# What is an IT help desk? Tiers, tickets, ITIL basics and metrics > An IT help desk is the single point of contact for IT problems and requests. How it works: support tiers, the ticket lifecycle, ITIL basics and metrics. - URL: https://computese.com/demystifying-the-it-help-desk-navigating-the-world-of-outsourced-support/ - Author: Duong Quan Nguyen, CEO, Computese - Published: 2023-12-03 - Updated: 2026-09-25 - Topics: IT support ## In short - An IT help desk is the single point of contact for IT problems and requests: it logs every contact as a ticket, sets a priority from impact and urgency, fixes or escalates, and closes the ticket only when the person confirms the fix. - Work moves through tiers: self-service (level 0), first line (level 1), second line (level 2), specialists (level 3) and the vendor. Each escalation should carry the ticket's notes, so nobody starts again. - ITIL separates incidents (restore service fast), service requests (deliver a standard item), problems (remove the root cause) and changes (assess, approve and schedule). Mixing them up hides repeat faults and mismeasures the desk. - A knowledge base written while tickets are worked, plus self-service such as password reset, takes the simplest contacts out of the queue. - Watch first response time, resolution time, first contact resolution, reopen rate, backlog age and satisfaction together, because each one alone can be gamed. An IT help desk is the single point of contact where employees report IT problems and ask for IT services. It records every contact as a ticket, sets a priority from impact and urgency, fixes what it can at the first level, escalates the rest to specialists or vendors, and keeps the ticket open until the person confirms the fix. This guide explains the mechanics: what the desk handles, what each support tier resolves, how a ticket moves from logging to closure, the four ITIL terms worth knowing, how a knowledge base and self-service shorten the queue, and which numbers show whether it works. What IT support covers as a whole, and the in-house, managed and co-managed models, are in [what is IT support](https://computese.com/understanding-it-support-a-vital-role-in-the-digital-era/). ## What an IT help desk handles ITIL, the IT service management framework, describes the [service desk](https://www.peoplecert.org/browse-certifications/it-governance-and-service-management/ITIL-1/itil4-practices-service-desk-3706) as the central point of contact between a service provider and its users. Behind that front door, nearly everything that arrives is one of two kinds of work. An **incident** is something that stopped working or got worse. A **service request** is something a person asks for that the desk already knows how to deliver. The same area of IT produces both: | Area | Incidents (something broke) | Service requests (something needed) | | -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Access and passwords | Account locked out, MFA prompts on a lost phone, an app refuses sign-in | Password reset, access to a shared mailbox or folder, a new MFA method | | Devices | Laptop will not start, dock or monitor not detected, printer offline | A laptop for a new starter, a replacement phone, collecting a leaver's device | | Software | Outlook will not open, Teams crashes, an update failed halfway | Install an approved app, assign a licence, move to a newer version | | Email and files | Mail stops arriving, OneDrive or Google Drive stops syncing | A shared mailbox, a distribution list, restoring a deleted file | | Network | Wi-Fi drops in one meeting room, the VPN will not connect | Guest Wi-Fi for a visitor, a new network point at a desk | Questions ("how do I share my calendar?") are a third, smaller stream. They are cheap to answer once and expensive to answer over and over, which is why the knowledge base below matters. Access work deserves more care than the table suggests, because a password or MFA reset is the most valuable thing an attacker can get from a help desk. CISA's advisory on the [Scattered Spider](https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa23-320a) group (November 2023, updated July 2025) describes attackers phoning IT help desks, including contracted ones, and persuading staff to reset passwords or transfer an employee's MFA to a device the attacker controls. > [!WARNING] > Verify the caller before any reset, through something the caller cannot supply on the spot: a call back to the number HR holds, or approval from their manager in writing. In Microsoft Entra ID, hand over a [Temporary Access Pass](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/authentication/howto-authentication-temporary-access-pass), a time-limited passcode that can be set for a single use, rather than reading a new password aloud. ### Help desk or service desk? The two names describe the same function. Some organizations keep "help desk" for break-fix work and "service desk" for a wider front door that also takes requests and feeds change and problem management. In a small business the same people do both, and this guide uses the names interchangeably. It is not where projects happen (a tenant migration, an office move), and removing root causes belongs to