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Showing posts from July, 2025

Service Requests and Standard Changes

Paul recently asked a question about Service Requests: Hello, when browsing the topic of Service Requests, I visited your site where a question was answered on the differences and similarities of Service Requests and Standard Changes . I was intrigued by the following passage: It is important to note that not all Service Requests are Standard Changes. Service Requests can include questions, queries, complaints, and compliments. Similarly, not all Standard Changes are Service Requests. Standard Changes can include batch jobs, patches, and other low-risk changes that are not 'requestable' by the user. Any Service Request or Standard Change that presents a higher risk may require reassessment and reclassification by Change Enablement. I am trying to think of a term that would differentiate one from the other. Considering that there are Service Requests that may invoke a Standard Change, I see two possibilities: it may be a Standard Change that can ...

Incidents and Defects: What’s the Right Approach in ITIL 4?

When an incident is caused by a defect, how should IT teams respond? It’s a question we’ve been answering for years, and it’s still just as relevant, especially in today’s complex, fast-moving environments where software, infrastructure, and services are deeply interconnected. In ITIL 4 , an incident is defined as an unplanned interruption to a service or reduction in the quality of a service . That hasn’t changed. But what happens when the root cause of that interruption is a defect -  an underlying flaw in software, hardware, or configuration? Here's the Modern Approach: Log the incident : The user is experiencing an interruption that needs immediate attention. Document known defect links : If the defect is known (e.g., “already logged with Dev”), link the incident to the problem record , known error , or defect backlog in your tracking system (Jira, Azure DevOps, etc.). Communicate expectations : While the defect may not have a quick fix, the incident response sh...