business needs are paramount

© 2006 Jupitermedia Corporation

Webcast TitleRequirements to Consider When Looking at ITSM Tools

Requirements to Consider When Looking at ITSM Tools

November 13, 2006

2:00pm EST, 11:00am PST

Speaker:

George Spafford, Principal Consultant, Pepperweed Consulting



Housekeeping

• Submitting questions to speaker– Submit question at any time by using “Ask a question”

section located on lower left-hand side of your console.– Questions about presentation content will be answered

during 10 minute Q&A session at end of webcast.

• Technical difficulties?– Click on “Help” link– Use “Ask a question” interface



Main Presentation



Agenda

• A general approach to requirements definition• What features are beneficial to look for in tools• How to evaluate vendors relative to requirements• Looking past the initial purchase –

implementation, upgrades and ongoing support



So, what’s our objective?

Why are we doing this?



This Is Our Goal

Maximize Sustainable

Profits

Accounting Manufacturing

Sales Customer ServicePayroll

In an organization, IT either adds value by enabling functional area objectives or by assisting in the mitigation of enterprise risks.

Productivity is movement towards the goal.



ITIL Processes and Functions Must be Coordinated

CustomerRequirements

ChangeMgt

ConfigurationMgt

Service DeskFunction

IncidentMgt

ProblemMgt

Service LevelMgt

CapacityMgt

AvailabilityMgt

IT FinancialMgt

IT ServiceContinuity Mgt

IT SecurityMgt

ServiceDevelopment

To achieve the goal requires proper management. The real question about any tool is how it improves productivity relative to functional

area objectives and the organization’s goal.



Diminishing Returns

• Any single process along will reach a point of diminishing returns

• Each successive unit of input will yield less and less output

• Over-optimizing any single area can unbalance the system

• Efficient and effective productivity gains come from recognizing and addressing the system – not individual areas

Res

ult

s

Level of Investment

100%



The Power Lies in Integration

Service LevelManagement

ChangeManagement

IncidentManagement

ProblemManagement


ConfigurationManagement

CapacityManagement

AvailabilityManagement

IT FinancialManagement

IT ServiceContinuity

Management

IT SecurityManagement



But where do we start?

We start with the business



Business Needs are Paramount

Business Services

IT Services

ProcessRequirements

AutomationRequirements

Increasingly Granular CIs

With ITSM we want to create services that meet the requirements of the business. Hence, we must understand those requirements and drill down.

This is why “IT Depends” is a valid answer!

PeopleRequirements



Automation

• New tools need to support process requirements– ITIL recommends that a selected tool deliver 80% of

mandatory requirements

• Process updates leveraging existing tooling need to take automation capabilities into account– Need realistic designs



Beware Technology Push

• Buying a tool to “force” processes• Tool specific processes may not meet

organization specific requirements!!!• Direction of the tool may not be appropriate• Management may not be very understanding why

a new tool is needed• Buying a tool does not outsource responsibility /

accountability– Due diligence must be done



A Comprehensive Solution

• Will recognize three dimensions– People are the foundations

– Processes tie tasks together

– Technology is an enabler

• The proper blending generates desired results

PeopleP

roce

sses

Tech

no

log

yResults



Features for Consideration



ITIL Core Books

• Service Support– Change Management

– Configuration Management

– Service Desk

– Incident Management

– Problem Management

• Service Delivery– Service Level Management

– Capacity Management

– Availability Management

– IT Financial Management

– IT Service Continuity Management



High-Level

• Extensible data model

• Extensible Workflow– Adaptable to your requirements– Automation of related transactions

• Open Platform / Integration to Other Systems– Within the enterprise– Moving into the value chain

• Enterprise Class– Database– Security– Ability to support remote sites (very important)

• Flexible Reporting– Information vs. Content Overload– What is needed vs. generating content just because you can



Change Management

• Ability to track changes from request through to implementation

• Able to leverage data from CMDB for business impact assessment and to know who to talk to in IT and the business

• Able to relate Incidents and Problems to changes• Detect all relevant changes in pertinent CIs• Enable Incident and Problem Management to

always be able to answer the question “what changed?”



