The Service Desk provides a single central point of contact for all users of IT. The Service Desk usually logs and manages all incidents, service requests and access requests and provides an interface for all other Service Operation processes and activities. Specific Service Desk responsibilities include:

• logging all incidents and requests, categorizing and prioritizing them
• first-line investigation and diagnosis
• managing the lifecycle of incidents and requests, escalating as appropriate and closing them when the user is satisfied
• keeping users informed of the status of services, incidents and requests.

Event management generates and detects notifications, whilst monitoring checks the status of components even when no events are occurring. After an event has been detected it may lead to an Incident, Problem or Change, or it may simply be logged in case the information is needed. Response to an event may be automated or may require manual intervention.

The purpose of Incident Management is to restore normal service as quickly as possible, and to minimize the adverse impact on business operations. Incidents are often detected by event management, or by users contacting the service desk. Incidents are categorized to identify who should work on them and for trend analysis, and they are prioritized according to urgency and business impact. If an incident cannot be resolved quickly, it may be escalated. After the incident has been investigated and diagnosed, and the resolution has been tested, the Service Desk should ensure that the user is satisfied before the incident is closed.

The purpose of Request Fulfillment is to enable users to request and receive standard services; to source and deliver these services; to provide information to users and customers about services and procedures for obtaining them; and to assist with general information, complaints and comments. All requests should be logged and tracked. The process should include appropriate approval before fulfilling the request.

The key objectives of Problem Management are to prevent problems and resulting incidents from happening, to eliminate recurring incidents and to minimize the impact of incidents that cannot be prevented. Problem Management includes diagnosing causes of incidents, determining the resolution, and ensuring that the resolution is implemented.

Change Management ensures that changes are recorded, evaluated, authorized, prioritized, planned, tested, implemented, documented and reviewed in a controlled manner.

The purpose of SACM is to identify, control and account for service assets and configuration items (CI), protecting and ensuring their integrity across the service lifecycle. The scope of SACM also extends to non-IT assets and to internal and external service providers, where shared assets need to be controlled. To manage large and complex IT services and infrastructures, SACM requires the use of a supporting system known as the Configuration Management System (CMS).

The goal of the Release and Deployment Management process is to assemble and position all aspects of services into production and establish effective use of new or changed services. Effective release and deployment delivers significant business value by delivering changes at optimized speed, risk and cost, and offering a consistent, appropriate and audi table implementation of usable and useful business services. Release and Deployment Management covers the whole assembly and implementation of new/changed services for operational use, from release planning through to early life support.