Which Incident Type Is Limited To One Operational

Okay, let's talk incident types. We've all been there, right? Phones ringing off the hook, alarms blaring, someone accidentally ordered 500 pizzas instead of 50. Good times! But which incident type is, shall we say, a bit of a loner? One that only gets to play in a single sandbox, operationally speaking?

We've got your major incidents. They're like the cool kids, grabbing attention from all teams. Everyone's involved. Then there are your security incidents. Always a party, but the kind where you're double-checking the guest list and making sure the punch isn't spiked. They seem to pop up across different departments, don’t they?

And who can forget those pesky service requests? Password resets, software installations... the unsung heroes of IT keeping the wheels turning. They’re like worker bees, buzzing around supporting pretty much everything.

But what about the underdog? The incident type that quietly does its thing, rarely venturing outside its designated zone?

My Unpopular Opinion

Here it is. Brace yourselves. I think Infrastructure Failures are almost always limited to a single operational realm.

Now, before you start throwing virtual tomatoes, hear me out. Yes, technically, a massive infrastructure failure could ripple outwards. The entire internet could melt down. Cats and dogs living together! But in the real world, in your everyday organization... isn't it usually pretty contained?

Think about it. A server goes down. Affects a specific application. The application team gets on it. Maybe the network team gets involved. But is marketing suddenly scrambling? Is HR holding an emergency all-hands meeting? Probably not (unless that application is payroll. Then all bets are off.)

I'm not saying infrastructure failures are unimportant. Far from it! They can be incredibly disruptive and costly. But their impact tends to be… focused. Like a laser beam of annoyance, aimed squarely at a particular operational area.

"But what about a widespread power outage?" you might cry.

Okay, valid point. A massive power outage could impact multiple operations. But even then, isn't the response often siloed? The facilities team handles the power issue. IT handles the server issues. Each operation manages their slice of the disaster.

Compare that to a data breach. Boom! That's a cross-functional nightmare. Legal, PR, IT security, customer service… everyone's running around like headless chickens. The tentacles of a data breach reach far and wide.

Or consider a product defect. Suddenly, your development team, your sales team, your support team, even your marketing team, are all singing from the same (slightly panicked) hymn sheet. Everyone's involved.

Infrastructure failures, bless their little silicon hearts, tend to be more… localized. They're the introverts of the incident type family.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm living in a bubble of perfectly contained infrastructure incidents. But in my experience, they're the exception to the "all hands on deck" rule.

So, what do you think? Am I completely off base? Or is there a grain of truth to this unpopular opinion? Let the debate begin!

And hey, maybe this is just my way of subtly suggesting that the infrastructure team deserves a little more recognition. They keep the lights on, the servers humming, and the localized disasters… well, contained. Give them a raise, I say!