8 ITSM best practices for modern service management

Every modern business relies on technology to keep operations moving. Even something as simple as a password reset or system outage can delay critical work and frustrate employees. Following IT service management (ITSM) best practices helps organizations minimize these disruptions by establishing clear processes that deliver consistent support.

This guide breaks down the strategies every organization should follow to streamline IT support, minimize disruptions, and improve overall service quality.

More in this guide:

• 1. Align your ITSM strategy with business goals

• 2. Establish core ITSM processes

• 3. Automate repetitive tasks

• 4. Enable self-service with a knowledge base

• 5. Track metrics and meet SLAs

• 6. Prioritize user experience

• 7. Build security into every workflow

• 8. Improve continuously over time

• ITSM tools and software that support best practices

• Frequently asked questions

1. Align your ITSM strategy with business goals

Before implementing processes or tools, make sure your ITSM strategy supports your organization’s broader objectives. That might mean asking how service delivery can help improve customer satisfaction, reduce downtime, support compliance, or enable growth. For example, if the business is focused on expansion, IT should prioritize scalable services and seamless onboarding for new teams.

Frameworks like the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) can help guide this alignment by offering a structured approach to managing IT services. ITIL is a widely adopted strategy built around best practices such as clearly defined service roles, standardized workflows for handling incidents and requests, and continuous monitoring for improvement. These practices help IT teams deliver consistent, high-quality support that meets user needs and drives business outcomes.

2. Establish core ITSM processes

ITSM involves many moving parts, each with its own goals and stakeholders. Define key processes and create consistent workflows to keep things running smoothly. 

Below are the key ITSM processes every team should have in place, and how to approach them effectively. 

Incident management

Incident management is the process of identifying, logging, and resolving unplanned interruptions. Its goal is to restore normal service as quickly as possible while minimizing impact on users and the business. This is often the most visible part of ITSM, as it directly affects day-to-day productivity.

To establish a strong incident management process:

• Define what qualifies as an incident, and create a clear system for categorization and prioritization.
• Automate triage and routing to ensure incidents get to the right team quickly.
• Provide agents with the tools and context they need to resolve issues efficiently.
• Keep users informed throughout the resolution process to build trust and reduce frustration.

Change management

Change management in ITSM involves planning, approving, and implementing changes to IT systems or services with minimal risk and disruption. These changes might include deploying new software, updating infrastructure, or modifying configurations. 

A strong change management process gives teams a clear path for introducing updates while maintaining control. That means defining how changes are proposed and reviewed, setting criteria for what requires approval, and ensuring key details are captured up front. With the right process in place,IT service desks can move faster without sacrificing reliability.

Problem management

While incident management focuses on quickly resolving issues as they arise, problem management looks deeper to identify and eliminate the root causes behind recurring incidents. It’s a proactive process that helps reduce the volume and impact of future disruptions, leading to more stable and resilient systems over time.

To implement effective problem management:

• Analyze incident trends to spot patterns or recurring issues.
• Document and investigate problems to determine root causes.
• Decide on a resolution or workaround, and track progress toward a fix.
• Communicate findings to relevant teams to prevent repeat incidents.

Knowledge management

Knowledge management is the process of sharing information so that it’s easy for users to find and use. In ITSM, this includes documenting known errors, workarounds, troubleshooting steps, and standard procedures. That way, agents can resolve issues more efficiently, and users can find answers without submitting a ticket.

To establish this process, encourage agents to document solutions in their daily workflows and organize content around your core ITSM processes. Over time, strong knowledge management helps teams onboard new members faster and scale IT operations more efficiently.

Service request management

Service request management focuses on handling user requests for standard IT services. Its goal is to make routine needs (like software installations or password resets) easy to submit, track, and fulfill with minimal friction. 

Organizations should create standardized workflows for common request types, including any required approvals or fulfillment steps. A well-organized service catalog can also guide users to the right request forms and reduce confusion. When this process runs smoothly, IT teams can focus on more complex work and deliver a more predictable user experience.

3. Automate repetitive tasks

Automation is critical in improving IT service desks by helping teams handle higher volumes of work while maintaining quality. In ITSM, automation reduces the manual effort required for common requests and ensures that core processes run consistently, no matter how many tickets come in.

