ITIL Foundations Certification Course

Service Management, Bangalore

Kashif Baig

ITIL Foundations Certification Course

ITIL ® is a Registered Trade Mark, and a Registered Community Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce, and is Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

IT Infrastructure Library® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency which is now part of the Office of Government Commerce.


2 Kashif Baig - Service Management, Bangalore

Introduction ITIL History What is ITIL? The ITIL Framework ITIL Certifications Benefits of ITIL Remember about ITIL



ITIL History

In the late 1980’s, the British govt. asked the Central Computer and

Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) to structure the IT organisations

of the British government agencies.

This resulted in the IT Infrastructure Library, a library of books

describing best practices in IT management, and a detailed approach

for the implementation of these best practices.

The aims of the CCTA in developing the IT Infrastructure Library were:– to facilitate the quality management of IT services.– increase the efficiency with which the corporate objectives are met.– to improve efficiency, increase effectiveness, and reduce risks.– to provide codes of practice in support of total quality.



ITIL is a compilation of best practices in IT Service Management, developed by the OGC (Office of Govt. Commerce) and supported by publications, qualifications and an international user group.

ITIL defines the organisational structure and skill requirements of an information technology organisation and a set of standard operational management procedures to allow the organisation to manage an IT operation and associated IT infrastructure.

ITIL does not set in stone every action you should do on a day-to-day basis as that is something which differs from organisation to organisation. Instead, it allows the IT Infrastructure Library to be utilised within organisations with existing methods and activities in Service Management.

IT Service Management is concerned with delivering and supporting IT services that are appropriate to the business requirements of the organisation.

What is ITIL?



The ITIL Framework

ITIL comprises of seven distinct books:

– Service Support • describes the processes associated with the day-to day support and

maintenance activities associated with the provision of IT services

– Service Delivery• covers the processes required for the planning and delivery of quality IT

services and looks at the longer term processes associate with improving the quality of IT services delivered

– ICT (Information & Communications Technology) Infrastructure Management• covers all aspects of ICT Infrastructure Management from identification of

business requirements through the tendering process, to the testing, installation, deployment, and ongoing operation and optimisation of the ICT components and IT services



The ITIL Framework

– Planning to implement Service Management

• examines the issues and tasks involved in planning, implementing and improving Service Management processes within an organisation. It also addresses the issues associated with addressing Cultural and Organisational Change, the development of a vision and strategy and the most appropriate method of approach

– Application Management

• describes how to manage applications from the initial business need, through all stages in the application lifecycle, up to and including retirement. It places emphasis on ensuring that IT projects and strategies are tightly aligned with those of the business throughout the application lifecycle, to ensure that the business obtains best value from its investment



The ITIL Framework

– The Business Perspective

• provides advice and guidance to help IT personnel to understand how they can contribute to the business objectives and how their roles and services can be better aligned and exploited to maximise that contribution

– Security Management

• details the process of planning and managing a defined level of security for information and IT services, including all aspects associated with reaction to security Incidents. It also includes the assessment and management of risks and vulnerabilities, and the implementation of cost justifiable countermeasures





ITIL Framework

The bu

siness

The technolog

yPlanning to implement service management

Application management

The business

perspective

ICT Infrastructure management

Service management

Service delivery

Service support

Security management

The bu

siness

The technolog

yPlanning to implement service management

Application management

The business

perspective

ICT Infrastructure management

Service management

Service delivery

Service support

Security management

• Guidance on integrating the business perspective into every aspect of service management

• Design and Plan• Deployment• Operations• Technical Support

• IT Infrastructure Security Management

• Security setup from the IT manager's point of view

• Service Level Management• Availability Management• Capacity Management• Financial Management for IT Services• IT Services Continuity Management

• Service Desk• Configuration Management• Incident Management• Problem Management• Change Management• Release Management

• Manage the Business Value• Align Service Delivery with Business Strategy• Drivers and Organizational Capability• Application Lifecycle Management• Organization Roles and Functions• Control Methods and Techniques

• What is the vision?• Where are we now?• Where do we want to be?• How do we check our milestones?• How do we keep momentum?



The ITIL Framework ( contd… )

The two most commonly used disciplines are Service Support and Service Delivery

Service Support comprises of :

– Service Desk

– Incident Management

– Problem Management

– Configuration Management

– Change Management

– Release Management

Service Delivery comprises of :

– Service Level Management

– Financial Management for IT Services

– Capacity Management

– Availability Management

– IT Service Continuity Management





Se

rvic

e D

es

k

Config

Incident

Problem

Release

Change

Service ManagementService Delivery Service Support

SL

M

Availability

Capacity

ITSCM

FMITS

Resolve incidents as they occur

Identify root causes of incidents and submit RFCs to remove them

Single Point of Contact for users of IT Services

Ensure standard methods and procedures are used from the RFCs to the PIR

Manage major hardware and software releases as part of effective change management

Manage technical information regarding the version, status, ownership and relationships among IT assets.

Define what services and service levels will be supported and delivered

Ensure the agreed services are available at agreed levels

Ensure agreed services have the required and agreed to capacity

Ensure agreed-to services can recover after a disruption as a part of business continuity management

Budget, account and optionally charge for IT services



ITIL accreditation demonstrates that an individual has met the standards in Service Management as set by an examination certification board comprising representatives of OGC, itSMF and the Examination Institutes

Official qualifications based on ITIL are currently offered by the following Examination Institutes :

– ISEB (The Information Systems Examination Board), a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Computer Society

– EXIN (the European Examination Institute for Information Science) in the Netherlands

ITIL qualifications are recognised world-wide. Whether you passed your exam via ISEB or EXIN, the qualification is recognised by the industry

ITIL Certifications



– Foundations Certificate

This is designed to provide a foundation level of knowledge in IT Service Management and is aimed at all personnel who wish to become familiar with the best practices for IT Service Management

– Practitioners Certificate

This is aimed at those who are responsible within their organisation for designing specific processes within the IT Service Management discipline, and performing the activities that belong to those processes

– Managers Certificate

This is aimed at those who need to demonstrate a capability for managing ITIL-based solutions across the breadth of the Service Management subjects.

