Which of the following describes incident classes based on expected duration?

• A. Immediate, short, extended
• B. Short-term, medium-term, long-term
• C. Length-based severity categories
• D. Minor (<30 minutes), intermediate (30 min to 2 hours), major (>2 hours)

Answer: (D)

Classifying incidents by how long they are expected to last is best described by naming levels that tie directly to explicit time windows. Minor for incidents under 30 minutes, intermediate for 30 minutes to 2 hours, and major for more than 2 hours provides clear, actionable guidance for triage and resource planning because teams can instantly gauge the impact and needed response based on duration alone. Other descriptors like immediate/short/extended or short-term/medium-term/long-term lack precise duration boundaries, and mixing duration with severity in a length-based approach can confuse the focus on how long things will take.