Service Operation

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IT Infrastructure Library® is a registered trade mark of the Cabinet Office. 1
 Lesson Objectives

Purpose, Objectives, Scope and Value of Business of Service Operation.

Communication in Service Operation

Purpose, Objectives, Scope and Basic Concepts of

• Event Management
• Incident Management
• Request Fulfilment
• Problem Management
• Access Management

Objectives and Roles of :

• Service Desk Functions
• Technical Management Functions
• IT Operations Management Functions
• Application Management Functions

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 Purpose & Objectives of Service Operation

Purpose of Service Operation

The purpose of the service operation stage of the service lifecycle is to coordinate
and carry out the activities and processes required to deliver and manage services at
agreed levels to business users and customers.

Objectives of service operation

Maintain business satisfaction and confidence in IT through effective and efficient

delivery and support of agreed IT services.
Minimize the impact of service outages on day-to-day business activities.
Ensure that access to agreed IT services is only provided to those authorized to
receive those services.

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 Scope of Service Operation

Scope

ITIL Service Operation describes the processes, functions, organizations and tools
used to underpin the on-going activities required to deliver and support services.

The guidance provided here includes:

• The services themselves

• Service management processes

• Technology

• People

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 Value of Service Operation

Value to business

Adopting and implementing standard and consistent approaches for service

operation will:

• Reduce unplanned labour and costs for both the business and IT.

• Reduce the duration and frequency of service.

• Provide a basis for automated operations.

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 Communication in Service Operation

Communication in Service Operation

Good communication is needed with other IT teams and departments, with users and
internal customers, and between the service operation teams and departments
themselves. Issues can often be prevented or mitigated with appropriate
communication.

Communication types:

• Routine operational communication

• Communication between shifts
• Performance reporting
• Communication in projects
• Communication related to changes
• Communication related to exceptions
• Communication related to emergencies
• Communication with users and customers

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 Event Management

Process 1: Event Management:

An event can be defined as any change of state that has significance for the
management of a configuration item (CI) or IT service.

Effective service operation is dependent on knowing the status of the infrastructure

and detecting any deviation from normal or expected operation. This is provided by
good monitoring and control systems, which are based on two types of tools:

• Active monitoring tools

• Passive monitoring tools

Event Management provides the ability to detect events, make sense of them and
determine the appropriate action. This is the entry point for many processes and can
be used as the basis for automating routine operations.

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 Purpose, Objectives & Scope of Event
Management
Purpose of Event Management

The purpose of event management is to manage events throughout their lifecycle.

This lifecycle of activities to detect events, make sense of them and determine the
appropriate control action is coordinated by the event management process.

Objectives of Event Management

The objectives of the event management process are to:

• Detect all changes of state that have significance for the management of a CI or
IT service.
• Determine the appropriate control action for events and ensure that these are
communicated to the appropriate functions.
• Provide the trigger or entry point for the execution of many service operation
processes and operations management activities.

Scope

Event management can be applied to any aspect of service management that needs
to be controlled and which can be automated.

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 Basic Concepts of Event Management

Basic Concepts:

Event
An event is a change of state which has significance in the management of a
Configuration Item or IT service.

Alert
An alert is a warning that a threshold has been reached, something has changed, or
a failure has occurred.

Types of events

• Informational
• Warning
• Exception

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 Purpose of Incident Management

Process 2: Incident Management:

In ITIL terminology, an ‘incident’ is defined as an unplanned interruption to an IT

service or reduction in the quality of an IT service or a failure of a CI that has not yet
impacted an IT service.
Incident Management is the process responsible for managing the lifecycle of all
incidents.

Purpose of Incident Management

The purpose of incident management is to restore normal service operation as
quickly as possible and minimize the adverse impact on business operations, thus
ensuring that agreed levels of service quality are maintained.

