Methodologies for managing IT A Voyage through Acronyms Dennis Adams a s s o c i a t e s UK Oracle User Group Conference 2007 Dennis Adams 4th December.

Methodologies for managing ITA Voyage through Acronyms

Dennis Adamsa s s o c i a t e s

UK Oracle User Group Conference 2007

Dennis Adams

4th December 2007

Introduction

• Too many acronyms - too little time !

• These days, IT managers are faced with a whole raft of different methodologies and approaches.

• Are they all relevant? • What are the strengths and weaknesses of

– ITIL

– CMMi

– MOPS

– six-Sigma

– LEAN?

• Are they mutually exclusive?

Think in terms of PROCESSES rather than SKILLS

Functional OrganizationFunctional Organization

Process ApproachProcess Approach

Using a Process Approach, we no longer think in terms of individual technical teams “doing their own thing”.

Rather we think in terms of the overall goal which should be directed to the main goals of the organization.

ITIL

OGC Home Page for ITIL: http://www.itil.co.ukTSO (The Stationery Office): http://www.tso.co.uk IT Service Management Forum (itSMF): http://www.itsmf.comInteractive Forum: http://www.itilcommunity.comITIL Toolkit: http://www.itil-toolkit.comKey Skills Training: http://www.ksl.orgITIL Training: http://www.itiltraining.com

What is ITIL?

• ITIL = “Information Technology Infrastructure Library”• A Library of Processes books outlining “good practice” for

managing IT Infrastructure.• A set of ready-made “how to” references.

• ITIL IS A NON-PRESCRIPTIVE REFERENCE

• ITIL® is a Registered Trade Mark, and a Registered Community Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce, and is Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

• ITIL revision 3 released in June 2007, although many people still prefer version 2 at this time.

• A British Standard (BS 15000) certification (BS 25000 to come).• Linked to ISO 9000 Quality Certification, ISO 20000

EXAMPLE: Process to manage CHANGE

Request for Change

Impact Analysis

Assess Priority

Log RFC

Categorize

Approval

Change Scheduling

Testing Plans

Inform Users

Change Review

The ITIL V2 Core Books: IT Service Management

• Capacity Management

• Availability Management

• IT Service Continuity Management.

• Service Level Management

• IT Financial Management

Service SupportService Delivery

• Service Desk

• Incident Management

• Problem Management

• Change Management

• Release Management

• Configuration Management

User Support Control Processes

The new V3 Core Books

• Service Strategies– The vision and value of service management practice, Planning to

implement service management, Establishing a new Service

• Service Design– How to put in place IT processes, policies, architectures and

documents, Roles and Responsibilities, Insource/Outsource issues

• Service Transition– Implementing Service Management, Managing Organizational and

Cultural change

• Service Operations– Delivery and Control processes to manage Services, Application

Management, Infrastructure, Operations Management,

• Continual Service Improvement– How to improve service quality, Introducing new service

management improvements, Service Retirement

Key changes in ITIL version 3

• ITIL remains non-prescriptive.• Executive-level Summary document now available.• More guidance on optimal Organizational structures.• How to deal with Cultural Issues when implementing ITIL.• Addresses IT Governance.• Practices for In-sourcing, Outsourcing and Multi-Sourcing.• Contains ROI justification for introducing ITIL practices.

• Reflect the “Life Cycle” of Services.• No radical changes to Service Support and Service Delivery.• Business Case examples, Case Studies, Templates.• Linked to other Best Practices (COBIT, CMMI, Six-SIGMA)• Some Guidance on how to evaluate suitable software tools.

ITIL V3 Life-Cycle

Source: http://www.itsmacademy.com

Emphasis in ITIL V3:

• Continual Service Improvement • Business Value

Some Best Practices in the ITIL Library

• How to get the best benefit from a SERVICE DESK– Single point of contact, Monitoring and escalation on behalf of customers.

• A systematic way of managing INCIDENTS:– Log / Classify / Investigate / Diagnose / Resolution

• Being Pro-Active: PROBLEM MANAGEMENT– Root Cause Analysis, Kepner & Tregoe Analysis, Ishikawa diagrams.

