Problem Management

What is  Problem Management ?

The problem management appears in Service Operation process of ITIL v3.

The objective of ITIL Problem Management is to manage the lifecycle of all Problems. The primary objectives of Problem Management are to prevent Incidents from happening, and to minimize the impact of incidents that cannot be prevented. Proactive Problem Management analyzes Incident Records, and uses data collected by other IT Service Management processes to identify trends or significant Problems.

Objectives:

·         Minimize the consequences of the incident

·         Removal of the root cause of the incidents

·         Prevention of the root causes and the problems

·         Prevention of recurrence of incident related errors

·         Trend analysis

·         Targeting support action

·         Providing information to the organization

·         Update the Known Error DB (KEDB)

·         Provide work around as temporary solution

·         Create and maintain the checklist for the problem management

Sub processes:

Proactive Problem Identification

Process Objective: To improve overall availability of services by proactively identifying Problems. Proactive Problem Management aims to identify and solve Problems and/or provide suitable Workarounds before (further) Incidents recur.

Problem Categorization and Prioritization

Process Objective: To record and prioritize the Problem with appropriate diligence, in order to facilitate a swift and effective resolution.

Problem Diagnosis and Resolution

Process Objective: To identify the underlying root cause of a Problem and initiate the most appropriate and economical Problem solution. If possible, a temporary Workaround is supplied.

Problem and Error Control

Process Objective: To constantly monitor outstanding Problems with regards to their processing status, so that where necessary corrective measures may be introduced.

Problem Closure and Evaluation

Process Objective: To ensure that - after a successful Problem solution - the Problem Record contains a full historical description, and that related Known Error Records are updated.

Major Problem Review

Process Objective: To review the resolution of a Problem in order to prevent recurrence and learn any lessons for the future. Furthermore it is to be verified whether the Problems marked as closed have actually been eliminated.

Problem Management Reporting

Process Objective: ITIL Problem Management Reporting aims to ensure that the other Service Management processes as well as IT Management are informed of outstanding Problems, their processing-status and existing Workarounds.

Role and Responsibilities of Problem Manager

·         The Problem Manager is responsible for managing the lifecycle of all Problems.

·         His primary objectives are to prevent Incidents from happening, and to minimize the impact of Incidents that cannot be prevented.

·         To this purpose he maintains information about Known Errors and Workarounds.

·         Allocate Resource.

·         Evaluate effectiveness of problem solving.

Key performance Indicators for successful problem solving

·         Number of incidents re-opened

·         Time need to solve the problem

·         Cost incurred

Critical Success Factors

·         Well defined process

·         Well documented procedure

·         Effective automated registration

·         SME

·         Effective coordination between Incident Management and Problem Management