I did the “Putting ITIL Into Practice” training, and what stuck wasn’t the jargon: it was having a repeatable way to handle incidents when the queue gets busy.
My Usual Flow
Nothing fancy:
- Log it: who, what system, what’s broken, how urgent
- Categorize it: M365, network, endpoint, something else
- Fix it: use your notes, ask a colleague, check the knowledge base
- Confirm with the user: make sure it’s actually resolved for them
- Close and document: future you will be grateful
When the Same Thing Keeps Happening
That’s when I step back and ask why. Root cause analysis doesn’t have to be a formal project: sometimes it’s noticing that every VPN issue traces back to the same expired certificate.
Knowledge Articles Save Time
Every resolved incident is a candidate for a short write-up:
- What the user saw
- What fixed it
- What to check first next time
The next person on shift shouldn’t have to rediscover your workaround.
Bottom Line
ITIL gave me structure. Experience taught me when to follow it strictly and when to use common sense. Both help.