ITIL Certifications (contd..)



ITIL Certifications

Essential (2 days) Service Level Manager (5 days)

Change Manager (5 days)

Service Support (5 days)

Service Delivery (5 days)

Practitioners (9 certificates)

Service Manager

1 hour Multiple choice 1 hour Multiple choice

3 hour examination (essay form)

3 hour examination (essay form)

In course assessment

Prerequisites form assessed by Examination Board

Foundations

(Know list of Basic Concepts)



Benefits of ITIL

Adopting ITIL guidance can provide such benefits as:

– Continuous improvement in the delivery of quality IT services

– Reduced long term costs through improved Return On Investment through process improvement

– Demonstrable Value For Money to the business, the board and stakeholders, through greater efficiency

– Reduced risk of not meeting business objectives, through the delivery of rapidly recoverable, consistent services

– Improved communication and better working relationships between IT and the business

– The ability to absorb a higher rate of Change with an improved, measurable rate of success

– Processes and procedures that can be audited for compliance to “best practice” guidelines



Remember about ITIL ..

Remember :

– ITIL describes what needs to be done but NOT how it should be done

– ITIL does NOT define:

• Every role, job or organisation design• Every tool, every other equipment, every required customisation• Every process, procedure and task required to be implemented

– ITIL does NOT claim to be a comprehensive description of everything within IT, but it instead contains “best practices” that have observed and accepted in the industry



Service Support Service Desk Incident Management Problem Management Change Management Release Management Configuration Management



Service Support



Service Desk

– Single point of contact between service providers and Users, on a day-to-day basis

– Focal point for reporting Incidents and making service requests

– Keeps Users informed of service events, actions and opportunities that are likely to impact their ability to pursue their day-to-day activities

Incident Management

– Restore normal service operations as quickly as possible

– Should interface closely with Problem Management, Change management and the Service Desk

– Incident priorities and escalation procedures need to be agreed as part of the Service Level Management process and documented in the SLAs

The Service Support set



Problem Management

– Prevent and minimize the adverse effect on the business of errors in the IT Infrastructure

– Performs RCAs to establish the root causes of Problems

– Requires the accurate and comprehensive recording of Incidents in order to identify effectively and efficiently the cause of the Incidents and trends

– Liaises closely with Availability Management process to identify these trends and instigate remedial action

Change Management

– Ensure standardized methods and procedures are used for efficient, prompt and authorized handling of all changes in the IT Infrastructure

– Close relationship with Configuration Management and Release Management




Release Management

– Ensure that all technical and non-technical aspects of a release are dealt with in a coordinated approach

– Actual implementers of Changes

– Responsible for secure and managed rollout of Changes

Configuration Management

– Provide a logical model of the IT Infrastructure by identifying, controlling, maintaining and verifying the versions of all Configuration Items (CIs)

– Stores information in the CMDB of what CIs available, where are they available and how are they inter-connected




Service Support Service Desk Incident Management Problem Management Change Management Release Management Configuration Management



Service Desk

Service Desk acts as the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) between the users and the IT Services Organization

ITIL defines customers and users :

– Customers : People (generally senior managers) who commission, pay for and own the IT Services, sometimes referred to as "the business"

– Users : People who use the services on a day-to-day basis



Service Desk (contd..)

The primary functions of the Service Desk are :

– Incident Control : life cycle management of all Service Requests

– Communication : keeping the customer informed of progress and advising on workarounds

It handles all incoming calls and only directs them through to the second or third tier support when necessary :

– for the customer, the advantage is that they don’t have to ring around searching for the right person to solve their problem

– for IT personnel, it means that they only have to deal with issues that are related to their skills or area of responsibility

Note:- The Service Desk is not a process - it is a FUNCTION



Service Desk - Types

The Service Desk function is known under various names :

– Call Centre

• main emphasis on professionally handling large call volumes of telephone-based transactions

– HelpDesk

• manage, co-ordinate and resolve incidents as quickly as possible

– Service Desk

• not only handles incidents, problems and questions but also provides an interface for other activities such as change requests, maintenance contracts, software licenses, Service Level Management, Configuration Management, Availability Management, Financial Management and IT Services Continuity Management



Service Desk - Types

Many Call Centres and HelpDesks naturally evolve into Service Desks to improve and extend overall service to the Customers and the Business

All three functions share common characteristics :

– they represent the service provider to the Customer and the User (internal or external)

– they operate on the principle that customer satisfaction and perception is critical

– they depend on blending people, processes and technology to deliver a service



Service Desk - Structures

The three types of structure that can be considered are :

– Local Service Desk• to meet local business needs - is practical only until multiple locations

requiring support services are involved

– Central Service Desk• for organisations having multiple locations - reduces operational costs and

improves usage of available resources

– Virtual Service Desk• for organisations having multi-country locations - can be situated and

accessed from anywhere in the world due to advances in network performance and telecommunications

• reduces operational costs and improves usage of available resources



Service Desk - Local



Service Desk - Central



Service Desk - Virtual



Service Desk - Functions

The common Service Desk functions include :

– receiving calls and first-line customer liaison

– recording and tracking incidents and complaints

– keeping customers informed on request status and progress

– making an initial assessment of requests, attempting to resolve them or refer them to someone who can, based on agreed service levels

– managing the request life-cycle, including closure and verification

– communicating planned and short-term changes of service levels to customers

– coordinating second-line and third party support groups

– providing management information and suggestions for service improvement

– identifying or contributing to problem identification

– highlighting Customer training and education needs

– closing incidents after confirmation with the Customer



Service Desk - Staff Profile

A Service Desk staff member should be :

– Customer-focused

– articulate and methodical

– trained in interpersonal skills

– multilingual (if required)

– able to understand the business’s objectives

– able to understand and accept that:

• the Customer’s Problem affects the business • without the Customer there is no support department • the Customer is an expert in their own field

– genuinely wanting to deliver a first-class service



Service Desk - Benefits

A Service Desk benefits an organisation by :

– improved customer service, perception and satisfaction

– increased accessibility through a single point of contact, communication, and information.

