--- sourceDocument: Australia IT Service Management sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/it-service-management Release : - australia ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Australia IT Service Management ft:clusterId : - itsm bundleId : - itsm workflow : - Technology --- # Major Incident Management in Service Operations Workspace # Major Incident Management in Service Operations Workspace {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated March 12, 2026 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read Create and manage major incidents in Service Operations Workspace. ## Major Incident Management overview {#mim-in-sow__section_mfg_xk2_z1c} Figure 1. Major incident record A major incident (MI) is created when an issue occurs that results in significant disruption to the business and demands a response beyond the normal incident management process. Major incidents have a separate procedure with shorter timescales and higher priorities to encourage a faster resolution process for the incidents with a high business impact. The definition of what constitutes a major incident must be determined based on your requirements. For example, a major incident can be created if a critical business service is impacted or if there's a service outage that affects many users. ## Major incident user roles {#mim-in-sow__section_dfv_yk2_z1c} The major incident manager (major_incident_manager) user role is available in the base system and enables you to manage and resolve major incidents. As a major incident manager, you can do the following: * Promote a major incident candidate to a major incident. * Create a major incident. * Directly promote an incident to a major incident without going through the proposal process. {#mim-in-sow__ul_vr2_zk2_z1c} ## Major incident creation {#mim-in-sow__section_drb_1l2_z1c} A major incident is created or promoted from a major incident candidate. A major incident candidate can be created from the incident record page in Service Operations Workspace in the following ways: * Propose an incident as a major incident candidate. * Create a major incident candidate. * Use major incident trigger rules to propose an incident as a major incident candidate or promote directly to a major incident automatically. {#mim-in-sow__ul_ft5_1l2_z1c} ## Major incident response and handling {#mim-in-sow__section_dpm_bl2_z1c} When responding to a major incident, some crucial actions include the following: * Finding the correct resources * Communicating updates to users and stakeholders * Setting up conference calls to investigate and resolve the incident * Escalating the incident when required {#mim-in-sow__ul_nxn_gfj_gbc} You must define the communication plans that are associated with a major incident based on pre-defined conditions. Incident communication plans and related communication tasks are created for a major incident based on the communication plan definitions. Afterwards, tasks get executed as defined in the associated incident communication. * **[Major Incident Management process in Service Operations Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/0GEjpRRKbECTf0zaINdfZg)** A major incident has a high impact and urgency that affects a large number of users and deprives the business of one or more crucial services. Given the urgency of the situation, a well-coordinated response process is required to accelerate the resolution and minimize the business impact. * **[Managing a major incident record](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/qkSlxNDekvg9wyDrGUJC5w)** Manage a major incident record with a playbook or the various tabs on the major incident record page. **Related concepts** * [Knowledge Management in Service Operations Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/OjGC_chJF1qqEzAJ8UMkkA "Knowledge articles provide agents with information such as self-help, troubleshooting, and task resolution.") * [On-Call Scheduling in Service Operations Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/iAh6oLkXtqzk0v0uwRVkKA "Use On-Call Scheduling in Service Operations Workspace to view and manage your shifts and schedules.") * [Problem Management in Service Operations Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/Sf~FTcIFiJsZ1CLFCjg2aA "When you have recurring incidents or a major incident, you can create a problem to identify the root cause of the incidents and help prevent them from happening again. Use Service Operations Workspace to manage problems through their life cycle, share workarounds or fixes with related incidents, and create known error articles to help deflect incidents.") * [Recommendation Framework in Service Operations Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/9w4yBpL3jfpYS7dkcZnoWw "An agent can view dynamic and contextual recommendations and perform a relevant action.") * [Recommended Actions for ITSM in Service Operations Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/LGd8rCr4QXw7BGGrFEn5eQ "Get guidance-based or field-level recommendations for records in Service Operations Workspace.") * [ServiceNow integrations with Microsoft Teams in Service Operations Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/puUY2qNsBN2fbUcJ_X7Umg "You can create a connected experience for users in Service Operations Workspace through ServiceNow integrations with Microsoft Teams.") * [Service Level Management in Service Operations Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/Np4kt4ICCOOHv7faOGTHMg#slm-sow "You can access the service level agreement (SLA) information for an incident on the Service Operations Workspace landing page and incident record page.") * [Walk-up Experience management in Service Operations Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/6Fvd85oK7qkjX8gOIGZe9w "Manage your Walk-up interactions and queues in Service Operations Workspace.") * [Collaboration in Service Operations Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/_lczuHrV~~LU5tdTEuP26Q "Collaboration services provide a way to communicate and collaborate in real time to resolve the incidents. You can initiate a chat or make conference calls using a service provider to communicate with stakeholders.") * [Computer Telephony Integration in Service Operations Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/Xq1HMfZ2m2cdA4ka6aNCDw "Service Operations Workspace provides an agent (with the sn_openframe_user role) to receive inbound calls and place outbound calls using the Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) interface.") * [Universal Request in Service Operations Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/Bn56bee4wzGD_09YJ4go_w "The Universal Request is a task that a requester creates from any of the sources that include: Agent Workspace, Service Operations Workspace, or using a Virtual Agent chat.") * [Universal Task in Service Operations Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/w_HGu1H0AI0W06aboUL7XQ "Agents can use the Universal Task application to create tasks for employees and to manage the request resolution.") * [Resetting password using Service-desk assisted Password Reset in Service Operations Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/L5N_bJgEA3WK5ubGXHR2Nw "The Password Reset for Service Operations Workspace application enforces strong and secure passwords by enabling end users to reset or change their passwords by requesting the service desk agent.")