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PRODUCT FEATURE GUIDE
Customisation

Zinc Systems

Product feature guide

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Custom event types & workflows

Overview Specification FAQs

Choose when and how to meet your organisations needs – codeless workflow-building, and a data-friendly architecture provides the flexibility and configurability you need to field new workflows, and respond to new threats and business requirements, without needing software engineers or consultants.

Key benefits

  • Customise the existing categories and types of incidents or create your own with full configured capability.
  • Complete control over the customisation of workflow management process and intuitively define the sequence of required data capture through stages, steps and actions to drive closure of an incident or case.
  • Free navigation allows a user to click back and forth to other groups within the workflow.
  • Stage boundaries, steps and question group flexibility allowing full customisation of grouping of questions together.
  • Management of supporting entities and data sets (people, response forms etc.).
Zinc Systems

CUSTOM EVENT TYPES & WORKFLOWS
Specification

Dynamic
Completely dynamic and flexible design of layouts enabling you to split forms into stages, steps and groups of questions.

Capture
The powerful data collection framework allowing for the capture of diverse data types tailored to specific needs.

Workflow
Create your own structured sequence of data capture and processes designed to efficiently achieve a specific goals.

Validation
Ensuring complete accuracy and quality of data through validation checks and rules before processing and supporting analysis.

Zinc Systems
Workflow Wizard Configuration

Create unlimited categories, sub-categories and incident types and easily manage existing ones

Customise the severity and priority levels within the platform and adjust workflows to automatically impact these

Complete control over the form ‘wizard’ by editing steps, tabs within the workflow wizard

Steps and tabs display no. of fields / mandatory questions left to be completed to show progression

Steps and tabs to display dynamically based on what has been selected (hide/show)

Dynamic incident status, severity, priority and score displayed during completion process

Create and manage incident ‘stages’ by splitting your incident management into formalised stage by stage processes

Submit data

Save function (incomplete incident report and complete and report)

Generation of a unique incident reference number - multiple configurations of reference number prefix based on incident category

Incident severity, priority and status defaulted based on data capture settings

Dynamic custom form fields available…

Text entry - text boxes and text area fields

Dynamic custom form fields available…

Spell check

Options/selections - checkboxes, drop-down menus, multi-select drop-down menus, radio fields

Option to link to a static field set (i.e involved parties, product, stock & value)

Option to link to a static field set (i.e involved parties, product, stock & value)

Option selection to trigger individual questions or question groups immediately below the parent question

Option selection to trigger individual questions or question groups immediately below the parent question

Option selection to trigger individual questions or question groups further on in the workflow

Option selection to automatically change the incident priority/severity/status based on selection

Default answers to options pre-selected on questions

Groups of questions arrays (i.e. drop down, drop down, free text)

Lookup - internal (managed static data sets from Staff)

File upload

Dynamic custom form fields - data validation

Question hints and question option hints

Form validation and setting a field as mandatory (email, numerical, postcode, time, date & time (future, past)

Submit data

Save function (incomplete incident report and complete and report)

Generation of a unique incident reference number - multiple configurations of reference number prefix based on incident category

Incident severity, priority and status defaulted based on data capture settings

CUSTOM EVENT TYPES & WORKFLOWS
Frequently Asked Questions

Custom incident types refer to the tailored configuration of critical event management platform to suit the specific needs, policies, and procedures of an organisation. This customisation ensures that the process is aligned with the organisation's operational requirements, risk profile, and compliance obligations. By defining event types that accurately reflect the nature of incidents an organisation faces and the steps required to resolve them, organisations can streamline their response efforts, improve efficiency, and enhance incident resolution outcomes.

Custom Incident Types

Definition: Custom incident types categorise incidents based on their nature, impact, or source, tailored to the organisation's specific operational environment. This categorisation helps in organising, prioritising, and responding to incidents more effectively. Examples:
  • Physical security incidents (e.g., unauthorised access, URBEX, theft)
  • Safety incidents (e.g., workplace injury, fire)
  • Service disruption incidents (e.g., IT outage, power failure)
  • Environmental incidents (e.g., spillage of hazardous materials, pollution)
Benefits:
  • Improved Clarity: Helps in quickly identifying the nature of incidents for better clarity among responders.
  • Targeted Response: Enables the activation of specific response protocols tailored to the type of incident, improving response effectiveness.
  • Enhanced Reporting: Facilitates more accurate incident reporting and analysis by categorising incidents in a manner that aligns with the organisation's operational risks and reporting requirements.

