How Pre-Authorized 'Standing Orders' Help On-Call Engineers Act Without Waiting for Bosses

Standing orders are written, pre-authorized decision frameworks that define what an on-call engineer can do independently when key decision-makers are unreachable. Borrowed from the military concept of commander's intent, the framework organizes actions into tiers ranging from act-alone decisions to those requiring escalation, paired with spending and impact caps. Without such guidelines, teams risk costly delays, as illustrated by a nine-person payments team whose on-call engineer waited 40 minutes for CTO approval during a duplicate-charges incident, resulting in 212 customers double-charged instead of an estimated 60. After implementing standing orders, a similar incident was resolved in 4 minutes with only 19 customers affected. The framework also includes communication commitments, expiry dates, and regular review triggers to prevent outdated or misused authority.