Incident and Service Request Workflow

Incidents and Service Requests have similar (but slightly different) workflows.

The following figure describes the high-level Incident/Request workflow.

Incident Workflow

1	The choice between Incident and Service Request is automatically determined by CSM: Incident: Initiator reports that something is not working. Service Request: Initiator requests information, advice, access or a standard change. Incidents are investigated and resolved, Service Requests are fulfilled.
2	Assigned team: Select the team owner. Assigned to: Select the owner. Assign to me: Make yourself the owner.
3	Owner: Searches the Knowledge Base. Views similar Incidents/Service Requests. Creates Tasks (example: Work Items, Escalations, Time Tracking). Uses Actions (example: One-Step Actions, Quick Templates). Selects available Service Catalog Template (SCT).
4	Owner resolves the Incident by: Marking it as Resolved. Recording the resolution details. Recording the resolution code.
5	Owner fulfills the Service Request by: Marking it as Resolved. Recording the resolution details.

Note:CSM uses several features to manage the Incident or Request workflow (example: The Incident Form helps create and track Incidents, One-Step Actions help move an Incident through its workflow, Automation Processes notify stakeholders via emails, dashboards notify stakeholders and track metrics, SCTs and Work Units allow automation of tasks, etc.). See Incident Features, Incident One-Step Actions, and Incident Automation Processes.

Contributors

An Incident or a Request typically involves the following contributors. Depending on your workflow and the size of your company, some of these contributors might be combined into one person:

Requester: Person who initiates the Incident/Request. This is typically a customer.
Creator: User who first logs the Incident/Request. This is a user; the level varies depending on tiered support.
Owner: User who manages (investigates/resolves/fulfills) the Incident/Request. This is typically a technician; the level varies depending on tiered support.
Task owner: User to whom Tasks are assigned in order to help resolve/fulfill an Incident/Request (example: Work Unit owner, Approval owner).

Statuses

An Incident or a Request progressing through the workflow encounters the following statuses:

New: Incident/Request is being created, recorded (initial details), classified, and assigned to an owner.
Assigned: Incident/Request has been assigned to an owner.
In Progress: Incident/Request is being investigated/fulfilled and resolved by an owner.
Pending: Incident/Request is temporarily paused (Stop The Clock).
Resolved: Incident/Request has been resolved and is waiting to be closed.
Closed: Incident/Request is closed.
Reopened: Incident/Request is reopened because the issue was not fixed or reoccurred.