Contents
Chapter 1 Acquiring Executive Support
Systems Management: A Proposed Definition
Why Executive Support Is Especially Critical Today
Building a Business Case for Systems Management
Educating Executives on the Value of Systems Management
Three Universal Principles Involving Executive Support
Developing a Powerful Weapon for Executive Support—Business Metrics
Ensuring Ongoing Executive Support
Chapter 2 Organizing for Systems Management
Factors to Consider in Designing IT Organizations
Factors to Consider in Designing IT Infrastructures
Locating Departments in the Infrastructure
Recommended Attributes of Process Owners
Chapter 3 Staffing for Systems Management
Determining Required Skill Sets and Skill Levels
Assessing the Skill Levels of Current Onboard Staff
Alternative Sources of Staffing
Recruiting Infrastructure Staff from the Outside
Selecting the Most Qualified Candidate
Using Consultants and Contractors
Benefits of Using Consultants and Contractors
Drawbacks of Using Consultants and Contractors
Steps for Developing Career Paths for Staff Members
How IT Evolved into a Service Organization
The Four Key Elements of Good Customer Service
Identifying Your Key Customers
Identifying Key Services of Key Customers
Identifying Key Processes that Support Key Services
Identifying Key Suppliers that Support Key Processes
Integrating the Four Key Elements of Good Customer Service
The Four Cardinal Sins that Undermine Good Customer Service
Chapter 5 Ethics, Legislation, and Outsourcing
Chapter 6 Comparison to ITIL Processes
Developments Leading Up To ITIL
Quality Approach and Standards
Criteria to Differentiate Infrastructure Processes
Comparison of Infrastructure Processes
Ten Common Myths Concerning the Implementation of ITIL
Myth #1: You Must Implement All ITIL or No ITIL at All
Myth #2: ITIL is Based on Infrastructure Management Principles
Myth #3: ITIL Applies Mostly to Data Center Operations
Myth #4: Everyone Needs to be Trained on ITIL Fundamentals
Myth #5: Full Understanding of ITIL Requires Purchase of Library
Myth #6: ITIL Processes Should be Implemented Only One at a Time
Myth #7: ITIL Provides Detailed Templates for Implementation
Myth #8: ITIL Framework Applies Only to Large Shops
Myth #9: ITIL Recommends Tools to Use for Implementation
Myth #10: There Is Little Need to Understand ITIL Origins
Differentiating Availability from Uptime
Differentiating Slow Response from Downtime
Differentiating Availability from High Availability
Desired Traits of an Availability Process Owner
Methods for Measuring Availability
The Seven Rs of High Availability
Assessing an Infrastructure’s Availability Process
Measuring and Streamlining the Availability Process
Chapter 8 Performance and Tuning
Differences between the Performance and Tuning Process and Other Infrastructure Processes
Definition of Performance and Tuning
Preferred Characteristics of a Performance and Tuning Process Owner
Performance and Tuning Applied to the Five Major Resource Environments
Assessing an Infrastructure’s Performance and Tuning Process
Measuring and Streamlining the Performance and Tuning Process
Chapter 9 Production Acceptance
Definition of Production Acceptance
The Benefits of a Production Acceptance Process
Implementing a Production Acceptance Process
Step 1: Identify an Executive Sponsor
Step 2: Select a Process Owner
Step 3: Solicit Executive Support
Step 4: Assemble a Production Acceptance Team
Step 5: Identify and Prioritize Requirements
Step 6: Develop Policy Statements
Step 7: Nominate a Pilot System
Step 8: Design Appropriate Forms
Step 9: Document the Procedures
Step 10: Execute the Pilot System
Step 11: Conduct a Lessons-Learned Session
Step 12: Revise Policies, Procedures, and Forms
Step 13: Formulate Marketing Strategy
Step 14: Follow-up for Ongoing Enforcement and Improvements
Full Deployment of a New Application
Distinguishing New Applications from New Versions of Existing Applications
Distinguishing Production Acceptance from Change Management
Case Study: Assessing the Production Acceptance Process at Seven Diverse Companies
Selected Companies Comparison in Summary
Definition of Change Management
Drawbacks of Most Change Management Processes
Key Steps Required in Developing a Change Management Process
Step 1: Identify an Executive Sponsor
Step 2: Assign a Process Owner
Step 3: Select a Cross-Functional Process Design Team
