In order to define the activities needed in the different phases, a number of processes and procedures are described in TRIM. A process is a linked chain of activities with a defined starting point (trigger) and a specific result (output). Working according to a defined process is a prerequisite for being able to measure and improve activities in an organization. Furthermore, the quality of the result is regulated by the process so that it is similar regardless of who in the organization performs the activities. Every process needs an owner with responsibility to measure, finance and improve the process, as well as regularly follow up, inform and train the organization in how the process should be used. These activities consume resources, and in a small organization the cost of administering a process might not cover the efficiency gains that the process supplies.
Even though it is not worth defining certain activities as processes, the activities nevertheless need to be described in a documented procedure so that their quality can be ensured. The same activities can thus be defined as a process for a large IT organization with a high throughput of issues or as a procedure for a small IT organization which might only perform the activities once per month.
A simple way of deciding whether it should be a process or a procedure is by considering the number of issues which will pass through the process. If it is deemed to be a large number of issues, then it is usually profitable to create a process with an associated process owner, financing, training, measurement, tool support etc.
