ITIL Technology Lifecycle Management

The Professor has been asked, “Does ITIL address Technology Lifecycle management?”

In version 2 of ITIL, the ICT Infrastructure Management book focused on technology management. This is still a good resource, although availability of the publication may now be very limited.   In Version 3, the same information is spread across the lifecycle - most heavily in Service Design, Service Transition and Service Operation.

There are a couple of updates in ITIL Version 3 for technology management.   Configuration Management is now "Service Asset and Configuration Management" so that Asset Management and Configuration Management are integrated.   Service Design now defines a Technical Service Catalog to acknowledge underpinning technical services that are critical elements of business services.  ITIL also includes a Technical Management function as the custodian of technical expertise. While the Technical Management function performs most of it's work in Service Operation, it is actively involved in all stages of the lifecycle.

I would also direct our followers to the Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF). Written by Microsoft as a Solution Accelerator that is heavily aligned with ITIL, MOF take a more practical approach to managing all of the elements of services including including the underlying technology (remember what Microsoft's primary business is!).   MOF is also lifecycle-based and defines Management Reviews at specific points in the service lifecycle.

MOF is available free of charge at www.microsoft.com/mof and there is a MOF Foundation course. Microsoft has also provided valuable job aids with the MOF materials.

All in all, services have to be managed end-to-end. While the technologies are critical, it is very important to integrate Technology Management into the supply chain leading to effective and efficient business services.

Comments

The Four Ps of Service Design - It’s not all about Technology

People ask me why I think that many designs and projects often fail. The most common answer is from a lack of preparation and management. Many IT organizations just think about the technology (product) implementation and fail to understand the risks of not planning for the effective and efficient use of the four Ps: People, Process, Products (services, technology and tools) and Partners (suppliers, manufacturers and vendors). A holistic approach should be adopted for all Service Design aspects and areas to ensure consistency and integration within all activities and processes across the entire IT environment, providing end to end business-related functionality and quality. (SD 2.4.2) People: Have to have proper skills and possess the necessary competencies in order to get involved in the provision of IT services. The right skills, the right knowledge, the right level of experience must be kept current and aligned to the business needs. Products: These are the technology managem

What Is A Service Offering?

The ITIL4 Best Practice Guidance defines a “Service Offering” as a description of one or more services designed to address the needs of a target customer or group . As a service provider, we can’t stop there! We must know what the contracts of our service offering are and be able to put them into context as required by the customer. Let’s explore the three elements that comprise a Service Offering. A “Service Offering” may include: Goods, Access to Resources, and Service Actions Goods – When we think of “Goods” within a service offering these are the items where ownership is transferred to the consumer and the consumer takes responsibility for the future use of these goods. Example of goods that are being provided in the offering – If this is a hotel service then toiletries or chocolates are yours to take with you. You the consumer own these and they are yours to take with you. Note: Goods may not always be provided for every Service Offe

What is the difference between Process Owner, Process Manager and Process Practitioner?

I was recently asked to clarify the roles of the Process Owner, Process Manager and Process Practitioner and wanted to share this with you. Roles and Responsibilities: Process Owner – this individual is “Accountable” for the process. They are the goto person and represent this process across the entire organization. They will ensure that the process is clearly defined, designed and documented. They will ensure that the process has a set of Policies for governance. Example: The process owner for Incident management will ensure that all of the activities to Identify, Record, Categorize, Investigate, … all the way to closing the incident are defined and documented with clearly defined roles, responsibilities, handoffs, and deliverables. An example of a policy in could be… “All Incidents must be logged”. Policies are rules that govern the process. Process Owner ensures that all Process activities, (what to do), Procedures (details on how to perform the activity) and the

Search