Step 4: Arrange for Meetings of the Cross-Functional Process Design Team
Step 5: Establish Roles and Responsibilities for Members Supporting the Process Design Team
Step 6: Identify the Benefits of a Change Management Process
Step 7: If Change Metrics Exist, Collect and Analyze them; If Not, Set Up a Process to Do So
Step 8: Identify and Prioritize Requirements
Step 9: Develop Definitions of Key Terms
Step 10: Design the Initial Change Management Process
Step 11: Develop Policy Statements
Step 12: Develop a Charter for a Change Advisory Board (CAB)
Step 13: Use the CAB to Continually Refine and Improve the Change Management Process
Assessing an Infrastructure’s Change Management Process
Measuring and Streamlining the Change Management Process
Definition of Problem Management
Distinguishing Between Problem, Change, and Request Management
Distinguishing Between Problem Management and Incident Management
Segregating and Integrating Service Desks
Key Steps to Developing a Problem Management Process
Step 1: Select an Executive Sponsor
Step 2: Assign a Process Owner
Step 3: Assemble a Cross-Functional Team
Step 4: Identify and Prioritize Requirements
Step 5: Establish a Priority and Escalation Scheme
Step 6: Identify Alternative Call-Tracking Tools
Step 7: Negotiate Service Levels
Step 8: Develop Service and Process Metrics
Step 9: Design the Call-Handling Process
Step 10: Evaluate, Select, and Implement the Call-Tracking Tool
Step 11: Review Metrics to Continually Improve the Process
Client Issues with Problem Management
Assessing an Infrastructure’s Problem Management Process
Measuring and Streamlining the Problem Management Process
Definition of Storage Management
Desired Traits of a Storage Management Process Owner
Storage Management Performance
Storage Management Reliability
Storage Management Recoverability
Assessing an Infrastructure’s Storage Management Process
Measuring and Streamlining the Storage Management Process
Definition of Network Management
Key Decisions about Network Management
What Will Be Managed by This Process?
How Much Authority Will This Person Be Given?
What Types of Tools and Support Will Be Provided?
To What Extent Will Other Processes Be Integrated With This Process?
What Levels of Service and Quality Will Be Expected?
Assessing an Infrastructure’s Network Management Process
Measuring and Streamlining the Network Management Process
Chapter 14 Configuration Management
Definition of Configuration Management
Practical Tips for Improving Configuration Management
1. Select a Qualified Process Owner
2. Acquire the Assistance of a Technical Writer or a Documentation Analyst
3. Match the Backgrounds of Writers to Technicians
4. Evaluate the Quality and Value of Existing Configuration Documentation
5. Involve Appropriate Hardware Suppliers
6. Involve Appropriate Software Suppliers
7. Coordinate Documentation Efforts in Advance of Major Hardware and Software Upgrades
8. Involve the Asset-Management Group for Desktop Equipment Inventories
Assessing an Infrastructure’s Configuration Management Process
Measuring and Streamlining the Configuration Management Process
Definition of Capacity Planning
Why Capacity Planning Is Seldom Done Well
1. Analysts Are Too Busy with Day-To-Day Activities
2. Users Are Not Interested in Predicting Future Workloads
3. Users Who Are Interested Cannot Forecast Accurately
4. Capacity Planners May Be Reluctant to Use Effective Measuring Tools
5. Corporate or IT Directions May Change From Year to Year
6. Planning Is Typically Not Part of an Infrastructure Culture
7. Managers Sometimes Confuse Capacity Management with Capacity Planning
How to Develop an Effective Capacity Planning Process
Step 1: Select an Appropriate Capacity Planning Process Owner
Step 2: Identify the Key Resources to be Measured
Step 3: Measure the Utilizations or Performance of the Resources
Step 4: Compare Utilizations to Maximum Capacities
Step 5: Collect Workload Forecasts from Developers and Users
Step 6: Transform Workload Forecasts into IT Resource Requirements
Step 7: Map Requirements onto Existing Utilizations
Step 8: Predict When the Shop Will Be Out of Capacity
Step 9: Update Forecasts and Utilizations
Additional Benefits of Capacity Planning
1. Strengthens Relationships with Developers and End-Users
2. Improves Communications with Suppliers
3. Encourages Collaboration with Other Infrastructure Groups
