Incidents, Requests, Problems & Changes
The queue holds a broken laptop and a request for a new laptop. It also holds the fifth broken laptop of the same model this month, and the plan to replace that model. These are four different kinds of work, with four different clocks and four different ways of being finished. Most small desks keep them in one list, under one word, which is "ticket". The broken laptop needs fixing today. The new laptop needs approving and ordering. The fifth one needs someone to notice it is the fifth. The replacement plan needs a date and a rollback. Treating them the same is why the request breaches an incident target and the problem never gets opened at all.
This series is the vocabulary and the practice. It covers the four work types in plain words with examples. It covers why separating them matters for clocks, workflows and reports. It covers the daily call between incident and request, with its gray areas. Then comes implementing four types in an ordinary help desk tool that has no type field. It covers requests, approvals and fulfilment as their own small lifecycle. And it covers reporting by work type so the monthly summary says something. Problem management and change management each get a series of their own next door. This one is the map.
Articles in This Series
- The Four Work Types in Plain Words, With Three Examples Each
Incident, request, problem, change: definitions with three examples each, the one-line test for each, why the names matter, and a four-type definition card. - Why Separating Incidents, Requests, Problems and Changes Matters
Different clocks, different workflows, different reports; what happens when they are mixed; and a per-type expectations table. - Incident or Request? The Daily Call and Its Gray Areas
The gray areas worked through, the decision table, who decides, changing the type later, and the decision table to copy. - Implementing Four Types in an Ordinary Help Desk Tool
No type field and no problem or change module: a form or department per type, a subject prefix, a category branch, a linked ticket, and a conventions table. - Requests, Approvals and Fulfilment on a Small Desk
The request lifecycle, approval captured in the ticket, the standard request list with its approver and expected time, and a mini request catalog. - Reporting by Work Type: What the Split Tells You
What the split tells you, incidents to requests, problems opened versus closed, changes that caused incidents, and a monthly work-type summary.
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This series is part of the QuerySolv helpdesk topic library. It covers the foundations, processes, communication, knowledge, tooling, metrics, classic ticket domains, people and strategy behind a support desk that works. The library pairs well with the software we build: QuerySolv. It is a self-hosted help desk that runs as one Windows service on your own network. It is licensed once per installation, not per agent per month.