The 12 Days of Benchmarking - Day 9
On-time incident resolution
Yesterday, we looked at the incident rate and operational stability.
Today, we focus on something just as important:
đ When things do go wrong, how quickly and consistently do you fix them?
Because resilience is not just about avoiding failure.
Itâs about how effectively you recover from it.
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What this metric is
On-time incident resolution measures the percentage of incidents resolved within the agreed resolution targets defined in SLAs, or internal process standards.
In simple terms:
Of all the incidents you resolve, how many are resolved within the time you promised?
This is a core indicator of your organisationâs support effectiveness and service responsiveness.Â
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Why it matters
When incidents happen, the experience of your users is shaped by two things:
- How well you manage the response
Strong on-time resolution performance shows:
- responsive and well-coordinated support teams
- effective knowledge and tooling
- good collaboration between support and delivery teams
- and realistic, meaningful resolution targets
Poor performance in this area leads to:
- prolonged disruption for users
- increased frustration and dissatisfaction
- escalation and loss of confidence
- and growing pressure on support teams
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What good looks like in practice
Organisations with strong performance in this metric typically have:
- Clear and realistic resolution targets
- SLAs that reflect real business expectations
- Strong knowledge management
- Support teams have access to accurate, up-to-date knowledge and solutions
- Good collaboration between teams
- Development, infrastructure, and support teams work together effectively
- Accurate service and configuration data
- Teams understand systems and dependencies, enabling faster troubleshooting
- Sufficient resourcing and support coverage
- Support capacity matches the demand placed on services
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Why incidents are not resolved on time
When performance is low, the PBM identifies some common causes:
- Too many incidents overwhelming support teams
Often linked to high incident rates (Day 8)
- Weak knowledge management
New solutions are introduced without effective knowledge transfer
- Poor collaboration between delivery and support teams
Slowing down diagnosis and resolution
- Inaccurate configuration or service data
Leading to incorrect troubleshooting and delays
- Insufficient internal or external support arrangements
Gaps in resourcing or supplier support
- Resolution targets misaligned with supplier contracts
Making SLAs difficult to achieve
- Poor process discipline and status management
Leading to delays or inaccurate reporting
These are all highlighted as common contributing factors in the PBM guidance.Â
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A note on âperfectâ performance
If your on-time incident resolution rate is close to 100%, itâs worth asking:
đ Are our targets challenging enough to reflect real business needs?
Just like with SLA compliance, perfect performance can sometimes indicate that targets are set too low or you are suffering from ethical fading, rather than that service is exceptional.
The PBM recommends validating this by comparing resolution performance with business satisfaction and user experience metrics.Â
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How to improve it
If you want to improve on-time incident resolution:
1. Reduce incident volume
Address root causes through effective problem management (link back to Day 8)
2. Strengthen knowledge management
Ensure knowledge articles are accurate, accessible, and kept up to date
3. Improve collaboration between teams
Break down silos between development, infrastructure, and support
4. Improve service and configuration data
Maintain accurate CMDBs and service maps to speed up diagnosis
5. Align SLAs with supplier agreements
Ensure external support contracts support your internal targets
6. Ensure sufficient support capacity
Match support resourcing to service demand and criticality
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A simple reflection
When your most critical service failsâŚ
How confident are you that your teams will restore it within the time youâve promised?
And more importantlyâŚ
đ How confident are your users?
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Take part in the benchmarking
The ITIL Performance Benchmarking Model helps organisations understand not just how often incidents occur, but how effectively they are resolved.
By contributing your data, you can:
- benchmark your support performance
- identify gaps in knowledge, collaboration, or resourcing
- and strengthen your service resilience
đ Take part in the PBM survey and contribute your data - ITIL Performance Benchmarking Survey 2026ďťż ďťż
Tomorrowâs focus:
Digital cost per user - how efficient is your organisation at delivering digital services at scale?