– better quality and speedier turnaround of customer requests

– improved teamwork and communication

– enhanced focus and a proactive approach to service provision

– reduced negative business impact

– better managed infrastructure and improved control

– improved usage of IT support resources and increased productivity of business personnel

– more meaningful management information for decision support



Service Desk - Critical Success Factors

To introduce and maintain a successful Service Desk, it is essential that:

– business needs and requirements are understood

– Customer requirements are understood

– investment is made in training for customers, support teams and Service Desk staff

– service objectives, goals and deliverables are clearly defined

– service levels are practical, agreed and regularly reviewed



Service Support Service Desk

Incident Management Problem Management Change Management Release Management Configuration Management



Incident Management

An Incident is defined as “ any event which is not part of the standard operation of a service and which causes or may cause, an interruption to, or a reduction in, the quality of that service “

The primary goal of Incident Management is to restore normal service operations as quickly as possible with the least possible impact on business operations, at a cost-effective price, thus ensuring that the optimum levels of service quality and availability are maintained

In lay-man terms, Incident Management is similar to “fire-fighting”

Inputs for Incident Management mostly come from users (through the Service Desk), but can have other sources as well like Automatic Detection Systems or Release Management





Incident Management – Functions



Incident Management - Functions

The primary functions of Incident Management are :

– Incident detection and recording

– Classification and initial support

– Investigation and diagnosis

– Resolution and recovery

– Incident closure

– Incident ownership, monitoring, tracking and communication




Incident detection and recording

– Inputs

• Incident details from Service Desk or event management systems – Actions

• record basic details of the Incident • alert specialist support group(s) as necessary • start procedures for handling the service request

– Outputs

• updated details of Incidents • the recognition of any errors on the CMDB

• notice to Customers when an Incident has been resolved




Classification and initial support

– Inputs

• recorded Incident details • configuration details from the CMDB

• response from Incident matching against Problems and Known Errors – Actions

• matching against Known Errors and Problems • informing Problem Management of the existence of new Problems and of

unmatched or multiple Incidents • assigning impact and urgency, and thereby defining priority • providing initial support (assess Incident details, find quick resolution)

• closing the Incident/routing to a specialist support group, and informing User(s). – Outputs

• RFC for Incident resolution • updated Incident details, and

• Work-arounds for Incidents, or Incident routed to second- or third-line support



Incident Management - Incident Classification

Incident Classification is used to :

– Specify the service with which the incident is related

– Associate with an SLA where appropriate

– Select/define the best specialist/group to handle the incident

– Identify the priority based upon the business impact & urgency

– Define what questions should be asked or information checked

– Identify a relationship to match against Known Errors or solutions

Typically classification consists of three parts:

– Categorisation

– Prioritising

– Matching




Categorisation

– Application

• Service not available• Application bug/query

– Hardware

• Automatic alert• Printer not printing

– Service Request

• Password forgotten

– Security Incident

• Virus



Incident Management - Example coding system for Incident classification




Prioritising

The priority with which Incidents need to be resolved and therefore the amount of effort put into the resolution of and recovery from Incidents, will depend upon :

– The impact on the business

– The urgency with which a resolution/work-around is needed

– The size, scope and complexity of the Incident

– The resources available for coping in the meantime and for correcting the fault




All incidents are categorised in order to establish appropriate priorities and resolution lead times

To facilitate lead-times of incident resolution, accurate classification and sufficient registration is imperative

The criteria to consider when assigning priority are:

– Impact : To what extent an incident results in a deviation from the normal service level; aspects are the number of users and the service concerned

– Urgency : To what extent the solution of an incident can be postponed

Priority = Impact x Urgency



Incident Management - Example of a priority coding system




Matching

Matching is the process whereby the Incident details are compared to knowledge that is already present in the organisation. Successful matching could give access to proven resolution actions, which should require no further investigation effort.






Investigation and diagnosis

– Inputs

• updated Incident details • configuration details from the CMDB

– Actions

• assessment of the Incident details, • collection and analysis of all related information, and resolution • (including any Work-around) or a route to n-line support

– Outputs

• Incident details yet further updated, and a specification of the selection or required Work-around




Resolution and recovery

– Inputs

• updated Incident details • any response on an RFC to effect resolution for the Incident(s) • any derived Work-around or solution

– Actions

• resolve the Incident using the solution/Work-around or, alternatively, to raise an RFC (including a check for resolution)

• take recovery actions

– Outputs

• RFC for future Incident resolution • resolved Incident, including recovery details,

• updated Incident details




Incident closure

– Inputs

• updated Incident details

• resolved Incident – Actions

• the confirmation of the resolution with the Customer or originator • ‘close’ category

• Incident – Outputs

• updated Incident detail• closed Incident record




Ownership, monitoring, tracking and communication

– Inputs

• Incident records – Actions

• monitor Incidents • escalate Incidents

• inform User – Outputs

• management reports about Incident progress • escalated Incident details; and

• Customer reports and communication



Incident Management - Escalation

There are two levels of escalation possible:

– Transferring an Incident from first-line to second-line support groups or further is called “Functional Escalation” and primarily takes places because of lack of knowledge or expertise

– “Hierarchical Escalation” can take place at any moment during the resolution process when it is likely that resolution of an Incident will not be in time or satisfactory



Incident Management - Tasks



The benefits to be gained by implementing an Incident Management process are:

– For the business as a whole:

• reduced business impact of Incidents by timely resolution, thereby increasing effectiveness

• the proactive identification of beneficial system enhancements and amendments

• the availability of business-focused management information related to the SLA.

– For the IT organisation in particular:

• improved monitoring, allowing performance against SLAs to be accurately measured

• improved management information on aspects of service quality • better staff utilisation, leading to greater efficiency • elimination of lost or incorrect Incidents and service requests • improved User and Customer satisfaction.

Incident Management - Benefits



The critical success factors for Incident Management are :

– A sound up-to-date CMDB really helps

– Create knowledge databases (KEDB) and make them ‘easily’ accessible

– Use tools whenever appropriate

– Establish interfaces with other processes

Incident Management - Critical Success Factors



Service Support Service Desk Incident Management

Problem Management Change Management Release Management Configuration Management



Problem Management

A problem is a “condition identified from multiple incidents exhibiting common symptoms, or from a single significant incident, indicative of a single error, for which the cause is unknown.”