• Keeping track of IT Assets: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT• Stopping dangerous changes: CHANGE & RELEASE MANAGEMENT

– Impact Analysis and Authorisation before Changes

• Being Customer-Focused: SERVICE LEVEL MANAGEMENT• Bean-Counting: FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

– Charge-back to reflect the cost to the Business.

• CAPACITY: Prediction instead of Panic• AVAILABILITY

– Design for continual up-time

• DR and BCP: IT SERVICE CONTINUITY– Risk Assessment and Planning

CMMi

Source: What Stage is your Intranet Portal In?http://blogs.sun.com/portal/date/20071010

IT’s all a question of MATURITY

• Level 1 – Initial– Processes are usually ad hoc. Success depends on the

competence and heroics of the people in the organization.

• Level 2 - Repeatable [Managed]– Successes are repeatable. Existing practices are retained during

times of stress.

• Level 3 - Defined– The organization’s set of standard processes, which are the basis

for level 3, are established and improved over time.

• Level 4 - Quantitatively Managed– Using precise measurements, management can effectively control

the effort, and can identify ways to adjust and adapt

• Level 5 - Optimizing– Continually improving process performance through both

incremental and innovative technological improvements.

Some Process Areas which need to be Mature...

• “Engineering”– REQM - Requirements Management (2)

– RD - Requirements Development (3)

– TS - Technical Solution (3)

– PI - Product Integration (3)

– VER - Verification (3)

– VAL - Validation (3)

• “Support”– CM - Configuration Management (2)

– PPQA - Process and Product Quality Assurance (2)

– MA - Measurement and Analysis (2)

– DAR - Decision Analysis and Resolution (3)

– CAR - Causal Analysis and Resolution (4)

And More Process Areas...

• Project Management– PP - Project Planning (2)

– PMC - Project Monitoring and Control (2)

– SAM - Supplier Agreement Management (2)

– IPM - Integrated Project Management +IPPD (3)

– RSKM - Risk Management (3)

– QPM - Quantitative Project Management (4)

• Process Management– OPD - Organizational Process Definition +IPPD (3)

– OPF - Organizational Process Focus (3)

– OT - Organizational Training (3)

– OID - Organizational Innovation and Deployment (4)

– OPP - Organizational Process Performance (4)

How CMMi Concepts can help

• The Concept of “Maturity” is a valuable way of assessing your own organisation.– (Even if you do not want to use the whole CMMi Model).

• CMMi emphasis comes originally from the Development Project Life-Cycle, although it references the Production side.

• “roll your own” Maturity.

COBIT

Source: http://www.itsmf.org.sg

Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology

• Audit Based way of assessing IT Projects specifically.

• Emphasis on Governance, and defining IT Controls.

• Often used in SOX assessments.

• Basic Framework– Plan and Organise

– Acquire and Implement

– Delivery and Support

– Monitor and Evaluate

• .. Also has it’s own maturity model...

COBIT Structure

• Plan and Organization– PO1 Define a Strategic IT Plan and direction – PO2 Define the Information Architecture – PO3 Determine Technological Direction – PO4 Define the IT Processes, Organization and Relationships – PO5 Manage the IT Investment – PO6 Communicate Management Aims and Direction – PO7 Manage IT Human Resources, PO8 Manage Quality – PO9 Assess and Manage IT Risks , PO10 Manage Projects

• Acquire and Implement– AI1 Identify Application Software – AI3 Acquire and Automated Solutions – AI2 Acquire and Maintain , A13 Maintain Technology Infrastructure – AI4 Enable Operation and Use , AI5 Procure IT Resources – AI6 Manage Changes , AI7 Install and Accredit Solutions & Changes

COBIT Structure (cont)

• Delivery and Support– DS1 Define and Manage Service Levels , DS2 Manage Third-party

Services

– DS3 Manage Performance and Capacity, DS4 Ensure Continuous Service , DS5 Ensure Systems Security

– DS6 Identify and Allocate Costs

– DS7 Educate and Train Users, DS8 Manage Service Desk and Incidents , DS9 Manage the Configuration , DS10 Manage Problems , DS11 Manage Data , DS12 Manage the Physical Environment , DS13 Manage Operations

• Monitor and Evaluate– ME1 Monitor and Evaluate IT Processes

– ME2 Monitor and Evaluate Internal Control

– ME3 Ensure Regulatory Compliance

– ME4 Provide IT Governance

COBIT and ITIL.... ?

