IT Service Management Glossary
Terms and definitions you need to know as an ITSM practitioner
A
AIops
A searchable library of how-tos, guides, and solutions designed to deflect tickets and empower users.
Asset
Assets are the different types of software and hardware in an IT environment.
Asset Discovery
The process of scanning your network to automatically detect and catalog IT assets.
Asset Lifecycle Management
Asset Lifecycle Management tracks the status of all the assets in the organization through different phases like procurement, maintenance, depreciation, and disposal.
Asset Management
Asset management is a set of processes and practices that are used to manage the end-to-end lifecycle of IT assets. The processes include purchasing, auditing, inventorying, and more.
Asset Relationships
Asset relationships help you control and manage the way different assets are tied to each other in an IT organization. Establishing strong asset relationships are crucial to effective incident and problem management.
C
CAB
Change Advisory Board (CAB) is a panel of technical staff and critical decision-makers who are tasked with assessing the impact of changes to the IT environment. They play a pivotal role in organizational change management.
Change
Change is the addition, modification, or removal of anything that could have an impact on IT services. The scope must include all IT services, configuration items, processes, documentation, etc.
Change Lifecycle
Change lifecycle is the representation of the service desk's change process from end-to-end. It defines specific activities and statuses for each phase to control the process from beginning to end.
Change Management
A structured approach to assess, approve, and implement IT changes without disrupting business operations.
Change Manager
The role that oversees change approvals, ensures proper risk assessment, and minimizes disruptions.
CIO
Chief Information Officer—responsible for the strategic alignment of IT with business goals.
CMDB
Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is a central location that provides a complete and accurate view of all the IT assets within the organization
Contract Management
Managing vendor or service agreements, renewals, and compliance from a centralized system.
E
Employee Satisfaction Survey
An employee satisfaction survey (E-SAT) lets you measure service desk efficiency and employee satisfaction with every support ticket. It is a key metric to track the employee experience (EX) in any organization.
Enterprise Service Management (ESM)
An extension of ITSM beyond IT teams. Best practices are applied to other business teams like HR, Finance, Facilities, and Legal.
I
Incident
An incident is any unplanned service interruption that impacts business operations. Common examples include network downtime, printer or WiFi issues, application authentication issues, damaged assets, etc.
Incident Management
The incident management process involves detecting, processing, troubleshooting, and resolving any service interruptions that might occur in an organization. It aims to restore regular service operation as quickly as possible.
Incident Manager
The person responsible for resolving major incidents quickly and keeping stakeholders informed.
IT Helpdesk
A reactive support function that resolves end-user issues, often focused on break-fix and ticketing.
ITIL
IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a framework that describes how to implement IT service management in an organization
ITIL 4
The most recent version of ITIL that emphasizes agility, value streams, and collaboration across Dev, Ops, and Business.
ITIL v3
An older ITSM framework focusing on service lifecycle stages like design, transition, and operation.
ITSM
IT Service Management refers to the collective approach of designing, managing, and providing the policies, processes, and practices involved in delivering IT services to end users.
K
Knowledge Base
A searchable library of how-tos, guides, and solutions designed to deflect tickets and empower users.
Known Errors
Problems that have a documented root cause and a workaround. They are created and managed through problem management.
M
Major Change
A high risk, high impact change that could potentially interrupt production and live environments if not planned properly. Examples: Migration from one data center to another, replacing an enterprise solution, etc.
MSP
A Managed Service Provider (MSP) is a company that provides multiple IT services such as web hosting, business applications, network and security management either through their own data center or that of a third-party cloud partner.
P
Patch Management
The practice of applying software updates to fix bugs, close security gaps, and improve performance.
Priority Matrix
A method to assign ticket urgency by weighing impact and urgency to ensure the right response time.
Problem
A problem is the cause of one or more incidents. For every documented problem, all relevant details need to be added for root cause analysis to be effective.
Problem Management
A proactive ITSM practice to identify and eliminate the root causes of recurring incidents.
S
Self-Service
Enabling users to solve issues or access services independently without contacting IT.
Self-Service Portal
A centralized site where users can submit tickets, access FAQs, and request IT services.
Service Catalog
A menu of all available IT and business services that users can browse and request via the portal.
Service Desk
A service desk is a software application that helps IT teams manage requests, troubleshoot, respond to employee requests, and measure employee experience.
Service Desk Analyst
The first line of IT support. The individual handles incidents, service requests, and end-user communication.
Service Ops
The convergence of service management and operations, using shared data and automation to boost service delivery.
Shadow IT
Software or systems used by employees without IT’s knowledge or approval, creating visibility and security risks.
SLA
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are contracts between a service provider and end users that define the level of service expected and outline the measurable metrics for that service, such as response time, resolution time, and uptime.
V
Virtual Agent
An AI-powered assistant that helps users solve common issues instantly through chat or portal.
X
XLA
Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) are SLAs with an added layer of metrics that quantify the end-user outcomes and the perceived quality of IT services and support. XLAs are the new SLAs.