-channel.
• Decisions surface to main. Each cross-region decision posts in the main channel. The IC sees everything that matters globally.
• Per-channel scribe. Each channel has a named timeline owner. Postmortem reconstruction depends on the scribe’s notes.

Decisions

Decision authority splits along the region-versus-global line. Region-local actions stay with regional leads; cross-region actions belong to the IC. Mixing the two produces conflict during failover.

• Region-specific actions. Local restart, local config change, local traffic redirect. Region lead decides without IC sign-off.
• Cross-region actions. Failover, global traffic shift, global rollback. IC authority required.
• Documented owner per decision. Each decision names the decider. Escalation friction disappears when the authority is written down.
• Timestamped sign-off log. Each decision records the timestamp and decider. Postmortems reconstruct the sequence cleanly.