ITIL^®4 Incident Categories: An end to chaos

ITIL^® 4 Incident Categories: An end to chaos

Whether you work with ITIL 4 or not, disruptions are incredibly annoying. They hinder the operational service business. They are unplanned, cause corresponding damage in the customer organizations, and usually require swift action by the service provider. But they are part and parcel. Anyone who works with ITIL knows that.

It is therefore important for you as a service provider to have an overview of the incidents that occur. After all, your primary goal in ITIL Incident Management is to make your services available to users again as quickly as possible.

The problem: The assignment to the ITIL services provided is usually too coarse for a meaningful categorization of faults and causes. The assignment to the respective affected components, the configuration items, is in turn too fine-grained.

A pragmatic solution is therefore to additionally assign the incidents to an incident category, which ensures sufficient depth for a meaningful clustering to the different topics. Today we will take a look at how to create such an individual category tree for your ITIL Incident Management.

1. address incident categories from the rough to the fine

Create a rough structure in the first step, get an overview of really all the areas you want to cluster. Create a complete rough structure before you go into details. Based on the amount of incidents in the rough structure, only detail the categories where you have a lot of incidents if needed.

2. clearly assign incident categories

Clear your "leftover box" into the last, furthest corner! Under no circumstances should you create a "Miscellaneous" or "Other" category. This only tempts you to bypass the structure and not clearly differentiate the individual topics. Clarify the categories with your service desk and with the downstream support units so that all categories are clear and transparent.

3. always keep the goal of your ITIL Incident Management in view

Consider where the benefit of the incident categories should lie for you. Do you want to achieve an easier assignment to the agent groups in the 2nd level? Do you want to identify trends in incidents? Do you need to meet certain reporting requirements in ITIL Incident Management? Or a mixture of all? Clarify for yourself where you want to achieve more transparency and always keep this goal in mind when developing your category tree.

4. classification and evaluations are not limited to categories alone.

If you want to get a clear picture of your faults, use not only the category tree but also other attributes such as the assignment to services or configuration item types. By combining these attributes and a differentiated evaluation, you get a clearer picture of the disruptions that happen to you.

5. deal with different category types, if that makes sense

If necessary, use different categories. A solution category, for example, supports you in clustering faults in terms of their causes and thus in establishing the mapping with Problem Management. On the other hand, an opening category, which is independent of this, can map the incident pattern that a user identifies. The reporting category, on the other hand, can map the customer or user perspective and thus support reporting. If you cannot establish a mapping to ITIL Services for your incidents, then you might work with a customer category that maps a similar perspective.

But be sure to keep your goal in mind - each additional category increases the effort required to document an incident. In ITIL Incident Management, you don't just want to document, you want to add value by resolving incidents quickly.

6. under no circumstances use manufacturer or product names

Never use manufacturer or product names in your category tree. The only exception may be proprietary developments, but even with that you should be careful. Rather than "Word", use a "Word Processor" category. Manufacturers come and go, products are replaced as needed. The consequence would be that you would have to rename categories, even though the benefits and services remain identical - an additional expense that you can unerringly avoid by making your ITIL Incident Management vendor-independent.

7. ensure histories

Make sure you keep track of the history of your categories. This will keep reports and reports consistent. When renaming records, you may falsify your historical data, and the assignment to problems or knowledge articles may then be incorrect. Rather create new categories and deactivate categories that are no longer valid. This will keep your historical data consistent and all assignments valid.

8. conduct regular reviews of the incident categories

Regularly review your category tree with key stakeholders. For example, involve the service desk, downstream support, the customer organization, management, and other stakeholders. Category tree requirements may change in terms of transparency, mappings, reporting, or other aspects. Make sure you identify these changes in requirements. Also consider that requirements will be placed on your category tree for large projects or new launches of ITIL services and products. Also ensure that the ITIL Incidents Management category tree is considered for large-scale measures.

9. nothing is for eternity - not even in ITIL

Say goodbye to the idea that your category tree can ever be "finished". A tree is a living system, it evolves. New branches are added, existing branches are cut. Likewise, your category tree is a living system that must constantly adapt to new ITIL services, technologies, changes in your organization, or similar circumstances. Stay "on the ball" with your ITIL Incident Management as changes occur and make sure that you always use the category tree that fits your organization perfectly.

10. let's go: Review your ITIL Incident Categories Now

Regularly take the time to review your ITIL Incident Management category tree. Make sure that your categories support you, your employees and the entire organization in the best possible way. The best thing to do is to start now!

Or do you need help defining your individual incident categories and aligning them with your goals? Then make your free consultation appointment now!