The Best of Service Operation, Part 4

Event Management Activities

Originally Published on November 9, 2010

In an earlier blog I was asked how to move from a reactive organization to a proactive one. My answer was through the use of Event Management, along with good design and proactive Problem Management. In this installment I would like to speak to the activities within Event Management and the impact they play in our ability to deliver a consistent level of services and a stable infrastructure to deliver them across. By definition an event is any detectable or discernible occurrence that has significance for the management of the IT infrastructure or the delivery of IT services. Event Management is the process that monitors all events that occur through the IT infrastructure to allow for normal operation and to detect and evaluate the impact any deviation might cause to the IT infrastructure or delivery of IT services. Event Management has several activities that we engage when implementing this process.

Event Notification: In the design stage (through engaging all stakeholders) we identify the events we want to detect for each CI and define and document meaningful notification data and associated roles and responsibilities. CIs can communicate status information by either polling a device or generating a notification under certain conditions. Notification types include regular operation, unusual but not exceptional operation and an exception.

Event Detection: Events can be detected by an agent on the same system or transmitted to an event management tool.

Event Filtering: This where 1st level correlation is performed. Determination of the significance of the event and whether the event is informational, a warning or an exception. This correlation is done by an agent on the CI. If no action is required it is logged and recorded.

Event Correlation: If the event is significant an appropriate response is determined. This is done by a correlation engine which is part of a management tool, which compares the event with a specific set of criteria in a predescribed way and then determines a response on a set of predefined rules.

Triggers: If correlation recognizes an event, some response will be required. This response will be initiated by a trigger. Triggers are designed specifically for the task it is to initiate. EX: Incident triggers, Problem triggers and Change triggers.

Response selection: At this point in the process a number of response options are available and these responses can be chosen in any combination. Events can be logged. An auto response can be initiated or an alert can be sent for the purpose of initiating some type of human intervention.

Review actions: Check that significant events or exceptions have been handled appropriately. Track tends or count event types. Reviews should not duplicate any actions taken if an incident, problem or change has been initiated.

Close event: informational events are logged and passed to other processes. Events that generate activity in other processes (incident, problem, change) are closed by those processes.

By creating the correct level of filtering we help to create an early entry point for the other service management processes. Through the use of both passive and active monitoring we can automate many aspects of the management of our environment leaving human resources to focus on the more complex issues facing our organizations.

Four Service Characteristics

Recently I came across several articles by researchers and experts that laid out definitions and characteristics of services. ITIL provides us with a definition that can help drive the creation of value-laden services: A means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks. An area that ITIL is not so clear is in terms of service characteristics. Several researchers and experts put forth that services have four basic characteristics (IHIP): Intangibility—Services are the results of actions not things. They have no physical presence and represent a logical set of elements. One way to think of service is “work done for others.” Heterogeneity—Also known as “variability”; services are unique items because of the mechanisms used to deliver services, which is people. Because the people element adds variability, the service is variable. This holds true, especially for the value proposition—not eve...

What Is A Service Offering?

The ITIL 4 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 1. 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. ...

The New Four Ps of Service Management

By Donna Knapp For years, people , process , and technology (PPT) was a widely recognized framework for balancing and integrating the components needed to achieve optimal performance and outcomes. In the ITIL v3 Service Design publication, this framework was expanded to the four Ps: people , processes , products , and partners . ITIL 4 has further expanded and evolved this framework to the four dimensions of service management. These four dimensions are collectively critical to the effective and efficient facilitation of value for customers and other stakeholders in the form of products and services. The four dimensions of service management are: Organizations and people Information and technology Partners and suppliers Value streams and processes. These four dimensions represent perspectives which are relevant to the whole service value system (SVS), including the entirety of the service value chain and all ITIL practices. Each ITIL practice is a set of organizational resources base...

Search