Problem management practice

Problem management practice (hereinafter, the Practice) is the practice to reduce the likelihood and impact of incidents by identifying actual and potential causes of incidents, and managing workarounds and known errors. The Practice relates to problem and service management. This Practice is a part of the ITIL practices.

Definitions

According to the ITIL Foundation 4e by Axelos,

Problem management practice. The practice of reducing the likelihood and impact of incidents by identifying actual and potential causes of incidents, and managing workarounds and known errors.

Purpose

▪ A problem is a cause, or potential cause, of one or more incidents
▪ A known error is a problem that has been analyzed and has not been resolved.
o A workaround is a solution that reduces or eliminates the impact of an incident or problem for which a full resolution is not yet available. Some workarounds reduce the likelihood of incidents.
▪ Workarounds are documented in problem records
▪ Workarounds can be done at any stage, it doesn't need to wait for analysis to be complete
▪ If a workaround has been documented early in problem control, then this should be reviewed and improved after problem analysis is complete
o Problem Management interacts with:
▪ Incident management
▪ Risk management
▪ Change control
▪ Knowledge management
▪ Continual improvement