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 Scope & Objectives of Incident Management

Objectives of Incident Management

• Ensure that standardized methods and procedures are used for efficient and
prompt response, analysis, documentation, on-going management and reporting
of incidents.
• Increased visibility and communication of incidents to business and IT support
staff.
• Maintain user satisfaction with the quality of IT services.

Scope

Incident management includes any event which disrupts or which could disrupt a
service. Incidents can also be reported and/or logged by technical staff. Although
both incidents and service requests are reported to the service desk, they are not the
same.

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 Basic Concepts of Incident Management

Principles and basic concepts

There are some basic things that need to be taken into account and decided when
considering incident management.

Timescales
Incident models
Major incidents
Incident status tracking

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 Incident Model

Expanded incident lifecycle –

ITIL Service Design and ITIL Continual Service Improvement describe the expanded
incident lifecycle which can be used to help understand all contributions to the
impact of incidents and to plan for how these could be controlled or reduced.

The process activities to be followed during the management of an incident include

the following steps:
• Incident identification
• Incident logging
• Incident categorization
• Incident prioritization
• Incident diagnosis
• Incident escalation
• Investigation and diagnosis
• Resolution and recovery
• Incident closure
• Rules for reopening incidents

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 Incident Prioritization

Prioritization can normally be determined by taking into account both the urgency of
the incident and the level of business impact it is causing.
In all cases, clear guidance with practical example should be provided for all support
staff during service level negotiations to enable them to determine the correct
urgency and impact levels, so the correct priority is allocated.

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 Purpose & Objectives of Request Fulfillment

Process 3: Request Fulfilment:

Purpose of Request Fulfilment

Request fulfilment is the process responsible for managing the lifecycle of all service
requests from the users.

Objectives of Request Fulfilment

• Maintain user and customer satisfaction through efficient and professional
handling of all service requests.
• Provide a channel for users to request and receive standard services for which a
predefined authorization and qualification process exists.
• Provide information to users and customers about the availability of services and
the procedure for obtaining them.
• Assist with general information, complaints or comments.

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 Service Request

Scope
The process needed to fulfil a request will vary depending upon exactly what is being
requested, but can usually be broken down into a set of activities that have to be
performed. For each request, these activities should be documented into a request
model and stored in the SKMS.

Service Request

• A Service Request is a request from a user for information, advice, for standard
change or for access to an IT service.
• Most service requests are low-cost, low-risk and frequently performed changes.

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 Purpose & Objectives of Problem
Management
Process 4: Problem Management:

Purpose of Problem Management

The purpose of problem management is to manage the lifecycle of all problems from
first identification through further investigation, documentation and eventual removal.

Objectives
• Prevent problems and resulting incidents from happening.
• Eliminate recurring incidents.
• Minimize the impact of incidents that cannot be prevented.

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 Problem Models

Scope

Problem management includes the activities required to diagnose the root cause of
incidents and to determine the resolution to those problems. It is also responsible for
ensuring that the resolution is implemented through the appropriate control
procedures; especially change management and release and deployment
management.

The problem management process has both reactive and proactive aspects.

Problem models
Many problems will be unique and will require handling in an individual way, but it is
conceivable that some incidents may recur because of dormant or underlying
problems.

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 Incident Versus Problems

An incident is an unplanned interruption to an IT service or reduction in the quality of

an IT service. A problem presents a different view of an incident by understanding its
underlying cause, which may also be the cause of other incidents. Incidents do not
become problems.

The problem management process flow for handling a recognized problem includes
the following steps:

• Problem detection
• Problem logging
• Problem categorization
• Problem prioritization
• Problem investigation and diagnosis
• Workarounds
• Raising a known error record
• Problem resolution
• Problem closure
• Major problem review

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 Basic Concepts of Problem Management

Basic Concepts:

Problem: A Problem is the cause of one or more incidents. The cause is not usually
known at the time a problem record is created, and the Problem Management
process is responsible for further investigation.

