Create a rule

Tie a source to a matcher, severity, template and destinations, and choose how the incident behaves when signals repeat or someone acknowledges it.

In the sidebar, open Critical Alerts, then Setup, then Rules. The page address is /critical-alerts/rules.

A rule is the alert path itself: which source, which signals count, how severe, what to say, and who to tell.

Before you start

• Your admin has to give your role permission to manage critical alert rules.
• Create the source, at least one destination and a template first. A rule can only pick from what exists.

Steps

1. Press New rule. The Create rule drawer opens.
2. Type a Name. The Key fills in from it and cannot change later.
3. Choose the Severity for incidents this rule opens: Critical, High, Warning, Info or Low.
4. Choose the Source the rule listens to.
5. Choose the Open template (the message when an incident opens) and, if the device sends an all-clear, a Clear template.
6. Narrow which signals match. Match event name matches the exact event name the source sends; Match signal type picks open, clear, heartbeat or synthetic; Match title contains matches a word in the title. Leave all three blank to match every signal from the source.
7. Under Destination keys, choose who is told first.
8. Keep Require acknowledgment on when someone must claim the incident. Ack link expiry minutes sets how long the acknowledge link in a message stays valid.
9. Under Incident lifecycle, pick the Lifecycle preset that fits the condition (see below). Change the individual fields only when the preset is close but not right.
10. Press Create rule. The rule is saved as a draft.
11. On its row, press Publish. Only published rules act on live signals.

Choosing a lifecycle preset

• Persistent condition: a freezer that stays too warm. Acknowledging keeps the incident open, Nova re-notifies every 5 minutes (up to 5 times) while it stays open, and it auto-resolves after 30 quiet minutes.
• Momentary event: a door left open once. Acknowledging resolves it, and the next signal opens a fresh incident.
• Flapping / noisy sensor: groups bursts into one incident, snoozes on acknowledge, and auto-resolves after a quiet period.
• Compliance incident: nothing closes it but a person pressing Resolve.

Behind the preset sit Group matching signals, Grouping window minutes, On acknowledgment, Re-notify active incidents, Re-notify interval minutes, Maximum repeat notifications, Auto-resolve, Quiet minutes before auto-resolve and Default snooze minutes, plus the switches Re-notify after acknowledgment, Unlimited repeat notifications, Allow snooze, Voice: press 2 resolves and Voice: press 3 snoozes.

Warning: Unlimited repeat notifications removes the cap on repeat phone calls. Leave it off unless you mean it.

What you see

• Each row shows the severity, what the rule matches, its destinations, a one-line lifecycle summary, and its version line.
• Manage evaluation order opens a drag list. Nova checks rules from the top, so put the most specific rule first.
• Edit reopens the drawer; Version history inside it lets you Make live an earlier version.

If something looks different

• Publish is greyed out: there are no unpublished changes.
• Test signals reach the source but no incident opens: the rule is still a draft, or its match fields do not match what the device sends. Check the signal under Signals.
• You want a second person called when the first does not answer: see Add escalation steps to a rule.

Open Rules