Problem management and change management are key IT service management (ITSM) processes focused on improving service reliability and minimizing disruption.
Problem Management is the process responsible for managing the lifecycle of all problems. A problem is the root cause of one or more incidents. The goal isn't just to fix an immediate issue, but to prevent future occurrences or minimize their impact.
According to information dated 26-Jan-2022, problem management is more than finding issues and their root cause as they occur. It enables IT admins to not only find and manage issues for future incidents but also optimize overall service quality.
Key activities in Problem Management include:
- Problem Identification: Recognizing recurring incidents or patterns that indicate an underlying problem.
- Problem Categorization & Prioritization: Assessing the impact and urgency of identified problems.
- Investigation & Diagnosis: Determining the root cause of the problem.
- Workaround Implementation: Providing a temporary solution to reduce the impact of incidents while the root cause is being fixed.
- Error Control: Addressing the root cause and documenting the permanent fix.
- Problem Closure: Verifying the solution and formally closing the problem record.
Example: If multiple users report slow network speeds daily (incidents), problem management investigates to find the root cause, which might be a faulty router (the problem).
What is Change Management?
Change Management is the process that controls the lifecycle of all changes, enabling beneficial changes to be made with minimum disruption to IT services. A change is an addition, modification, or removal of anything that could have an effect on IT services.
Like problem management, change management is about optimizing overall service quality by ensuring changes are planned, assessed, approved, implemented, and reviewed properly, as highlighted by information from 26-Jan-2022.
Key activities in Change Management include:
- Change Request Submission: Submitting a proposal for a change.
- Change Assessment: Evaluating the potential impact, risks, and resources required for the change.
- Change Approval: Gaining authorization from relevant stakeholders (often a Change Advisory Board - CAB).
- Change Implementation: Executing the planned change.
- Change Review: Evaluating the success of the change and its impact.
- Change Closure: Formally closing the change record.
Example: Upgrading a server's operating system is a change. Change management ensures this upgrade is planned, approved, tested, and implemented during a maintenance window to minimize user impact.
Problem Management vs. Change Management
While distinct, these processes often interact. Problem management might identify a root cause that requires a significant change to fix (e.g., replacing hardware), triggering the change management process. Both processes are crucial for proactive IT service improvement.
| Feature | Problem Management | Change Management |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Goal | Find and fix root causes; prevent future incidents | Control changes; minimize disruption |
| Trigger | Recurring incidents; known errors | Need for new services; modifications; fixes |
| Focus | Stability; reliability; preventing issues | Controlling modifications; successful deployment |
As the referenced information notes, Problem and change management are more than finding issues and their root cause as they occur. They are strategic processes designed to optimize overall service quality by proactively managing issues (problems) and controlling modifications (changes).
