When to Use: System down, data loss, security breach, payment processing broken, time-critical payroll issues. Do NOT use for issues with workarounds or single-client non-critical issues.
Phase 1: Detection & Escalation (0-1 hour)
1. Bug Reported
Via support, monitoring, or client. Support team logs P0 ticket immediately.
2. Initial Assessment (within 30 min)
Tech Lead validates severity, confirms P0 classification, identifies affected clients.
3. Team Mobilization (within 1 hour)
- Developer assigned (most experienced with affected module)
- QA engineer assigned for testing
- DevOps on standby for deployment
- Communication coordinator for client updates
P0-PAYROLL War Room: For time-critical payroll bugs, immediately convene virtual war room (video call) with all key stakeholders.
Phase 2: Investigation & Fix (1-4 hours)
4. Root Cause Analysis
Review error logs, monitoring data, recent deployments. Reproduce issue in dev/staging.
5. Fix Development
- Create hotfix branch from production
- Implement minimal fix (smallest possible change)
- Add logging/monitoring if needed
- Test thoroughly in local environment
- Prepare rollback script if DB changes involved
6. Code Review (Expedited)
Create PR to production. Tag Tech Lead for urgent review. Focus on correctness and safety.
Phase 3: Testing (4-8 hours)
7. Staging Smoke Test (2-3 hours)
Deploy to staging. Developer smoke tests: specific bug, core related functionality, basic health.
8. UAT Critical Path Testing (2-4 hours)
Deploy to UAT. QA executes critical path test suite (NOT full regression):
- Verify bug is fixed
- Test critical user flows
- Check no regression in core functionality
9. Go/No-Go Decision
Tech Lead + QA Lead review test results. Assess risk of deploying vs. not deploying.
Phase 4: Production Deployment (8-10 hours)
10. Pre-Deployment
- Verify rollback plan ready
- Notify stakeholders (support, client success, management)
- Prepare release notes
11. Deployment Execution
- Backup database (if schema changes)
- Deploy hotfix to production
- Run migrations (if any)
- Verify deployment success
- Tag release (e.g., v2.5.3-hotfix-1)
12. Post-Deployment Monitoring (2 hours minimum)
- Monitor error logs in real-time
- Check application performance
- Verify bug is fixed in production
- Team remains on standby for rollback
Phase 5: Post-Mortem (within 48 hours)
13. Back-Merge Hotfix
Merge production → UAT → staging → develop. Resolve conflicts. Delete hotfix branch.
14. RCA Meeting
Schedule within 24-48 hours. Document root cause, why not caught earlier, preventive measures.
15. Client Communication
Send status update, incident report (if requested), explain preventive measures.
See Root Cause Analysis process →
P0-PAYROLL Emergency Checklist
Use this immediately for time-critical payroll bugs with cutoff < 12 hours
CS / PC Support Team (0-15 min)
- Log P0-PAYROLL ticket with cutoff time clearly stated
- Post in #payroll-emergency Slack channel (dedicated channel for payroll emergencies)
- Also notify in #sequifi_support for visibility
- Call Tech Lead + QA Lead directly (do not wait for Slack response)
- Identify affected clients and cutoff times
- Gather reproduction steps and error details
Note: #payroll-emergency is a dedicated channel for time-critical payroll issues only. Regular bugs go through #sequifi_support.
Tech Lead (15-30 min)
- Validate P0-PAYROLL classification (confirm cutoff < 12 hours)
- Convene war room (video call)
- Assign most senior available developer
- Assign QA engineer for testing
- Alert DevOps for deployment readiness
- Communicate hourly update plan to affected clients
Developer (30 min - 2 hours)
- Reproduce bug immediately
- Develop minimal fix (smallest possible change)
- Test locally with multiple scenarios
- Create PR with detailed explanation
- Deploy to staging for smoke test
QA Engineer (2-4 hours)
- Test fix in staging (smoke test only: 30 min)
- Test in UAT (critical path only: 1-2 hours)
- Verify bug is fixed
- Test core payroll calculation flow
- Sign off or raise concerns immediately
Temporary vs Permanent Fix Strategy
For P0/P0-PAYROLL bugs, use temporary fix approach when appropriate to unblock clients fast.
When to Use Temporary Fix
- Client is blocked and needs immediate unblocking
- Proper fix requires significant investigation or refactoring
- Risk of regression if rushed permanent fix deployed
- Temporary workaround is safe and effective
Temporary Fix Examples
| Type |
Description |
| Bypass |
Skip problematic code path temporarily |
| Rollback |
Revert recent change causing issue |
| Configuration |
Change config to disable problematic feature |
| Workaround |
Alternative code path that works |
| Data fix |
Manual database update to unblock client |
After Temporary Fix: Create separate issue for permanent fix, link both issues, schedule in next standard release with full regression testing.