# The Problem with MTTR: Learning from Incident Reports | Dev Interrupted Powered by LinearB

> Is MTTR a reliable metric? Internet Incident Librarian Courtney Nash doesn't think so - and she's got the data to prove it.

[Podcast](https://linearb.io/dev-interrupted/podcasts)

/

The Problem with MTTR: Learning from Incident Reports

# The Problem with MTTR: Learning from Incident Reports

By Courtney Nash

|

February 7, 2023

![DOES_Courtney_Nash_Horizontal_c04927338e](https://assets.linearb.io/image/upload/c_limit,w_2560/f_auto/q_auto/v1/DOES_Courtney_Nash_Horizontal_c04927338e?_a=BAVMn6ID0)

Tracking Mean Time To Restore (MTTR) is standard industry practice for incident response and analysis, but should it be? 

Courtney Nash, an Internet Incident Librarian, argues that MTTR is not a reliable metric - and we think she's got a point.

We caught up with Courtney at the DevOps Enterprise Summit in Las Vegas, where she was making her case against MTTR in favor of alternative metrics (SLOs and cost of coordination data), practices (Near Miss analysis), and mindsets (humans are the solution, not the problem) to help organization better learn from their incidents. 

### Episode Highlights:

* (1:54) The end of MTTR?
* (4:50) Library of incidents
* (13:20) What is an incident?
* (19:41) Cost of coordination
* (22:13) Near misses
* (24:21) Mental models
* (28:16) Role of language in shaping public discourse
* (29:33) Learnings from The Void

##### **On Feb. 15th, learn how the smartest engineers increased productivity by up to 30% without working longer hours or burning out their teams**

Every engineering team could use some easy wins right now, including yours. We’re talking quick ways to improve productivity without wasting more hours at work, spending a lot of money or burning out already-stretched teams.

That’s why LinearB teamed up with dozens of engineering orgs to crowdsource the real ways smart companies have improved their productivity - quickly and most importantly, easily.

On February 15th, LinearB will be presenting this playbook at our free, virtual _Scaling Developer Efficiency_ workshop.

Designed to help you gain up to 30% increased productivity, this free online workshop will empower your team with strategies and solutions that let them focus on what they do best: Code.

##### **[Reserve Your Virtual Seat](https://linearb.io/event/202302-scaling-dev-efficiency/?utm%5Fsource=DI%20Podcast&utm%5Fmedium=Native%20Ad&utm%5Fcampaign=202302%20-%20Event%20-%20GTM%20-%20DI%20Podcast%20Native)**

[](https://linearb.io/event/202302-scaling-dev-efficiency/?utm%5Fsource=DI%20Podcast&utm%5Fmedium=Native%20Ad&utm%5Fcampaign=202302%20-%20Event%20-%20GTM%20-%20DI%20Podcast%20Native)

## Real conversations with top engineering leaders

Find us on

[](https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/dev-interrupted/)
[](https://devinterrupted.substack.com/)

## Your next listen

[![Cover image for Rebuilding CLIs for agents, it’s time to get MCP-certified, and why human code review will never catch up](https://assets.linearb.io/image/upload/c_limit,w_2560/f_auto/q_auto/v1/agentic_cli_tools_mcp_certification_code_review_23be877e85?_a=BAVMn6ID0)](https://linearb.io/dev-interrupted/podcast/linux-foundation-mcp-certification-agentic-loops-pull-request-bottleneck)

Dev Interrupted

[Rebuilding CLIs for agents, it’s time to get MCP-certified, and why human code review will never catch up](https://linearb.io/dev-interrupted/podcast/linux-foundation-mcp-certification-agentic-loops-pull-request-bottleneck)

This week on the Friday Deploy, Ben and Andrew break down the Linux Foundation's new MCP certification and the fundamental mechanics of agentic loops. Discover...

[![Cover image for How to see in the dark factory | LaunchDarkly's Cameron Etezadi](https://assets.linearb.io/image/upload/c_limit,w_2560/f_auto/q_auto/v1/Blog_Comprehensive_DORA_Guide_2400x1256_66_6f6a37357d?_a=BAVMn6ID0)](https://linearb.io/dev-interrupted/podcast/launchdarkly-cameron-etezadi-dark-factory-agent-runtime-frameworks)

Dev Interrupted

[How to see in the dark factory | LaunchDarkly's Cameron Etezadi](https://linearb.io/dev-interrupted/podcast/launchdarkly-cameron-etezadi-dark-factory-agent-runtime-frameworks)

LaunchDarkly CTO Cameron Etezadi joins the show to discuss why the traditional "two-pizza" engineering team is dead. Discover how runtime agent frameworks and...

[![Cover image for How to cultivate expertise with local models, delegating to subagents, and we all really stopped reading, huh?](https://assets.linearb.io/image/upload/c_limit,w_2560/f_auto/q_auto/v1/local_ai_expertise_subagents_delegation_strategies_616640e057?_a=BAVMn6ID0)](https://linearb.io/dev-interrupted/podcast/open-source-glm-models-local-ai-coding-protecting-first-brain)

Dev Interrupted

[How to cultivate expertise with local models, delegating to subagents, and we all really stopped reading, huh?](https://linearb.io/dev-interrupted/podcast/open-source-glm-models-local-ai-coding-protecting-first-brain)

This week on the Friday Deploy, Ben and Andrew break down the rise of highly capable open-source models like GLM 5.2 and the reality of running local AI for...