5 principles of effective IT problem management

1. Create a focus group to own the problem management process

In many organizations, a change advisory board reviews the change requests and advises the change managers or owners, reducing the business impact. Similarly, having a problem committee (PC) that identifies, prioritizes and assigns problems can effectively reduce the business impact. A PC can be a small, email-connected team with members from each area of the IT department, led by a manager who is responsible for all the tasks of the committee.

2. Analyze incident trends

Analyzing incident trends and reviewing high-impact incidents can help the PC identify problems. Let's consider an example. In an IT environment, multiple users report an application crash, which the IT team resolves by reinstalling the app within the prescribed SLA. However, this issue can reoccur, and the only way to solve it will be reinstallation. On the other hand, if the PC could identify the root cause, the IT team won't need to tackle multiple incidents caused by a single problem.

3. Establish a well-defined problem management process

Problem management is closely connected to other ITSM processes such as incident management, change management, asset management and CMDB. But still, problem management itself needs a well-documented, repeatable process so that it is easier and effective. To make problem management effective, implement a process that is easy and follows a logical sequence of steps.

First, you could record a problem after checking the database for any historical data on the problem. Then, you could see if a solution already exists. If not, the problem owner can classify the problem based on its impact and priority. Finally, you can provide a solution or initiate a change if necessary. Based on an organization's specific needs, the IT team can even tailor make the problem management process.

4. Perform a root cause analysis

When you institute an effective problem management model in your organization, you will reduce the inflow of multiple tickets for the same incident as well as recurring incidents. To meet this objective, an effective root cause analysis must be done. A root cause is the core of the problem, and removing the root cause ensures that the problem never reoccurs. You could use the simple five-why technique, the fishbone diagram, or the Pareto method to do this analysis. But you should also continuously strive to improve the root cause analysis.

5. Strive towards problem management maturity

A truly mature management model is one that is proactive. Proactive problem management involves identifying and resolving problems before incidents occur. Therefore, it must involve activities like investigation of fragile and vulnerable components of the IT environment, an analysis of a new patch or an upgrade to prevent incidents due to the patch or upgrade.

These five principles of best-in-class problem management will transform your help desk from a firefighting mode to a proactive powerhouse, ensuring that the statement "Houston, we've had a problem," is never associated with your IT.

This article was originally published in VMblog