Workaround: A workaround is a way of reducing or eliminating the impact of an

incident or problem for which a full resolution is not yet available.

Known Error: A Known Error is a problem that has a documented root cause and a
workaround.

Known Error Database (KEDB): KEDB is a database that contains all Known Error
Records. It is created by Problem Management and used by Incident and Problem
Management.

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Purpose & Objectives of Access Management

Process 5: Access Management:

Purpose of Access Management

The purpose of access management is to provide the right for users to be able to use
a service or group of services. It is therefore the execution of policies and actions
defined in Information Security Management.

Objectives of Access Management

The objectives of the access management process are to:
• Manage access to services based on policies and actions defined in information
security management.
• Efficiently respond to requests for granting access to services, changing access
rights or restricting access, ensuring that the rights are being provided or changes
are properly granted.
• Oversee access to services and ensure rights being provided are not improperly
used.

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 Scope of Access Management

Scope
Access management is effectively the execution of the policies in information security
management, in that it enables the organization to manage the confidentiality,
availability and integrity of the organization’s data and intellectual property.

Access management can be initiated by a service request.

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 Service Desk Function

Functions:

A function is a logical concept that refers to the people and automated measures that
execute a defined process, an activity or a combination of processes or activities.

Function 1: Service Desk Function:

A service desk is a functional unit made up of a dedicated number of staff

responsible for dealing with a variety of service activities, usually made via telephone
calls, web interface, or automatically reported infrastructure events.

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 Objectives of Service Desk Function

Justification and role of the Service Desk

• Improved customer care service, perception and satisfaction.
• Increased accessibility through a single point of contact, communication and
information.

Service Desk objectives

• The primary aim of the service desk is to provide a single point of contact
between the services being provided and the users.
• Specific responsibilities will include:
• Logging all relevant incident/service request details, allocating categorization and
prioritization codes.
• Providing first-line investigation and diagnosis.
• Resolving incidents/service requests when first contacted whenever possible.

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 Service Desk (Continued)

Service desk organizational structure

There are many ways of structuring service desks and locating them, and the correct
solution will vary for different organizations.

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 Local Service Desk
Local Service Desk: This is where a desk is co-located within or physically
close to the user community it serves.

Reference: Figure 6.2 Local Service Desk, page 159 (ITIL® SO) is reproduced
under license from The Cabinet Office.

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 Centralized Service Desk

Centralized Service Desk: It is possible to reduce the number of service desks by

merging them into a single location by drawing the staff into one or more centralized
service desk structures.

Reference: Figure 6.3 Centralized Service Desk, page 160 (ITIL® SO) is reproduced
under license from The Cabinet Office.

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 Virtual Service Desk

Virtual Service Desk: Through the use of technology, particularly the internet, and the use of
corporate support tools, it is possible to give the impression of a single, centralized service desk
when in fact the personnel may be spread or located in any number or type of geographical or
structural locations.

Reference: Figure 6.4 Virtual Service Desk, page 161 (ITIL® SO) is reproduced under
license from The Cabinet Office.

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 Follow the Sun

Follow the sun

Some global or international organizations may wish to combine two or more of their
geographically dispersed service desks to provide a 24-hour follow the sun service.

Specialized service desk groups

For some organizations it might be beneficial to create specialist groups within the
overall service desk structure, so that the incidents relating to a particular IT service
can be routed directly to the specialist group.

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 Objectives of Technical Management
Function
Function 2: The Technical Management Function:

Technical management plays a dual role:

• It is the custodian of technical knowledge and expertise related to managing the
IT infrastructure.
• It provides the actual resources to support the service lifecycle.

Technical Management objectives

The objectives of Technical Management are to help plan, implement and maintain a
stable technical infrastructure to support the organization’s business processes
through:
• Well designed and highly resilient, cost-effective technology topology.
• The use of adequate technical skills to maintain the technical infrastructure in
optimum condition.
• Swift use of technical skills to speedily diagnose and resolve any technical failures
that do occur.

