Reference document
Threat tiers
Every incident gets a score from 0 to 100. Most of them land lower than the person experiencing them expects — which is, itself, the most useful thing on this page.
Tier 1: Paper Cut
0–24Nobody noticed. You noticed. That's the whole incident.
Required move: Send one clean line, move on, stop refreshing Slack.
Tier 2: Code Yellow
25–49One person noticed and they were mildly inconvenienced.
Required move: Acknowledge fast and attach a fix. Speed beats eloquence here.
Tier 3: Dumpster Fire
50–74A meeting will be scheduled about this. Possibly a recurring one.
Required move: Own the facts, propose the remedy, name the date. Do not go quiet.
Tier 4: Total Clusterfuck
75–89Money, customers, or a very senior person's calendar is involved.
Required move: Write it down before you talk. Facts, impact, plan, ask. In that order.
Tier 5: Resignation Event
90–100The kind of thing that gets a retro named after it.
Required move: Full accountability, documented timeline, and a quiet look at your options.