Access
Management Process
The
purpose of the Access Management process is to provide the rights for
users
to be able to access a service or group of services, while preventing access
to
non-authorized users.
Access
Management helps to manage confidentiality, availability and integrity
of
data and intellectual property.
Access
Management is concerned with identity (unique information that
distinguishes
an individual) and rights (settings that provide access to data
and
services). The process includes verifying identity and entitlement, granting
access
to services, logging and tracking access, and removing or modifying
rights when status or roles change.
Problem
Management Process
A
problem is a cause of one or more incidents. The cause is not
usually
known at the time a problem record is created, and the
problem
management process is responsible for further
investigation.
The
key objectives of Problem Management are to prevent problems and
resulting
incidents from happening, to eliminate recurring incidents and to
Minimize
the impact of incidents that cannot be prevented.
Problem
Management includes diagnosing causes of incidents, determining
the
resolution, and ensuring that the resolution is implemented. Problem
Management
also maintains information about problems and the appropriate
Workarounds and resolutions.
Problems
are categorized in a similar way to incidents, but the goal is to
understand
causes, document workarounds and request changes to
Permanently
resolve the problems. Workarounds are documented in a Known
Error
Database, which improves the efficiency and effectiveness of Incident
Management
Event
Management Process
An
event is a change of state that has significance for the
management
of a configuration item or IT service.
An
event may indicate that something is not functioning correctly, leading to an
incident
being logged. Events may also indicate normal activity, or a need for
routine
intervention such as changing a tape.
Event
management depends on monitoring, but it is different. Event
management
generates and detects notifications, whilst monitoring checks the
status of components even when no events are occurring.
Incident
Management Process
An
incident is an unplanned interruption to an IT service, or a
reduction
in the quality of an IT service. Failure of a
configuration
item that has not yet impacted service is also an
incident.
The
purpose of Incident Management is to restore normal service as quickly as
possible,
and to minimize the adverse impact on business operations.
Incidents
are often detected by event management, or by users contacting the
service
desk. Incidents are categorized to identify who should work on them
and
for trend analysis, and they are prioritized according to urgency and
business
impact.
If an
incident cannot be resolved quickly, it may be escalated. Functional
escalation
passes the incident to a technical support team with appropriate
skills;
hierarchical escalation engages appropriate levels of management.
After
the incident has been investigated and diagnosed, and the resolution has
been
tested, the Service Desk should ensure that the user is satisfied before the
incident
is closed.
An
Incident Management tool is essential for recording and managing incident
information.
Service
Measurement
There
are four basic reasons to monitor and measure, to:
_
validate previous decisions that have been made
_
direct activities in order to meet set targets - this
is the most prevalent
reason
for monitoring and measuring
_
justify that a course of action is required, with
factual evidence or proof
_ intervene
at the appropriate point and take corrective action.
Transition
Planning and Support
The
goals of Transition Planning and Support are to:
_
plan
and coordinate resources to ensure that the requirements of Service
Strategy
encoded in Service Design are effectively realized in Service
Operations
_
identify,
manage and control the risks of failure and disruption across
transition
activities.
Effective
Transition Planning and Support can significantly improve a service
provider’s
ability to handle high volumes of change and releases across its
customer base.
Change
Management
Change
Management ensures that changes are recorded, evaluated,
authorized,
prioritized, planned, tested, implemented, documented and
reviewed
in a controlled manner.
The
purpose of the Change Management process is to ensure that standardized
methods
are used for the efficient and prompt handling of all changes, that all
changes
are recorded in the Configuration Management System and that
overall
business risk is optimized.
The
process addresses all service change.
A
Service Change is the addition, modification or removal of an
authorised,
planned or supported service or service component
and
its associated documentation.
Therefore
change management is relevant across the whole lifecycle, applying
to all levels of service management – strategic, tactical and
operational.
Supplier
Management
The
Supplier Management process ensures that suppliers and the services they
provide
are managed to support IT service targets and business expectations.
The
purpose of the Supplier Management process is to obtain value for money
from
suppliers and to ensure that suppliers perform to the targets contained
within
their contracts and agreements, while conforming to all of the terms and
conditions.
The
Supplier and Contract Database (SCD) is a vital source of information on
suppliers
and contracts and should contain all of the information necessary for
the management of suppliers, contracts and their associated
services.
Capacity
Management
Capacity
Management includes business, service and component capacity
management
across the service lifecycle. A key success factor in managing
capacity
is ensuring that it is considered during the design stage.
The
purpose of Capacity Management is to provide a point of focus and
management
for all capacity and performance-related issues, relating to both
services
and resources, and to match the capacity of IT to the agreed business
demands.
The
Capacity Management Information System (CMIS) is the cornerstone of a
successful
Capacity Management process. Information contained within the
CMIS
is stored and analyzed by all the sub-processes of Capacity
Management
for the provision of technical and management reports, including
the Capacity Plan.
Service Design is a
stage within the overall service lifecycle and an important
element
within the business change process. The role of Service Design within
the
business change process can be defined as:
The
design of appropriate and innovative IT services, including
their
architectures, processes, policies and documentation, to
meet
current and future agreed business requirements.
The
main goals and objectives of Service Design are to:
_
design
services to meet agreed business outcomes
_
design
processes to support the service lifecycle
_
identify
and manage risks
_
design
secure and resilient IT infrastructures, environments, applications
and
data/information resources and capability
_
design
measurement methods and metrics
_
produce
and maintain plans, processes, policies, standards, architectures,
frameworks
and documents to support the design of quality IT solutions
_
develop
skills and capability within IT
_ contribute
to the overall improvement in IT service quality.
Service
Portfolio Management (SPM)
SPM
involves proactive management of the investment across the service
lifecycle,
including those services in the concept, design and transition pipeline,
as
well as live services defined in the various service catalogues and retired
services.
SPM is
an ongoing process, which includes the following:
_
Define:
inventory services, ensure business cases and validate portfolio
data
_
Analyze:
maximize portfolio value, align and prioritize and balance supply
and
demand
_
Approve:
finalize proposed portfolio, authorize services and resources
_ Charter:
communicate decisions, allocate resources and charter services.
Problems
are categorized in a similar way to incidents, but the goal is to
understand
causes, document workarounds and request changes to
permanently
resolve the problems. Workarounds are documented in a Known
Error
Database, which improves the efficiency and effectiveness of Incident
Management
Continual Service Improvement (CSI) is concerned with maintaining
value for
customers through the continual evaluation and improvement of the
quality of
services and the overall maturity of the ITSM service lifecycle
and underlying
processes.
CSI combines principles, practices and methods from quality
management,
Change Management and capability improvement, working to improve
each
stage in the service lifecycle, as well as the current services,
processes, and
related activities and technology.
CSI is not a new concept, but for most organizations the concept
has not moved
beyond the discussion stage. For many organizations, CSI becomes a
project
when something has failed and severely impacted the business. When
the issue
is resolved the concept is promptly forgotten until the next major
failure occurs.
Discrete time-bound projects are still required, but to be
successful CSI must be
embedded within the organizational culture and become a routine
activity.
