Which of the following is a characteristic of incident management?

The chosen answer highlights a foundational aspect of incident management, which focuses on the process of restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible after an incident has occurred. Incident management specifically addresses unplanned interruptions to IT services and aims to minimize the impact on business operations while ensuring that service levels are maintained. This characteristic emphasizes the reactive nature of incident management, prioritizing quick recovery and restoration to maintain service continuity.

The other options, while related to IT service management, fall under different categories or processes. Proactively enhancing IT security is more aligned with security management, focusing on preventative measures and risk mitigation rather than responding to incidents. Planning new IT infrastructure projects pertains to strategic project management, which is about future developments rather than managing existing incidents. Conducting routine system audits is related to compliance and governance, ensuring systems are functioning as intended rather than directly addressing active incidents. Thus, the focus on restoration in incident management clearly distinguishes it as the correct answer.