Which ITIL practice is crucial for identifying and managing potential risks?

The practice that is crucial for identifying and managing potential risks is Risk Management. This ITIL practice specifically focuses on identifying, assessing, and prioritizing risks, as well as developing strategies to mitigate or eliminate those risks. By doing so, Risk Management allows organizations to minimize the impact of potential negative events, which can threaten the achievement of their objectives and goals.

Risk Management is not just about addressing existing issues; it involves a proactive approach to foresee and prevent potential risks from occurring in the first place. This practice is fundamental across various areas of IT service management, as it ensures that services are resilient and can continue to deliver value even in the face of uncertainty or adverse events.

In contrast, Incident Management is primarily concerned with restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible after an incident occurs, which may not directly address the risks associated with those incidents. Problem Management focuses on identifying and managing the root causes of incidents to prevent future occurrences, and while it does consider risks, it is more reactive in nature. Change Management oversees changes to minimize the risk of disruption caused by alterations to services or infrastructure but does not specifically target risk identification and management as its core purpose.