For example, you can use automation to instantly assign tickets based on issue type or department, send routine status updates to end users, or trigger approval workflows for standard change requests. These high-volume tasks don’t require much human judgment but can slow things down if handled manually.

Artificial intelligence (AI) takes this a step further by enabling systems to understand and act on intent. AI agents, for instance, can interpret natural language requests and even resolve common issues without agent involvement. The result is faster resolution for users and more time for your team to focus on strategic work.

4. Enable self-service with a knowledge base

Self-service is one of the most effective ways to scale IT support without overloading your team. When users can quickly find answers to common questions or troubleshoot simple issues independently, it reduces the volume of incoming tickets and speeds up resolution times across the board.

A knowledge base makes this possible by centralizing answers to common problems, from troubleshooting steps to how-to guides. With AI-powered self-service, users get real-time suggestions based on what they’re typing, while agents are equipped with relevant articles to respond faster. With continued use, it becomes a dynamic resource that improves speed and accuracy.

5. Track metrics and meet SLAs

Tracking key metrics allows IT teams to identify bottlenecks and make informed decisions about where to focus process improvements. By analyzing these numbers regularly, IT teams can move from reacting to problems toward proactively optimizing support and meeting user expectations.

Some of the most common ITSM metrics include:

• First reply time

• Average resolution time

• SLA breach rate

• Ticket reopen rate

• Customer satisfaction (CSAT)

Just as important is setting and meeting service level agreements (SLAs), the commitments you make to users around response and resolution times. Together, metrics and SLAs provide the structure needed to keep service delivery on track.

6. Prioritize user experience

IT services are most effective when they’re built around the needs of the people using them. When processes are intuitive and support is easily accessible, users are more likely to get what they need without unnecessary friction. That kind of customer experience (CX) builds confidence in IT and its role in supporting business goals.

One of the best ways to improve user experience is to ask for feedback directly. Short satisfaction surveys, ticket follow-ups, and usage data can all help identify pain points and opportunities to simplify workflows. Actively incorporating this input helps IT teams refine their services and deliver support that works for the people relying on it.

7. Build security into every workflow

With growing threats and increasing regulatory requirements, it’s essential to embed strong security practices into every ITSM process. The goal is to minimize risk without slowing down the business.

To protect IT assetsand maintain operational integrity, build safeguards into your daily workflows. That might include:

• Role-based access controls to limit sensitive permissions

• Automated audit logs to track key actions

• Secure authentication and regular permission reviews

When security is built into the foundation of workflows, scaling operations while maintaining trust and resilience becomes easier.

8. Improve continuously over time

ITSM is an ongoing process that requires regular attention and refinement. As business needs and user expectations evolve, your ITSM processes should adapt accordingly. 

Regular audits help teams evaluate compliance, identify gaps, and verify that improvements are properly implemented. Establishing strong feedback loops with users and support staff ensures that insights from real-world experiences guide future updates. Together, these practices create a cycle of continuous learning that keeps workflows efficient and service quality high.

ITSM tools and software that support best practices

The right ITSM software makes it easier for teams to deliver reliable service, even as demand grows. With the help of advanced AI capabilities, IT service delivery is becoming more tailored to user needs than ever before.

Here are some key capabilities to look for in ITSM tools:

• Workflow automation: AI-powered tools increase agents’ bandwidth by automating routine IT workflows like ticket routing, status updates, and approval processes.
• AI-powered self-service: Intelligent knowledge bases and help centers empower users to find answers quickly, giving IT agents more capacity to focus on other requests.
• AI agents and copilots: Tools like Zendesk AI agents autonomously resolve common requests 24/7, while AI copilots guide IT agents with suggestions and can take action based on standard operating procedures.
• Real-time analytics: AI-driven insights find emerging patterns and intent signals as they happen, allowing proactive problem management before incidents escalate.
• Omnichannel support: Integrated support across email, chat, and other channels ensures users can reach IT on their preferred platform without disrupting workflows.

With so many options available, it is important to choose an ITSM solution that combines these capabilities into a unified, scalable platform. This approach ensures that your IT service can grow with your organization and continue to effectively meet user needs.

Frequently asked questions

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