> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://developer.harness.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://developer.harness.io/ai-sre/ai-sre-for-administrators/set-up-incident-management/severities-priorities.md).

# Configure Severity and Priority Labels

Define severity and priority labels for your organization.

Configure severity levels for incidents and priority levels for alerts to match your organization's terminology and classification system.

### Overview <a href="#overview" id="overview"></a>

By default, Harness AI SRE uses standard severity and priority labels. You can configure these labels organization-wide to:

* Match your existing incident management terminology
* Provide clearer context for your team
* Align with your organization's severity classification standards
* Improve consistency across incident response workflows

**Important:** Custom labels only change the display text. The underlying severity/priority values remain the same, ensuring compatibility with integrations, APIs, and historical data.

***

### Access custom options <a href="#access-custom-options" id="access-custom-options"></a>

To open the severity and priority configuration:

1. Navigate to **Organization Settings**
2. Under **Settings mainly used in AI SRE**, click **Severities & Statuses for AI SRE**
3. Use the tabs to configure:
   * **Incidents tab** - Configure severity levels
   * **Alerts tab** - Configure priority levels

***

### Configure incident severity levels <a href="#configure-incident-severity-levels" id="configure-incident-severity-levels"></a>

#### Default severity labels <a href="#default-severity-labels" id="default-severity-labels"></a>

| Level | ID    | Default Label  | Description       |
| ----- | ----- | -------------- | ----------------- |
| SEV0  | `"0"` | SEV0: Critical | Highest severity  |
| SEV1  | `"1"` | SEV1: Major    | High severity     |
| SEV2  | `"2"` | SEV2: Moderate | Moderate severity |
| SEV3  | `"3"` | SEV3: Minor    | Low severity      |
| SEV4  | `"4"` | SEV4: Cosmetic | Lowest severity   |

#### Configure severity labels <a href="#configure-severity-labels" id="configure-severity-labels"></a>

To configure severity labels:

1. Go to **Organization Settings → Severities & Statuses for AI SRE**
2. Select the **Incidents** tab
3. Click the **Edit** icon next to any severity level
4. Update the:
   * **Label** - The display name (max 20 characters)
   * **Description** - Additional context for your team
5. Click **Save**

**Example customizations:**

* Change "SEV0: Critical" to "P0: Business Critical"
* Change "SEV1: Major" to "P1: Production Down"
* Change "SEV2: Moderate" to "P2: Degraded Service"

#### Use custom severity in workflows <a href="#use-custom-severity-in-workflows" id="use-custom-severity-in-workflows"></a>

Custom labels appear throughout AI SRE:

* Incident cards and detail pages
* Filters and search
* Status updates
* Reports and analytics
* Slack notifications
* Email notifications

**API and integration usage:**\
When using the API or configuring runbook triggers, always use the original ID values (`"0"`, `"1"`, `"2"`, `"3"`, `"4"`), not the custom labels.

```yaml
# Runbook trigger example <a href="#runbook-trigger-example" id="runbook-trigger-example"></a>
trigger:
  condition:
    field: severity
    operator: equals
    value: "0"  # Use ID, not custom label
```

Go to [Incident fields](/ai-sre/ai-sre-for-administrators/set-up-incident-management/incident-fields.md#severity-field-values) to understand how to use severity values in integrations.

***

### Configure alert priority levels <a href="#configure-alert-priority-levels" id="configure-alert-priority-levels"></a>

#### Default priority labels <a href="#default-priority-labels" id="default-priority-labels"></a>

| Level | ID            | Default Label | Description       |
| ----- | ------------- | ------------- | ----------------- |
| P1    | `p1_critical` | P1: Critical  | Critical priority |
| P2    | `p2_error`    | P2: Error     | High priority     |
| P3    | `p3_warning`  | P3: Warning   | Medium priority   |
| P4    | `p4_info`     | P4: Info      | Low priority      |

#### Configure priority labels <a href="#configure-priority-labels" id="configure-priority-labels"></a>

To configure priority labels:

1. Go to **Organization Settings → Severities & Statuses for AI SRE**
2. Select the **Alerts** tab
3. Click the **Edit** icon next to any priority level
4. Update the:
   * **Label** - The display name (max 20 characters)
   * **Description** - Additional context for your team
5. Click **Save**

**Example customizations:**

* Change "P1: Critical" to "Urgent"
* Change "P2: Error" to "High"
* Change "P3: Warning" to "Medium"
* Change "P4: Info" to "Low"

#### Use custom priority in workflows <a href="#use-custom-priority-in-workflows" id="use-custom-priority-in-workflows"></a>

Custom labels appear throughout AI SRE:

* Alert cards and detail pages
* Alert rules
* Filters and search
* Reports and analytics
* Slack notifications
* Email notifications

