Problem Management
Overview
Problem Management aims to resolve the root cause(s) of Incidents, minimize the adverse impact of Incidents and Problems within the IT infrastructure, prevent recurrence of Incidents related to these errors, and recommend proactive measures to prevent future Incidents.
A Problem is defined as “an unknown underlying cause of multiple, persistent, or Major Incidents, including observed or monitored Events that may lead to Major Incidents.”
A Root Cause is defined as “the underlying or original cause(s) of Events or Incidents.”
While Problem and Incident Management are tied closely together, they are not the same. Incident Management seeks to restore service to an acceptable working level as quickly as possible. Problem Management pursues the root cause of one or more Incidents to prevent future Incidents. On average, Problems take much longer to resolve than Incidents.
How can I get assistance with a Problem?
- Contact the Problem Management process owner
- Initiate a Problem record in Pegasus
- Initiate a Communications record in Pegasus, then escalate to an Incident. Incident Management will determine if the Incident further identifies a trend that requires Problem Management involvement.
For further information and supporting documents, please go to Problem Management on VUMC SharePoint.