problem management, covered below, rather than to the desk alone. ## Help desk tiers: level 0 to level 3, and the vendor Most help desks split the work into levels, also called tiers or lines, so that frequent, simple contacts are handled quickly and specialists spend their time on what only they can fix. The numbering varies between organizations; the logic does not. | Tier | Who or what | Resolves, for example | Passes it on when | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | Level 0: self-service | Portal, knowledge base, password reset, app catalogue | A forgotten password, installing an approved app, a how-to question | The article does not fit, or the fix needs rights the user lacks | | Level 1: first line | Analysts who answer calls, chats and email | Logging and triage, identity checks, password and MFA resets, known fixes, standard requests | There is no known fix, or it needs admin rights or a visit | | Level 2: second line | Technicians with admin rights on devices and the tenant | Rebuilding a laptop, mailbox and sharing permissions, device policy faults, one site's Wi-Fi | The cause is in the platform, a server, or still unknown | | Level 3: third line | Engineers and specialists | Identity, network and server infrastructure, tenant-wide settings, scripts, root causes of repeat faults | The fault is in a supplier's product or service | | Vendor (sometimes level 4) | Microsoft, Google, Apple, hardware makers, software suppliers | Service outages, product bugs, warranty repairs | It does not: the desk tracks the vendor case until it closes | A few examples show where the boundaries sit in practice: - **Level 0.** Microsoft Entra [self-service password reset](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/authentication/concept-sspr-howitworks) lets people change or reset their own password with no administrator or help desk involvement, and Microsoft presents it as a way to cut help desk calls. The Intune [Company Portal](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/intune/app-management/configuration/configure-company-portal) does the same for devices and software: users enrol devices, install apps and find how to reach IT there. - **Level 1.** First-line staff need enough rights to reset, and no more. In Microsoft Entra ID the built-in role for this is [Helpdesk Administrator](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/role-based-access-control/permissions-reference), which Microsoft marks as privileged: it can change passwords for non-administrators and other Helpdesk Administrators, invalidate refresh tokens to force a new sign-in, and open support requests with Microsoft. - **Level 2.** A laptop with a corrupted profile or a string of failed fixes gets reset remotely rather than rebuilt on a bench. [Windows Autopilot Reset](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/autopilot/windows-autopilot-reset) removes personal files, apps and settings and returns the device to a business-ready state. - **Vendor.** Escalating to Microsoft is an admin task. Microsoft's [support page for Microsoft 365](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/get-help-support) says these support methods require an admin of a business subscription, suggests checking the Service health dashboard first, and sends customers who bought every subscription through a partner to that partner. Escalation comes in two kinds. Functional escalation moves a ticket to someone with more skill or access. Hierarchical escalation brings in a manager when a target is at risk or the damage to the business is growing. Either way, the ticket moves with its history: what the person reported in their own words, what was checked and what was tried. A second-line technician who has to phone the user and start again has turned one contact into two. ![A dashed arrow climbs a staircase of support stations, from a self-service laptop to a headset desk, a workbench, a server rack and a vendor building. The orange ticket waits at the rack with its notes.](https://computese.com/images/blog/demystifying-the-it-help-desk-navigating-the-world-of-outsourced-support/tiers.8ccaa6065d-1536.webp) *Escalation should move the ticket and its notes up a level, so nobody asks the user to explain the problem twice.* In a small business, level 1 and level 2 are often the same one or two people, and level 3 is a provider or a contractor. The tiers still work as a sequence: the known fix, then the deeper one, then the specialist, then the vendor, with each step written down. What each tier's job involves, and the skills and certifications it takes, is in our guide to [the IT support specialist role](https://computese.com/unlocking-the-role-of-an-it-support-specialist/). Tiers are not the only model. [Intelligent Swarming](https://www.serviceinnovation.org/intelligent-swarming/), developed by members of the Consortium for Service Innovation, removes tiers of support: it routes work directly to the people best placed to solve it and makes it easy for them to pull in colleagues when they need help. A small desk often works this way already without using the name, and the model suits a team too small to staff separate lines. ## The life of a ticket, step by step Help desk tools give the statuses different names, but the lifecycle underneath is the same: 1. **Log.