Application Support Playbook — ITIL-aligned SOPs, escalation/RACI matrix, and troubleshooting guide tying together the IAM and ServiceNow projects. View on GitHub: https://github.com/shaquillej/application-support-playbook
PURPOSE & SCOPE
This playbook documents a standardized approach to application support operations: incident management, problem management, change management, release management, escalation paths, and communication templates. It reflects general ITIL practice, developed independently as a demonstration of process-design skills for Healthcare IT and Application Support roles.
INCIDENT MANAGEMENT
Severity levels: P1-Critical (full outage or patient-safety impact, target response under 15 minutes), P2-High (major function degraded, target response under 1 hour), P3-Medium (isolated issue with workaround available, target response same business day), P4-Low (cosmetic or minor issue, target response within 3 business days).
Incident workflow: 1) Detect and log the incident with timestamp and affected system. 2) Triage and assign severity. 3) Investigate and identify root cause or workaround. 4) Communicate status to stakeholders at defined intervals. 5) Resolve and confirm with the reporting user. 6) Document resolution and close the ticket.
PROBLEM MANAGEMENT
Trigger: recurring incidents or a single high-impact incident warranting root cause investigation. Root cause analysis is documented and linked to the originating incidents. A Known Error Record is created so future recurrences can be resolved faster. Permanent fixes are handed off to engineering with a tracked ticket.
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Change types: Standard (pre-approved, low-risk, routine), Normal (requires review and approval), Emergency (expedited approval to resolve an active incident).
Change request workflow: 1) Submit change request with description, risk, and rollback plan. 2) Assess impact and risk level. 3) Route for approval (CAB for Normal/Emergency changes). 4) Schedule during an approved maintenance window. 5) Implement and monitor. 6) Document outcome and close the change record.
RELEASE MANAGEMENT
Release types are grouped as major, minor, and patch/hotfix. A pre-release checklist confirms testing, rollback plan, and stakeholder notification are complete before deployment. Post-release monitoring tracks system health and error rates for a defined window after go-live.
ESCALATION MATRIX
L1 Support handles initial triage and known-issue resolution. L2 Support handles complex technical issues requiring deeper system access. L3 Support / Engineering handles code-level or infrastructure issues. Incident Commander coordinates major incidents (P1/P2) across teams and owns stakeholder communication.
COMMUNICATION TEMPLATES
Initial Incident Notification: "We are currently investigating an issue affecting {system/service}. Impact: {description}. We will provide an update by {time}."
Status Update: "Update on {incident}: {current status/finding}. Next update by {time}."
Resolution/Closure: "The issue affecting {system/service} has been resolved as of {time}. Root cause: {summary}. No further action needed."
This document reflects general ITIL-aligned practice and my own process-design approach. It is not derived from, and does not disclose, any proprietary procedure of a current or former employer.