Custom Workflows

Definition: Custom workflows define the sequence of steps, processes, and responsibilities for managing and resolving each type of incident. These workflows are designed to guide responders through the incident management process, from initial detection and reporting through to resolution and review. Examples:
  • Initial Assessment: Determining the severity and impact of the incident.
  • Notification: Informing relevant stakeholders and responders about the incident.
  • Containment: Steps to limit the impact of the incident.
  • Investigation and Analysis: Gathering facts and analysing the incident to identify the cause and impact.
  • Resolution and Recovery: Actions taken to resolve the incident and restore normal operations.
  • Post-Incident Review: Analysing the incident and response to identify lessons learned and improve future incident response efforts.
Benefits:
  • Consistency: Ensures a consistent approach to handling different types of incidents, reducing variability in response quality.
  • Efficiency: Streamlines the incident response process, enabling quicker and more coordinated actions that can reduce the overall impact of incidents.
  • Accountability: Clearly defines roles and responsibilities, ensuring that all involved parties know what is expected of them during incident response.
  • Continuous Improvement: Facilitates post-incident reviews and feedback loops to refine workflows, improve response strategies, and enhance preparedness for future incidents.
Implementing custom incident types and workflows requires a thorough understanding of the organization's unique operational context, risks, and compliance requirements. It often involves collaboration across departments to ensure that the configurations accurately reflect the needs and capabilities of the organization. Additionally, training and awareness efforts are essential to ensure that all personnel understand how to operate within the defined incident management framework.

When setting up a critical event / incident management platform, organisations often face the choice between using "out-of-the-box" event/incident types provided by the platform and creating "bespoke" (or custom) event/incident types tailored to their specific needs. Ultimately, a balanced approach might be most effective, starting with out-of-the-box incident types and gradually introducing bespoke types as the organisation’s specific needs become clearer and more pressing. This phased approach allows for learning and adjustment over time, ensuring the incident management system evolves in step with the organisation's requirements. Each approach has its advantages and considerations, and the best choice depends on the organisation's unique requirements, complexity, and operational environment.

Out-of-the-Box Event Types

Advantages:
  • Quick Setup: Predefined incident types allow for a faster implementation of the incident management system, as they require less initial customisation.
  • Best Practices: Often based on industry standards and best practices, out-of-the-box incident types can help organisations align with recognised frameworks without extensive internal expertise.
  • Ease of Use: With a simpler configuration, these incident types are generally easier for staff to adopt and use, especially for organisations with straightforward incident management needs.
  • Cost-Effective: Reduces the need for extensive customisation, which can lower the initial setup and ongoing maintenance costs.
Considerations:
  • Generic: May not fully align with the specific risks, processes, or compliance requirements of the organisation, potentially leading to gaps in incident management.
  • Limited Flexibility: There might be constraints on how well these incident types can adapt to evolving organisational needs or unique scenarios.

Bespoke Incident Types

Advantages:
  • Tailored Fit: Custom incident types are designed to match the organisation’s specific operational context, risks, and compliance obligations, ensuring a more precise fit.
  • Adaptability: They can be adapted or expanded as the organisation's needs evolve, providing greater flexibility to accommodate changes in operations, technologies, or threat landscapes.
  • Enhanced Efficiency: By reflecting the organisation's unique environment, bespoke incident types can streamline incident categorisation, reporting, and response processes, potentially leading to quicker resolution times.
  • Improved Relevance: Custom types can include incidents unique to the organisation's industry, geography, or operational model, enhancing the relevance and effectiveness of the incident management process.
Considerations:
  • Resource Intensive: Developing custom incident types requires more time and expertise, potentially increasing the initial setup and ongoing maintenance costs.
  • Complexity: Tailored solutions may introduce complexity, requiring more extensive training for staff to understand and effectively use the system.
  • Risk of Over-Customisation: There's a risk of creating too many specific incident types, which can overwhelm users and dilute the focus on critical incident types.

Making the Choice

The decision between out-of-the-box and bespoke incident types should consider several factors:
  • Organisational Complexity: Larger or more complex organisations with specific regulatory requirements might benefit more from bespoke incident types.
  • Operational Environment: Organisations in industries with unique risks (e.g., finance, healthcare, critical infrastructure) may require the tailored approach of bespoke incident types.
  • Resource Availability: The choice depends on the organisation’s willingness to invest in the initial setup and ongoing configuration of the incident management system.
  • Evolution of Needs: Consider future needs and the potential for operational changes. Bespoke incident types offer more flexibility but require a commitment to ongoing adaptation and maintenance.
 

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