** Every contact becomes a ticket, whether it arrives by phone, email, chat, the portal or a monitoring alert. The person gets a ticket number to quote, and the ticket records who is affected, the device or service involved, and the problem in the person's own words. 2. **Verify.** Anything that touches access waits until the caller's identity is confirmed, as in the warning above. 3. **Categorize.** Decide whether it is an incident or a service request, and which service or device it concerns. Categories are what later reveal patterns, so keep the list short enough that people pick the right one. 4. **Prioritize.** Rate impact and urgency (below). The priority sets the target for a response and a fix. 5. **Assign.** Level 1 tries first, unless the category routes the ticket straight to a specialist queue. Requests that need approval, such as access to finance data or a paid licence, wait for the approver named in the request's definition. 6. **Work and update.** Diagnose, fix or escalate, and tell the person what is happening. While the desk waits for the user or a vendor, the ticket goes on hold. 7. **Resolve.** Service is back, through a fix or a workaround. The technician records what was done and links or writes a knowledge article. 8. **Close.** The person confirms the fix, or the ticket closes automatically after an agreed number of days without a reply. A short satisfaction survey goes out at closure. 9. **Review.** Tickets are also read in aggregate. The same incident on the same service, again and again, becomes a problem record. ### Setting priority from impact and urgency Impact is how much of the business is affected: one person, a team, or everyone. Urgency is how fast the effect becomes serious: work has stopped, work is slowed, or it can wait until a planned time. Rating both keeps priority from depending on who complains loudest or who is most senior. A common scheme: | Impact, by urgency | Work has stopped | Work is slowed | Can wait | | ---------------------------- | ---------------- | -------------- | -------- | | The whole business or a site | P1 | P2 | P3 | | A team or department | P2 | P3 | P4 | | One person | P3 | P3 | P4 | Write your own examples into each cell. One payroll clerk who cannot reach the payroll system on pay day is a single person, but the urgency belongs to the whole business, so it is reasonable to let a named deadline raise urgency by a level. Service requests usually sit at the bottom of the scale and are measured against the date promised rather than against an incident clock. ## Incidents, requests, problems and changes: the ITIL basics ITIL is a framework for running IT as a service. PeopleCert, which certifies ITIL, describes ITIL 4 on its practice pages as the world's most used IT service management framework. Four of its terms do most of the work on a small help desk: | Record | What it is | The goal | Example | | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | Incident | An unplanned interruption, or a drop in quality | Restore normal service quickly, with a workaround if needed | Outlook will not open for the sales team | | Service request | A predefined, user-initiated request for a service, information or access | Deliver it the same way every time, pre-approved where possible | A new starter's account, access to a shared folder | | Problem | The cause, known or not yet known, of one or more incidents | Find and remove the root cause; manage workarounds in the meantime | Outlook fails for everyone after each update of one add-in | | Change | Adding, modifying or removing something that could affect services | Assess the risk, authorize it and schedule it | Removing that add-in from every laptop through Intune | In PeopleCert's descriptions of the practices, [incident management](https://www.peoplecert.org/browse-certifications/it-governance-and-service-management/ITIL-1/itil4-practices-incident-management-3684) is about restoring normal service operations swiftly after a disruption. [Service request management](https://www.peoplecert.org/browse-certifications/it-governance-and-service-management/ITIL-1/itil4-practices-service-request-management-3690) handles predefined, user-initiated requests for services, information and access. [Problem management](https://www.peoplecert.org/browse-certifications/it-governance-and-service-management/ITIL-1/itil4-practices-problem-management-3688) identifies and manages the root causes of incidents to prevent them recurring, and manages workarounds and known errors along the way. [Change enablement](https://www.peoplecert.org/browse-certifications/it-governance-and-service-management/ITIL-1/itil-4-practitioner-change-enablement-3794) aims to maximize the number of successful changes by assessing risk, authorizing changes and managing the change schedule. Why the distinctions matter to a business with a small IT team: - **Different clocks.** An incident target is about getting people working again. A request target is about delivering on the promised date. Measuring a laptop order against an incident target makes the desk look slow and teaches it to rush the wrong things. - **A workaround closes the incident, not the problem.