Agency operations
Website Maintenance Request Triage: Defect, Content Edit or New Scope?
A maintenance request needs enough evidence to decide what happens next. Classify the problem before assigning a deadline or silently accepting new scope as routine support.
Copy the request form
- Page or system: exact affected location.
- Observed behaviour: what happened, using the customer’s wording where useful.
- Expected behaviour: the agreed requirement, if known.
- Steps and context: how to reproduce, relevant device/browser and time.
- Impact: the user task affected, not just “urgent”.
- Evidence: screenshot or reference with personal data removed where appropriate.
- Owner: person assessing the request and the next review.
Do not ask customers to send passwords or unnecessary personal data in a support note. Use an authorised secure route when restricted access is needed.
Three fictional requests, three classifications
Wrong phone number: compare published content with the approved number. If the business changed its number, this may be a content update; if implementation differs from approved copy, it may be a defect. The evidence decides.
Form fails reproducibly: record steps, expected delivery and actual failure. Assess the affected integration and recovery route; do not relabel it as a content edit to avoid investigation.
New booking workflow: describe desired behaviour and assess new scope. A request being submitted through support does not establish that the work is included.
Assign a next decision
Record classification, supporting evidence, unknowns and who can approve any commercial effect. Use the actual support agreement to determine coverage and response commitments.
If a report cannot be reproduced, keep the observed evidence and ask a focused question. “Cannot reproduce” is not the same as “nothing happened”. Avoid repeatedly asking for unrelated details.
Close with proof of the affected task
After a correction, check the relevant page or workflow and explain what changed. Keep the customer’s report and the resolution linked. New information may require reclassification rather than defending the first label.
This worksheet handles operational triage, not emergency incident response or a universal service-level agreement. A security incident or wider outage should follow the responsible team’s actual response process.
Continue with a related resource
Use the example with your own facts, assign an owner and review the result before relying on it. These resources are available without creating an account.
Next practical resource