Network connected devices are controlled via the transmission of action messages to prevent or correct conditions that impair the operation of the networked information technology (IT) assets. The service monitoring system (SMS) monitoring the IT environment groups together related notable events that are received during system operation. Automatic processes dynamically determine grouping operations that automatically correlate the events without requiring, for example, a set of declarative grouping rules. Event grouping may be performed on a by-service basis to facilitate the complex processing of predicting undesirable system conditions that may be prevented or reduced by transmission of the action messages to the appropriate assets. Event grouping operations may be directed with control information maintained via user interface.