The goal of Problem Management is to minimize the adverse impact of incidents and problems on the business caused by errors within the IT Infrastructure, and to prevent reoccurrence of incidents related to these errors.

While Incident Management focuses on quick resolution of incidents, Problem Management analyses the root cause of the incidents.



Problem Management (contd..)

Problem Definition

Many criteria can be used to define a Problem including :

– A number of related incidents

– Incident closed via work-around (temporary fix)

– Major incident

– Information from third parties




Problem Management Terminology

– Problem

• The unknown root cause of one or more incidents (not necessarily – or often – solved at the time the incident is closed)

– Error

• A condition that exists after the successful diagnosis of the root cause of a Problem

– Known Error

• Error + solution and/or workaround has been found

– Known Error DataBase (KEDB)

• Repository of known errors for the benefit and utilisation of Incident Management




Problems can be identified from incidents. When a problem is defined, diagnosis takes place to find the root cause of the problem, and then a change request is entered to correct the problem




The "Funnel Effect" is shown below - multiple incidents are usually, after investigation, re-classified as a smaller number of problems, which are also re-analyzed and (usually) reclassified as yet a smaller number of known errors, which usually, after further investigation, end up resulting in a smaller number of RFCs




The primary functions of Problem Management are :

– Problem Control: identifying the real underlying causes of incidents in order to prevent future reoccurrences




– Error Control : the processes involved in successful correction of Known Errors. The objective is to change IT components to remove Known Errors affecting the IT infrastructure and thus to prevent any recurrences of incidents




Investigation and Diagnosis of Problems

The various methods include :

– Ishikawa diagrams

– Kepner and Tregoe

– Brainstorming sessions

– Voting

– Flowcharts

– Common sense

– Deduction




Proactive Problem Management comprises of :

– Trend Analysis

• Identifying ‘fragile’ components of an IT Infrastructure and investigate the reasons for this ‘fragility’

– Targeting preventive actions

• Trend analysis can lead to the identification of faults in the IT Infrastructure which can then be analysed and corrected via Problem and Error Control

– Improving procedures

– Research other sources of knowledge about known errors






Known Error DataBase (KEDB) :

Problem Management reduces a Problem into an Error after it has successfully identified the root cause of the Problem. When a solution or a work-around is identified for this Error, it is transformed into a Known Error

The Known Error DataBase is a repository containing all these Known Errors. The KEDB is essentially for the utilisation of the Incident Management process and to prevent Incidents from becoming Problems



Known Error DataBase (KEDB) :




Incident v/s Problem Management :

While Incident Management focuses on quick resolution of incidents, Problem Management analyses the root cause of the incidents




Incident v/s Problem Management :

Incident Management is the basis for defining Problems and information from Problem Management is made available for Incident Matching.

The differences between Incident & Problem Management are :

– Objectives are different

– Different skills/expertise required

– Time is less of an issue within Problem Management

– Activities carried out are different



Problem Management - Tasks



The benefits of Problem Management are :

– improved IT Service quality (by removing structural errors pro-actively)

– reduction in the number of incidents

– providing permanent solutions thereby resolved problems stay resolved

– improving the organisation’s knowledge by contributing known error data to the service desk / incident management / configuration management, etc.

Problem Management - Benefits



The critical success factors for Problem Management are :

– Keep Incident Management and Problem Management separate

– Start with re-active Problem Management and then progress towards developing pro-active Problem Management

– Makes use of tools to detect possible trends

– Interface with Incident Management and Change Management




Service Support Service Desk Incident Management Problem Management

Change Management Release Management Configuration Management



Change Management

A change is “an event that results in a new status of one or more configuration items (CI's)”



Change Management

The goal of Change Management is to ensure that standardised methods and procedures are used for efficient handling of all Changes, in order to minimise the impact of Change-related incidents and to improve day-to-day operations.

The main aims of Change Management are :

– Minimal disruption of services

– Reduction in back-out activities

– Economic utilisation of resources involved in the change



Change Management

Change Management Terminology

Change

– the addition, modification or removal of CIs

Request for Change (RFC)

– form used to record details of a request for a change and is sent as an input to Change Management by the Change Requestor

Forward Schedule of Changes (FSC)

– schedule that contains details of all the forthcoming Changes



Change Management (contd..)

Change Categories

– Category 0 : Is executed without prior contact. Used for workarounds/ temporary fixes

– Category 1 : Little or no impact. Change Manager authorises this RFC

– Category 2 : Significant impact. CAB discussion needed. Change Manager requests advice on authorisation and planning

– Category 3 : Major impact. Considerable resources required. Senior Management need to be a part of the CAB.

Change Priorities

– Urgent: change is required now, in order to achieve the service levels

– High: as soon as possible, otherwise risk to current or future production

– Normal: change solves serious mistakes or a lack in functionality

– Low: change yields improvements that are not required by contract



Request for Change ( RFC) - Contents




Request for Change ( RFC)

– It is a formal document sent to Change Management by the Change Requestor requesting for a change.

– Every RFC runs through a number of stages before the change can be implemented




Change Review

– All implemented changes must be reviewed to establish whether:

• The change has had the desired effect and met its objectives• There have been no unexpected or undesirable side-effects• The resources used to implement the change were as planned

Change Advisory Board (CAB)

– The CAB is an advisory board that reviews RFCs and determines and provides detail of likely impact

– CAB participants include :

• Customers/users affected by the change• Representatives of Service Management areas• Application development teams




Change Advisory Board/ Executive Committee (CAB/EC)

– The CAB/EC is responsible for authorising urgent changes

– The members vary depending on their involvement with the urgent change, and their availability at the time

What the CAB discusses :

– Failed or backed-out Changes

– Changes applied without reference to the CAB by Incident Management

– RFCs to be assessed by CAB

– Change reviews

– Change management process



Change Management - CAB attendees




Change Approval Process

– Financial approval

• Indicates costs are within budgetary limits or cost-benefit criteria are met

– Technical approval

• Assurance that the Change is feasible, sensible and can be performed without serious interruptions to the business

