Practical Templates
Overview
This resource provides IT managers with immediately applicable ITIL v5 templates. Each template is based on official ITIL v5 practices and can be customized for organizational context, following the guiding principle "Start where you are."
How to Use These Templates
Identify the practice or activity being implemented
Copy the relevant template
Customize fields, severity levels, and criteria for your organization
Review with your team before production use
Revisit and refine regularly per the principle "Progress iteratively with feedback"
1. Incident Severity Matrix
A classification framework ensuring consistent incident prioritization:
| Severity | Business Impact | Examples | Target Response | Target Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 (Critical) | Complete service outage; revenue loss per minute | Core system down; payment processing unavailable | 15 minutes | 1 hour |
| P2 (High) | Major functionality degraded; large user group affected | Email slow for 500+ users; reporting unavailable | 30 minutes | 4 hours |
| P3 (Medium) | Limited functionality degraded; workaround available | Printer queue stuck; non-critical application error | 2 hours | 24 hours |
| P4 (Low) | Minor issue; single user or cosmetic | Font rendering issue; single user password reset | 8 hours | 72 hours |
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Customization Guidance: Adjust response and resolution targets to match organizational SLAs. Define business impact criteria specific to the organization. Include escalation triggers (e.g., P3 not resolved in 24 hours escalates to P2).
ITIL Reference: Incident Management
2. Change Request Form (RFC)
Standard fields for documenting proposed changes:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| RFC ID | Unique identifier | RFC-2026-0042 |
| Requester | Person requesting change | Maria, Business Analyst |
| Date Submitted | Submission date | 2026-04-01 |
| Change Title | Short description | Upgrade CRM to v5.2 |
| Change Type | Standard, Normal, or Emergency | Normal |
| Description | Detailed explanation | Upgrade CRM platform from v5.1 to v5.2 to fix security vulnerabilities |
| Business Justification | Why change is needed | 3 CVEs patched; compliance requirement for Q2 audit |
| Risk Assessment | Impact and likelihood of failure | Medium impact, Low likelihood; rollback plan available |
| Implementation Plan | Execution steps | 1. Backup DB, 2. Deploy update, 3. Run smoke tests, 4. Verify |
| Rollback Plan | Steps if change fails | Restore from backup; revert to v5.1 |
| Testing Plan | Validation approach | UAT in staging; automated regression suite |
| Affected CIs | Configuration items impacted | CRM-PROD-01, DB-CRM-01 |
| Scheduled Date | Planned implementation window | 2026-04-15, 02:00-04:00 UTC |
| Change Authority | Approval authority | Omar, IT Delivery Manager |
Change Type Decision:
- Standard: Pre-approved, low risk, well-documented
- Normal: Requires assessment and authorization through normal process
- Emergency: Implemented immediately; retrospective review required
ITIL Reference: Change Enablement
3. SLA Template
Measurable service level targets definition:
| SLA Element | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Service Name | Service covered | Email and Collaboration Platform |
| Service Provider | Delivery team or vendor | IT Operations Team |
| Service Consumer | Service users | All employees (1,200 users) |
| Service Hours | Availability window | 24/7 (Tier 1 support: Mon-Fri 08:00-18:00) |
| Availability Target | Uptime percentage | 99.5% monthly (excluding planned maintenance) |
| Planned Maintenance Window | Scheduled downtime | Sundays 02:00-06:00 UTC |
| Incident Response: P1 | Time to first response | 15 minutes |
| Incident Response: P2 | Time to first response | 30 minutes |
| Incident Resolution: P1 | Time to restore service | 1 hour |
| Incident Resolution: P2 | Time to restore service | 4 hours |
| Service Request Fulfilment | Time to complete standard requests | 2 business days |
| Reporting Frequency | Performance report timing | Monthly |
| Review Frequency | SLA review cycle | Quarterly |
| Penalties/Credits | Consequences for missing targets | 5% service credit per 0.1% below target |
| Escalation Contact | Senior contact for disputes | IT Service Delivery Manager |
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ITIL v5 Guidance: SLAs should focus on business outcomes (e.g., "users can send email") rather than purely technical metrics.
ITIL Reference: Service Level Management
4. Risk Register
Track and manage organizational risks:
| Risk ID | Risk Description | Category | Likelihood | Impact | Risk Score | Owner | Mitigation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-001 | Cloud vendor outage (single region) | Technology | Medium | High | High | Alex | Multi-region deployment; DR plan | Active |
| R-002 | Key staff departure (bus factor = 1) | People | Medium | Medium | Medium | Omar | Cross-training; documentation | Active |
| R-003 | Regulatory non-compliance (data residency) | Legal | Low | Critical | High | Max | Legal review; data classification | Monitoring |
| R-004 | Supply chain disruption (hardware vendor) | Partners | Low | Medium | Low | Anna | Dual-vendor strategy | Accepted |
Scoring Matrix:
| Likelihood / Impact | Low | Medium | High | Critical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | Medium | High | Critical | Critical |
| Medium | Low | Medium | High | Critical |
| Low | Low | Low | Medium | High |
ITIL Reference: Risk Management
5. PESTLE Analysis Worksheet
External factor analysis framework:
| Factor | Guiding Questions | Current Assessment | Impact on Organization | Action Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political | Government stability? Regulatory changes? Trade policies? | (Assessment) | (Impact) | (Actions) |
| Economic | GDP growth? Interest rates? Exchange rates? IT budget pressure? | (Assessment) | (Impact) | (Actions) |
| Social | Remote work trends? Skills shortage? User expectations? Demographics? | (Assessment) | (Impact) | (Actions) |
| Technological | AI adoption? Cloud maturity? Emerging tech? Technical debt? | (Assessment) | (Impact) | (Actions) |
| Legal | Data protection (GDPR)? AI regulations? Licensing? Employment law? | (Assessment) | (Impact) | (Actions) |
| Environmental | Sustainability targets? Green IT? Energy costs? Carbon reporting? | (Assessment) | (Impact) | (Actions) |
ITIL Reference: Strategic Analysis
6. Continual Improvement Register (CIR)
Track improvement ideas from identification through completion:
| ID | Date | Source | Improvement Description | Priority | Owner | Target Date | Status | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CI-001 | 2026-03 | Incident trend | Automate password resets (40% of P4 tickets) | High | Omar | 2026-06 | In progress | (To be measured) |
| CI-002 | 2026-03 | SLA review | Reduce P1 MTTR from 2h to 1h | High | Alex | 2026-05 | Planning | (To be measured) |
| CI-003 | 2026-04 | User survey | Improve self-service portal navigation | Medium | Anna | 2026-07 | Identified | (To be measured) |
| CI-004 | 2026-04 | Retrospective | Document runbooks for top 10 incidents | Medium | Omar | 2026-06 | Identified | (To be measured) |
ITIL Continual Improvement Model Steps:
- What is the vision?
