Incident manager
Description
The Incident Manager establishes policies, processes and systems for the delivery and implementation of a quality incident management process. The incident manager is responsible for overseeing the coordination, planning and organisation of resources for resolution of Incidents.
The incident manager will also monitor trends in Incidents, issues and risks and compliance with ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) best practice. Develop metrics and cost reporting in line with ITIL standards and ensure the cost effectiveness of the incident management process.
The incident manager will identify strategies and opportunities for improvements, effective resource management and maximisation of customer and organisational outcomes.
An Incident is 'an unplanned interruption to an IT Service or reduction in the quality of an IT service. Failure of a configuration item that has not yet affected service is also an incident (for example failure of one disk from a mirror set.)
Incident Management ITIL definition: 'The process for logging, recording and resolving incidents. The aim of incident management is to restore the service to the customer as quickly as possible, often through a work around or temporary fixes, rather than through trying to find a permanent solution'[b]
An incident manager exhibits a combination of capabilities from the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) and the Leadership competencies for Queensland.
SFIA profile
Within the SFIA profile, the incident manager has level 5 capabilities, i.e. ensures and advises on the skills outlined below.
Refer to the framework for descriptions of the seven levels of responsibility and accountability.
| SFIA skill code | SFIA skill level of responsibility | SFIA skills level descriptor |
|---|---|---|---|
Relationship management | RLMT | 5 | Identifies the communications and relationship needs of stakeholder groups. Translates communications/stakeholder engagement strategies into specific activities and deliverables. Facilitates open communication and discussion between stakeholders, acting as a single point of contact by developing, maintaining and working to stakeholder engagement strategies and plans. Provides informed feedback to assess and promote understanding. Facilitates business decision-making processes. Captures and disseminates technical and business information. |
Incident management | USUP | 5 | Ensures that incidents are handled according to agreed procedures. Investigates escalated incidents to responsible service owners and seeks resolution. Facilitates recovery, following resolution of incidents. Ensures that resolved incidents are properly documented and closed. Analyses causes of incidents and informs service owners in order to minimise probability of recurrence and contribute to service improvement. Analyses metrics and reports on performance of incident management process. |
Business process improvement | BPRE | 5 | Analyses and designs business processes; identifies alternative solutions to exploit new technologies and automation. Develops graphical representations of business processes to facilitate understanding and decision making. Assesses the feasibility of business process changes and recommends new approaches. Manages the execution of business process improvements. Selects, tailors and implements business process improvement methods and tools at programme, project and team level in line with agreed standards. Contributes to the definition of organisational policies, standards, and guidelines for business process improvement. |
SFIA skillLeadership skills
Leadership competencies for Queensland describes what highly effective, everyday leadership looks like in the sector. In simple, action-oriented language, it provides a common understanding of the foundations for success across all roles. The profile describes three performance dimensions (vision, results and accountability) and 11 leadership competencies required against five leadership streams.
Leadership streams are not connected to a level or classification, but rather reflect the balance between leadership and technical skills required of an individual. Individuals can consider the value proposition of roles rather than the traditional lens of hierarchical structures or classification levels. The five leadership streams are:
- Individual contributor (Leads self and does not supervise others)
- Team leader (leads a team and typically reports to a program leader)
- Program leader (leads team leaders and/or multiple areas of work)
- Executive (leads program leaders or other executives)
- Chief executive (leads the organisation).
When developing a role description, identify the role type and then focus on the most important attributes and create a balance between SFIA skills and leadership skills.
Entry points
A degree level qualification in information technology or information systems is held in high regard to work in this capacity. Industry experience or a diploma level qualification in IT is also held in high regard in gaining entry to a career as an incident manager.
Specific certification in incident management can be obtained through completing ITIL competencies.
Learning and development
There are a number of ways that you can develop and improve your incident management skills. To assist your skill development, training in the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) would be very advantageous.