– Customer approval

• To ensure that business managers are satisfied with the proposals and accept any impact to their requirements



Change Management - Tasks



The benefits of Change Management are :

– increased visibility and better communication of changes

– improved risk assessment of changes

– fewer backed-out or failed changes

– better productivity of Users (fewer disruptions) and IT Staff (duties clearly planned)

– ability to absorb large number of changes

– reduction in the number of incidents and problems caused by changes

Change Management - Benefits



The critical success factors for Change Management are :

– Be prepared for dealing with Urgent Changes

– Integrate with Configuration and Release Management

– Ensure management commitment is present and let them set the example

– Choose appropriate Project Management methodologies




Service Support Service Desk Incident Management Problem Management Change Management

Release Management Configuration Management



Release Management

Release Management undertakes the planning, design, build, configuration and testing of hardware and software to create a set of Release components for a live environment

Release Management takes a holistic view of a Change to an IT service and ensures that all aspects of a Release, both technical and non-technical, are considered

The input to the Release Management process comes from the Change Management process



Release Management (contd..)

Release Categories

A Release consists of the new or changed software and/or hardware required to implement approved Changes

Releases are categorised as :

– Major software Releases and hardware upgrades, normally containing large areas of new functionality, some of which may make intervening fixes to Problems redundant. A major upgrade or Release usually supersedes all preceding minor upgrades, Releases and emergency fixes

– Minor software Releases and hardware upgrades, normally containing small enhancements and fixes, some of which may have already been issued as emergency fixes. A minor upgrade or Release usually supersedes all preceding emergency fixes

– Emergency software and hardware fixes, normally containing the corrections to a small number of known Problems




Releases can be divided based on the release unit into :

– Delta Release : is a release of only that part of the software which has been changed. For ex: Security patches to plug bugs in a software

– Full Release : means that the entire software program will be release again. For ex : an entire version of an application

– Packaged Release : is a combination of many changes . For ex : an Operating System image containing the applications as well




Release Policy

A Release policy should include :

– Release naming and numbering conventions– A definition of major and minor Releases, plus a policy on issuing

emergency fixes– Frequency of Releases– Expected deliverables for Releases (e.g. installation instructions and

Release notes)– Guidance as to how and where Releases should be documented (e.g. which

tool to use and how)– A policy on the production of back-out plans




One of the main activities of Release Management is managing the Definitive Software Library (DSL) and the Definite Hardware Storage (DHS)

Definitive Software Library (DSL)

– Secure compound in which the authorised versions of all software CIs are stored and protected. Includes copies of purchased software (along with the license documents) as well as the software developed on site

Definite Hardware Storage (DHS)

– An area set aside for secure storage of hardware spares



Release Management - Tasks



The benefits of Release Management are :

– greater success rate of changes

– consistency in the release process

– less disruptions to services by synchronizing releases

– assurance that all CIs in use are of known quality and satisfy legal obligations

– controlling & safeguarding of CIs

– lower probability of illegal CIs

– easier detection of wrong & unauthorized versions

Release Management - Benefits



The critical success factors for Release Management are :

– Align with Change and Configuration Management

– Create test environments that represent the live hardware and software environments as closely as possible




Service Support Service Desk Incident Management Problem Management Change Management Release Management





Almost every Service Management process depends upon accurate IT infrastructure information. Configuration Management :

– Provides accurate information on configurations and their documentation to support all the other Service Management processes

– Accounts for all the IT assets and configurations within the organisation

– Verifies the configuration records against the infrastructure and corrects any exceptions

Configuration Management v/s Asset Management

Configuration Management revolves around the lifecycles of CI’s and their relationships, whereas Asset Management is primarily concerned with the financial value of assets



Configuration Management (contd..)

A configuration item (CI) is a component of, or directly related, to the IT-infrastructure. CI's include: hardware, software, documentation, processes and procedures

Examples of CIs :

– Personal computers, Network components, Service Level Agreements, Manuals, Applications, etc.

Examples of the relationships between CIs :

– Hierarchically subjected to (parent-child relation)

– Is part of (a processor is part of a PC)

– Interfaced with (a system is connected to a printer)

– Uses (a program uses a subroutine)

– Is a copy of (program is a copy of...)

– Is related to (attribute) (serial number, location, status)



– Details about CIs are stored in the Configuration Management DataBase (CMDB) from which queries about the IT Infrastructure can be answered

– The details of a CI that are mentioned in a CMDB include :• Unique Identifier (service tag)• Attributes (supplier, price)• Status (ordered, testing, production, archived)• History (past incidents, applied changes)• Category (hardware, software)• Relationship (is connected to, is a part of)

– The scope of the Configuration Management database is defined by the area of responsibility of the IT organization

– The level of detail is defined by the need for information of the IT management processes, the control of the information and the costs and benefits of a CMDB

Configuration Management DataBase (CMDB)



Configuration Management DataBase (CMDB)




Configuration Management Database (CMDB)

– Change Management interfaces with Configuration Management to obtain information about a CI and then provides input on what the status of the CI’s will be after a change

– Configuration Management will then update the CMDB to reflect the changed status of the CI



Configuration Management - Process




Planning

During the planning, define :

– Purpose, scope and objectives

– Related policies and standards

– Roles and responsibilities

– CI naming conventions

– CMDB design, including scope and key interfaces




Identification

The Identification activity addresses :

– Configuration, structures and the selection of CIs

– CI types and life-cycles

– CI relationships

– Identification of software and document libraries

– Identification of configuration baselines

– Naming conventions

– Labelling CIs




Control

The Control activity organises :

– Registration of new CIs and versions

– Updating of CI records

– Archiving of CIs and their associated records

– Protection of the integrity of configurations

– Updating of the CMDB after periodic checking




Status Accounting

Status reports should be produced on a regular basis listing, for all CIs under Control, their current version and history.

Status Accounting reports can be used to establish baselines and enable Changes between baselines and Releases to be traceable.




Verification and Audit

Before acceptance into the environment, new Releases, builds, equipment and standards should be verified against the contracted or specified requirements.

Physical configuration audits should be carried out to verify that the “as-built” configuration of a CI confirms to it’s “as-planned” configuration and it’s associated documents.