**API and integration usage:**\
When using the API or configuring route alerts, always use the original ID values (`p1_critical`, `p2_error`, `p3_warning`, `p4_info`), not the custom labels.

```yaml
# Alert rule example <a href="#alert-rule-example" id="alert-rule-example"></a>
alert_rule:
  condition:
    priority: p1_critical  # Use ID, not custom label
  action:
    create_incident: true
```

***

### Best practices <a href="#best-practices" id="best-practices"></a>

#### Label design <a href="#label-design" id="label-design"></a>

* **Keep labels concise:** Maximum 20 characters
* **Use consistent naming:** Follow a standard pattern (e.g., "P0: Business Critical", "P1: Production Down")
* **Avoid abbreviations:** Unless universally understood in your organization
* **Include severity level:** Help users understand the hierarchy at a glance

#### Descriptions <a href="#descriptions" id="descriptions"></a>

* **Add context:** Explain when to use each severity/priority level
* **Define impact:** Describe the typical impact for each level
* **Provide examples:** Include example scenarios
* **Update regularly:** Keep descriptions current as processes evolve

#### Team alignment <a href="#team-alignment" id="team-alignment"></a>

* **Document changes:** Announce custom labels to your team
* **Train responders:** Ensure everyone understands the new terminology
* **Update runbooks:** Reference custom labels in response procedures
* **Gather feedback:** Periodically review effectiveness with your team

#### API and integration considerations <a href="#api-and-integration-considerations" id="api-and-integration-considerations"></a>

* **Test integrations:** Verify external systems work with custom labels
* **Document mappings:** Create a reference showing ID to label mappings
* **Update documentation:** Update internal runbooks and procedures
* **Monitor for issues:** Check that custom labels do not break workflows

***

### Important notes <a href="#important-notes" id="important-notes"></a>

#### What changes <a href="#what-changes" id="what-changes"></a>

* Display labels throughout the UI
* Labels in notifications (Slack, email)
* Labels in exports and reports
* Labels in search and filters

#### What does not change <a href="#what-does-not-change" id="what-does-not-change"></a>

* Underlying ID values
* API request/response formats
* Integration mappings
* Historical data
* Database storage format

#### Organization-wide impact <a href="#organization-wide-impact" id="organization-wide-impact"></a>

Custom severity and priority labels apply to:

* All projects in the organization
* All teams and users
* All incidents and alerts (past and future)
* All integrations and workflows

***

### Troubleshooting <a href="#troubleshooting" id="troubleshooting"></a>

<details>

<summary>Custom severity or priority labels not appearing in AI SRE</summary>

Refresh the page after saving, clear the browser cache or use a private window, and verify you have organization admin permissions.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Integrations sending incorrect severity values in Harness AI SRE</summary>

Integrations send original severity ID values, not custom labels. Custom labels are applied on display only. Check integration mappings in the Incident fields reference.

</details>

<details>

<summary>API requests failing when using custom severity or priority labels in AI SRE</summary>

Always use ID values in API calls, never custom labels. Review the correct ID values in the Incident fields reference.

</details>

***

### Example configurations <a href="#example-configurations" id="example-configurations"></a>

#### Enterprise standard <a href="#enterprise-standard" id="enterprise-standard"></a>

```
SEV0 → "P0: Business Critical"
SEV1 → "P1: Major Incident"  
SEV2 → "P2: Significant Issue"
SEV3 → "P3: Minor Issue"
SEV4 → "P4: Informational"
```

#### SRE team <a href="#sre-team" id="sre-team"></a>

```
SEV0 → "Critical: All hands"
SEV1 → "High: Oncall + Manager"
SEV2 → "Medium: Oncall"
SEV3 → "Low: Best effort"
SEV4 → "Info: Track only"
```

#### Customer impact based <a href="#customer-impact-based" id="customer-impact-based"></a>

```
SEV0 → "Total Outage"
SEV1 → "Major Degradation"
SEV2 → "Partial Impact"
SEV3 → "Minimal Impact"
SEV4 → "No Customer Impact"
```

***

### Next steps <a href="#next-steps" id="next-steps"></a>

#### Documentation <a href="#documentation" id="documentation"></a>

* [Configure incident fields](/ai-sre/ai-sre-for-administrators/set-up-incident-management/incident-fields.md): Customize fields captured on incidents.
* [Incident types](/ai-sre/ai-sre-for-administrators/set-up-incident-management/incident-types.md): Standardize incident classification.
* [Route alerts](/ai-sre/ai-sre-for-administrators/set-up-alert-management/alert-rules/overview.md): Route alerts to incidents.

#### Related topics <a href="#related-topics" id="related-topics"></a>

* [Incident workflows](/ai-sre/ai-sre-for-administrators/set-up-incident-management/incident-workflows.md): Automate incident response.
* [Status updates](/ai-sre/ai-sre-for-administrators/set-up-incident-management/status-updates.md): Communicate with stakeholders.

{% @harness-feedback/feedback %}