Problem Management - Problem resolution
Ideally, as soon as a solution has been found, it should be applied to resolve the problem - but in reality safeguards may be needed to ensure that this does not cause further difficulties. If any change in functionality is required this will require an RFC to be raised and approved before the resolution can be applied. If the problem is very serious and an urgent fix is needed for business reasons, then an Emergency RFC should be handled by the Emergency Change Advisory Board (ECAB). Otherwise, the RFC should follow the established Change Management process for that type of change - and the resolution should be applied only when the change has been approved and scheduled for release. In the meantime, the KEDB should be used to help resolve quickly any further occurrences of the incidents/problems that occur.
Note: There may be some problems for which a Business Case for resolution cannot be justified (e.g. where the impact is limited but the cost of resolution would be extremely high). In such cases a decision may be taken to leave the Problem Record open but to use a workaround description in the Known Error Record to detect and resolve any recurrences quickly. Care should be taken to use the appropriate code to flag the open Problem Record so that it does not count against the performance of the team performing the process and so that unauthorized rework does not take place.
Problem Closure
When any change has been completed (and successfully reviewed), and the resolution has been applied, the Problem Record should be formally closed - as should any related Incident Records that are still open. A check should be performed at this time to ensure that the record contains a full historical description of all events - and if not, the record should be updated.
The status of any related Known Error Record should be updated to shown that the resolution has been applied.
Other ITIL Processes
In order to have a good understanding of ITIL and the importance of configuration management, we first define what ITIL is: ITIL is literally a collection of documentation.
This documentation can help IT organizations implement the best practices. The documentation grows and grows as more successful techniques are documented and guidelines established for what can make others successful. The latest ITIL resources are published by the UK Office of Government Commerce (OGC).
Integrated service delivery refers to the need for Configuration Management, Change Management, Incident Management, Problem Management and Release Management processes that are linked together in a meaningful manner. For example, the process of releasing components to the live environment (the domain of Release Management) is also an issue for Configuration Management and Change Management whilst the Service Desk is primarily responsible for liaison between IT providers and the Users of services. This section highlights the links and the principal relationships between all the Service Management and other infrastructure management processes.
ITIL processes fall under Operational Layer or Tactical Layer, as follows:
| Operational Layer: | Configuration Management - Service Desk Management - Incident & Problem Management - Change Management - Release Management |
| Tactical Layer: | Service Level Management - Availability Management - Capacity Management - Continuity Management - Financial Management |