🎥 SCENE: Live Production Environment – 11:13 AM
📺 On a giant screen:
❌ “Order Processing System – DOWN”
⏳ 1,200 Customers waiting…
📉 Revenue loss per minute: $1,900
🎧 Narrator (in dramatic tone):
“Not all incidents are created equal.
Some are routine…
Some… bring the system to its knees.” 😰
Welcome to the difference between a Normal Incident and a Major Incident.
🛠️ What Is a Normal Incident?
- One user can’t log in
- Printer not working
- Outlook acting funny
🧍 Handled by 1 engineer, resolved within SLA
📄 Mostly low or medium priority
🎯 Does not impact business operations
🔥 What Is a Major Incident?
- 🚫 Live payment system down
- 👥 100+ users impacted
- 🧨 Security breach
- 💰 Business loss happening now
💼 High visibility → escalated to Incident Manager
🎯 Priority 1 (P1) → needs resolution ASAP
🧑⚖️ Often involves Change, Approvers, even CAB
📊 Let’s Compare — Normal vs Major
| Attribute | Normal Incident 🧾 | Major Incident 🚨 |
|---|---|---|
| Impact | Individual or small group | Org-wide, multiple users |
| Business Loss | No | Yes |
| Urgency | Low to Medium | High |
| Visibility | Internal support team | Company-wide, leadership |
| Who handles | Service Desk / Resolver | Incident Manager + Teams |
| Requires RCA | Maybe | Always |
| Time to Resolve | Flexible (SLA) | ASAP (P1 clock is ticking) |
🎮 Real-Life Example
Scenario 1 – Normal Incident
User reports: “I can’t access shared folder”
🎧 Agent checks permissions, fixes it.
🟢 Closed in 30 mins
Scenario 2 – Major Incident
Entire office loses internet
📶 WAN router is down
📞 50 tickets in 10 minutes
Incident Manager jumps in → Emergency Change Approved → ISP called → Users updated every 30 mins
🟢 Resolved in 2 hours
📃 Root Cause documented
💡 Lessons learned reviewed
🔄 The Aftermath (Only for Major)
- RCA (Root Cause Analysis) ✅
- Incident Review Call 🧑⚖️
- Improvement Plan ➕
- Problem Record Created 🧠
🧘 Quick Recap
| Type | Emoji | Key Traits |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | 🧾 | Low impact, routine, quick fix |
| Major | 🚨 | High impact, urgent, cross-team |
🎬 Coming Tomorrow:
🎥 Day 9: Service Level Agreements (SLAs) – How Time Rules ITIL
“Clock starts now… and the SLA is watching!” ⏱️
⚠️ Disclaimer:
This series is a creative representation of ITIL concepts.
Certification seekers should refer to Axelos, PeopleCert, or official training partners.
