Description

ServiceNow Problem Management Configuration

ServiceNow Problem Management helps organizations identify the root cause of recurring incidents, reduce service disruptions, and implement long-term fixes. Configuring Problem Management in ServiceNow involves setting up workflows, forms, data models, automations, integrations, and reporting to support the full problem lifecycle.

1. Core Components of Problem Management

Problem Record

A problem record typically captures:

1. Problem statement
2. Impact and urgency
3. Priority (based on impact/urgency matrix)
4. Affected services and CIs
5. Root cause
6. Workarounds
7. Related incidents, changes, and knowledge articles

Problem Lifecycle States

By default:

1. Draft
2. Assess
3. Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
4. Fix in Progress
5. Resolved
6. Closed

These states can be configured or extended using workflows or Flow Designer.

2. Key Configuration Areas

A. Form & Field Configuration

Admins can configure:

1. Custom fields (e.g., RCA method, risk category)
2. UI Policies (to show/hide fields based on state)
3. Client scripts (for validation or automation)
4. Form layout and sections (e.g., Workaround, Investigation Notes)

B. Workflow / Process Configuration

You can manage problem lifecycle using:

1. Flow Designer

1. Automate assignments
2. Send notifications on state changes
3. Trigger tasks for RCA or investigations

2. Problem Task Configuration

Problem tasks break work into smaller activities:

1. Investigation task
2. Root cause verification task
3. Solution development task

Admins configure task templates, state transitions, and assignment rules.

C. Assignment & Routing Rules

Assignment Rules

Route problems automatically based on:

1. CI ownership
2. Service
3. Category/subcategory
4. Keywords in the description

Workload Balancing

With Assignment Workbench, teams can assign problems to resources based on skills and availability.

D. Automations & Integrations

1. Incident Correlation

ServiceNow can automatically detect recurring incidents and propose problems using:

1. Machine Learning (Predictive Intelligence)
2. Alert correlation (ITOM)
3. Incident clustering

2. Create Problem from Major Incident

Integrations with Major Incident Management allow the system to auto-create a problem after a major service outage.

3. Change Management Integration

When a root cause is identified, a change request can be automatically created from the problem.

E. Knowledge Management Integration

1. Workarounds can be published as Knowledge Articles.
2. Knowledge articles can be proposed directly from problem tasks.

F. CMDB Integration

Problem records integrate with CMDB to:

1. Identify affected CIs
2. Track business impact
3. Support automated routing

3. Problem Analytics & Reporting

ServiceNow provides analytics to measure:

1. Number of recurring incidents per problem
2. Mean time to identify (MTTI) and resolve (MTTR)
3. Problem backlog
4. Problem trends over time

Performance Analytics dashboards can be customized to monitor operational KPIs.

4. Security & Access Configuration

Roles include:

1. itil – create and update problems
2. problem_manager – manage lifecycle and create tasks
3. admin – full configuration

ACLs (Access Control Lists) can be configured for additional restrictions.

5. Best Practices for Configuring Problem Management

1. Establish clear criteria for when to open a problem
2. Use templates for recurring RCA processes (5 Whys, Fishbone, etc.)
3. Automate linking of incidents to problems
4. Track problem aging and escalation
5. Enforce documentation of workarounds and root causes
6. Integrate with ITOM/monitoring for proactive problem creation

Summary

Configuring Problem Management in ServiceNow involves customizing forms, workflows, automations, integrations, and reporting to support the full RCA and remediation lifecycle. Proper configuration helps organizations reduce incidents, improve service reliability, and maintain operational stability.