I was recently asked how ITIL helps in the management of
the SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle).
Simply put... SDLC is a Lifecycle approach to produce the software or
the "product". ITIL is a Lifecycle
approach that focuses on the "service".
I’ll start by reviewing both SDLC and ITIL Lifecycles and
then summarize:
SDLC - The intent of an SDLC process is to help
produce a product that is cost-efficient, effective and of high quality. Once
an application is created, the SDLC maps the proper deployment of the software
into the live environment. The SDLC methodology usually contains the following
stages: Analysis (requirements and design), construction, testing, release and
maintenance. The focus here is on the
Software. Most organizations will use an
Agile or Waterfall approach to implement the software through the Software
Development Lifecycle.
ITIL - is a best practice for IT service management
(ITSM) that focuses on aligning IT services with the needs of the business and
also follows a lifecycle approach. The
lifecycle stages in ITIL are Service Strategy, Service Design, Service
Transition and Service Operation with ongoing Continual Service Improvement
throughout. ITIL describes processes, procedures, tasks, and checklists which
are not organization-specific, but can be applied by an organization for
establishing integration with the organization's strategy, delivering value,
and maintaining a minimum level of competency. It allows the organization to
establish a baseline from which it can plan, implement and measure. It is used
to demonstrate compliance and to measure improvement.
In Summary:
Both are required.
When ITIL best practices are not integrated into the SDLC (and vice
versa) the development tends to become silo'd.
Developers focus on innovation and speed while operational functions
focus on stability and governance. This
results in an us vs them environment. Without the integration of both,
organizations are likely to experience bottlenecks, resources not being available
when development needs them and incorrect data being collected (metrics are to
show that "I did my job"... "It is there fault"). Other symptoms of these silos include
inconsistent environments, manual build and deployment processes, poor quality
and testing practices, lack of communication and understanding between IT silos,
frequent outages and failing SLAs. All
of these issues require IT resources to spend significant time and money.
DevOps initiatives are working towards correcting these
silos and breaking down walls throughout the delivery cycle and value stream. DevOps
is the progression of the SDLC. If ITIL
(processes and activities) are not integrated early in the lifecycle the
developers will continue to hit a brick wall that results in frustrated staff,
high cost and little value to the business.
You might want to learn more about "Agile Service
Management". If your organization
is utilizing Agile methods for software development then and Agile approach to
ITIL/ITSM will help to ensure that your teams, processes, activities and
business outcomes are in alignment.
Yes... I am suggesting an Agile approach to both SDLC and ITIL and also integrating them. There is really only one "Value Stream".
For more information: www.itsmacademy.com/agile
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