Configuration BaseLines

A BaseLine is the configuration of a product or system established at a specific point in time, which captures both the structure and the details of that product or system and enables that product or system to be re-built at a later date.

Configuration BaseLines and approved Changes to those BaseLines together constitute the “Currently Approved Configuration”.



Interaction with other processes



The benefits of Configuration Management are :

– helps to minimize the impact of changes

– provides accurate information on CIs

– improves security by controlling the versions of CIs in use

– facilitates adherence to legal obligations

– helps in financial & expenditure planning

Change Management - Benefits



The critical success factors for Configuration Management are :

– Select the appropriate tool at the start of the process

– Ensure no one bypasses Change Management

– Make use of Inventory Systems




Service Support


Identification

Control

Status Accounting

Incident Management

Detection & Recording

Classification & Initial Support

Investigation and Diagnosis

Resolution& Recovery

Closure

Problem Management

Problem Control

Error Control

Proactive Prevention of Problems

Change Management

Accept & Classify Changes

Evaluate

Authorize & Schedule Changes

Coordinate Implementation

Release Management

ReleasePlanning

Design, Build, Configure

Test, Accept

Verification& Audit

Monitor & Report

Review & Close

Plan Roll Out

Communicate, Prepare, Train

Distribute & Install





Service Delivery Capacity Management Availability Management Service Level Management IT Service Continuity Management Financial Management for IT Services



Service Delivery



Capacity Management

– Ensure that capacity and performance aspects of the business requirements are provided timely and cost effectively

Availability Management

– Optimize the capability of the IT Infrastructure and supporting organization to deliver a cost effective and sustained level of availability to satisfy business objectives

Service Level Management

– Maintain and improve IT service quality through a constant cycle of agreeing, monitoring, reporting and reviewing IT service achievements

The Service Delivery set



IT Service Continuity Management

– Ensuring that the required IT technical and service facilities can be recovered within the time scales required by Business Continuity Management

Financial Management for IT Services

– Provide cost effective stewardship of IT assets and resources used in providing IT services

The Service Delivery set (contd..)



Service Delivery Capacity Management Availability Management Service Level Management IT Service Continuity Management Financial Management for IT Services



Capacity Management

The objective of Capacity Management is to ensure the optimum use of IT resources for the performance agreed upon with the client

Capacity Management is needed to support the optimum and cost-effective provision of IT services by helping organizations to match their IT resources to the current and future demands of their business

The main tasks of Capacity Management are :

– Match capacity and demand by increasing or managing available capacity

– Ensure that existing capacity is used in an optimum manner



Capacity Management (contd..)

The main types of Capacity Management are :

– Business Capacity Management

• Trend, forecast, model, prototype and document future business requirements

– Service Capacity Management

• Monitor, analyse, tune and report on service performance, establish baselines and profiles of use service, manage demand for services

– Resource Capacity Management

• Monitor, analyse, tune and report on utilisation of components, establish baselines and profiles of use of components






Capacity Management activities can be subdivided into planning and monitoring activities






Demand Management (covers the management of users' demands for IT resources)

– Short-term: optimization– Long-term: have an insight into future projects

Workload Management (concerned with identifying and understanding the applications, their work patterns and peaks, and their use of hardware resources)

Resource Management (storage management, assessment of new HW technology)

Performance Management (measure, control and tuning of performance of components of the IT infrastructure)

Application Sizing (forecast for HW resources for new and changed applications)




Modelling (trend analysis, estimation, simulation, analytic modeling)

Capacity Planning (Capacity plan which details the current levels of resource utilisation and service performance, and forecasts the future requirements for resources)




Capacity Management DataBase (CDB)

Capacity Management collects data from a variety of hardware platforms and software applications that could be widely distributed and stores the data in a CDB.

The components of a CDB include :

• service data from SLAs

• business data from the business plans and strategy

• technical data from the manufacturers’ specification of the hardware and software components

• financial data



Capacity Management - Tasks



The benefits of Capacity Management are :

– Reduced risk of performance problems and failure

– Cost savings

– Both achievable through:

• Planned buying• Deferring expenditure until really needed (but in a controlled way)• Matching capacity to business need

– Ensures that systems have sufficient capacity to run the applications required by the business for the foreseeable future

– Provides information on current and planned resource utilization of individual components allowing decisions on which components to upgrade, when to do so, and how much it will cost.

Capacity Management - Benefits



The critical success factors for Capacity Management are :

– Interface with Availability and Financial Management

– Ensure business expertise is available, especially for Business Capacity Management




Service Delivery Capacity Management

Availability Management Service Level Management IT Service Continuity Management Financial Management for IT Services




A service is available when the service has been provided for an agreed number of direct users, within a maximum response time, maintaining the agreed functionality

Availability Management is concerned with the planning, and ongoing management activities, needed to ensure that the reliability and availability levels, as specified in the SLAs, are achieved and maintained

The goal of Availability Management is to optimise the capability of the IT Infrastructure, services and the supporting organisation to deliver effective and sustained levels of availability that enable the business to satisfy the business objectives



Availability Management (contd..)

Availability Management Terminology

Availability

The extent that a CI or an IT service is able to perform the expected functionality of the CI or IT service over a specified time period

Reliability

Refers to the extent that an IT service is able to perform the expected functionality, over a certain period of time, under prescribed circumstances OR freedom from operational failure.

Maintainability

This indicates the ease of the maintenance of the IT service (preventative, inspective, corrective)




Serviceability

All relevant contractual conditions of external suppliers and third-party suppliers to maintain CI’s

Resilience

The ability of an IT service to function correctly in spite of the incorrect operation of one or more subsystems







Availability = Host * Network * Server * Workstation

= 0.98 * 0.98 * 0.98 * 0.975 * 0.96

= 0.8809

Total Infrastructure Availability = 88.09%.









