Notifications are a powerful product feature in Haystack that allows you to prevent tech debt before it happens by alerting on risk factors and progress.
With both email and Slack channels supported, many teams use notifications as a low-friction way to spur conversation and tackle blockers quickly.
What types of notifications are there?
There are two types of notifications supported:
Daily Health Check (Daily Recap & Potential Risks)
Weekly Recap (Weekly Snapshot, Cycle Time Trends & Throughput Trends)
For further information on the notifications available in Haystack and how they can help your team, please see our dedicated article introducing Haystack Notifications.
If, after following these instructions, you experience difficulties using Slack notifications, please see our article dedicated to troubleshooting Slack Notifications.
Setting Notifications
Step 1: Go to Settings
Click on the 'Settings' tab in the left sidebar to open up Haystack settings.
Step 2: Go to Settings > Notifications
Click on 'Filters' in the left sidebar to view your current filters.
Step 3: Click "Add Notification"
Click "Add Notification" to create a new notification
Step 4: Select Channel
Select where to send your notifications (email or Slack).
Note: Teams generally find Slack notifications more valuable to spur conversations directly within Slack
Step 5: Configure Slack - (Skip to Next Section For Email Notifications)
Step 5a: Add Slack
Step 5b: Select Channel
Step 5c: Click "Apply"
Step 5d: Invite Bot to Channel
As per Slack documentation, public and private channels require inviting the bot.
If you have set a Direct Message (DM), you can ignore this step.
If you experienced any trouble configuring the Slack notifications, please consult our article dedicated to troubleshooting Slack Notifications.
Step 6: Add or Confirm Recipients
Add additional email recipients. If using Slack, these will be populated with the Slack Channel you've chosen.
Step 7: Select Notification Type
Select "Daily" or "Weekly" Notifications.
Note: Most users have a daily & weekly notification set for each of their teams.
Step 8: Configure Schedule
Select the day/s and the time you'd like to receive the notification.
Note: Weekly notifications calculate the past 7 days whereas daily notifications calculate the past 24 hours.
Step 9: Select Settings
Choose which notifications you'd like to receive.
Note: If you're just starting out, we suggest you set all notifications initially.
Step 10: Select Teams
Select which teams to watch. Haystack will send notifications based on these teams. Set teams to whichever teams you would like to receive notifications about.
Note: Although you can include multiple teams, most users create a separate notification for each team.
Step 10: Click "Update" to save your changes.
Step 11: You're Done!
You should now see a row for your new notification. Click on the 'Test Notification' to send a sample notification.
