There are a number of worktypes used for IT Service Management. When assigned to the correct type, work gets the handling appropriate to it. 

Service request

A service request is a request from a user for information, advice, or access to an IT service, such as: 

• A customer asks for a set of codes for Cornell Two-Step Login (Duo). 
• A customer asks whether they will have access to their Cornell email account when they leave the university. 
• A telecom coordinator requests a new desk phone on behalf of someone they support.  

Incident

An incident is an unplanned interruption or reduction in quality of an IT service. Failure of a configuration item (asset) that hasn't yet had an impact on a service is considered an incident. 

Work done on an incident focuses on getting users up and running after disruptions. The incident can be resolved with a workaround. 

Incident examples include: 

• A service is slow to respond.
• A customer’s computer is not backing up correctly.
• One disk from a mirror set has failed. 

Major incident

A major incident is any service disruption known to or expected to have impact resulting in multiple incidents, whether or not multiple reports have already occurred. While a frequent use case for major incident is service outages, a service need not be completely down to qualify as a major incident. A service that is available but functioning incorrectly for multiple users also qualifies. In certain high severity cases, additional coordination or communication resources and activities may be used.

Problem

A problem is a cause of one or more Incidents. The cause isn't usually known at the time the problem record is created. The problem management process is responsible for investigation. A problem ticket can be created even in the absence of an incident to relate to it. Problem management can be a root cause analysis, sometimes involving multiple teams. The effort is intended to prevent problems from recurring. 

Change

A change is an addition, modification, or removal of anything that could affect IT Services. This may include IT services, configuration items, processes, documentation, and other related elements.

Release

A release is a collection of hardware or software documentation, processes, or other components required to implement changes to IT services. The contents of each release are managed, tested, and deployed as a single entity.​ Release management is under consideration for future improvements.