What is incident management in ITSM?
Incident management in ITSM refers to the structured process of identifying, recording, and resolving unplanned service interruptions or issues that degrade IT service quality. The primary goal is to restore normal operations as quickly as possible while minimizing impact on business activities and users.
Understanding what is incident management in ITSM is essential for organizations to ensure IT service continuity, meet SLAs, and maintain user satisfaction during outages or technical issues.
What Is an “Incident”?
An incident is any unplanned disruption or degradation in the performance of an IT service—such as application crashes, server downtime, network failures, or login issues.
Key Objectives of Incident Management:
- Restore service operation as quickly as possible
- Minimize negative impact on business operations
- Maintain agreed service levels (SLAs)
- Ensure effective communication during disruptions
- Prevent reoccurrence by documenting and analyzing incidents
Common Examples of Incidents:
- A user can’t access their email
- The website is down or loading slowly
- A printer is offline and not responding
- An application crashes unexpectedly
- Network connection drops intermittently
Incident Management Process in ITSM:
- Incident Detection & Logging – Capturing the issue via ticketing system or monitoring tools
- Categorization & Prioritization – Assigning severity and urgency
- Initial Diagnosis – Performed by L1 support
- Escalation (if needed) – Passed to L2 or L3 support for advanced resolution
- Investigation & Resolution – Root cause analysis and fix
- Closure – After confirming issue is resolved and user is satisfied
- Post-Incident Review – Optional for major or repeated incidents
Tools Used in Incident Management:
- ServiceNow
- Jira Service Management
- Freshservice
- Zendesk
- BMC Helix
- ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
These tools offer ticket tracking, automation, SLA monitoring, notifications, and integration with CMDB or change management systems.
Benefits of Effective Incident Management:
- Faster resolution of service disruptions
- Higher end-user satisfaction
- Improved IT team productivity
- Better visibility into recurring issues
- Enhanced compliance with SLA requirements
- Reduced business downtime and loss
Incident Management vs Problem Management
| Function | Focus |
|---|---|
| Incident Management | Quick restoration of service |
| Problem Management | Identifying and fixing the root cause of one or more incidents |
Final Thoughts
Understanding what is incident management in ITSM helps businesses respond effectively to service disruptions, reduce downtime, and improve IT service reliability. By implementing a well-structured incident management process, organizations can ensure faster recovery, better user experience, and strong IT service performance.
