Christina
For me, I believe that to minimize repeat occurrences and reduce their impact, problem management focuses on identifying and addressing the underlying causes of reoccurring incidents. My organization proactively evaluates incident data, spots trends, and pinpoints root causes by putting in place an efficient Issue Management strategy. We use a system called RL6 to help with this problem identification. This system makes it possible for us to help to identify root cause and then work on steps to avoid events and the interruptions they cause from happening in the first place.
With problem management we work to prevent over reactions by identifying underlying causes. Then we implement change management processes to notify users of new procedures that alleviate recurrence. This kind of communication and collaboration has helped us with information sharing and has allowed subject matter experts to be involved in processes that might otherwise have caused a trickle effect of inconsistency for users down the line. We send out change notices and then follow up on the progress by benchmarking what was happening against what improvements have been made. Then we readjust if needed.
I truly think that having several processes running at the same time, or in succession, helps with continuous improvement and aids in eliminating future issues.
Michelle
I would begin with Change Management. Since IT operations affect a large number of people, roles, and systems, the impact of intentionally moving the organization's mindset from reactive to proactive will be far-reaching and will require the support of the full organization. By focusing our efforts on change management early in the project, we can prepare for success by preplanning for this change of mindset, identifying current reactive rather than proactive processes, and developing a communications strategy to support the change.