Scorecard rule exemptions

In some instances, a Scorecard rule might not apply to a service or resource. That rule may be linked to an initiative your team is actively working on, and the failure notification may be irrelevant or noisy to developers. Or, in rarer cases, the Scorecard rule may not make sense for a given component, depending on the nature of that service or resource. In either case, rule exemptions allow you to filter out components that shouldn’t be evaluated by a specific rule.

With rule exemptions, services and resources are not marked as passing or failing — the rule simply does not apply to those entities.

For any given failing rule, you’ll see the option toRequest exemption underMore options (⋯). You can do this from a service or resource’s details page, within the Scorecard, or anywhere else the rule appears.

This will open a modal where you can enter information about your exemption. You can request a temporary exemption for a certain number of days, or you can request a permanent exemption.

You’ll use a permanent exemption when there’s no expectation a service or resource will pass a rule, whereas a time-bound exemption makes more sense when a service or resource is ultimately expected to be in compliance with a given rule.

In many cases, a time-bound exemption will be related to an ongoing initiative. For example, services might be required to have an on-call rotation set up by the end of the quarter. In this case, a developer may request an exemption that elapses a few weeks before the quarter ends — this can serve as a backup reminder if on-call isn’t set up at that point, and in the meantime, the failing rule won’t add any noise to the developer’s workflow.

When the time period for a temporary exemption elapses, any services that are not in compliance with the rule would display as failing, while those in compliance would display as passing.

We strongly recommend including aReason when you submit an exemption request. Requests will be reviewed by managers and admins, the only roles that can approve or deny exemptions, so a clear explanation will help them determine whether an exemption makes sense.

You can find a service’s exempted rules by navigating into its details. Each service has three potential states for rules:Failing rules, Passing rules,andExempt rules. Temporary rules will appear with the number of remaining days under the exemption ends.

Exempted rules will not contribute toward that service or resource’s score within the Scorecard. If you use point-based rules instead of levels, the exempted rule is not calculated within the numerator or denominator to determine the component’s percentage score. If you use levels, an exempt rule allows a service or resource to progress to the next level — it’s equivalent to passing, in this case, but is not actually evaluated.

You can find all exempted rules for a Scorecard under theExemptions tab. On this page, you can see all the active exemptions, listed per service and per rule. Admins and managers can also view exemption requests and reasons, andAccept orDeny the request from this page.

In addition to the ability to approve or deny an exemption, admins and managers also have the ability toRevoke exemption.