Why ITSM Process Documentation Matters and How to Build It

What is ITSM?

ITSM (IT Service Management) is the process of providing IT services to end users and includes every aspect of the process, from design to delivery, with a focus on aligning IT services and key business objectives.

This doesn’t just include day-to-day support — ITSM includes all activities related to workplace technology, such as managing devices and software applications.

ITSM naturally involves many processes, from getting new employees their laptops to resolving tickets, and requires lots of technical knowledge, such as network structures. ITSM documentation is the way teams record these processes and structures for easier onboarding, communication, and problem solving.

Getting started with ITSM? Check out these 5 service management best practices >> 

Why is ITSM Documentation Important?

Complete, well-crafted, and up-to-date documentation is important for any team. To learn more about the importance of documentation and the benefits it provides (especially when created in Confluence for teams that work in the Atlassian ecosystem), check out our blog on Confluence documentation and how it empowers teams to work better together.

However, for IT teams specifically, there are four major benefits of having good documentation.

1. Save Time

ITSM documentation helps teams save time by streamlining the onboarding process and reducing the time required to search for solutions. When newcomers have documented processes to refer to, they can provide high-level service from day one, and even experienced team members can use documentation to deliver solutions faster.

Some ITSM teams create documentation for users to refer to when they encounter common issues with easy fixes. This can also help the team save time by deflecting tickets (reducing the number of tickets that users need to open), allowing the team to focus on issues that require more of their attention.  

2. Ensure Consistency

Smooth, consistent service is one of the highlights of an effective ITSM team, and documentation plays an important role in achieving that standard. 

When ITSM processes are documented, customers and users can feel confident that they will receive the same level of service regardless of if they’re being helped by the least or most experienced person on the team. 

3. Improve Customer & Employee Experience

Documentation helps you solve two ITSM challenges—making sure service is a positive experience for both customers and employees. When team members have easy access to information and don’t need to spend their limited time searching for it, they will be able to get more done with less frustration. 

When team members can find information fast, they can provide faster service to customers and resolve more issues than if they’d needed to search for information in multiple sources. Giving everyone easy access to the same information also makes service more consistent and reliable, increasing the chances that the customer will come away satisfied. 

4. Prevent Major Incidents

How does a minor incident evolve into a major one? Usually, it’s through slow response times or an improper initial response. Whether the incident is related to a security breach or an outage, it can result in damage to the organization’s reputation, which can lead to financial and workforce troubles.  

ITSM process documentation can help organizations avoid major incidents by providing a roadmap for quick and efficient incident response. When the team is aligned on best practices and resources for handling incidents when they arise, it is less likely for a minor incident to grow into a major one.  

Documenting Key ITSM Processes

Humans are hardwired to process information visually. 90% of the messages sent to the brain are visual, and going from seeing to processing is only a matter of milliseconds—so sometimes, a picture is the most effective way to communicate a concept, especially when it’s complicated. 

With this in mind, creating visuals for IT process documentation is the perfect way to make it an even more valuable resource for your team. There are several aspects of ITSM with different processes that you can document to save time, increase customer and employee experience, and ensure consistency. 

Request Management Processes 

Request management processes are designed to handle and fulfill service requests efficiently. These requests can range from simple inquiries to more complex service needs. Request processes might include: 

• Password reset requests: This process often involves identity verification and automated workflows.
• Access requests: When users request access to specific systems, applications, or data, approval workflows and compliance checks are necessary.
• Onboarding and offboarding requests: For new employees, this includes setting up accounts, providing equipment, and granting access. For departing employees, it involves revoking access and retrieving company assets.
• Subscription or licensing requests: Users may request subscriptions to new tools or services, and the process of granting this request might include cross-department approval workflows.
• IT support requests: Every day, ITSM teams respond to requests for support, such as troubleshooting connectivity issues, resolving application errors, or providing training. 

Incident Management Processes 

Incident management processes are designed to quickly identify, respond to, and resolve incidents while minimizing disruption to business operations. This may require documenting some or all of these processes: 

• Incident categorization: How do you categorize an incident into predefined categories such as “Network Issues,” “Application Errors,” or “Hardware Failures”? Does it include a decision tree? How do you proceed with incidents that fall into each category?
• Incident prioritization: How do you determine the priority level of an incident’s impact and what is the proper response for an incident at each level?
• Troubleshooting processes: Clearly define the order of operations when performing basic troubleshooting to identify the root cause of an incident.
• Escalation processes: If the service desk cannot resolve the issue, it is escalated to a higher-level support team. When do those teams get looped in?

Change Management Processes

Establishing change management processes ensures that changes to IT systems, infrastructure, or services are implemented in a controlled and efficient manner, minimizing risks and disruptions to business operations. There are several different levels of change management processes you may want to include in your ITSM process documentation: 

• Standard change processes, like updating software on user devices, follow a streamlined process with minimal approvals.
• Normal change processes, such as upgrading a server's operating system, may require a detailed assessment, risk analysis, and approval before implementation.
• Emergency change processes, like fixing a critical vulnerability, may bypass the usual approval process to address urgent issues quickly, but there should be procedures in place to address incidents properly.
• Change communication processes can also be helpful to document, so you can ensure users are notified of the timing and impact of planned changes before they occur. 

Knowledge Management Processes 

Knowledge management focuses on capturing, sharing, and maintaining knowledge to improve efficiency, reduce resolution times, and enhance service quality. Your ITSM process documentation is a key element of knowledge management! Processes related to knowledge management may include: 

• Knowledge feedback and improvement: How do you gather feedback on the impact of your documentation? This will help you improve your resources and continue to increase ticket deflection.
• Knowledge archiving: Implement processes for reviewing and archiving outdated information so you can keep your knowledge base relevant and clutter-free.
• Knowledge access control: You may not want everyone in your organization to have access to every part of your knowledge base, such as sensitive articles containing security information. What processes do you have in place to determine who has access and when to grant it to new users? 

ITSM Process Documentation Tools 

For ITSM teams managing tickets and documentation in the Atlassian ecosystem, Gliffy is the perfect way to add visuals as a reference. 

You can create, update, and share diagrams directly in Confluence, and they automatically update everywhere you embed them within your Confluence space. 

Learn more about how Gliffy helps ITSM teams deliver great service faster: 

Gliffy for ITSM