Anuj Puri's ITIL Work Space

ITIL is split into Service Delivery & Service Support.

Figure 1 Classification with ITIL

1. Service Support

Though there are like ten key processes as shown in the above diagram (Service Desk is a function), we will discuss only the following Service Support processes –

1. Configuration Management
2. Service/Help Desk
3. Incident Management
4. Problem Management
5. Change Management
6. Release Management

The below figure describes a typical flow of a request in a service organization which has implemented some of the ITIIL processes.



Figure 2 A typical request flow
1.1 Configuration Management

Configuration management is by far the most important aspect of Service Support. Configuration management is supposed to maintain a Configuation Management Database (CMDB) which stores/records all the information about Configuration Items (CI). CMDB even stores the relationship between different CIs. If we were to introduce any change in the environment, CMDB can tell what other CIs can get affected by this.
As part of the other Support services like Incident, Problem & Change management if there is any change in the CI, then the CMDB needs to be updated accordingly.

1.2 Service/Help Desk

In any service organization it is very essential to have a Help Desk in place. Help desk are the entry point for every issue/request/change that may come in. The help desk people may get these over phone, mail, etc. They will log a ticket into the system asking the user some relevant set of questions. They will try to solve the request based on their knowledge of the system (this is subject to the help desk receiving the proper training for the system/application in contention).
If they are not able to close the ticket, they will assign the same to the incident management team.

1.3 Incident Management

Incident management team works on the goal of putting the service back in running shape as soon as possible or in other words; extinguish the fire as soon as possible. To do this they can also provide the user with a workaround for the concerned incident. If they are not able to help to close the incident, then they will either pass it on to the problem management team as a problem or raise an RFC (Request For Change) for the change management team. Before passing it further, the Incident management team will classify the incident based on the Impact & Urgency.

1.4 Problem Management

Problem management would deal with solving the problems in the IT landscape of the organization. This team will work on identifying the root cause of the problem & then solving it either themselves or passing it on to the more specialized team. Problem management would also work on known errors proactively, by solving them before they actually occur.
If a Change Management Database (CMDB) is in place, then the Problem management team can also search for any known errors & problems in the CMDB.


1.5 Change Management

Change management team is responsible for allowing or doing any changes to the IT environment of the organization. Change management will take care that the change being done is in line with the organization’s goal will fit in the existing environment.
If a problem’s root cause is identified by the Problem management team as a change in the environment then this will come to Change management as a RFC (request for change). If required then a CAB (Change Advisory Boards) will be set up to approve the particular change.

1.6 Release Management

Release management team is responsible for scheduling the changes into the production environment. They will also take care that all the changes are correct, authorized & tested before they are put in the working environment. They will also take care of the planning, acceptance, communication & training for the particular release.
Release management team also needs to take care that the DSL(Definitive Software Library)/CMDB are updated after the release.


2. Further Reading

ITIL Essentials for IT Service Management – Student Workbook
http://www.itiltraining.com/
http://www.itil-itsm-world.com

posted by Anuj Puri @ Friday, March 10, 2006