Un-Availability Costs

Tangible costs

Lost user and IT staff productivity, lost revenue, overtime payments, wasted goods and material, fines and penalties

Intangible costs

Loss of goodwill (customer dissatisfaction), loss of customers, loss of business opportunity (to sell, gain customers), damage to business reputation, loss of confidence, damage to staff morale




Calculating Un-Availability Costs

Determine the Vital Business Function (VBF)

Carry out CRAMM (Computer Risk Assessment Management Methodology)



Availability Management - Tasks



The benefits of Availability Management are :

– IT services with an availability requirement are designed, implemented, and managed to consistently meet that target

– Improvement of capability of the IT infrastructure to attain the required levels of availability to support the critical business processes

– Improvement of customer satisfaction and recognition that availability is the prime IT deliverable

– Reduction in frequency and duration of incidents that impact IT availability

– Single point for availability is established within the IT organization (process owner)

– Levels of IT availability provided are cost-justified and support SLAs fully

– Shortcomings in provision of availability are recognized and coped with in a formal way

– Mindset moves from error correction to service enhancement: from reactive to proactive attitude

Availability Management - Benefits



The critical success factors for Availability Management are :

– Integrate with IT Service Continuity Management

– Understand the un-availability costs (both tangible and intangible costs)




Service Delivery Capacity Management Availability Management

Service Level Management IT Service Continuity Management Financial Management for IT Services




A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a two-sided written agreement between an IT Service Provider and the IT Customer(s), defining the key service targets and responsibilities of both parties

Service Level Management is the process of negotiating, defining, contracting, monitoring and reviewing the levels of customer service, that are both required and cost effective

Service Level Management helps to develop a better relationship between the IT Organisation and it’s customers



Service Level Management (contd..)

Service Level Management aims to :

– Strike a balance between customer requirements and service costs

– Identify customer requirements in terms of what customers want and what can be delivered

– Measurable service standards

– What you don't measure, you can't agree upon

– Enhance quality by implementing quality improvement programs

– What can be measured can be improved!

– Business relationship between customer and supplier




Service Level Management Contracts

The IT organization has several contracts: An SLA with customers, an OLA with an internal supplier and underpinning contracts with external suppliers




Functions of Service Level Management

As well as setting up and monitoring SLAs, maintaining underpinning contracts with suppliers and managing relationships with customers are also functions of SLM




Service Level Management consists of activities that are needed to set up a SLA, but also activities needed to see if the Service Levels are met




Balancing IT Service Supply & Demand

Important within a SLA is the balance between the demand for IT services and the supply of IT services

Demand and Supply for IT Services can be balanced by :

– Being aware of the business requirements

– Being aware of the IT possibilities (technical and economical)

– Alignment of expectations




Service Level Agreements consist of elements of the other Service Management processes

Input from those processes is required for agreeing and monitoring Service Levels



Service Level Management - SLA Details




Elements of an SLA

General

– Introduction : Parties, Signatures, Service Description

– Reporting & Reviewing : Content, Frequency

– Incentives & Penalties

Support

Service Hours, Support, Change Procedures, Escalation

Delivery

Availability, Reliability, Throughput, Transaction Response Time, Batch Turn-around Times, Contingency & Security, Charging




Service Level Reports (SLR)

Measured from the customer’s perspective

Data like reaction times, escalation times and support should be made measurable

Reports should be produced regularly

Reports contain measuring values concerning the up-to-date supporting levels and the trend developments




Service Catalog

A Service Catalogue can be used to list the "normal" services provided by the IT organization whereas Service Level Agreements can be set up for "special" services

The Service Catalogue contains :

– Relevant characteristics of services

– Relevant information of the use of the services



Service Level Management - Tasks



The benefits of Service Level Management are :

– Improvement in IT service quality and reduction of service outages can lead to significant financial savings

– Satisfied customers and better customer relationship

– Clearer view between both parties on roles and responsibilities

– Specific targets that have to be achieved and that can be measured and reported

– Focusing of IT effort on what the business thinks is key

– IT and customers have consistent expectations on the level of service required

– Identification of weak areas that can be remedied subsequently

– SLM underpins supplier management and vice-versa

– IT services are designed to meet Service Level Requirements

– SLAs can be the basis for charging, and are the demonstration of what customers receive for their money.

Service Level Management - Benefits



The critical success factors for Service Level Management are :

– Service Level Management should not just be limited to SLAs

– Ensure buy-in from all other Service Management processes

– Create a definition of Service




Service Delivery Capacity Management Availability Management Service Level Management

IT Service Continuity Management Financial Management for IT Services



IT Service Continuity Management

The objective of IT Service Continuity Planning is to restore IT services as quickly and as completely as possible after a disaster has taken place

IT Service Continuity Management ensures that the required IT technical and services facilities (including computer systems, networks, applications, telecommunications, technical support and service desk) can be recovered within required, and agreed, business schedules.

The reasons an organization should implement IT Service Continuity Management are :

– Avoid financial risks (insurance)

– Increased dependence on IT services; business protection

– Provides a competitive edge

– Legal requirements

– Customers’ demands



IT Service Continuity Management (contd..)

Business Continuity Management and IT Service Continuity Management

Business Continuity Management (BCM) is concerned with managing risks to ensure that at all times an organization can continue operating to, at least, a predetermined minimum level. The BCM process involves reducing the risk to an acceptable level and planning for the recovery of business processes should a risk materialize and a disruption to the business occur.

IT Service Continuity Management (ITSCM) must be a part of the overall BCM (Business Continuity Management) process and is dependent upon information derived through this process. ITSCM is focused on the continuity of IT Services to the business. BCM is concerned with the management of Business Continuity that incorporates all services upon which the business depends, one of which is IT.




IT Service Continuity Management activities include :

– Risk Analysis

– Risk Management

– Continuity Plan

– Creation

– Testing

– Improving

– Maintenance

– Reporting

These activities are all engineered to provide IT Service continuity




The recovery options that can be used are :

– Do nothing !!!

