Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR)

Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR) is the average time required to fully resolve an IT problem that has occurred. This metric – often also called average resolution time – is typically measured from the moment the problem is detected (or the ticket is created) until it is finally fixed. MTTR is an important service KPI that indicates how efficiently the support team handles incidents. A short MTTR means that problems are resolved quickly on average, pointing to a responsive, well-organized IT support.

However, MTTR can be defined slightly differently in different contexts: in the ITIL world, the term Mean Time to Restore (time until service restoration) or Mean Time to Repair is sometimes used, whereas in the service desk environment MTTR usually means the time until the final resolution for the user. To calculate MTTR, the resolution times of all tickets closed within a period are added up and divided by the number of these tickets. Example: 100 incidents per month with a total of 400 hours of processing time from occurrence to resolution results in an MTTR of 4 hours.

MTTR is frequently agreed in service level agreements, in which case it must be precisely defined whether it refers to the time until the fault is fixed or until full restoration. Through efficient Incident Management, systematic Problem Management and investments in monitoring and automation, organizations try to continuously reduce MTTR in order to keep unplanned downtime as low as possible. Suitable ITSM software helps to manage such processes centrally and document them traceably.

See also: KPI.