1 Introduction

1.1 Vision statement

The vision of [Service Provider] in the area of service management is as follows:

[Insert the vision statement defined as part of service strategy]

This process forms a key part of the realisation of that vision.

1.2 Purpose

The effective management of incidents affecting IT services is absolutely critical to the provision of adequate service availability. Incident management is very much a “front-line” activity and is often the only view a user will have of [Service Provider]. It is important therefore that it is carried out according to a clear, well designed process.

This document defines how the process of Incident Management is implemented within [Organization Name].

The purpose of the incident management process according to ITIL® is:

“ … to restore normal service operation as quickly as possible and minimise the adverse impact on business operations, thus ensuring that agreed levels of service quality are maintained.”

Source: “ITIL Service Operation Book 2011. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2011. Reproduced under license from AXELOS.

An incident is defined as:

“ … an unplanned interruption to an IT service or a reduction in the quality of an IT service or failure of a CI that has not yet impacted an IT service (for example failure of one disk from a mirror set).”

Source: “ITIL Service Operation Book 2011. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2011. Reproduced under license from AXELOS.

1.3 Objectives

The objectives of the incident management process are to:

• Define the way in which incidents will be managed and reported on so that consistency is achieved within the IT organization • Ensure that the management of incidents takes due account of business priorities and helps to maximise business productivity • Foster an effective and efficient approach to the handling of incidents that presents a positive image to the business and maintains user satisfaction • Ensure that information about incidents and their impact is communicated to the relevant parties in a timely and accurate manner at all times

1.4 Scope

The scope of this process is defined according to the following parameters:

• Organizational o [List organizations and parts of those organizations covered] • Geographical o [List locations from which incidents will be reported and managed] • Services o [Define the services covered by the process] • Technical o [If necessary, cover the technology that may give rise to incidents managed via this process]

This process covers all incidents recorded by [Service Provider] in support of the customers and users of services defined in the service catalogue.

The following areas are specifically excluded from this process:

[Describe any areas that need to be clearly stated as outside the scope]