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Improve Incident and Problem Management

Rise above firefighter mode with structured incident management to enable effective problem management.

  • IT infrastructure managers have conflicting accountabilities. It can be difficult to fight fires as they appear while engaging in systematic fire prevention.
  • Repetitive interruptions erode faith in IT. If incidents recur consistently, why should the business trust IT to resolve them?

Our Advice

Critical Insight

  • Don’t risk muddling the chain of command during a crisis. Streamline the process. When senior technical staff are working on incidents, they report to the service desk manager.
  • Incidents defy planning, but problem management is schedulable. Schedule problem management; reduce unplanned work.
  • Just because a problem has not caused an incident doesn’t mean it never will. Get out in front of problems. Maximize uptime.

Impact and Result

  • Define the roles and responsibilities of the incident manager and the problem manager.
  • Develop a critical incident management workflow that will save money by streamlining escalation.
  • Create a problem management standard operating procedure that will reduce incident volume, save money, and allow upper tier support staff to engage in planned work as opposed to firefighting.

Improve Incident and Problem Management Research & Tools

1. Improve Incident and Problem Management: Our Methodology

Step-by-step methodology to identify existing challenges, clarify process and role expectations, and create concise effective process documentation to drive improvement. Review the executive brief at the start of the slide deck for an overview of the methodology and the value it can provide your organization.

2. Incident Management and Service Desk SOP

Document process and role expectations to drive consistent and effective incident response.

3. Incident Management and Service Desk Workflows

Create incident response workflows to clarify steps and identify opportunities to improve.

4. Incident KB Article Examples

Use these examples to guide your KB article templates and to clarify appropriate level of detail.

5. Incident Status Updates and Incident Report Templates

Modify these examples to suit your requirements and expedite incident status communications.

6. Problem Management SOP

Define your problem management process, roles, and techniques.

7. Problem Management Workflow

Clarify problem intake and action steps in a workflow format that is easier for stakeholders to consume.

8. Problem Ticket Template

Use this example as a guide to create a problem ticket template in your ITSM tool.

9. Communication Initiatives Template

Capture initiatives to educate staff and drive buy-in from senior leadership on improvements to your incident and problem management processes.

10. Incident and Problem Management Project Roadmap Tool

Translate ideas into specific initiatives to improve your incident and problem management processes.


Member Testimonials

After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.

9.2/10


Overall Impact

$59,769


Average $ Saved

25


Average Days Saved

Client

Experience

Impact

$ Saved

Days Saved

Sunrun South LLC

Guided Implementation

10/10

$137K

44

WA Department of Transport

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

N/A

It is too early on to estimate time and $ savings however the advice is definitely assisting with breaking through long established practices that ... Read More

Brockville General Hospital

Guided Implementation

10/10

$35,000

20

The standardized approach with the ability to tailor the outcomes to the local organization was really appreciated. The support from Ben was fabul... Read More

WA Department of Transport

Guided Implementation

9/10

N/A

N/A

Assistance in relating process to required capabilities and competencies. The valued role of a referential third part in overcoming opposing positi... Read More

Vitech Systems Sub LLC (d/b/a Vitech Systems Group)

Guided Implementation

2/10

N/A

N/A

there isn't a best. The analyst "disappeared" (not further contact) after 3 or 4 calls and did not respond after that.

Vancouver Island University

Guided Implementation

10/10

$2,000

5

Ben was super helpful, made many practical suggestions, and was very valuable in helping us to tailor the templates to meet our specific needs. Th... Read More

Hydro Tasmania

Guided Implementation

9/10

N/A

5

Loomis AB

Guided Implementation

10/10

$73,999

5

the informtation was informative and easy to understand and more on the site for me to look at. If i also have any questions Frank is available for... Read More

New York Property Insurance Underwriting Association

Workshop

10/10

N/A

N/A

The sessions were very informative, and material provided will help us improve our processes further. We've not done any RoI so I wont be able to p... Read More

Pioneer Natural Resources

Workshop

10/10

$274K

120

The workshop was exceptional. Jeremy is extremely knowledgeable. He gives relatable examples, talks specifics where applicable, and keeps things mo... Read More

Highlands County Clerk of Courts

Guided Implementation

10/10

$2,740

20

Geidea

Guided Implementation

9/10

N/A

N/A

clear explanations from Franck for Problem Management and outcome of calls very interesting, thanks. We will certainly contact Franck for Crisis Ma... Read More

State of Ohio - Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation

Workshop

9/10

N/A

N/A

The best and the worst are the same. We were given a great deal of knowledge in these sessions. That is very good. Finding the time to make the cha... Read More

SCEE

Guided Implementation

10/10

$1,820

10

Nieuport Aviation

Guided Implementation

9/10

$6,000

14

Google

Guided Implementation

9/10

$64,999

10

Best: Validated our approach and our current path. Analyst was very knowledgable. Worse: Was about structure - yes, the uber topic is Inciden... Read More

Mount Royal University

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

N/A

It was a pleasure to meet with Sandi. She took the time to understand my needs and then directed me to the best resource and materials. San... Read More

Virginia Community College System

Workshop

10/10

N/A

20

The best part of the workshop was how the leaders skillfully walked us through the material and lead us towards a better understanding of how our o... Read More

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Workshop

9/10

$26,649

20

The communication that the workshop engendered within our team was helpful. We had worked a lot out prior to the workshop but this helped us to ref... Read More

Oregon Secretary of State

Guided Implementation

10/10

$2,519

N/A

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Workshop

9/10

$30,999

5

The University of Texas at San Antonio

Guided Implementation

8/10

$68,199

120

World Bank Group

Guided Implementation

10/10

$2,519

5

I really appreciated the follow-up notes after each meeting. Especially additional resources to review and get more information from. I also enjoye... Read More

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Guided Implementation

10/10

$100K

20

The presentation was concise and well presented. The presentation gave me food for thought as to how to rethink problem management. Thank you.

