An incident is an event that interrupts normal work, creates risk, causes harm, or shows that something did not happen as expected. Incidents can be technical, operational, quality-related, security-related, safety-related, financial, contractual, or customer-facing.
Incident management starts with capture. Record what happened, when it was noticed, who reported it, which area was affected, and what immediate action was taken. Early notes do not need to be perfect, but they should be clear enough for follow-up.
Next comes triage. How serious is the impact? Is the incident contained? Who needs to know? Are there deadlines, regulatory duties, customer promises, or safety concerns?
Corrective actions should address causes, not just symptoms. A useful action has an owner, due date, evidence of completion, and a way to check whether the problem is less likely to happen again.
Incidents can be recorded in a structured register, supported with evidence files, assigned as actions, reviewed against dates, and mapped as a repeatable response process when needed.
Related: Audit Logs, Business Continuity Planning Basics, TaskBoard (WSO ↗).