Although ITIL specifies how to deal with urgent, high-impact situations such as disasters (IT Service Continuity Management) and Major Incidents (Incident Management), managers in the Service Operation phase will find themselves dealing with various types and scales of emergency not covered in these processes. It is important to note that this is not a separate process, rather it is a view of several processes and situations from a communication perspective.
Communication during emergencies is similar in purpose and content to communication during exceptions. The main differences are in the level of urgency and impact of the exception.
Emergency communications are usually initiated by the Incident Manager (see paragraph 4.2.5 for a discussion on Major Incidents) or by a senior IT Manager who has been designated as the escalation point for all such emergencies.
In the case where an IT Service Continuity Plan is invoked, this will include a detailed Communication Plan to be executed by the appropriate authority.
The Incident Manager or designated manager will often form a response team, and the communication is initiated and coordinated by this team.
Purpose
The purpose of communication in an emergency is to immediately investigate and confirm the impact and severity of the Incident to confirm that it is indeed an emergency situation. It should also confirm that this Incident does not represent a disaster or any contingency covered in the IT Service Continuity Plans.
As soon as the scope of the emergency has been identified, the team responsible for managing the situation will allocate resources to create an action plan and to begin resolving the emergency and restoring service.
Frequency
This type of communication does not occur unless there is a Major Incident or emergency situation.
Once an exception is detected, the frequency and content of communication will be determined by the impact and severity of the exception, and potentially by a Service Recovery Plan.
Role Players
Incident Manager
Senior Managers of groups responsible for the IT staff that will be required to resolve the situation
Business managers and Executives (possibly including legal staff if the organization is exposed to potential legal action as a result of the incident)
Customers and users
IT Service Continuity Manager and Central Coordination team
Senior vendor staff and managers (depending on the extent and nature of the situation)·
Technical Management staff and managers
Application Management staff and managers
IT Operations Management staff and managers
Content
The nature and extent of the emergency
Assessment of the impact. This will typically involve communication with the stakeholders who are affected by the exception
Estimation and then confirmation of the cost of resolution
A decision on what action will be taken
Communication of the decision taken. This is likely to be in a number of formats. For example the communication to customers is likely to contain an apology and a high-level overview of what is being done to resolve the exception. A communication to the people who are expected to resolve the exception will be more detailed and will contain clear actions and timelines
Confirmation that the exception has been resolved ·
Context / sources
Incident Record for Major Incidents
Events
Crisis or emergency meetings called by the Incident Manager, the designated manager, or the IT Service Continuity Manager
