Reviews FAQ
How do I schedule a review for my SLO?
Reviews are scheduled at the service level. Select Schedule review in the service wizard and configure the schedule.
Who can review SLOs?
Any user with access to the SLO project can review SLOs it contains.
Why do some SLOs have the Not started review status?
Not started is automatically assigned to all non-reviewed SLOs in a service that does not have a scheduled review.
Users can review such an SLO ad-hoc and update the status to Reviewed. In this case, no automatic status transitions occur—SLOs in services without a scheduled review can only have Not started or Reviewed statuses.
Which review statuses are available? How do status transitions happen?
SLOs can take five review statuses:
- Not started
- To review
- Reviewed
- Skipped
- Overdue
Table: Status transitions
| Review schedule | State | Status | Possible transitions | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | SLO not reviewed | Not started | → Reviewed (manual) | User reviews the SLO ad-hoc |
| No | SLO reviewed | Reviewed | → Not started (manual) | User can restore the Not reviewed status |
| Yes | SLO reviewed | Reviewed | → To review (auto) | New review cycle starts |
| Yes | SLO awaiting review | To review | → Reviewed (manual) | User reviews the SLO in time |
| Yes | SLO awaiting review | To review | → Skipped (manual) | User skips the review before the review due date |
| Yes | SLO awaiting review | To review | → Overdue (auto) | SLO hasn't been reviewed before the due date |
| Yes | SLO not reviewed before the due date | Overdue | → Reviewed (manual) | SLO has been reviewed |
| Yes | SLO not reviewed before the due date | Overdue | → Skipped (manual) | SLO review has been skipped |
| Yes | SLO review skipped | Skipped | → To review (auto) | New review cycle starts |
| Yes | SLO reviewed | Reviewed | → To review (auto) | New review cycle starts |
When exactly does a reviewed SLO or SLO with a skipped review become To review?
Reviewed SLOs and SLOs with a skipped review become To review at the start of the next review cycle. The Due date schedule parameter determines the start date of each cycle. For example, if the review schedule is weekly starting November 18, SLOs with the following statuses:
- Not started
- Reviewed
- Skipped
...all become To review on:
- November 18
- November 24
- December 2, etc. until the schedule ends.
If any of these SLOs aren't reviewed before the due dates, their status becomes Overdue. The Overdue status remains until someone reviews the SLO or skips its review, at which point the regular automatic transitions resume.
How do I update the date of automatic status transitions?
To change the review due date, edit the review schedule configuration in the service settings.
What if I updated an SLO review status by mistake?
You can change the review status within the same review cycle. For this, open the Review status menu in the SLO details and select one of the available statuses. When working with sloctl, run sloctl review set-status, providing the target status as a subcommand and specifying the name identifier of your SLO.
Does the automatic status transition happen some days before the new cycle starts? Can I configure such a heads-up period?
The status of a Reviewed or Skipped SLO flips to To review at the exact moment the new review cycle starts. This is not a gradual change or something that happens in advance.
For example, you have a biweekly (every two weeks) review schedule.
- The current cycle runs from November 18 to December 2. The due date is December 2.
- On November 25, you review an SLO and change its status to Reviewed.
- The status will remain Reviewed for the rest of that cycle (from November 25 until December 2).
- On December 2, at the time the new cycle begins, the system automatically flips the status from Reviewed to To review. This marks the start of the next review period, which would run from December 2 to December 16.
The heads-up period is not adjustable. The status does not change in advance of the new cycle. It changes precisely at the start of the new cycle, which is determined by the cadence (e.g., weekly, monthly) you configured in the review schedule.