Incident Management: Triggers, Inputs, Outputs, and Interfaces

Incident management is a crucial aspect of IT service delivery. Properly addressing and handling incidents can make the difference between a minor disruption and a significant outage. Here, we delve into the core components of the incident management process, breaking them down into triggers, inputs, outputs, and interfaces.

1. Triggers:

Triggers are the catalysts that initiate the incident management process. They can originate from various sources:

• Users reaching out to the service desk via a call or a web form.
• Automated alerts from event management tools.
• Technical staff identifying potential issues.
• Suppliers notifying the service desk of potential or actual problems.

2. Inputs:

The incident management process requires a series of inputs, some of which are:

• Status and details about Configuration Items (CIs).
• Information on known errors and possible workarounds.
• Feedback and communication regarding incidents and their symptoms.
• Updates on Request for Changes (RFCs) and releases, whether implemented or planned.
• Event triggers from event management.
• Operational and service level objectives.
• Customer feedback on incident resolution and the overall incident management process.
• Pre-defined criteria for incident prioritization and escalation.

3. Outputs:

After processing, the incident management cycle produces several outputs:

• Resolved incidents along with actions taken for resolution.
• Updated incident management records with a comprehensive incident history.
• Improved incident classifications for proactive problem management.
• Problem records for incidents without a known underlying cause.
• Validation of non-recurrent incidents for resolved problems.
• Feedback on incidents related to changes and releases.
• Identified CIs associated with or affected by incidents.
• Satisfaction feedback from affected customers.
• Evaluative feedback on monitoring technologies and event management practices.
• Detailed communication about incident and resolution histories to gauge service quality.

4. Interfaces:

Incident management interfaces with various other processes and departments throughout its lifecycle:

Service Design:

• Service Level Management (SLM): SLM defines acceptable service levels, including incident response times, impact definitions, target fix times, and more. Incident management, in return, provides data to SLM for objective SLA reviews.
• Information Security Management: This interface provides data on security-related incidents, essential for evaluating security measures' overall effectiveness.
• Capacity Management: Incident management acts as a trigger for performance monitoring and might develop workarounds for incidents.
• Availability Management: Utilizes data from incident management to measure IT service availability and suggests improvements.

Service Transition:

• Service Asset and Configuration Management: Provides data for identifying and processing incidents, determining faulty equipment, assessing impacts, and categorizing incidents.
• Change Management: Required for implementing workarounds or resolutions. Incident management can also detect incidents resulting from failed changes.

Service Operation:

• Problem Management: Collaborates with incident management to investigate and resolve underlying causes, providing known errors and workarounds for faster incident resolution.
• Access Management: Incidents are raised when unauthorized access attempts are detected. A maintained incident history supports forensic investigations and resolves access breaches.

In conclusion, incident management is a complex yet vital process, ensuring smooth IT operations. By understanding its triggers, inputs, outputs, and interfaces, organizations can optimize the management of incidents, minimizing disruptions and maximizing service quality.

References: ITIL Service Operation, 2011 edition, ISBN 9780113313075