The mental models in our heads shape every discussion. Understanding how they align or differ between participants in a conversation is an important aspect of effective communication. This is particularly relevant for topics such as on-call where a wide range of different experiences lead to strongly held opinions. This post steps back from high-level discussion of the opportunity on-call offers to focus on describing two key mental models I use to think about on-call and the roles and responsibilities of the different people involved.

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For an audio conversation covering similar themes, check out my interview on the Slight Reliability Podcast. On-call in software teams has a bad reputation. Niall Murphy’s 2018 polemic, Against On-Call is well worth a watch if you need a refresher on the many reasons why the reputation is justified. Despite the current reputation, on-call can and should be an activity that every software engineer participates in and finds some measure of fulfilment from.

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