From an
operational perspective, we are primarily interested in the overall management
of applications as part of IT services.
These can be developed in-house or purchased off the self from third
party developers. Because of our operational point of view, and the focus on
ensuring these services/applications are delivered with both utility and
warranty, we look at their support from a more holistic approach and use what
is referred to as the “Application Management Lifecycle”. It sequences through
six stages or steps which are: Requirements, Design, Build, Deploy, Operate and
Optimize.
Requirements: Requirements for new applications are garnered,
based on business/customer needs and takes place primarily during services
design. There are six types of
requirements for any application
- Functional requirements
- Manageability requirements
- Usability requirements
- Architectural requirements
- Interface requirements
- Service Level requirements
Design: At this point
the requirements get transformed into specifications. In the case of in-house
developed applications this will include design of the software itself, the
environment the application has to run on.
Here architectural considerations are critical. If the software is being purchased, we will
likely not have input into the design, but must be able to have feedback on
functionality, manageability and performance of the package.
Build: If building the software, the application components
are coded, integrated and tested. Testing
is done both in the build and deploy stages.
In the build stage the focus is on the ability of the application to meet
functionality and manageability requirements. If software is being purchased
this will be when this takes place. Any
additional/supporting software or hardware will also be purchased at this time.
Deploy: At this stage the application will be deployed along
with the operational model (release package).
Testing again takes place but here the focus is ensuring the deployment
process and mechanisms operate appropriately.
We also test the application in the live environment to ensure that it
is meeting its intended functionality (early life support).
Operate: Services (applications are just one of the
components) are being delivered as part of normal operations. Performance is being continually monitored
and measured to enable effective management of the service delivery and ensure
key business drivers are being met.
Optimize: Measurements are being analyzed and CSI is being
acted upon. Because of this and the
circular nature of the Application Management life cycle, this same application
can have multiple iterations at different stages at the same time.
In a mature
ITSM organization, and given various business and ITSM requirements, operational
staff can play many of the key roles in some or all of the stages.
For more
information on this subject please follow this link: http://www.itsmacademy.com/itil-osa/
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