SLAs
Automate SLAs for issues that should be completed within a certain amount of time.
Automate SLAs for issues that should be completed within a certain amount of time.
Overview
SLAs automatically apply deadlines to issues that match defined conditions. While traditionally used for service agreements with customers, they also keep internal standards for how quickly bugs and time-sensitive work move.
Personal issues are not covered.
Configure
A workspace admin turns on Enable SLAs in Settings → Workspace. New issues and requests are then matched against your rules as they are created and updated. Turning the switch off stops new assignments; targets already running keep counting down until they are met, breached, or removed.
Create issue rules at Settings → SLAs. Team managers can also edit rules for a team they manage at Settings → Your teams → <team> → Issue SLAs. Request SLAs are a separate list at Settings → Request SLAs.
Only workspace admins can change enablement, timezone, and working days. Workspace admins and team managers can manage rules, scoped to the teams they manage.
Basics
SLAs appear on issues as a flame. Open coverage is amber while Active, orange at At risk, and red once Breached. The server owns the at-risk threshold. Completed work keeps the field and shows whether the target was achieved, including how early, or that it finished after the deadline.
Rules apply SLAs automatically. You can also set one by hand.
Default SLAs
Enabling SLAs does not seed rules. Until you add one, nothing is covered.
Create new SLA rules
Choose New rule. Give it a name, then set Applies to — Workspace default or a team. Scope cannot change after you create the rule.
Under When, add filters. All conditions must match. Leave them empty to cover everything in the rule's scope. Issue filters include Team, Type, Priority, Status, Labels, Project, and Milestone.
Under Then, choose Add SLA or Remove SLA. An apply rule needs at least one target. Issue targets include Time to start, Status transition, Time in status, Completion, and a Custom target you defined yourself. Each target has its own duration and runs independently.
Duration presets are 30 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours, then 1, 2, 3, 5, or 10 working days. Choose Custom… for another length in minutes of working time.
Rules are checked in order and the first match wins — targets from different rules are never combined. Team rules are checked before workspace defaults.
Creating or editing a rule does not walk existing issues. Matching happens when an issue is created or updated.
Business day SLAs
SLA durations are measured in working time. A day the workspace does not work contributes nothing; a working day counts in full.
On Settings → Workspace, set Work week to Mon–Fri, Sun–Thu, or Custom. Changes apply to targets that start from now on — deadlines already calculated are not recomputed. Pick a timezone; deadlines are calculated against it.
When you set an SLA by hand, you can type a calendar duration or N business days.
Remove SLAs
A rule whose action is Remove SLA drops coverage when the issue matches. That is useful when priority or status no longer warrants a clock.
To take an SLA off one issue, open Change SLA… and Remove SLA. Automatic rules are considered again the next time the issue is updated.
SLA status and filtering
Open coverage rolls up to the worst running target. Filter and group views by SLA status:
| SLA status | Definition |
|---|---|
| Active | An open target is running and is not yet at risk |
| At risk | An open target has crossed the server's at-risk threshold |
| Breached | An open target has passed its deadline |
Issues with no SLA land in the empty group. Finished cycles — Met or Cancelled — are not filter options; use SLA reports for historical attainment.
SLA notifications
The issue assignee and the owning team's managers get an Inbox item the first time a target becomes At risk or Breached. Repeat entries of the same state do not notify again. The requester is not included.
Viewing SLA issues
Filter any issue view with F and SLA status. Group by SLA status from display options. Enable SLA under Display properties if the flame is hidden.
Workspace admins and team managers can open SLA reports for live exposure and historical attainment.
Manually apply SLAs
Open the issue overflow, choose Change SLA… (also on bulk select). Pick a matching rule, a duration preset (12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks), or type a custom value such as 24h, 7 days, or a date.
Lists and boards show either a due date or an SLA, not both. Applying an SLA hides the due date icon; the due date itself is not cleared.
If the issue later matches a remove rule, the SLA may come off on the next update.
FAQ
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