Understanding Incidents vs Service Requests
The purpose of this article is to help you define the difference between Incidents vs Service Requests.
Incident: an unplanned interruption to an IT Service or a reduction in the Quality of an IT Service. Failure of a Configuration Item that has not yet impacted Service is also an Incident.
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Example 1: Executime has an error that states it cannot connect to the database.
- Example 2: Your printer is jamming repeatedly, or its not printing at all
- Example 3: Clericus is running slow when searching cases
Incidents are any request that is related to a function that is part of your normal work process that is either not working or has degraded performance
Service Request: a user request for information or advice, or for a standard change (a pre-approved change that is low risk, relatively common and follows a procedure) or for access to an IT service.
- Example 1: You need CIMS installed on your PC (No Approval Needed)
- Example 2: You would like a modification of a report in SSRS (Supervisor Approval Required)
- Example 3: Oops, you forgot your password (No Approval Needed)
Anything you need that is required to do your job with or without approval and does not fall into the Incident Category