Problem management is the practice of identifying and addressing the root causes of incidents so they do not keep happening. While incident management focuses on restoring service as quickly as possible, problem management focuses on preventing recurrence and reducing long‑term impact.

An incident may be resolved once a service is back online, but that does not mean the work is finished. If the underlying cause is not understood and addressed, the same issue is likely to return, often creating more disruption over time. This is where problem management plays a critical role in improving service reliability and customer trust.

Jira Service Management (JSM) supports this approach through its built‑in IT Service Management template, which includes a default problem management workflow aligned with ITIL recommendations. This workflow is designed to complement incident management by helping teams move from reactive fixes to proactive prevention.

The default workflow supports key problem management activities, including:

Investigating the root cause of incidents
Identifying and documenting temporary workarounds
Recording known errors for future reference

Teams can begin using problem management in JSM right away by creating issues with the Problem issue type. This automatically places the issue into the recommended problem workflow, providing structure and consistency from the start.

Starting with Jira Service Management’s default workflow is often the best approach. It gives teams a proven foundation that can be adapted over time as processes mature and business needs evolve.

Illustration of a team investigating system issues and fixing root causes using tools and dashboards.

The Problem Management Process

A strong problem management process helps teams move beyond fixing symptoms and focus on eliminating root causes. When done well, it reduces repeat incidents, lowers operational noise, and prevents major outages before they occur. For this reason, problem management is a core practice in IT Service Management (ITSM).

An effective problem management process typically follows these steps:

1. Problem Detection

Problems can be identified proactively or as a result of recurring incidents. The goal is to surface issues early, either before incidents occur or before they escalate. Early detection gives teams more time to analyze impact and plan corrective action.

2. Categorization and Prioritization

Once identified, problems are categorized and prioritized based on business impact, urgency, and risk. This ensures teams focus on the most important issues first, rather than reacting to whichever problem is loudest.

3. Investigation and Diagnosis

This step focuses on understanding why the problem exists. Teams analyze contributing factors, dependencies, and failure points to identify the true root cause and determine the best long‑term solution.

4. Known Error Creation

In ITIL terms, a known error is a problem with a documented root cause and an identified workaround. Recording known errors helps teams respond faster if the issue triggers another incident. This information is typically stored in a known error database or knowledge base.

5. Workaround Definition (If Needed)

If the root cause cannot be resolved immediately, a workaround may be created. A workaround is a temporary solution that reduces impact and helps maintain service availability. While not ideal, workarounds can prevent customer‑facing incidents and buy time for deeper fixes.

6. Resolution and Closure

A problem is closed once the root cause has been eliminated and the issue can no longer trigger future incidents. At this point, documentation is finalized and lessons learned are captured to improve future prevention.

This structured approach helps teams shift from reactive incident response to proactive service improvement, creating more stable and reliable systems over time.

The problem management process

How to Get Started with Problem Management in Jira Service Management

Jira Service Management makes it easy to introduce problem management using built‑in workflows that follow ITIL guidance. Teams can start with the default setup and adapt it over time as their process matures.

How to Create a Problem Work Item in Jira Service Management

Service project agents can create a Problem work item to formally track and investigate the root cause of incidents. Selecting the Problem work item type automatically places the record into the recommended problem management workflow.

A Problem work item is used to capture all relevant details about an underlying issue so it can be analyzed, documented, and ultimately resolved. When managed correctly, these records encourage agents to document known errors and workarounds in the knowledge base, which helps:

Resolve future incidents faster
Reduce service downtime
Improve reliability and trust in IT services

Steps to Create a Problem Work Item

Select Create in your service project.
Choose Problem as the work item type.
Enter the relevant details, such as symptoms, affected services, and any related incidents.

Once created, the problem work item follows the default problem management workflow, guiding agents through investigation and resolution.

Default Fields for Problem Work Items

Jira Service Management uses fields and screens to capture the information agents need to investigate and manage problems effectively. These fields support categorization, reporting, and root cause analysis.

By default, Problem work items include standard fields such as summary, description, priority, and affected services. Administrators can add custom fields as needed to capture organization‑specific data or support deeper analysis.

How to Customize the Problem Management Workflow

The default problem management workflow is designed to align with ITIL best practices, but it can be customized to match your team’s way of working.

To customize the workflow:

From your service project, go to Project settings → Workflows.
Locate Problem Management workflow for Jira Service Management and select the edit icon.
Use the workflow editor to add, remove, or adjust steps and transitions.

Customizing the workflow allows teams to introduce additional review stages, approvals, or automation while still maintaining a structured problem management process.

Problem Management Best Practices and Tips

1. Connect Incident and Problem Management to Improve Service Quality

Incident management and problem management work best when they are closely connected. Incident management restores service quickly. Problem management explains why the incident happened and prevents it from happening again. Treating them as separate processes often leads to unresolved root causes and repeat outages.

