What is Problem Management: definition and objectives
Problem Management is an ITIL practice that deals with the entire lifecycle of underlying problems, with the aim of preventing incidents or reducing their impact on the business.
A ‘problem’ refers to the cause, known or potential, that generates one or more incidents.
The main objectives of Problem Management are twofold: to prevent incidents from occurring and, when they do occur, to apply a permanent solution that stops the problem from recurring. This process can be:
- Reactive, activating after an incident has occurred;
- Proactive, identifying and resolving errors in the IT infrastructure before they can cause service disruptions.
The 5 phases of Problem Management
The Problem Management process generally develops through several operational phases, with the goal of ensuring a structured and efficient management of problems. Although sources may describe it with varying levels of detail, it can be summarized in five main steps:
- Identification and Recording: The process begins with the detection of a potential problem, often identified through the analysis of recurring incidents or automated monitoring systems. Once identified, the problem is formally recorded to ensure traceability.
- Classification and Impact Assessment: The problem is categorized and prioritized based on criteria such as severity, frequency, and potential effects on the business, so that efforts are focused on the most critical situations.
- Analysis and Diagnosis of the Root Cause (Root Cause Analysis): The main cause of the problem is investigated.
- Permanent Resolution: Once the root cause is identified, a definitive technical solution is implemented to correct the problem at its source and prevent it from recurring.
- Verification, Documentation and Closure: After implementation, the effectiveness of the solution is checked and it is confirmed that the problem does not reoccur. All activities, including actions taken and solutions applied, are documented in the Knowledge Base, enriching the company’s informational assets before the official closure of the problem.
Main differences between Incident and Problem Management
The main differences between Incident and Problem Management lie in their ultimate objectives and time horizons.
Incident Management aims to restore service to the user as quickly as possible. It is a reactive process that focuses on the visible symptom (the outage) and often applies temporary solutions (workarounds) to get normal business activities back on track.
Unlike Incident Management, which focuses on quickly restoring service to reduce the immediate impact of incidents, Problem Management takes a long-term approach, focusing on the IT infrastructure. Its main purpose is not to manage urgency, but to thoroughly analyze malfunctions in order to identify their Root Cause. By identifying and eliminating the underlying cause, it is possible to prevent the same problems from recurring and to improve the system’s reliability in a lasting way.
How to optimize Problem Management with Rexpondo
Optimizing Problem Management with Rexpondo is based on the close integration with Incident Management. The platform manages both processes in a similar way, with one key difference: while an incident has a direct impact on the user, a problem represents a targeted action on the infrastructure, arising from the analysis of the incidents themselves.
Thanks to this approach, the IT team can focus on identifying corrective actions and best practices to apply to the infrastructure, with a strategic and long-term perspective. The goal is to prevent the recurrence of incidents, reduce response times and simplify responsibility flows, avoiding unnecessary handoffs between teams.