** "Restart and it works" logged week after week is a problem record waiting to be opened. A problem with a documented cause or workaround becomes a known error, which the desk applies at once while someone removes the cause. - **A fix pushed to every laptop is a change.** A small business does not need a formal change board, but it needs a second person to look at risky changes, a planned time, and a way back if it goes wrong. ![Five identical incident tickets connect by dashed lines to one folder in which a magnifying glass shows a cracked orange gear, and arrows lead on to a calendar page, a replaced gear and an empty ticket tray.](https://computese.com/images/blog/demystifying-the-it-help-desk-navigating-the-world-of-outsourced-support/problem.526994b0dc-1536.webp) *Incidents are closed one at a time; the problem record is where the cause behind all of them is found and removed.* > [!NOTE] > You do not need ITIL certification to use this vocabulary. As of September 2026, PeopleCert's [ITIL catalogue](https://www.peoplecert.org/browse-certifications/it-governance-and-service-management/ITIL-1) lists both the ITIL 4 practice modules cited here and newer ITIL (Version 5) certifications; the four records above are the part a small team uses every day. ## The knowledge base and self-service A knowledge base is the help desk's memory. It holds two kinds of article: instructions people follow themselves (connecting to the office Wi-Fi, setting up MFA on a new phone) and internal articles for technicians (how a printer's driver is deployed, the workaround for a known error). Most knowledge bases fail the same way: someone writes articles in a burst, nobody updates them, and technicians stop trusting them. Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS), maintained by the Consortium for Service Innovation, which now calls it [Knowledge-Centered Success](https://www.serviceinnovation.org/kcs/), turns that around by making knowledge a by-product of the work. Its [Solve Loop](https://library.serviceinnovation.org/KCS/KCS_v6/KCS_v6_Practices_Guide/030/030) has four practices: 1. **Capture in the workflow.** Write the article while working the ticket, using the requester's own words and phrases, so the next person's search finds it. 2. **Structure for reuse.** Use one simple template and a crisp style, so articles are quick to scan. 3. **Reuse.** Search the knowledge base early and often, before solving from scratch; the words people searched with become the start of a new article when nothing matches. 4. **Improve.** Whoever uses an article takes responsibility for fixing it, so every reuse is also a review. Self-service is level 0 built on the same content: a portal where people search articles, order from a catalogue of standard requests, and fix common issues without a ticket. Password reset and app installs, covered in the tiers above, are the usual first two, because they are frequent and follow the same steps every time. ![A loop of arrows turns a solved ticket at a headset desk into an orange knowledge article, which appears in a laptop's search results, and a smaller stream of tickets returns to the desk.](https://computese.com/images/blog/demystifying-the-it-help-desk-navigating-the-world-of-outsourced-support/knowledge.e460b1ba40-1536.webp) *A fix written down while the ticket is open becomes the answer the next person finds without calling.* > [!TIP] > Start from your own ticket data. Write articles for the handful of categories that arrive most often, turn on self-service password reset, and check a month later whether those categories shrank. ## Help desk metrics worth tracking Targets come from the service level agreement, and ITIL's [service level management](https://www.peoplecert.org/browse-certifications/it-governance-and-service-management/ITIL-1/itil-4-practitioner-service-level-management-3867) practice is about setting clear, business-based targets. The measurements below show whether the desk meets them, and whether people are actually better off: | Metric | How it is measured | What it tells you | Pair it with | | ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | | First response time | From logging to the first reply from a person, by priority | Whether people are left waiting | Resolution time | | Resolution time | From logging to resolved, by priority, in business or calendar hours as agreed | Whether service comes back within target | Reopen rate | | First contact resolution (FCR) | Share of eligible tickets solved on the first contact, with no escalation or call-back | How well level 1 and the knowledge base work | Satisfaction | | Reopen rate | Share of resolved tickets that are reopened | Whether fixes hold | Resolution time | | Backlog and backlog age | Open tickets, and how long the oldest have been open | Whether work is piling up or stuck | Volume by category | | Satisfaction (CSAT) | A one- or two-question survey at closure, with a comment box | How the service feels to use | The response rate, and the comments | | Volume by category | Tickets per category per month | Where a problem record or an article would pay off | Repeat incidents | Each metric can be gamed on its own, which is why they come in pairs. A resolution-time target alone rewards closing tickets early; the reopen rate exposes it. FCR alone rewards rushing people off the phone; satisfaction exposes that. Four habits keep the numbers honest: - **An automatic acknowledgement is not a response.