Problem Management
Purpose
Problem Management reduces the likelihood and impact of incidents by finding and eliminating causes. A problem is a record of an unknown or known cause behind one or more incidents; it does not restore service. Confusing problem work with incident work is the most common error in this domain.
Lifecycle
Problem states are New, Assess, Root Cause Analysis, Fix in Progress, Resolved, and Closed. Movement through them is gated by information: assessment captures impact and the decision to investigate, root cause analysis captures the actual cause, and resolution requires cause notes plus fix notes. A problem should not be closed merely because a workaround exists.
Known errors, workarounds, and fixes
A known error exists when the cause is understood and a workaround is documented, even if no permanent fix exists yet. A workaround temporarily restores service; a fix removes the cause and is normally delivered through a change request. ServiceNow supports publishing the workaround as a knowledge article and linking the problem to the change that implements the fix.
Relationships that get tested
Incidents can be linked to a problem as related incidents, and Create Problem from an incident establishes that link. Problems raise problem tasks for discrete investigation activities. Problems connect outward to changes, knowledge articles, and CIs.
Traps
Assuming resolving a problem automatically resolves its linked incidents. Assuming a problem can be closed while it is still in Fix in Progress. Assuming a workaround equals a fix. Assuming every incident should spawn a problem - only recurring or high-impact patterns justify one.
Worked example
Twelve users report the same VPN drop every morning at 08:00. Each is an incident; the pattern becomes one problem. A documented restart procedure published as an article is the workaround and the problem becomes a known error. The firmware upgrade is the fix and is raised as a change. Rule of thumb: if the answer to the question is why, it belongs on the problem record.