IT processes and procedures: A 101 guide for non-tech teams

When IT teams are small, most of the work happens in real time. A laptop breaks? Someone fixes it. A new employee starts? Someone creates their accounts manually. That works—until it doesn’t.

As your team grows, so does the complexity: more devices, more users, more tools. Suddenly, what used to be a quick fix turns into a long queue. Things start falling through the cracks. That’s when structure becomes a necessity—not a nice-to-have.

This is where IT processes and procedures come in.

In this guide, we’ll break down what they are, why they matter, and how Fixify helps IT teams simplify and automate the work that slows them down.

What are IT processes and procedures?

Let’s keep this simple:

• IT processes are repeatable workflows that help teams run IT operations. Think: onboarding, access requests, software updates, or handling incidents.
• IT procedures are the step-by-step instructions for completing those processes consistently.

Together, they make your work more predictable, auditable, and scalable.

Why this matters

Without clear processes, every task becomes a custom job. That leads to delays, errors, and confusion. 

But when you define how things should happen—and make those steps easy to follow—your team can:

• Spend less time answering the same questions
• Support more people with fewer mistakes
• Maintain compliance and pass audits more easily
• Hand off work without losing quality

Key IT processes in growing orgs

If you’re scaling a company or IT team, these are the high-impact processes to start with.

Employee onboarding and offboarding

These two are where many teams first feel the pain of missing procedures.

Onboarding includes:

• Provisioning a laptop
• Creating user accounts across core tools
• Assigning access levels and licenses
• Setting up MFA and security policies

Offboarding includes:

• Revoking access
• Collecting or wiping devices
• Reclaiming software licenses
• Documenting what’s been closed out

This process is closely tied to the IT support team structure and is often shared between IT, HR, and Finance.

When onboarding is slow or inconsistent, users get frustrated before they’ve even started. When offboarding misses a step, data risk increases significantly.

Incident and problem management

When something breaks—whether it’s a downed system or a recurring error—your team needs to act fast.

A solid incident process includes:

• Initial ticket routing
• Escalation paths
• Root cause analysis
• Resolution documentation

Problem management goes further, aiming to prevent repeat issues. Both processes benefit from structure and visibility—and both are easier when Fixify helps handle the ticket flow.

Access management

This one’s huge for security.

Processes here define how users:

• Request access to tools or data
• Get that request reviewed and approved
• Have access removed when it’s no longer needed

Well-defined procedures here reduce risk and support compliance, especially in least-privilege environments.

Software and hardware provisioning

Who approves a new tool? Who tracks laptops? How are devices shipped to remote employees?

Provisioning processes answer these questions. When they’re manual or unclear, IT ends up with missing equipment, shadow IT, and unexpected invoices.

What makes a strong IT procedure?

It’s not just about writing things down. The best procedures are usable and adaptable. Here’s what that looks like.

Clear

Each step should be specific, direct, and leave no room for guessing. Use plain language. Avoid technical shorthand unless your audience knows it.

For example, instead of “Provision access via SSO,” write: “Log into Okta admin panel. Navigate to the ‘Users’ tab. Search for the employee’s name. Click ‘Assign Application’ and select ‘Salesforce.’”

Repeatable

A good procedure can be followed by anyone on your team—not just the person who wrote it. That consistency ensures tasks get done the same way every time.

It also makes it easier to train new team members or scale support.

Auditable

Especially in regulated environments, you need to show who did what, when, and why. Your procedures should make it easy to document steps taken or provide a log for later review.

Flexible

Things change. Tools evolve. Teams grow. Strong procedures allow for updates and exceptions while maintaining a clear baseline.

That flexibility is also where automation tools like Fixify come in—more on that next.

Where Fixify fits in

Fixify helps IT teams scale their processes without adding headcount or complexity. We don’t replace your tools—we connect to them and work alongside your team.

Here’s how we help.

Built-in automation for common IT workflows

We automate the repetitive stuff your team handles every day, including:

• Account provisioning
• Access requests
• Device setup
• App installations
• Password resets

These are exactly the kinds of processes that benefit from structure. Fixify uses your existing playbooks, then improves and standardizes how those steps get done.

Process visibility

Fixify tracks how long requests take, where they get stuck, and which steps are prone to errors or delays. 

That makes it easier to:

• Identify slowdowns
• Improve workflows over time
• Prove what’s working—and what needs to change

You don’t need a reporting analyst to see where your process is under pressure. We surface that data automatically.

Human-in-the-loop support

Fixify blends AI and human analysts so your processes stay consistent but not rigid.

We adapt to the way you already work and build on that. It’s a balance that makes Fixify a natural fit inside your existing tech stack.

Want to learn more about this hybrid model? See how we think about the role of agentic AI.

We also integrate seamlessly with service desk software, which means no workflow disruption and no retraining of your team.

Processes give IT teams space to lead

IT processes and procedures aren’t about bureaucracy—they’re about bandwidth.

When you have defined steps, repeatable tasks, and the right tools to automate the routine, your team gets time back. That time turns into strategic work: securing systems, enabling new tools, supporting growth.

Fixify helps you build that space. We work the queue, streamline the steps, and give you the visibility to keep improving.

Ready to make your IT processes faster, smarter, and easier to scale? 

Let’s talk.