Configuration Management• This is the logical model of the IT world• Understand Relationships

– Parent, child, depends on, etc.• Configuration Items (akin to data tables)

– Hardware– Software– Processes– People– Documentation– Facilities– Data

• Attributes (akin to data fields)• CMDB can be

– Single instance– Federated

• An effective security model• Chant “Meaningful and Manageable” over

and over and over



Release Management

• Ability to define standards around releases and enforce workflow

• Project Management– Requirements Definition– Tasks– Testing– Oversight

• Portfolio Management– How do all the projects, services, RFCs, etc. relate?



Service Desk

• Use of scripts• The SD model

– Local – Central– Virtual

• Users– Vendors / Outsourcers– Customers

• Coordination between sites• Sharing of data• Multi-lingual• Speed• Integrity• Security

Internet

London

Shanghai

Melbourne

Customer 1

Headquarters

Outsource Vendor A

Customer 2



Incident Management

• Use of scripts• Workflow with escalation• Incident Matching

– Incidents– Problems– Known Errors

• Knowledge Management– Ability to post solutions with appropriate security vs. just

reading old tickets

• Input from automated monitoring systems



Problem Management

• Able to relate Incidents but managed separate from Incidents

• Root cause analysis• Able to generate and manage

– Problem Records– Known Error Records

• Escalation based on thresholds• Able to relate change tickets



Service Level Management

• Identification of requirements• Tracking of performance relative to targets• Alerting• Service Catalog• Operational Level Agreements (OLAs)• Underpinning Contracts (UCs)• Integration of Service Levels to other areas• Continuous Service Improvement Programs (CSIPs)



Capacity Management

• Capacity Database (CDB) integration• Input from monitoring systems• Alerting• Trending / Forecasting• Performance relative to plan



Availability Management

• Support availability targets• Monitoring of performance relative to targets



IT Service Continuity Management

• Documentation• Training plans• Test plans• Test schedules• Test results



IT Financial Management

• Budgeting– Performance relative to this years– Planning for the future

• Costing– Ability to track costs relative to services

• Charge Backs– Real– Notional



Reporting

• Flexible and extensible reporting with security• Generate information – not just content• Understand what stakeholders need and tailor

reports/web pages accordingly



Vendor Selection



Vendor Selection Is Critical

• Automation fundamentally affects the quality of IT services rendered – take the time to do it right

• Formalize the product/vendor review process!!!• Involve the correct stakeholders• Select a vendor based on experience• Total Solution & Total Costs

– Beware the low bidders who know scope is wrong– TCO = Purchase Price + Implementation Costs + (Expected life in years * (Annual Operating

Costs Including Support & Licensing))• Pre-sales and Post-Sales Support• Upgrade Paths• Vision – Where are they going?• Controls – What controls do they have in place to help manage risks

– In their solution?– In their organization?



Additional Vendor Factors

• Quality Management Philosophy• Implementation Capabilities

– Do they have a scalable methodology?– Can they facilitate organizational change?

• Training– Tools– Processes

• Documentation• References and Developed References• What are the risks to the organization associated with each

vendor?– Stability – where will they be in six months, a year, two years, etc.?– What is happening in the industry?

• Vendor consolidation, excessive competition, …?



Looking to the Future



Strategy

• The needs of the business are going to change

• Risks are going to change• Resources are going to

change• How are you going to

change?• How will your automation

requirements evolve?• Work with the business and

not around the business

Maximize Sustainable

Profits

Accounting Manufacturing

Sales Customer ServicePayroll

CustomerRequirements

ChangeMgt

ConfigurationMgt


IncidentMgt

ProblemMgt

Service LevelMgt

CapacityMgt

AvailabilityMgt

IT FinancialMgt

IT ServiceContinuity Mgt

IT SecurityMgt

ServiceDevelopment



Thank you for the privilege of facilitating this webcast

George [email protected] http://www.pepperweed.com

Daily News Archive and Subscription Instructionshttp://www.spaffordconsulting.com/dailynews.html



Questions?



Thank you for attendingIf you have any further questions, e-mail

[email protected]