Incident vs Service request: How are they different?

The line between an incident and a service request is often quite blurry and causes even the hardcore ITIL & ITSM (IT service management) geeks among us to explosively disagree. As per ITIL v2, there was no such differentiation to begin with. All the issues and requests raised by users were collectively grouped together as incidents under incident management. However, with the launch of ITIL v3, the framework most service desk software today were originally based on, incidents split into two categories: service requests and incidents. This differentiation was also accompanied by the new request fulfilment process introduced specifically to manage service requests.

What is an incident?

ITIL v3 defines an incident as ‘an unplanned interruption to an IT service or reduction in the quality of an IT service.’ ‘Unplanned interruptions’ in IT service management are called incidents. These incidents are either raised by end-users or captured automatically by the ITSM tool and routed to the service desk. ITIL recommends a process called incident management to provide a quick fix that resolves the interruption and restores the service to its full capacity. These interruptions can be anything from your computer not booting, unresponsive applications, to the WiFi not working. These incidents get logged as individual tickets in the service desk, and depending on the capability of the ITSM tool, are assigned to the right agents or groups based on skill, workload, priority, and other criteria. In some cases, agents use automation rules to pre-define responses to certain types of tickets so that it saves time and improves their productivity.

What is a service request?

Service requests, however, are formal requests from users for something to be provided – for example, a request for information or advice. In other words, a service request is raised when you want to procure something that you don’t have in the first place. Be it access to the printer or upgrading to a higher version of a software application.

Top 7 service catalog examples from across industries

Service request management

ITIL, the most widely recognized best practice framework for IT service management, recommends a process called service request management. In this process, ITIL strongly encourages using a service catalog to streamline service requests. When end users need access to services within the organization’s scope, they can raise those requests from the service catalog. If you’re wondering what a service catalog is, it is a collection of information on all services an organization provides. It is a central repository that details the services available, their scope, the processes and stakeholders involved, and any service level agreements (SLAs). The service catalog is a key component of service request management. It provides several important benefits, like improving user/employee experience, streamlining service request fulfillment, better resource allocation, and controlling costs. Depending on the ITSM tool capability, the service request management can be fast-tracked using automation rules. Agents can setup workflow automation to orchestrate the service request management from start to finish. For example, when an employee requests access for a higher plan on a software application, the automation rule can check whether the employee is authorized to use that plan. Based on the criteria, the automation workflow can involve manager approvals, notify stakeholders, and then grant access.

The difference: incident vs. service request

A key factor distinguishing service requests from incidents is that service requests, more than incidents, are more likely to include pre-approved or standard changes. These changes are relatively low risk and don’t require much perusal and approval in the service request management process. For instance, let’s say that it is company policy at an organization to provide every employee with additional storage space when they run out. If this is the case and an employee wants to request extra memory, this can raise a service request on their internal ITSM tool. This is also a pre-approved, standard change that doesn’t require any further study to be granted.

To summarize

Identifying these pre-approved changes can be a huge time saver in service desk operations. This is where distinguishing between service requests and incidents can help you run things better. By categorizing and resolving pre-approved IT changes as service requests, you can ensure that they do not enter an unnecessarily complicated workflow. Also, once you create a strong service request system, you can initiate self-service by adding on a service catalog that your users can utilize to select the exact service that they need. And finally, distinguishing between incident management and service requests can help you in the long run too, because it enables your team to identify the nature of tickets you’re receiving and to decide where your resources are best allocated. This will also help you in reducing your service desk agents stress and improve their productivity.