Key Points
How to Record and Manage Unofficial or Ad hoc Technical Interventions Across Clients
- Unofficial interventions are fixes outside SOPs or automation and must be logged to reduce risk and knowledge loss.
- Define clear intervention criteria so technicians know exactly what to record.
- Capture interventions at the point of work using ticketing prompts, quick-add PSA/RMM forms, or scripts to ensure accuracy and reduce technician disruption.
- Centralize intervention logs in a searchable knowledge base with tags for client, device, issue type, and risk level.
- Review logs monthly or quarterly (so temporary fixes don’t turn permanent), retire outdated entries, and promote recurring interventions into SOPs or automation.
- Feed insights back into governance and SOPs by updating documentation, automating repeat fixes, and using intervention data in QBRs.
Technicians frequently apply quick fixes in client environments that aren’t part of documented SOPs. These can include anything from Registry edits to resolve routine issues to ad hoc firewall or policy exceptions.
While they can be effective, fixes without proper IT documentation can create knowledge gaps, increase audit and compliance risks, and lead to recurring inefficiencies. By building a process to capture and log unofficial interventions, MSPs can preserve critical knowledge, reduce risk, and create a feedback loop that enhances service maturity.
A guide for logging unofficial workarounds in IT projects
📌 Prerequisites:
- You should have a centralized ticketing or documentation platform (NinjaOne Docs, IT Glue, Confluence).
- You need to have defined categories for logging interventions (workaround, exception, temporary fix).
- You must have already completed technician training to recognize and report unauthorized interventions.
- You need to have governance rules in place for when interventions must be reviewed or retired, so they are readily available for reference during the process.
Step 1: Define what counts as an unofficial intervention
Before anything else, it’s vital that everyone involved is on the same page. Because of this, you must create clear criteria so that your staff know what they’re supposed to log. Depending on your specific situation, you might need to focus on the following:
- Fixes outside SOPs or automated workflows
- Temporary workarounds applied under time pressure
- Manual changes to security, patching, or access settings
They may vary according to your organization’s needs and should be modified accordingly.
The expected deliverable for this step is an “Intervention Classification Guide” that you can distribute to all your staff and technicians.
Step 2: Capture interventions at the point of work
Now that you’ve provided technicians with a guide on tech intervention classifications, it’s time to put what they’ve learned from it into action. Integrate logging into their workflows and ensure that it’s an essential part of the process. Here are a few ways you can do that:
- Ticket prompts with a checkbox for “unofficial intervention used”
- Quick-add forms in PSA/RMM systems to document steps taken
- Script snippets that automatically capture system changes (where possible)
The expected deliverables for this step are updated ticket templates with intervention logging fields, so you’re IT technicians won’t forget to do them.
Step 3: Store and index interventions in a central repository
Ensure interventions are searchable and reusable. They need to be logged in a database that’s easily accessible to you and your technicians. Here are some of the crucial features of such a database:
- Store entries in a shared knowledge base with tags for client, issue type, and device.
- Flag interventions by risk level (low, medium, high).
- Link interventions to related tickets and devices for context.
The expected deliverable for this step is an intervention log database that’s accessible to all your technicians.
Step 4: Review and triage interventions regularly
Prevent temporary fixes from becoming permanent. To do that, you must perform:
- Monthly or quarterly reviews of intervention logs
- Retire outdated entries and confirm if permanent solutions exist
- Escalate frequently used interventions to SOP or automation candidates
The expected deliverables for this step are governance cycles that include intervention review reports.
Step 5: Feed insights back into governance and SOPs
Turn undocumented fixes into service maturity improvements. Doing so ensures that you’re constantly improving your operations and that you’re keeping up with your clients’ needs. To do that, you should:
- Update SOPs to include recurring interventions
- Automate common fixes through scripts or RMM policies
- Use intervention data in QBRs to demonstrate proactive improvement
The expected deliverable for this step is documented governance updates and new SOP entries.
Best practices for logging ad hoc IT work
| Practice | Value Delivered |
| Define intervention criteria | Clarifies what IT interventions need to be logged |
| Capture at the point of work | Prevents information loss and ensures that your IT logs are accurate and complete |
| Centralized repository | Makes the fixes that your IT team has made searchable and reusable |
| Regular reviews | Keeps temporary fixes from being permanent |
| Feed into SOPs/automation | Improves efficiency and reduces repeat work |
Automated intervention capture sample workflow
- A technician checks “unofficial intervention used” in a ticket.
- Your PSA automatically creates a record in the intervention log.
- The system tags intervention by device, client, and issue type.
- Governance reminders trigger a monthly review of logged interventions.
NinjaOne integration ideas for logging unofficial tech interventions
| Feature | Highlights | Benefits |
| Ticketing tool | Add intervention logging fields in ticket workflows. | Creates a clear audit trail of actions, making it easier to track what was done and by whom |
| IT documentation tool | Store intervention logs in NinjaOne Documentation, with tags and searchability. | Improves knowledge retention and makes past interventions easy to find and reuse |
| Automation tool | Automate reminders for monthly or quarterly reviews. | Ensures interventions are consistently evaluated and nothing falls through the cracks |
| Inventory tool | Link interventions to devices or groups in inventory. | Provides context for recurring issues, helping teams connect actions to specific assets or environments |
Improve your IT documentation by logging unofficial tech interventions across clients
Unofficial interventions are inevitable in real-world scenarios. Capturing and logging them turns informal fixes into structured knowledge that reduces risk, improves efficiency, and strengthens governance. MSPs can transform undocumented fixes into opportunities for continuous improvement as long as they have the right tools and a clear and documented process.
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