20 Essential incident management metrics for modern IT teams

Incident management isn't just something that happens backstage—it is the lifeline of your business. Every second of downtime can translate into lost revenue, damaged brand reputation, and eroded customer trust.

Incident management, therefore, acts as a safety net, ensuring systems are reliable and operational, minimizing downtime, and keeping customers and the bottom line happy.  

To navigate this high-stakes environment, organizations need a robust set of metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track and improve IT incident management processes.

What incident management metrics can help you with?

The primary goals of having metrics and KPIs for incident management include:

• Monitoring incident volume: These metrics help IT leaders and supervisors have an eye on incidents created, team workload–reallocate resources if needed.
• Evaluating agent productivity and performance: These KPIs reflect individual agent workload, efficiency, and performance.
• Identifying training Needs: To highlight areas where agents may require additional training or support.
• Improving service quality: Here teams can use the performance data to optimize processes and improve overall service delivery.
• Enhance accountability: SLA-related metrics can help modern IT teams establish clear expectations and accountability for individual and team performance.

Based on the above goals, we’ve broadly categorized the incident management metrics based on:

• Volume or team workload
• Responsiveness or performance of team
• SLA adherence

Metrics based on incident volume

#1 Incidents over time

Incidents over time tracks the number of incidents created or reported within specific time periods (daily, weekly, monthly, or even hourly).

This allows organizations to identify patterns, trends, and potential areas for improvement in their incident management processes.

#2 Number of resolved incidents

The number of completed incidents during a time period includes all incidents that were closed specifically and weren’t reopened. This metric indicates the capacity of an IT team to detect, respond, and resolve incidents successfully.

#3 Reopen rates

Reopen rates measure the percentage of closed incidents needing reopening due to incomplete resolution or recurrence. This metric helps assess the quality and thoroughness of incident resolutions.

Reopen rate = (Number of reopened incidents / Total number of closed incidents) × 100%

#4 Number of repeat incidents

Number of repeat incidents tracks how often similar incidents recur, indicating potential underlying issues that haven't been fully addressed or the effectiveness of implemented solutions.

In other words, by monitoring this metric, organizations can identify recurring problems that require a more permanent fix, leading to a more robust and dependable IT infrastructure.

Pro tip: By incorporating AI in your incident management processes, you can automatically detect similar incidents, link them, and notify your IT team for faster and efficient incident resolution.

#5 Incident backlog

Incident backlog tracks the number of open, unresolved incidents at any given time. This metric helps manage workload and prioritize incident resolution efforts.

A high backlog indicates a potential strain on IT resources. By analyzing each incident's severity and business impact, organizations can prioritize critical issues that require immediate attention.

#6 Percentage of major incidents

Percentage of major incidents calculates the proportion of incidents classified as high-priority or critical. This metric sheds light on two crucial aspects: the impact of major incidents on the organization and the effectiveness of incident management processes in handling these high-priority events.

This helps organizations understand the severity distribution of their incidents and allocate resources accordingly.

% of Major incidents = (Number of major incidents / Total number of incidents) × 100%

Measuring IT agent and process efficiency

#7 Mean Time to Acknowledge (MTTA)

Mean time to acknowledge refers to the average time it takes for an incident to be recognized and formally acknowledged within an organization's incident response process.

This ‘acknowledgement’ involves assigning a designated individual or team to take ownership of the incident and initiate investigation procedures.

Monitoring MTTA can highlight delays in acknowledging incidents–pointing to inefficiencies in alerting systems, resource availability, or workflows that need improvement.

MTTA = Total time to acknowledge all incidents / Total number of incidents

An intelligent incident management tool can help detect and cluster incidents automatically without human intervention.

#8 Average first response time

Average first response time measures the time taken by an IT team–could be by either a human agent or an automated system–to send out a first response for detected incidents during a specific period of time.

This metric indicates how quickly an IT support team responds to the end-user and engages with the issue for better employee satisfaction.

AFRT = Total initial response time for all incidents / Total number of incidents

Deploying an AI assistant, like Atom, to acknowledge and send out the first response, cuts down the first response time and keeps satisfaction rates up as end-users feel heard.

#9 Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR)

Mean Time To Resolution is the average time it takes to resolve an incident after it has been formally acknowledged within the incident response process. This includes the entire lifecycle of addressing the incident, from initial investigation and diagnosis to final resolution and verification that the issue has been fixed and won't recur.

