11. Shift Team Logs: Importance and Best Practices

11. Shift Team Logs: Importance and Best Practices#

Why Are Shift Logs Essential?#

Shift logs are the backbone of continuity and coordination during observational campaigns. They provide:

  • A clear record of what was done during a shift.

  • A hand-off point for the next shifter to know what to follow up on.

  • Documentation for GCN writing, publications, and pipeline troubleshooting.

  • A full historical archive for evaluating observational coverage, identifying gaps, or reconstructing science cases.

If it’s not written down, it didn’t happen.

Below is a template of what should be included in a shift log to monitor observations as a team. Particularly, we create these documents using google docs, due to its versatility.

11.1 Structure of a Shift Log Document#

Each shift entry should follow a standardized structure and be written directly in the Team Shift Document under the correct date and UTC range.

Template for Shift Entry#

The end of each shift should include the following, when appropriate.

Shift X – [Date] UTC [Start Time]–[End Time] ([Shifter Name])

1. General

  • Notable observations or alerts

  • Any decisions made (e.g., STOP GRANDMA, new trigger)

2. Telescope Contacts

  • Telescopes contacted

  • Method of contact (Slack/email)

  • Response received (Yes/No/Observed)

3. Image Status

  • Images received

  • Images uploaded to OwnCloud

  • Photometry performed (Yes/No)

  • Uploaded to SkyPortal (Yes/No)

4. GCN Activity

  • GCNs added to SkyPortal

  • New GCNs that came in during the shift

  • Drafted/published GCNs (link if possible)

5. Comments & To-Dos

  • Issues encountered (weather, response delays, data problems)

  • Tasks for next shifter

  • Any STOP GRANDMA decisions with justification

11.2 Keeping Track of Observation Campaigns, Images, & GCN Circulars#

For busy weeks with any ongoing observations, especially when there is more than one (e.g., GRB250221A, GRB250226A), create individual subtabs in the shift google document for each event. This helps:

  • Isolate activity by target

  • Track telescope responses and data uploads per source

  • Organize summary tables, comments, and plans

11.2.1 Subtab: Images Table#

For each event, include a table tracking image activity:

#

Image Name

STDweb Link

Uploaded to SkyPortal (Y/N)

11.2.2 Subtab: GCN Table#

GCN #

Related Event

Instrument

Type (Photometry/Redshift/Localization)

Uploaded to SP (Y/N)

39417

GRB250221A

TAROT

Detection

Y

39429

EP250223a

EP

Localization

N

Subtab: GCN Drafts#

You can also include a seperate tab to draft GCN Circulars of GRANDMA observations. This makes collaboration easy.

IMPORTANT: You can also find an example of an actual team’s shift log here.

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