Mott MacDonald LLC

Guided Implementation

10/10

$42,750

9

Shentel Management Company

Workshop

10/10

$46,097

5

Best - Clearer Understanding of Problem vs Incident, our current configuration and what is best practices and would work better. Worst - Seeing ... Read More

University of North Texas System

Workshop

10/10

$34,099

75

Best Parts: Sharon and Paul were fabulous facilitators. We enjoyed their structured presentations and collaborative engagement. Worst Parts: None

Milwaukee Metro Sewerage District

Guided Implementation

5/10

$2,419

2

I was looking for very specific to address cultural obstacles we have in managing critical events. The information Infotech has is based upon proc... Read More

Varian Medical Systems, Inc.

Guided Implementation

10/10

$35,017

5

The validation of our direction, and the followup materials with guidance to fine-tune our methodology and metrics.

Lee County Clerk of Courts

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

N/A


Incident and Problem Management

Resolve service issues faster and eliminate recurring incidents.
This course makes up part of the Infrastructure & Operations Certificate.

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00:00
  • Course Modules: 4
  • Estimated Completion Time: 2-2.5 hours
  • Featured Analysts:
  • John Annand, Senior Manager, Infrastructure Research
  • Fred Chagnon, Research Director, Infrastructure and Operations Research

Now Playing:
Academy: Incident and Problem Management | Executive Brief

An active membership is required to access Info-Tech Academy

Workshop: Improve Incident and Problem Management

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Incident ticket intake and routing

The Purpose

  • Improve how tickets logged, categorized, and prioritized.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Efficient ticket processing and consistent treatment of tickets based on severity.

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Review incident lifecycle and current challenges.

1.2

Roles and responsibilities for service desk.

1.3

Review ticket categorization.

1.4

Prioritization schema.

1.5

Drive more efficient intake.

  • Incident management SOP

Module 2: Incident response

The Purpose

  • Clarify incident management steps, roles, and responsibilities.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Incident Management SOP and Workflows documented to drive consistent and effective incident response.

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Incident management workflow.

2.2

Critical incident management workflow.

2.3

Define SLOs and escalation rules.

  • Incident management SOP (cont.)
  • Incident management workflows

Module 3: Shift-left and problem management

The Purpose

  1. Outline a standard process for resolving problems.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Efficient and effective problem management, reducing incident recurrence and impact.

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Build KB process and KB article templates.

3.2

Identify additional shift-left opportunities (introduction).

3.3

Define problem management.

3.4

Standardize problem intake.

3.5

Standardize problem workflows.

  • Knowledge management workflow
  • Knowledge base article templates
  • Problem management SOP
  • Problem management workflow

Module 4: Proactive problem management and roadmap

The Purpose

  • Plan how you will implement improvements.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Translate ideas into action, with specific steps to implement tangible improvements in the areas of people (training), process, and technology.

Activities

Outputs

4.1

Establish appropriate problem management governance.

4.2

Create a plan to communicate process changes.

4.3

Create a project roadmap to implement improvements.

4.4

Review workshop results.

  • Communication initiatives list (to educate stakeholders on process changes)
  • Roadmap to close gaps (for incident and problem management)
  • Workshop results summary

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About Info-Tech

Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.

We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

MEMBER RATING

9.2/10
Overall Impact

$59,769
Average $ Saved

25
Average Days Saved

After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve.

Read what our members are saying

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.

Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.

Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst

Get the help you need in this 7-phase advisory process. You'll receive 18 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.

Guided Implementation 1: Identify and manage major/critical incidents
  • Call 1: Outline the potential benefits of a critical incident management procedure.
  • Call 2: Review the results of the voting exercise and the list of exceptions.

Guided Implementation 2: Develop problem management procedures
  • Call 1: Outline the benefits of a problem management regimen and the required resources.
  • Call 2: Review the separated lists of incidents and problems.
  • Call 3: Review the incident matching procedure.

Guided Implementation 3: Engage in proactive problem management
  • Call 1: Outline the required inputs for proactive problem management.
  • Call 2: Review proactive problem management techniques.
  • Call 3: Collate and present the visual SOPs.

Guided Implementation 4: Optimize ticket intake and routing
  • Call 1: Scope requirements, objectives, and your specific challenges.
  • Call 2: Incident ticket intake and routing.

Guided Implementation 5: Standardize and streamline incident response
  • Call 1: Incident Management Workflows.
  • Call 2: Critical Incident Workflows.
  • Call 3: Complete the Incident Management SOP.

Guided Implementation 6: Establish effective problem management
  • Call 1: Problem ticket sources.
  • Call 2: Problem management workflows.
  • Call 3: Complete the Problem Management SOP.

Guided Implementation 7: Implement improvements
  • Call 1: Plan how you will communicate changes.
  • Call 2: Create a project roadmap to implement improvements.

Author

Frank Trovato

Contributors

  • Hardy Baker, Incident and Problem Manager, Waste Management
  • Rishi Bhargava, Co-Founder Demisto Inc.
  • Rob England, Managing Director, Two Hills Ltd.
  • Steven Ingram, Data Engineer, Wave HQ
  • George Jucan, Founder, Organizational Performance Enablers Network
  • Rick Moroz, Associate Director, Information Systems, University of Guelph

Search Code: 75011
Last Revised: August 25, 2022

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