2. The following is intended to outline our general product direction
The following is intended to outline our general product direction. It is intended for information purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for Oracle’s products remains at the sole discretion of Oracle.

3. Critical Issue Handling Severity & Requests for Management Attention
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Critical Issue Handling Severity & Requests for Management Attention
Chris Warticki
Global Customer Management

4. Understanding Support Process – Severity
Severity = Business Impact
Severity Level
Business Impact
Technical Impact
1st Response
Update Frequency
Resolution Time
Severity Level 1
Mission Critical
< 1 Hour
(Telephone Preferred)
Continual Updates
24x7
Co-Owned
Severity Level 2
Serious
Communication
Preference
Multiple Updates
24-48 Hrs.
Severity Level 3
Minor
Updates
2-3 Business Days
Severity Level 4 No
3-5 Business Days
Partnership
Identifying the severity of an issue is a very important part of the Service Request process. Since our customers are the most familiar with the business impact of their issue, it is crucial that they translate that business impact into support terminology, ensuring that the severity level is set appropriately and represents the urgency of their issue.
Let’s review the different severity levels:
Severity Level 4 implies that the issue you are running into results in no loss of service or resources. This is more of a minor error or notification of documentation error. It could also be a request for assistance in finding documentation or clarification. Customers can select from a variety of communication preferences and expect an update frequency of 3-5 Business days.
Severity Level 3 implies that the problem or product defect is causing a minimal loss of service. In this case the impact is more of a minor error or an inconvenience and does not impact your ability to complete your work. These issues generally have a simple workaround. Customers can select from a variety of Communication preferences and expect an update frequency of 2-3 Business days.
Severity Level 2 implies that the problem or product defect is causing a severe loss of service. There is no customer-acceptable workaround, which means there may be a workaround but it may be as painful as the problem itself. In a severity 2 situation your operations can continue but they continue in a restricted fashion. Customers can select from a variety of Communication preferences and expect an update frequency of 24 – 48 hours.
Severity Level 1 is our most critical severity level. In a severity 1 situation, the problem or product defect causes a complete loss of service and work within your organization cannot reasonably continue. The work in question is mission critical, it is critical to your business and the situation is an emergency.
Severity 1 issues are worked by support 24 x 7. Because of this, customers are required to provide 24X7 contact information so that the SR solution process can run smoothly.
Severity levels generally apply to a production system, but if you are within a few days of a go live or a critical milestone and you run into a showstopper which will impact your ability to meet your go live date, this would also fall into the Severity 1 category.
I left the Resolution Time column for last. It has been my experience that the overall resolution time for a Service Request depends on the partnership between the Support Engineer and Customer. Both groups must work together to find a solution as quickly as possible. Support Engineers are always monitoring your Service Request. Customers that take an active monitoring role of their Service Requests tend to get their issues resolved much more quickly than customers that don’t.

5. Request Support Management Attention
Addressing Customer Service Delivery & Concerns
Call (U.S) or Country Specific & Micros
Accessibility and Accountability from Support Management
RMA and Severity are different processes
Severity Increases and Sev1 are not RMA
Support Manager Attention yields;
Management Contact
Action Plan
Review SR
Who / What / When ?
Severity and Escalated Status
Communication Plan

6. Q&A

7. Bringing Management Attention to the Service Request
Severity vs. Support Management Attention
Severity
Mgr. Attention
Business Impact
Bringing Management Attention to the Service Request
Severity Level
Business Impact
Technical Impact
1st Response
Update Frequency
Resolution Time
Severity Level 1
Mission Critical
< 1 Hour
(Telephone Preferred)
Continual Updates
24x7
Co-Owned
Severity Level 2
Serious
Communication
Preference
Multiple Updates
24-48 Hrs.
Severity Level 3
Minor
Updates
2-3 Business Days
Severity Level 4 No
3-5 Business Days
Initate via the 800#
Escalation & Severity are different processes
Accessibility & Accountability from Support Mgmt.
Sev Increases and Sev1 are not Escalations
Escalations yield
Management Contact
Action Plan
Communication Plan