This site requires JavaScript to be enabled

Incident Impact, Urgency, and Priority Guide

8655 views

3.0 - Updated on 2023-01-13 by Terri Kouba

2.0 - Updated on 2020-05-01 by Rich Meyer

1.0 - Authored on 2015-08-21 by Scott Hall

Please reference the following guide for selecting an appropriate Impact and Urgency on the Incident form. 

Impact Description
Low
  • A minimal number of staff are affected and/or able to deliver an acceptable service but this requires extra effort.
  • A minimal number of customers are affected and/or inconvenienced but not in a significant way.
  • The financial impact of the Incident is (for example) likely to be less than $1,000.
  • The damage to the reputation of the business is likely to be minimal.
Medium
  • A moderate number of staff are affected and/or not able to do their job properly.
  • A moderate number of customers are affected and/or inconvenienced in some way.
  • The financial impact of the Incident is (for example) likely to exceed $1,000 but will not be more than $10,000.
  • The damage to the reputation of the business is likely to be moderate.
High
  • A large number of staff are affected and/or not able to do their job.
  • A large number of customers are affected and/or acutely disadvantaged in some way.
  • The financial impact of the Incident is (for example) likely to exceed $10,000.
  • The damage to the reputation of the business is likely to be high.
  • Someone has been injured.

 

Urgency Description
Low
  • The damage caused by the Incident only marginally increases over time.
  • Work that cannot be completed by staff is not time sensitive.
Medium
  • The damage caused by the Incident increases considerably over time.
  • A single user with VIP status is affected.
High
  • The damage caused by the Incident increases rapidly.
  • Work that cannot be completed by staff is highly time sensitive.
  • A minor Incident can be prevented from becoming a major Incident by acting immediately.
  • Several users with VIP status are affected.

 


Priority for
Impact x Urgency


Impact

1 - High 2 - Medium 3 - Low
Urgency

1 - High 1 - Critical 2 - High 3 - Moderate
2 - Medium 2 - High 3 - Moderate 4 - Low
3 - Low 3 - Moderate 4 - Low 5 - Planning

 

Kempter, Stefan. Checklist Incident Priority. AXELOS Limited. Web. 12 Aug. 2015. http://wiki.en.it-processmaps.com/index.php/Checklist_Incident_Priority