What is Workflow Chart?
The flow chart is the expression of the methods to be followed in order to solve any problem with figures. Each step of the flowcharts consists of symbols with different meanings. Relationships between these symbols are shown with arrows.
Drawing a flowchart is one of the best ways to help you recognize the gaps between the beginning and the end of your work or to make it better.
In this article, we will talk about the importance of workflow diagrams, the meaning of the shapes used, and the incident management workflows in IT service management.
The Importance of Workflow Charts
You do not have a chance to get a result from the workflow chart, you can only display the existing information in an easy and understandable way. Thanks to these charts, which make it easy to work on and analyze the examined process, you can reach accurate and effective results in a much shorter time.
Benefits of Workflow Charts
⦁ With the flow charts, the processes of a job will be discussed and examined in more detail.
⦁ The inputs and outputs of the process will be clearly visible.
⦁ By separating value-added and non-value-added works, the quality of the process is increased.
⦁ Complex processes can be understood by everyone with a flow chart.
⦁ With flow charts, “Who will contribute to the process and how? ” can be answered more clearly.
Points to Consider While Preparing the Work Flow Chart
⦁ The diagram should always begin and end with the figure representing the start and end statements.
⦁ Figures should always be drawn proportionally and regularly.
⦁ The arrows directing the flow should be positioned as close to the center of the figure as possible.
⦁ The scheme can be simplified by giving colors to the symbols according to the criteria you specify.
⦁ Long flow charts should be avoided. If necessary, sub-flow charts should be created.
Figures Used in Workflow Charts and Their Meanings
There are many shapes used in work flow charts. On the side, you can see the most needed shapes and what they are used for when solving any problem.
Information Technology Service Management (ITSM)
The service management process is a workflow designed to record, monitor and scale all events in Information Technologies. For business continuity, IT service operations must run smoothly and must not be interrupted. ITIL (Information Technology Information Library) puts Incident Management through a workflow to increase efficiency for both service providers and end users. Incident Management in ITSM processes plays a vital role in the day-to-day operations of organizations large and small. To ensure IT support teams are effective, a clear process flow must be implemented from incident initiation to resolution.
What is Incident Management?
ITSM and ITIL define an event as an unplanned outage or degradation in normal service, which can include anything from a broken printer to an application that fails to load. As a result, events mean that something is broken or needs to be fixed. Incident management is managed by support units when incidents occur. Duties; identifying and repairing incidents to fulfill defined service levels as soon as possible. The IT help desk can provide incident management with the user and other stakeholders via email. But the best incident management is for support teams to do it with an enterprise call system and a custom process flow.
How Should IT Service Management Event Flow Be?
The processes involved in the ITIL event management flow are:
⦁ Describing and recording the event
Any incident must be detected in a timely manner to prevent service interruptions or further damage. After the incident is determined, service teams; It takes the date and time of the event, detailed description of the problem, username and contact information and opens a call with this information.
⦁ Classification of the event
It is the process of assigning a category and at least one subcategory to events. In this way, service teams can categorize incidents and prioritize certain problems automatically. Calls can be forwarded to different support teams and categories.
⦁ Prioritization of the event
Prioritizing incidents is the act of resolving high-profile incidents first or on a urgency basis. Incidents are prioritized at four key levels: Critical, High, Medium, and Low.
⦁ Resolution of the Incident
After the events are prioritized, resolution times are assigned accordingly according to predetermined criteria. Of course the critical ones should be solved first. Accordingly, the solution includes four basic steps.
⦁ Initial diagnosis
⦁ Event escalation
⦁ Research and diagnosis
⦁ Solution and recovery
⦁ Closing the Incident
This is the final step of incident management. Here, teams end the call by obtaining approval from the reporting end user and updating their knowledge database.
Benefits of Implementing Incident Management Process Flow
⦁ Reducing the number of events.
⦁ Increasing the efficiency of IT services.
⦁ To be able to produce a quick solution to the incident.
⦁ Reducing costs.
⦁ To increase user satisfaction.
⦁ Reducing the impact on the organization and end users.
⦁ Prevention of reputational losses.
The Role of Flow Charts in IT Service Management
You can assist IT support teams to monitor incident response actions through IT service management flowcharts, and guide them to resolve issues with guidelines and documentation.
By letting your team know exactly what to do and when to do it, you can fix the interruption as quickly as possible and maximize service quality and customer satisfaction.
As an example of an IT Service Management Flow Chart in its simplest form, we can give the following figure.
The free software draw.io was used to create this diagram. You can use many paid or free software to draw a work flow chart.
Conclusion
As a result, a recent survey of 400 companies found that 32% of organizations experience a major event at least once a month. Major events not only cause great costs to organizations but also cause loss of prestige. Therefore, you should have a regular ITSM processes, optimize these processes, manage work flows correctly, and implement guiding schemes to increase the efficiency of IT support teams.