** First response means a person has read the ticket and started work. - **Decide when the clock may pause.** In Jira Service Management, for example, an [SLA](https://support.atlassian.com/jira-service-management-cloud/docs/what-are-slas/) starts, pauses and stops on conditions you define and follows a calendar, so it can stop while the office is closed for a public holiday. Agree which on-hold reasons pause it (waiting for the user, waiting for a vendor), or on hold becomes a place to hide slow work. - **Count FCR only where it is possible.** A password reset can be solved on the first contact; a new laptop cannot. Measure FCR on the categories where it applies. - **Look at the slowest tickets, not just the average.** A good average hides the handful of week-old tickets nobody owns, and the people behind them are the ones who remember the service. How to turn these measures into an agreement with a provider is covered in the [help desk outsourcing guide](https://computese.com/unlocking-the-power-of-it-helpdesk-outsourcing-top-5-benefits-and-best-practices/). ## When a business outsources the help desk The mechanics above stay the same whoever runs them. Outsourcing moves some or all of the work to a provider, under a contract that fixes the hours, the priorities and the targets. The common arrangements: - **The whole desk, level 1 to level 3,** for a business with no in-house IT. - **First line and after-hours cover,** with an internal IT lead taking escalations. - **Escalations, overflow and projects** behind an in-house first line, often called co-managed support. What does not move: decisions about your systems, ownership of the tenant and the admin accounts, which should stay in your name, and accountability for the result. Whether outsourcing makes sense, how it is priced and how to write the service level agreement are in [IT helpdesk outsourcing: benefits and best practices](https://computese.com/unlocking-the-power-of-it-helpdesk-outsourcing-top-5-benefits-and-best-practices/). Supporting remote and hybrid staff is in [outsourced help desk support for remote teams](https://computese.com/optimizing-remote-work-through-outsourced-it-help-desk-support/), and the tools a remote desk runs on (remote access, RMM, ticketing, device management) are compared in [remote IT support tools](https://computese.com/top-10-essential-tools-for-remote-it-support/). If you want this run for you, our [IT support service](https://computese.com/services/it-support/) provides a help desk with one email queue, answered by engineers during business hours and, where the agreement includes it, outside them, with every request written down in plain language. Priority is set by impact and urgency: by default an engineer replies to a P1 request within 1 hour, P2 within 4 hours, P3 within 8 business hours and P4 within 24 hours, and the agreement can tighten these. Recurring issues are traced to their cause and fixed at the root, and fixes go into a knowledge base. It can also work alongside your own IT team: your team keeps day-to-day ownership, and we take escalations, overflow and projects. More guides on running IT for a small team are in the [IT support](https://computese.com/category/it-support/) topic. ## Key terms - **IT help desk (service desk)**: The single point of contact between an IT team or provider and the people it supports. ITIL calls it the service desk; most small businesses use the two names for the same thing. - **Ticket**: The record of one contact: who is affected, what happened in their words, its category and priority, what was done, and when it was resolved and closed. - **Incident**: An unplanned interruption to a service, or a drop in its quality, such as email that stops arriving. The goal is to restore service quickly, with a workaround if needed. - **Service request**: A predefined, user-initiated request for a service, information or access, such as a new starter's account, handled the same way every time. - **Problem and known error**: A problem is the cause of one or more incidents. Once the cause or a workaround is documented, it is a known error, which the desk can apply until the cause is removed. - **Escalation**: Passing a ticket on. Functional escalation moves it to someone with more skill or access; hierarchical escalation brings in a manager when a target or the business is at risk. - **First contact resolution (FCR)**: The share of tickets solved during the first contact, with no escalation, transfer or call-back, counted over the kinds of ticket that could be solved that way. - **Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS)**: A method from the Consortium for Service Innovation, which now calls it Knowledge-Centered Success, for building a knowledge base as a by-product of solving requests, in the requester's own words. - **Self-service password reset (SSPR)**: A feature that lets people reset or change their own password after proving their identity with registered methods, without calling the help desk. