_Incident and request management process

Typically, 5 main areas of incident management are listed. These are: identification, protection, detection, response (reaction) and recovery - we listed a bit more below to show you the full potential of IT Service Management platform used for incident management.

Incident management encompasses several key areas to ensure a comprehensive and effective response to unexpected events. These areas often follow a structured approach, such as the Incident Management Lifecycle. Here are the key components:

1. Incident identification:
   • Promptly recognizing and acknowledging incidents.
   • Utilizing monitoring tools, reports, and user feedback to identify potential issues.
2. Incident logging:
   • Recording detailed information about the incident, including time of occurrence, affected systems, and initial assessment.
   • Creating a comprehensive incident log for future reference and analysis.
3. Incident categorization:
   • Classifying incidents based on their nature, impact, and urgency.
   • Assigning appropriate priority levels to guide the response effort.
4. Initial incydent diagnosis:
   • Conducting a preliminary assessment to understand the scope and potential causes of the incident.
   • Determining the severity and impact on services.
5. Escalation procedures:
   • Establishing clear escalation paths to involve higher-level support or management if needed.
   • Ensuring a smooth transition of incidents to the appropriate team for resolution.
6. Incident investigation and analysis:
   • Performing a thorough investigation to identify root causes.
   • Analyzing the incident's impact on systems, processes, and users.
7. Resolution and recovery:
   • Implementing corrective actions to resolve the incident.
   • Restoring affected services to normal operation as quickly as possible.
8. Communication and notification:
   • Keeping stakeholders informed about the incident's status and progress.
   • Notifying relevant parties, including users, customers, and internal teams, about the ongoing resolution efforts.
9. Documentation and reporting:
   • Documenting the entire incident management process for future reference.
   • Generating incident reports to analyze patterns, trends, and areas for improvement.
10. Post-Incident Review (PIR):
    • Conducting a comprehensive review after the incident is resolved.
    • Identifying lessons learned, areas for improvement, and updating incident response plans accordingly.
11. Continuous improvement:
    • Iteratively refining incident management processes based on feedback and experiences.
    • Implementing changes to enhance future incident response capabilities.

We should also remember to learn from historical data. An additional protection and improvement is IT monitoring that continuously checks the correct functioning of a company's systems.

By addressing these key areas, organizations can establish a robust incident management framework that enables them to respond effectively to disruptions while continually improving their overall incident response capabilities.

You need incident management, so your business can run smoothly, prosper and not fall behind the competition. The larger the company, the more sophisticated the IT infrastructure, and therefore the higher the risk of major incidents. By choosing to implement an incident management process, you will avoid the frustration of frequently "putting out fires" out of the blue, spontaneously and without a response plan, often lacking adequate materials for analysis once the situation is resolved. The incident management process is all about bringing order to chaos, ensuring the smooth operation of the DevOps/IT team, which is vital for ensuring that business processes function correctly from the technical side. What's more, incident management is just one of the many processes you can digitize and run in an ITSM environment. An IT Service Management platform provides seamless communication, data archiving, automation of repetitive activities, scalability, flexibility and ease. It connects all the company's teams by establishing roles, milestones and the appropriate flow of activities, as well as acceptance paths, tailored to the specifics of the company's operations.

An incident response plan and an incident management template are related concepts within the broader field of cybersecurity and operational resilience, but they serve different purposes in the context of handling incidents.

1. Incident Response Plan (IRP):
   • Purpose: an incident response plan is a comprehensive document that outlines the organization's strategy for addressing and mitigating the impact of cybersecurity incidents or other unexpected events.
   • Contents: It typically includes detailed procedures, roles and responsibilities, communication strategies, escalation paths, and specific steps to be taken during each phase of incident response (preparation, identification, containment, eradication, recovery, and lessons learned).
   • Focus: The primary focus of an incident response plan is to guide the organization's response to incidents in a structured and coordinated manner, ensuring that the right actions are taken to minimize damage and facilitate recovery.
2. Incident Management Template:
   • Purpose: An incident management template, on the other hand, is a more specific and often standardized document or set of documents that provide a framework for recording and managing information during the course of an incident.
   • Contents: It may include predefined forms, checklists, and templates for logging incident details, categorizing incidents, documenting actions taken, and capturing lessons learned.
   • Focus: The primary focus of an incident management template lies in documenting and tracking aspects of incident management. It helps ensure that relevant information is consistently recorded and organized for analysis, reporting, and improvement purposes.

In summary, the incident response plan is a strategic document that guides the organization's overall approach to incident handling, while the incident management template is a more tactical tool used during the actual response to capture and manage information. The plan outlines the "what" and "why" of incident response, while the template provides a structured format for the "how" and "when" during the incident itself. Both are essential components of a comprehensive incident management program.

Problem management focuses on identifying and addressing the root causes of recurring incidents to prevent future occurrences, aiming for long-term solutions and system improvements. In contrast, incident management is concerned with the immediate and efficient resolution of disruptions, minimizing their impact on services and restoring normal operations quickly. While incident management aims to address symptoms swiftly, problem management delves deeper to eliminate underlying issues and enhance overall system reliability.