• ITIL V3 references COBIT, and it can be argued that these are closely aligned.

• The emphasis in ITIL is on Continuous Improvement of Service Operations, whereas COBIT is primarily concerned with Governance (mainly of Projects).

6-SIGMA

6-σ

“Variation there will always be, between people, in output, in service, in product. What is the variation trying to tell us?”

W. Edwards Deming

www.isixsigma.com

Process Variation leads to poor performance

• Process Outputs Vary:– Common Cause Variation– Attributed

• How to tell the difference?

Process Management International

www.pmi.co.uk

Histogram of percentage of items logged to Configuration

0

1

2

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4

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6

7

Frequency 1 6 5 4 4 6

15% 21% 28% 34% 40% More

99% of Values within 3 Standard Deviations

graphsRun Chart

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5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

50.00%

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25

%AvgUCLLCL

Moving Range Chart

0.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

10.00%

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1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25

Moving RangeAvg of Moving RangeUCL of Moving Range

The Six-Sigma Process Improvement Cycle

• Select Priorities• Learn about the Process• Investigate Sources of Variation• Test Theories• Study Results• Implement• Standardise• Review

DEFINE – MEASURE – ANALYSE – IMPROVE - CONTROL

The mythical 3.4 defects per Million

Using Six-Sigma

• Although Six-Sigma originated in the field of Engineering, it is a practical Project Approach which can be used for improving IT Processes.

• Some aspects of Six-Sigma are also referenced in ITIL, including:– PDSA cycle (“PDCA”)

– Root Cause Analysis

LEAN

Value: “Something a process contributes that makes a product or service valuable in the eyes of the customer and which they are

prepared to pay for”

Value: “Something a process contributes that makes a product or service valuable in the eyes of the customer and which they are

prepared to pay for”

Identifying “Waste” in Processes

Is this Task Contributing to what

the Customer will pay for?

Is this Task Contributing to what

the Customer will pay for?

Value Adding?Value Enabling?Value Adding?

Value Enabling?

Seven Wastes

• Overproduction:– Producing ahead of what's actually needed by the next process

• Waiting:– Operators standing idle, equipment fails, needed parts fail to arrive.

• Conveyance:– Moving parts and products unnecessarily.

• Processing:– Performing unnecessary or incorrect processing.

• Inventory: – Having more than the minimum stocks necessary for a pull system.

• Motion:– Movements, such as looking for parts, tools, documents, etc.

• Correction: – Inspection, rework, and scrap.

LEAN Thinking

• LEAN is often used alongside Six Sigma.• Focuses on the causes of processes being inefficient.

• Although it originate in the engineering disciplines, it can be used effectively to reduce the “cycle time” of IT processes.

MOPS

After the Project goes Live….

… the real problems begin…

Managing IT Production

IT Management = Management AND IT

• MOPS is an attempt to integrate a number of different methodologies and approaches and apply them to the technical challenges of managing IT Production.

• METRICS– Publish what IT Production does to get business buy-in

– Measure what you do in order to manage the teams

• OPERATIONAL TOOLS– Chose software to improve your ability to manage the infrastructure

– “Referential” approach to standardise reporting across teams

• PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES– Use ITIL pragmatically as a start, Six-Sigma / LEAN to improve,

and interface with Development Project processes.

• STANDARDS– Chose Technologies based on “production-ready” criteria to

optimise the costs of Production Support.

The Big Picture

Methodologies for managing ITA Voyage through Acronyms

Dennis Adamsa s s o c i a t e s

UK Oracle User Group Conference 2007

Dennis Adams

4th December 2007