User Story:

As a Passport user,
I want to receive clear and meaningful error messages when encountering issues, especially when claiming stamps,
so that I understand the reasons behind any issues and know what steps I may need to take next.

As a developer,
I want to ensure that any unhandled errors in IAM trigger a reliable alarm,
so that we can promptly address potential security or operational issues.

Acceptance Criteria

User-Facing Errors:
GIVEN I am a passport user,
WHEN I encounter an error while claiming a stamp,
THEN I should receive a meaningful message in the UI explaining why the error occurred,
AND this explanation should clarify why I did not qualify for the stamp,
AND the information should be sufficient for Passport support to guide me on necessary steps to qualify.

Developer-Facing Monitoring:
GIVEN I am a developer,
WHEN there are unhandled errors in the IAM,
THEN an alarm should be issued on PagerDuty (PD) to alert the development team.

Documentation and Monitoring Overview:
As part of managing this feature, it's crucial to maintain a current and comprehensive record of all monitoring configurations and their statuses. For each task or update, the Notion page on Passport Monitors & PD Alarms must be updated to reflect the latest state and provide an overview of the monitoring topic. This will ensure transparency and continuity in monitoring practices.

Product & Design Links:

Link to the relevant Discord thread for more details

Tech Details:

• Alarm Management: Review the current AWS alarm settings to determine why the alarm was left active without resolution. Develop guidelines or automation to reset or update alarm states after a certain period or upon resolution of the issue.
• Error Messaging: Implement enhanced error handling within the Passport application to capture and display errors more effectively to users. This should include contextual information specific to the IAM and stamp claiming processes.
• Monitoring and Alerts:
  • Review and possibly redefine the parameters that trigger alarms related to IAM errors.
  • Ensure that alarms are actionable and that their triggers are clearly defined to avoid unnecessary alerts.

Open Questions:

• What are the specific conditions under which the existing AWS alarm triggers, and are these conditions still relevant?
• How can we automate the reset or deactivation of alarms to prevent them from remaining in an alert state indefinitely?

Notes/Assumptions:

• Assume that the current infrastructure and monitoring tools are capable of being configured to meet the new requirements.
• The effectiveness of the new error messages and alarm configurations will be evaluated periodically to ensure they meet user and developer needs.