– Insure for damage

– Manual back-up procedures (on paper until IT is restored)

– Take-over by other organization with similar equipment (reciprocal)

– Fortress approach; disaster-proof

– Gradual recovery {cold standby} 72-48 hours

– Intermediate recovery {warm standby} 24-1 hours

– Immediate recovery {hot standby} seconds

– Using internal / external / fixed / portable / mobile centres




Risk Assessment




Contingency Plan

Contents

– Administration

– IT infrastructure

– IT infrastructure management and procedures for operation

– Staff

– Security

– Continuity site

– Return to original situation

Scope

– Hardware, Software, Networks, Terminals/PCs, Accommodation (for IT and users), Building facilities and Staff



IT Service Continuity Management - Tasks



The benefits of IT Service Continuity Management are :

– Potential lower insurance premiums

– Business relationship with the rest of the enterprise is fostered because IT organization is forced to get a better

– understanding of the business

– Positive marketing of contingency capabilities. Effective ITSCM allows organization to provide high service levels and thus win business

– Organizational credibility is increased towards customers, business partners, and stakeholders

– Competitive advantage over organizations without it

IT Service Continuity Management - Benefits



The critical success factors for IT Service Continuity Management are :

– Ensure alignment to BCM

– If it’s not worth protecting, it’s not worth doing

– Test under realistic circumstances




Service Delivery Capacity Management Availability Management Service Level Management IT Service Continuity Management





Financial Management gives insight into the costs of the IT organization and options to charge the costs - making it possible to run IT as a business

The reasons why an organization should implement Financial Management for IT Services are :

– Cost/profits awareness (make users aware of what services actually cost)

– Decision-making support

– Cost recovery

– Cost control (know the full cost of the provided IT services)

– Planning

– Efficiency

– Influence on use (for instance providing incentives for using off-peak times




The goals of Financial Management for IT Services are to :

– Provide cost-effective stewardship of the IT assets and resources used in providing IT Services

– Be able to account fully for the spendings on IT Services and to attribute these costs to the services delivered to customers

– Assist management decisions on investments by providing detailed business cases for Changes to IT Services



Financial Management for IT Services (contd..)

Financial Management for IT Services activities include :

– Budgeting

– IT Accounting

– Charging

Budgeting

The process of predicting and controlling the spending of money within the enterprise and consists of a periodic negotiation cycle (usually annual) to set limits on budgets and the day-to-day monitoring of the current budgets. Budgeting enables an organisation to :

– Predict the money required for a given period

– Ensure that actual spending can be compared with predicted spending

– Reduce the risk of over-spending

– Ensure that revenues are available to cover predicted spending




IT Accounting

The set of processes that enable the IT organization to fully account for the way its money is spent (particularly the ability to identify costs by customer, by service, by activity). It usually involves ledgers and should be overseen by someone trained in Accountancy. IT Accounting enables an organisation by :

– Account for the money spent

– Calculate the cost of providing IT Services to both internal & external services

– Perform cost-benefit or return-on-investment analyses

– Identify the cost of Changes




Charging

The set of processes required to bill a customer for the services supplied to them. To achieve this requires sound Accounting, to a level of detail determined by the requirements of the analysis, billing & reporting processes. Charging enables an organisation to :

– Recover the costs of the IT Services from the Customers of the service

– Operate the IT Organisation as a business unit, if required

– Influence User and Customer behaviour



Financial Management for IT Services - Costs



Financial Management for IT Services - Tasks



The benefits of Financial Management for IT Services are :

– IT accounting supports the IT Service Manager

– Statements about profitability of the individual IT services

– Essential decisions about IT services and the required investments

– Data for justifying IT expenditures

– Essential planning and budgeting

– Overview of costs, created by service failures, as a basis for expenditure justification in strategy planning

– Users can track costs of the services they have used

Financial Management for IT Services - Benefits



The critical success factors for Financial Management for IT Services are :

– Involve financial / accounting experts

– Interface with the other Service Management processes

– Use customer-based charging units




Service Delivery


Identify Service Level Requirements

Verification of Feasibility

Negotiate (Agreeing)


Determine Requirements

Perform BIA and assess design criteria

Define Targets & Measures

Monitoring & Trend Analysis

Investigate

Capacity Management

Business Capacity Management

Service Capacity Management

Resource Capacity Management


Budget

Account

Charge (Optional)

IT ServicesContinuity

Management

Initiation

Requirements Analysis

& Strategy Definition

Implementation

Establishment of Agreements

Monitor Service Levels

Report & ReviewProduce & Maintain the Availability Plan

Operational Management





Security Management



Security Management

Security Management is the process of “managing a defined level of

security on information and IT services, including managing the responses

to security incidents”

The goal of Security Management is to counter risks of threats to one of the most

important assets for business: information

Information is threatened in three main ways:

– Confidentiality

– Integrity (accuracy)

– Availability (accessibility)



Security Management - CIA

Confidentiality

Protecting sensitive information from unauthorized disclosure or intelligible

interception

Integrity

Safeguarding the accuracy and completeness of information and software

Availability

Ensuring that information and vital IT services are available and accessible when required



Security Management - Why Security Management?

Information is the most important production factor of the world

Threat to information = threat to the organization‘s productivity

Security Management gets increasingly important, because...

– Public networks (Internet) are increasingly used

– Internal networks are opened to customers and business partners

– Internet usability is increasingly extended (e-commerce, online banking)

– Processes are controlled via networks



Security Management - Security Measures

Security organization

– With clear responsibilities and tasks

– Policies, codes of conduct

Physical security measures

– Physical separation of the computer room

Technical security measures

– Security in a computer system or network

Procedural security measures

– How the staff are required to act in particular cases

– Work instructions



Defines itssecurityrequirementsbased on itsbusinessrequirements

• Define processes,functions, roles,responsibilities• Organizationstructure betweensub-processes• Reportingstructure/line ofcommand

• Maintaining awareness- Security works only if disciplined andmotivated• Security incident handling responsiveness• Security incident registration- measurement- classification- and reporting

The sectionsecurity in SLAis negotiatedbetweencustomer andservice provider

• SLA• Underpinning contracts• OLA• Policy statement

• Internal audits• External audits• Self-assessments• Security incidentevaluation

• Collect experiences, lessons learned• Improvement will be considered for the next round of planning & implementation

• Show conformitywith SLA• Managementwithoutinformation isimpossible



Security Management - Tasks



Security Management - Benefits

Can only be qualified with difficulty

The costs are nevertheless clear if security is not sufficient



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Documents

ITIL Foundations Certification Course