- Where are we now?
- Where do we want to be?
- How do we get there?
- Take action
- Did we get there?
- How do we keep the momentum going?
ITIL Reference: Continual Improvement
7. Problem Record Template
Document and track problems from identification to resolution:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Problem ID | Unique identifier | PRB-2026-0015 |
| Related Incidents | Linked incident IDs | INC-0234, INC-0241, INC-0256 |
| Problem Title | Short description | Intermittent database connection timeout |
| Status | Open, Known Error, Resolved, Closed | Known Error |
| Category | Service/technology area | Database, CRM |
| Priority | Based on impact and frequency | High |
| Root Cause | Identified cause | Connection pool exhaustion under peak load |
| Workaround | Temporary fix if available | Restart connection pool hourly via cron job |
| Permanent Resolution | Planned fix | Upgrade connection pooling library; increase pool size |
| Owner | Responsible person | Alex, Enterprise Architect |
| Target Resolution Date | Planned completion | 2026-05-15 |
| Affected CIs | Configuration items | DB-CRM-01, APP-CRM-01 |
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Key Distinction: An incident is an unplanned interruption. A problem is the cause of one or more incidents. A known error is a problem with documented root cause and workaround.
ITIL Reference: Problem Management
8. Stakeholder Mapping Matrix
Power/Interest grid for stakeholder engagement:
| Low Interest | High Interest | |
|---|---|---|
| High Power | Keep Satisfied: Regular updates, proactive concern addressing. Example: Board members not directly involved in IT | Manage Closely: Deep engagement, frequent communication, decision involvement. Example: CIO, business unit leaders |
| Low Power | Monitor: Minimal effort, periodic awareness. Example: External auditors, industry associations | Keep Informed: Regular communications, concern addressing. Example: End users, service desk staff |
ITIL Reference: Relationship Management
9. Service Catalogue Entry Template
Consistent service documentation:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Service Name | Official service name | Enterprise Email and Collaboration |
| Service ID | Unique identifier | SVC-EMAIL-001 |
| Service Description | What the service provides | Corporate email, calendar, file sharing, video conferencing |
| Service Owner | Accountable individual | IT Service Delivery Manager |
| Users | Who can use the service | All employees and contractors |
| Service Hours | Availability | 24/7 |
| Support Hours | When support is available | Mon-Fri 08:00-18:00; on-call P1/P2 after hours |
| How to Request | Access method | Self-service portal; auto-provisioned on onboarding |
| SLA | Link to service level agreement | SLA-EMAIL-2026 |
| Dependencies | Other required services or CIs | Active Directory, Network, Cloud Platform |
| Cost | Per-user or per-unit cost | Included in standard IT allocation |
ITIL Reference: Service Catalogue Management
10. Maturity Self-Assessment Scorecard
Five-component maturity evaluation:
| Component | Level 1 (Initial) | Level 2 (Repeatable) | Level 3 (Defined) | Level 4 (Managed) | Level 5 (Optimizing) | Your Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guiding Principles | Not referenced | Known but inconsistently applied | Embedded in decision-making | Measured and reinforced | Drive all decisions and innovations | ___ |
| Governance | Ad hoc decisions | Basic authority defined | Governance patterns selected | Data-driven governance | Adaptive, context-aware governance | ___ |
| Value Chain | Activities undefined | Some activities documented | All 8 activities mapped to teams | Value streams identified and measured | Continuously optimized value streams | ___ |
| Practices | Reactive, undocumented | Core practices documented | Most practices standardized | Practices measured and managed | Practices continuously improved | ___ |
| Continual Improvement | No formal improvement | Occasional improvements | CI register maintained | Improvement metrics tracked | Innovation culture; improvement is automatic | ___ |
Usage: Rate your organization on each component; focus improvement on lowest-scoring areas with highest business impact.
ITIL References: Maturity Model, Maturity Assessment Guide
Related Pages
- Practice Quick Reference Cards (34 practice summaries)
- Decision Guides (interactive decision tools)
- Learning Paths (role-based navigation)
- Self-Assessment Quizzes (knowledge testing)
- Value Stream Mapping Workshop (facilitation guide)