2 min lesson
Tie SLAs to severity, not to a flat clock
Use the lesson to respond to this. "A hiring manager asks, 'How would you know whether Cursor's quality is actually improving over time?' Sketch your answer." Keep the answer plain.
Step 1 of 2
Tie SLAs to severity, not to a flat clockthe worst issues get the fastest clocks
A flat "respond within 24h" SLA gives a cosmetic typo the same clock as a data-loss bug. Anchor each SLA to the severity tier so urgency and the rubric stay aligned.
- Severity
- S0: Critical
- First response
- Minutes, page on call
- Resolution / mitigation target
- Mitigate same day; rollback if it's a regression
- Severity
- S1: Major
- First response
- Within hours
- Resolution / mitigation target
- Fix or solid workaround within days
- Severity
- S2: Degraded
- First response
- Within a day
- Resolution / mitigation target
- Scheduled into the backlog by priority score
- Severity
- S3: Cosmetic
- First response
- Acknowledged
- Resolution / mitigation target
- Batched; no individual clock
| Severity | First response | Resolution / mitigation target |
|---|---|---|
| S0: Critical | Minutes, page on call | Mitigate same day; rollback if it's a regression |
| S1: Major | Within hours | Fix or solid workaround within days |
| S2: Degraded | Within a day | Scheduled into the backlog by priority score |
| S3: Cosmetic | Acknowledged | Batched; no individual clock |
Illustrative targets. SLAs inherit the severity tier so the rubric drives the calendar.
Report trends, not snapshots. "We have 312 open bugs" is noise; leadership can't act on a single number. "Top theme is down 40% over three weeks, but regressions per release ticked up" is a decision. A snapshot flatters or panics; a trend tells you whether the program is working.
"I'd track two layers. Operational metrics are first response, resolution, escalation and reopen, and they tell me the machine works. Quality metrics are top themes by volume and ARR, regressions per release and repeat contact, and they tell me the product is improving. SLAs hang off severity tiers, and I report trends so we can see whether quality is moving. A theme spike is my leading indicator: it warns me of a wave before resolution time slips."
Learn more
Optional practice
Test yourself on Tie SLAs to severity, not to a flat clock
QYour team proposes one SLA for every incoming issue: first response within 24 hours. What is the main problem with that?