Mean time to resolution (MTTR): definition

Mean time to resolution (MTTR) is the average time it takes to fully resolve an incident, from the ticket being opened to its closure. It is a key metric of customer support performance, expressed in a unit of time: minutes, hours, or days. Not to be confused with FCR, which is a rate.

What is mean time to resolution (MTTR)?

MTTR measures the average time elapsed between an incident being reported and its actual resolution. Watch the acronym: it is ambiguous. The "R" can stand for Resolution, but also Repair, Recovery, or Respond, depending on the context — common usage in ITSM. Here we mean mean time to resolution specifically: from the ticket being opened until it is closed and the customer's problem is genuinely fixed.

How do you calculate MTTR?

The calculation is a simple average: add up the resolution time of every incident over a period, then divide by their count. Each duration is measured between the ticket opening and its closure.

There is no universal "good" MTTR threshold: it depends on the industry, the type of requests, and the measurement scope you choose.

MTTR or FCR: what's the difference?

The distinction is simple: MTTR is a duration (how long to resolve), FCR is a percentage rate (the share of requests resolved on first contact). The two are complementary but measure different things. A high FCR tends to reduce MTTR, but not always: you can resolve on first contact after a long exchange (good FCR, high MTTR), or resolve fast across several short contacts.

Metric	What it measures	Unit
MTTR	Average time to resolve an incident	Time (min/h/days)
FCR	Share of requests resolved on first contact	Percentage (%)

To dig deeper, see the first contact resolution (FCR) entry.

Why does MTTR matter in support?

MTTR is an indicator of service level (SLA), cost per ticket, and customer satisfaction, because it reflects the delay the customer actually lives through. A long MTTR signals incidents that drag on: the customer follows up, exchanges pile up, and costs rise. Tracking it over time helps you spot the requests that stall and act before they degrade the experience.

How does visual assistance reduce MTTR?

The main lever is direct diagnosis. When the agent sees the scene live through the customer's camera, they understand the problem right away — no back-and-forth questions, no vague description. Above all, they often avoid dispatching a technician, the factor that stretches a resolution out by hours or even days. That is the idea behind remote technical support. Based on usage observed on GroundCam, around 40% of site visits are avoided and 85% of requests are resolved on first contact — observed usage, not a market benchmark. Fewer site visits and a higher FCR both act, mechanically, on the resolution time.

Where to go next

This entry is a concise definition. For support teams, the remote video troubleshooting guide details the method for shortening resolution times without multiplying site visits.