2.148.1 IT Support Services Management Directive

Manual Transmittal

June 01, 2020

Purpose

(1) This transmits revised IRM 2.148.1, Information Technology (IT) Support Services Management, IT Support Services Management Directive.

Material Changes

(1) Revised entire document with updated IT IRM policy and process templates incorporating required internal controls.

Effect on Other Documents

IRM 2.148.1 dated April 18, 2016 is superseded.

Audience

This Directive is applicable to all organizations within Internal Revenue Service Information Technology (IRS IT) that provide service and support to IT customers.

Effective Date

(06-01-2020)


Nancy A. Sieger
Acting Chief Information Officer

Program Scope and Objectives

  1. Overview - This IRM establishes uniform IT Support Services Management standards for requesting IT support and requests for products and services through the Service Desk. The IRM also defines the standard processes and procedures for recording (open, update, resolve, close), tracking, monitoring and escalating Incidents or Requests for service through the life-cycle via a single enterprise tool/database.

  2. Purpose - This IRM establishes uniform Support Services Management standards as it relates to providing support to IT customers while utilizing the enterprise tools.

  3. Audience - This IRM applies to all Internal Revenue Service (IRS) organizations requesting or providing IT products and services from Information Technology (IT).

  4. Policy Owner - Any waivers or deviations of this directive require written approval from the Associate Chief Information Officer, User and Network Services.

  5. Program Owner - Information Technology (IT), User and Network Services (UNS), Customer Service Support (CSS) is responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance of this directive.

  6. Primary Stakeholders - Approval of this directive, including updates, rests with the IT Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Associate Chief Information Officer (ACIO) for User and Network Services (UNS). All proposed changes to this directive must be submitted to IT User and Network Services (UNS), Customer Service Support (CSS).

  7. Program Goals - The primary objective of IT Support Services Management is to return/restore the IT service to users as quickly as possible and minimize the adverse effect on business operations while meeting the Master Service Level Agreement (MSLA). This directive has been created to establish the essential operations defining the function of the Service Desk and Service Support Providers to manage the life-cycle of Incidents and Requests for products and services by way of processes and procedures.

Background

  1. This IRM establishes uniform IT Support Services Management standards for requesting IT support and requests for products and services through the Service Desk. The IRM also defines the standard processes and procedures for recording (open, update, resolve, close), tracking, monitoring and escalating Incidents or Requests for service through the life-cycle via a single enterprise tool/database. This IRM is to be used by anyone who has the responsibility of providing service and support to IT customers.

Purpose
  1. The primary objective of IT Support Services Management is to return/restore the IT service to users as quickly as possible and minimize the adverse effect on business operations while meeting the Master Service Level Agreement (MSLA). This directive has been created to establish the essential operations defining the function of the Service Desk and Service Support Providers to manage the life-cycle of Incidents and Requests for products and services by way of processes and procedures. This IRM has been prepared in accordance with requirements resulting from the IRM restructuring and IRS modernization efforts.

Scope
  1. This IRM applies to all Internal Revenue Service (IRS) organizations requesting or providing IT products and services from Information Technology (IT).

Authority

  1. Information Technology (IT), User and Network Services (UNS), Customer Service Support (CSS) is responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance of this directive. Approval of this directive, including updates, rests with the IT Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Associate Chief Information Officer (ACIO) for User and Network Services (UNS). All proposed changes to this directive must be submitted to IT User and Network Services (UNS), Customer Service Support (CSS).

Mandate

  1. This IRM establishes uniform IT Support Services Management standards for requesting IT support and requests for products and services through the Service Desk. The IRM also defines the standard processes and procedures for recording (open, update, resolve, close), tracking, monitoring and escalating Incidents or Requests for service through the life-cycle via a single enterprise tool/database. This IRM is to be used by anyone who has the responsibility of providing service and support to IT customers.

  2. This IRM establishes the following:

    1. Uniform Support Services Management standards as it relates to providing support to IT customers while utilizing the enterprise tools.

    2. The IT support process is defined as the organized approach to documenting both the process and the results in support of IT customers on a single database. IRS management at each site is responsible for ensuring compliance within these standards and to meet the Master Service Level Agreements (MSLA).

    3. A common workflow tool for IT Service Providers is used for reporting and tracking all IT incidents and service requests (i.e., system software, application software, telecommunications, or hardware) as well as Alerts, Notifications, Outages and any related problem documentation.