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between a help desk and a service desk? ITIL uses the term service desk for the central point of contact between an IT provider and its users. Some organizations keep help desk for break-fix work and service desk for a wider front door that also takes requests and feeds change and problem management. In a small business the same people do both, so the names are interchangeable. ### What are level 1, level 2 and level 3 support? Level 1 takes every contact, logs it, checks identity and applies known fixes such as password resets. Level 2 has admin rights on devices and the tenant and handles deeper fixes such as rebuilding a laptop or repairing mailbox permissions. Level 3 is specialists for infrastructure, identity and root causes, and anything left goes to the vendor. ### What is the difference between an incident and a service request? An incident is something that broke or got worse, and the target is to restore service quickly. A service request is a standard thing someone asks for, like access or a new laptop, delivered through a known procedure. They run on different clocks, so they should not share one target. ### What does an outsourced IT help desk do? The same work, run by a provider under contract: it answers contacts, logs tickets, fixes what it can at levels 1 and 2 and escalates the rest, within the hours, priorities and targets the agreement sets. The business keeps decisions, system ownership and admin accounts in its own name. ### Can you outsource only part of the help desk? Yes. Common splits are after-hours cover only, first line with an internal IT lead taking escalations, or an in-house first line with a provider handling escalations, overflow and projects. Write down who owns each system and how tickets pass between the teams. ### Can the help desk reset my password over the phone? It can, but only after checking who is calling through something an attacker would not have, such as a call back to a number held by HR. Attackers phone help desks to get passwords and MFA reset, so a good desk prefers self-service reset or a one-time pass over reading a new password aloud. ## Sources 1. [ITIL 4 Practitioner: Service Desk](https://www.peoplecert.org/browse-certifications/it-governance-and-service-management/ITIL-1/itil4-practices-service-desk-3706), PeopleCert 2. [Scattered Spider (AA23-320A)](https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa23-320a), CISA 3. [Configure a Temporary Access Pass in Microsoft Entra ID to register passwordless authentication methods](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/authentication/howto-authentication-temporary-access-pass), Microsoft Learn 4. [How it works: Microsoft Entra self-service password reset](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/authentication/concept-sspr-howitworks), Microsoft Learn 5. [How to configure the Intune Company Portal apps, Company Portal website and Intune app](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/intune/app-management/configuration/configure-company-portal), Microsoft Learn 6. [Microsoft Entra built-in roles](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/role-based-access-control/permissions-reference), Microsoft Learn 7. [Windows Autopilot Reset](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/autopilot/windows-autopilot-reset), Microsoft Learn 8. [Get support: Microsoft 365 admin](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/get-help-support), Microsoft Learn 9. [Intelligent Swarming](https://www.serviceinnovation.org/intelligent-swarming/), Consortium for Service Innovation 10. [ITIL 4 Practitioner: Incident Management](https://www.peoplecert.org/browse-certifications/it-governance-and-service-management/ITIL-1/itil4-practices-incident-management-3684), PeopleCert 11. [ITIL 4 Practitioner: Service Request Management](https://www.peoplecert.org/browse-certifications/it-governance-and-service-management/ITIL-1/itil4-practices-service-request-management-3690), PeopleCert 12. [ITIL 4 Practitioner: Problem Management](https://www.peoplecert.org/browse-certifications/it-governance-and-service-management/ITIL-1/itil4-practices-problem-management-3688), PeopleCert 13. [ITIL 4 Practitioner: Change Enablement](https://www.peoplecert.org/browse-certifications/it-governance-and-service-management/ITIL-1/itil-4-practitioner-change-enablement-3794), PeopleCert 14. [ITIL certifications](https://www.peoplecert.org/browse-certifications/it-governance-and-service-management/ITIL-1), PeopleCert 15. [Knowledge-Centered Success (KCS)](https://www.serviceinnovation.org/kcs/), Consortium for Service Innovation 16. [KCS v6 Practices Guide: The Solve Loop](https://library.serviceinnovation.org/KCS/KCS_v6/KCS_v6_Practices_Guide/030/030), Consortium for Service Innovation 17. [ITIL 4 Practitioner: Service Level Management](https://www.peoplecert.org/browse-certifications/it-governance-and-service-management/ITIL-1/itil-4-practitioner-service-level-management-3867), PeopleCert 18. [What are SLAs?](https://support.atlassian.com/jira-service-management-cloud/docs/what-are-slas/), Atlassian Support (Jira Service Management)