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 Application Management Function

Function 3: The Application Management Function:

Application management is to applications what technical management is to the IT

infrastructure. Application management activities are performed in all applications,
whether purchased or developed in-house. Application management will have
several roles:
• It is the custodian of technical knowledge and expertise related to managing
applications.
• It provides the actual resources to support the service lifecycle.

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 Objectives of Application Management
Function
Application Management Objectives

The objectives of Application Management are to support the organization’s business

processes by helping to identify functional and manageability requirements for
application software, and then to assist in the design and deployment of those
applications and the on-going support and improvement of those applications.

These objectives are achieved through:

• Applications that is well designed, resilient and cost-effective.
• Ensuring that the required functionality is available to achieve the required
business outcome.

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 Application Management Function
(Continued)
Application development Application management
Nature of activities One-time set of activities to design and construct application On-going set of activities to oversee and manage
solutions applications throughout their entire lifecycle
Scope of activities Performed mostly for applications developed in house Performed for all applications, whether purchased from
third parties or developed in house
Primary focus Utility focus Both utility & warranty focus

Building functionality for their customer What the functionality is as well as how to deliver it
Manageability aspects of the application, i.e. how to
What the application does is more important than how it is ensure stability and performance of the application
operated
Management mode Most development work is done in projects where the focus is on Most of work is done as part of repeatable, on-going
delivering specific units of work to specification, on time and processes. A relatively small number of people work in
within budget projects

This means that it is often difficult for developers to understand & This means that it is very difficult for operational staff to
build for on-going operations, especially because they are not get involved in development projects, as that takes them
available for support of the application once they have moved on away from their on-going operational responsibilities
to the next project
Measurement Staff are typically rewarded for creativity and for completing one Staff are typically rewarded for consistency and for
project so that they can move on to the next project preventing unexpected events and unauthorized
functionality (e.g. ‘bells and whistles’ added by
developers)

Cost Development projects are relatively easy to quantify because the On-going management costs are often mixed in with the
resources are known and it is easy to link their expenses to a costs of other IT services because resources are often
specific application or IT service shred across multiple IT services and applications
Lifecycles Development staff focus on software development lifecycles, Staff involved in on-going management typically only
which highlight the dependencies for successful operation, but control one or two stages of these lifecycles- operation &
do not assign accountability for these improvement

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 It Operations Management Functions

Function 4: The IT Operations Management function:

The role of IT Operations Management is to execute the on-going activities and

procedures required to manage and maintain the IT infrastructure so as to deliver
and support IT services at the agreed levels.

IT Operations Management objectives

The objectives of IT Operations Management include:
• Maintenance of the status quo to achieve stability of the organization’s day-to-day
processes and activities.
• Regular scrutiny and improvements to achieve improved service at reduced costs,
while maintaining stability.
• Swift application of operational skills to diagnose and resolve any IT operations
failures that occur.

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 It Operations Management Function

IT Operations Management includes two functions:

• IT Operations Control: It is staffed by shifts of operators who carry out routine

operational tasks. They provide centralized monitoring and control, usually from
an operations bridge or network operations centre.

• Specific activities include:

Console management
◦ Job scheduling
◦ Backup and restore
◦ Print and output management
◦ Maintaining activities

Facilities Management: Responsible for the management of data centres,

computer rooms and recovery sites together with their power and cooling
requirements. Facilities Management also coordinates large-scale projects, such as
data centre consolidation.

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 Overview

In this Chapter we have learnt:

Purpose, Objectives, Scope and Value of Business of Service Operation.
Communication in Service Operation

Purpose, Objectives, Scope and Basic Concepts of

• Event Management
• Incident Management
• Request Fulfilment
• Problem Management
• Access Management

Objectives and Roles of :

• Service Desk Functions
• Technical Management Functions
• IT Operations Management Functions
• Application Management Functions

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