On-Call Optimizer is a SaaS application designed to work with any modern web browser. Off-line access is not supported.
For the best experience it is strongly recommended to integrate On-Call Optimizer with both an on-call product (e.g. PagerDuty) for each schedule and a calendar provider (e.g. Google) for each member
Authentication
All users are required to login via OIDC using one of the following identity providers. Username and password based login is not supported.
Google
Microsoft
Additional OIDC providers can be supported upon request.
Common Use-Cases
To begin experiencing the benefits of On-Call Optimizer start with one of these commonly used guides:
Ensure you have the necessary permissions in your on-call product to establish an API connection with On-Call Optimizer.
Intended results
Completing the steps in this guide will result in:
Creation of a new On-Call Optimizer schedule linked to your existing schedule.
Configuration of the new On-Call Optimizer schedule to begin assigning new shifts from a future date.
(optionally) Each member of the schedule will be invited to share their calendar(s) with On-Call Optimizer.
(optionally) Future assignments created by On-Call Optimizer will be exported back to your existing schedule.
If you do not opt-in to send invitations or export assignments linking an existing schedule to On-Call Optimizer will not affect the operation of your existing schedule in any way.
Begin
To get started, select Connect an On-Call Product below.
1.1 - Connect an On-Call Product
In this step we will establish a connection between On-Call Optimizer and the On-Call Product
you are currently using to manage the on-call schedule you have chosen to link with On-Call Optimizer.
3. Select your product and configure authentication
Click on the logo of the product you wish to connect to.
Enter your API Key in the provided field and click Continue
Screencast
Next Steps
Once you have configured an API key, On-Call Optimizer will begin the process of connecting to the chosen product and collecting details of the available schedules. This may take a couple of minutes during which you will see a loading spinner.
Click below to begin reading the next steps while the connection is created.
In this step you will select which of the schedules available in the On-Call Product
you connected to should be linked with On-Call Optimizer.
Use the drop-down arrow within each schedule to expand the list of members and see the shift times for the schedule inferred from the
existing configuration.
Create On-Call Optimizer Schedule
Once you have identified which of the listed schedules you wish to continue linking, click the Create On-Call Optimizer Schedule link (on the right of the box on desktop, or the bottom on mobile/tablet).
Next Steps
When you click the create link, a new draft schedule linked to the existing schedule from your On-Call Product will be created within On-Call Optimizer. In the next step you will have the opportunity to configure and customize the new schedule before confirming the link.
In this step you have the opportunity to customize and then confirm the configuration of the schedule that On-Call Optimizer will use.
Configuration Screen
The numbered areas in the screenshot highlight the key aspects of the schedule configuration covered in this guide. Refer to the detailed
schedule configuration docs for further details.
1. Member list
The list of members is sourced from the On-Call Product being linked to, when these change On-Call Optimizer will update automatically.
On-Call Optimizer will default to sending invitations to each member as indicated by the checked box to the left of each member’s name. To prevent
an invitation being sent, uncheck the box for the row before clicking the Create button at the bottom of the page.
2. Automatic assignment parameters
These parameters control how On-Call Optimizer will generate future shift assignments. The default settings provide 30 days notice of newly assigned shifts (the horizon), and assign 30 days of shifts at a time (the schedule window). To ensure all members have a chance to configure their calendars before the first assignment, On-Call Optimizer adds an additional 7 days to the horizon when setting the initial starting date.
Below the configuration options, On-Call Optimizer shows details of when the next assignment and what shifts will be assigned.
You can modify any of these settings now, or at any time in the future. See the schedule configuration docs for full details on these parameters.
3. Shift configuration
On-Call Optimizer will assign a new shift at each of the listed times. The shift times are inferred from the linked schedule as a one-off step to
initialize On-Call Optimizer’s configuration, but once confirmed, On-Call Optimizer will assign shifts based on the configuration shown here even if
the configuration of the schedule in the linked On-Call Product later changes.
You can modify the shifts now, or at any time in the future. See the schedule configuration docs for full details on these parameters.
4. Destination configuration
The schedule being linked is configured as a destination for export of the primary assignment by default and left in the disabled state iniitally to allow time
to review and become comfortable with On-Call Optimizer’s assignments before they are exported to the destination.
When you are ready for On-Call Optimizer to
automatically synchronize assigned shifts into the destination, select the Automatic toggle.
Prior to selecting this toggle you will see an optional to manually
trigger an export shown in the sidebar whenever viewing the schedule.
Finishing up
Once you are happy with the configuration, click the Create button at the bottom of the screen. On-Call Optimizer will send any pending invitations to
the members of the schedule and begin monitoring the assignments, ready to assign new shifts as required.
Congratulations. You have successfully imported your existing schedule into On-Call Optimizer!
To get the most out of On-Call Optimizer, we recommend continuing with the following documentation topics:
Completing the steps in this guide will result in:
Confirmation of your membership in the schedule you have been invited to join.
One or more of your calendars configured to provide availability information for On-Call Optimizer to use when scheduling your on-call shifts.
Begin
To get started, select Accept the invitation below.
2.1 - Accept the invitation
In this step you will accept the invitation sent by the owner of your schedule. If you do not already have an On-Call Optimizer account this step
will guide you through the process of creating one.
1. Click the link in the invitation
The invitation email which you have received will contain a link as shown in the below image.
Click on the link to be taken to On-Call Optimizer.
2. Login
To accept the invitation you must have an On-Call Optimizer account. If you have not used On-Call Optimizer before, you will see a screen similar to the one show below asking you to choose an authentication provider to use for login. Your account will be automatically created on the first time that you authenticate and login with this provider.
If you have previously used On-Call Optimizer and are already logged in you may not see the above screen at all. However if you do, simply log-in again by selecting the authentication provider that matches your account.
Email address mismatches
On-Call Optimizer expects, but does not require, that you will accept the invitation from an account whose email address matches the address to which
the invitation was sent. Attempting to accept an invitation from an account whose email does not match the address to which the invitation was sent will display a warning.
3. Click accept
Once you have successfully logged in to On-Call Optimizer, you will see a button allowing you to accept the invitation.
Accepting the invitation means you are agreeing to share any availability information imported from your calendars with the members of the schedule.
Next Steps
Once you have accepted the invitation, you will be taken to a welcome screen from which you can follow the next set of instructions to link your calendar to On-Call Optimizer.
In this step we will establish a connection between On-Call Optimizer and the Calendar you wish to use to provide availability information.
1. Select the desired calendar provider
Click on the logo of the Calendar provider you wish to use.
Complete the OAuth authorization process to grant On-Call Optimizer permission to read your calendar.
On-Call Optimizer requires a single read-only permission and takes care to minimize the amount of calendar data that is read and stored.
For full details please refer to full calendar documentation.
2. Choose calendars to use
When multiple calendars are available on the connection you will be asked to select which calendars On-Call Optimizer will process for availability events.
For each calendar select whether or not On-Call Optimizer should process it for availability information.
Click Return to profile when done to confirm these choices.
Ready to Go!
Congratulations. You have successfully shared your calendar availability!
On-Call Optimizer will regularly scan your calendar for new or changed availability information and use the latest available information whenever assinging
new on-call shifts.
For more details on how to structure events on your calendar that On-Call Optimizer can recognize, please refer to the event filtering section of the calendar documentation.