A more effective approach is to view problem management as a natural extension of incident management. When a major incident occurs, teams should begin capturing problem data while the incident is still fresh. This avoids creating a separate backlog of problems that never gets addressed.

Prioritize problem management for incidents that impact mission‑critical services or occur repeatedly. When teams are not in active incident response, quieter periods are an ideal time to investigate root causes and put long‑term fixes in place.

Short example:
An internal IT team frequently resolved VPN outages within minutes, but the issue returned every few weeks. By linking each incident to a single Problem work item in Jira Service Management, the team identified a recurring certificate renewal failure. Fixing the root cause eliminated an entire class of incidents and reduced after‑hours support calls.

2. Make Post‑Incident Reviews a Core Part of the Process

Post‑Incident Reviews (PIRs) are essential for effective problem management. A PIR ensures that teams look beyond the immediate fix and examine contributing factors such as process gaps, monitoring failures, or unclear ownership.

In Jira Service Management, a Problem work item provides a structured place to track PIR outcomes. Teams can document findings, assign follow‑up actions, and measure whether improvements are actually delivered. This creates accountability without assigning blame.

Using Problem records to track PIRs also gives leaders visibility into trends. Over time, teams can see whether problems are being resolved or repeatedly deferred when root causes are complex or cross‑team.

Short example:
After a production outage caused by a failed deployment, a product team created a Problem work item tied to the incident. The PIR revealed gaps in rollback procedures and release validation. The team tracked improvements directly in the Problem record, including new checks and updated documentation. As a result, similar deployment issues stopped occurring in later releases.

3. Share Lessons Learned and Improvements Delivered

Problem management only creates value when insights are shared and acted on. Jira dashboards make it easy to communicate the progress and outcomes of problem investigations without manual reporting.

Teams can use dashboards to show metrics such as the number of resolved problems, active investigations, and recurring incident patterns. Over time, this visibility helps stakeholders understand where improvements are being made and how service reliability is trending.

Sharing this information regularly builds confidence and reinforces that problem management is driving real, measurable improvements.

4. Move Beyond Reactive Root‑Cause Analysis

Most incidents do not have a single root cause. They are usually the result of multiple contributing factors, including process gaps, tooling limitations, environmental changes, or human decisions made under pressure.

Effective problem management focuses on understanding the full system, not assigning blame. Teams that practice blameless analysis create space for honest discussion and better learning. When people feel safe sharing facts and context, investigations are more accurate and lead to stronger long‑term fixes.

By treating problem and incident reviews as collaborative conversations rather than fault‑finding exercises, teams can prevent repeat incidents and continuously improve service quality.

Benefits of Effective Problem Management in Jira Service Management

Fewer repeat incidents
Addressing root causes prevents the same issues from resurfacing, reducing ongoing operational noise.
Faster incident resolution
Documented known errors and workarounds help service teams restore service more quickly when incidents occur.
Improved service reliability
Proactive problem investigations strengthen systems and reduce the likelihood of major outages.
Better visibility for stakeholders
Dashboards and reports make it easy to track progress, trends, and delivered improvements over time.
Stronger cross‑team collaboration
Problem records provide a shared space for teams to investigate issues and coordinate long‑term fixes.
Higher trust in IT services
Consistently resolving underlying issues builds confidence in the stability and quality of services.
Continuous service improvement
Lessons learned from problems and post‑incident reviews feed directly into better processes and systems.

Turning Problem Management into Lasting Service Improvement

Effective problem management is what allows teams to move beyond repeatedly fixing the same incidents and start improving service quality over time. By identifying root causes, documenting known errors and workarounds, and tracking long‑term improvements, teams reduce operational noise and prevent future disruptions.

Jira Service Management provides the structure needed to make problem management practical and repeatable. With built‑in workflows, linked incidents, dashboards, and reporting, teams can turn lessons learned into lasting improvements rather than one‑off fixes. When problem management becomes part of everyday service operations, reliability increases, response times improve, and trust in IT services grows.

The Role of Atlas Bench

As an Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner with deep Atlassian Cloud specialization, Atlas Bench helps organizations design, implement, and scale Jira Service Management in a way that supports long‑term growth.

Our role goes beyond setup. We work with teams to ensure Jira Service Management is configured to match real operational needs.

For teams that need ongoing help, Atlas Bench also offers a dedicated Jira Service Management support agent available through the Atlassian Marketplace. This provides hands‑on assistance with configuration, troubleshooting, optimization, and day‑to‑day platform questions.

Interested in learning more? Contact Atlas Bench to book a complimentary consultation with our Certified Atlassian Experts.

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Atlas Bench is an Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner with deep Cloud Specialization, helping Data Center customers move beyond migration and fully transform on the Atlassian Cloud Platform. We deliver Atlassian’s System of Work end to end through four collections: Strategy, Teamwork, Service, and Software, connecting planning to execution, aligning teams around outcomes, modernizing service delivery, and accelerating software development.

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