This metric helps assess the incident resolution process's efficiency and identify areas for improvement. A low MTTR reflects the efficiency of an organization's incident response process.

#10 Average resolution time

Average resolution time tracks the average time taken by an IT agent to resolve all the detected incidents during a specific period of time. You can monitor how quickly your team is able to resolve incidents and improve the efficiency of your team with appropriate training or process changes.

ART = Sum of resolution time for all incidents / Total number of incidents

#11 First contact resolution rate

First contact resolution—also known as one touch resolution—is the percentage of tickets that are resolved by agents during the first interaction with the support team without requiring escalation or follow-up.

For instance, an IT agent could have solved an issue over a single phone call, chat conversation, or email response. This metric reflects the efficiency and capability of the front-line support staff.

If your IT help desk achieves a first contact resolution rate of 75%, meaning three out of four user issues are resolved during the initial contact.

FCR rate = (Number of incidents resolved on first contact / Total number of incidents) × 100%

#12 Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)

Mean Time Between Failures calculates the average time between system failures or critical incidents. This metric helps evaluate system reliability and can be used to predict future incidents and plan preventive maintenance.

MTBF = Total operational time / Number of failures

#13 On-call time

On-call time tracks the amount of time staff members spend on call, ready to respond to incidents outside of regular working hours. This metric helps manage workload and ensure a fair distribution of on-call responsibilities.

#14 Escalation rate

Escalation rate measures the percentage of incidents that require escalation to higher-level support tiers or specialized teams. This metric can indicate the complexity of incidents and the effectiveness of initial support levels.

Escalation Rate = (Number of escalated incidents / Total number of incidents) × 100%

#15 End User Satisfaction Rates

End User Satisfaction(ESAT) rates measure how satisfied users or customers are with the incident management process and resolutions provided. This metric is typically gathered through surveys or feedback mechanisms.

A higher ESAT score, on average, denotes that your team’s workload is balanced and your processes are efficient.

#16 Incident timeline (Timestamps)

Incident timeline records key timestamps throughout an incident's lifecycle, from detection to resolution. This metric provides detailed insights into the incident management process and helps identify bottlenecks or delays.

For example, by analyzing incident timelines, a support team identifies that the handoff between tier 1 and tier 2 support consistently takes over an hour, leading to process improvements.

Monitoring adherence to Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

#17 Resolution SLA hit rate

Resolution SLA hit rate or SLA compliance rate tracks the percentage of incidents resolved within the agreed-upon time frames specified in the organization's service level agreements.

By monitoring the compliance rate, organizations can ensure they meet their contractual obligations and uphold the high service standards they've set for their customers.

SLA compliance rate = (Number of incidents resolved within SLA / Total number of incidents) × 100%

#18 Resolution SLA breach rate

This metric measures the number of incidents that weren’t resolved within the stipulated time.

Many SLAs include penalties for such non-compliance. Low compliance can translate to financial repercussions and reputational damage, impacting an organization's bottom line.

Resolution SLA breach rate = Total incidents that did not meet the resolution SLA / Total number of completed requests × 100

#19 First response SLA rate

The first response SLA rate measures how often the team provides an initial response to an incident within the agreed-upon timeframes.

By tracking this metric, IT teams ensure they are acknowledging issues within the promised timeframe and improve their responsiveness to end-users.

Apart from keeping end-users satisfied, tracking the first response SLA rate helps IT managers keep the team accountable for addressing incidents quickly and improving operational discipline.

First response SLA rate = Total number of requests that met the first response SLA / Total number of requests created × 100

#20 Uptime

Uptime measures the percentage of time that critical systems or services are operational and available to users. This metric is crucial for assessing overall system reliability and the impact of incidents on service availability.

Uptime = (Total time - Downtime) / Total time × 100%

Track vital incident management KPIs to build a resilient IT infra

Effective incident management is no longer a luxury—it's imperative. By tracking the above mentioned incident management metrics and KPIs you can build more streamlined incident handling operations.

While the process may seem like a lot, modern ITSM solutions, like Atomicwork, can simplify the entire incident handling lifecycle—from identification and resolution to reporting. Atomicwork goes a step ahead and brings incident logging, notification and resolution collaboration right within Slack or MS teams for both end-users and agents.

Our advanced AI system can automatically detect incidents based on conversations and prompts and categorize them by severity and priority. This intelligent approach ensures that no critical issue goes unnoticed, allowing teams to respond swiftly and effectively to incidents.

To see our incident management workflows in action, schedule a demo now and our team will reach out to you!