4. Promotes a Culture of Strategic Planning as Opposed to Tactical Firefighting
Helpful Hints for Effective Capacity Planning
2. Speak the Language of Your Customers
5. Anticipate Nonlinear Cost Ratios
6. Plan for Occasional Workload Reductions
7. Prepare for the Turnover of Personnel
8. Strive to Continually Improve the Process
9. Evaluate the Hidden Costs of Upgrades
Uncovering the Hidden Costs of Upgrades
13. Power and Air Conditioning
Assessing an Infrastructure’s Capacity Planning Process
Measuring and Streamlining the Capacity Planning Process
Definition of Strategic Security
Developing a Strategic Security Process
Step 1: Identify an Executive Sponsor
Step 2: Select a Security Process Owner
Step 3: Define Goals of Strategic Security
Step 4: Establish Review Boards
Step 5: Identify, Categorize, and Prioritize Requirements
Step 6: Inventory Current State of Security
Step 7: Establish Security Organization
Step 8: Develop Security Policies
Step 9: Assemble Planning Teams
Step 10: Review and Approve Plans
Step 11: Evaluate Technical Feasibility of Plans
Step 12: Assign and Schedule the Implementation of Plans
Assessing an Infrastructure’s Strategic Security Process
Measuring and Streamlining the Security Process
Chapter 17 Business Continuity
Definition of Business Continuity
Case Study: Disaster at the Movie Studio
Three Important Lessons Learned from the Case Study
Steps to Developing an Effective Business Continuity Process
Step 1: Acquire Executive Support
Step 2: Select a Process Owner
Step 3: Assemble a Cross-Functional Team
Step 4: Conduct a Business Impact Analysis
Step 5: Identify and Prioritize Requirements
Step 6: Assess Possible Business Continuity Recovery Strategies
Step 7: Develop a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Outside Services
Step 8: Evaluate Proposals and Select the Best Offering
Step 9: Choose Participants and Clarify Their Roles on the Recovery Team
Step 10: Document the Business Continuity Plan
Step 11: Plan and Execute Regularly Scheduled Tests of the Plan
Step 12: Conduct a Lessons-Learned Postmortem after Each Test
Step 13: Continually Maintain, Update, and Improve the Plan
Nightmare Incidents with Disaster Recovery Plans
Assessing an Infrastructure’s Disaster Recovery Process
Measuring and Streamlining the Disaster Recovery Process
Chapter 18 Facilities Management
Definition of Facilities Management
Major Elements of Facilities Management
The Facilities Management Process Owner
Determining the Scope of Responsibilities of a Facilities Management Process Owner
Desired Traits of a Facilities Management Process Owner
Evaluating the Physical Environment
Major Physical Exposures Common to a Data Center
Keeping Physical Layouts Efficient and Effective
Tips to Improve the Facilities Management Process
Facilities Management at Outsourcing Centers
Assessing an Infrastructure’s Facilities Management Process
Measuring and Streamlining the Facilities Management Process
Chapter 19 Developing Robust Processes
What Contributes to a World-Class Infrastructure
2. Meaningful Metrics Analyzed
10. Effective Use of Technology
11. Integrated Systems Management Functions
Characteristics of a Robust Process
1. Process Objective Is Identified
2. Executive Sponsor Is Identified and Involved
3. Process Owner Is Identified and Given Responsibility for and Authority Over the Process
4. Key Customers Are Identified and Involved
5. Secondary Customers Are Identified and Consulted
6. Process Suppliers Are Identified and Involved
7. Process Outputs Are Identified
8. Process Inputs Are Identified
9. Process Is Described by a Sound Business Model
10. Process Hierarchy Is Understood
12. Process Is Designed to Provide Service Metrics
13. Service Metrics Are Compiled and Analyzed, Not Just Collected
14. Process Is Designed to Provide Process Metrics
15. Process Metrics Are Compiled and Analyzed, Not Just Collected
16. Documentation Is Thorough, Accurate, and Easily Understood
17. Process Contains All Required Value-Added Steps
18. Process Eliminates All Non-Value-Added Steps
19. Process Guarantees Accountability
20. Process Provides Incentives for Compliance and Penalties for Avoidance or Circumvention
21. Process Is Standardized Across all Appropriate Departments and Remote Sites
22. Process Is Streamlined as Much as Possible and Practical
23. Process Is Automated Wherever Practical, but Only after Streamlining
24. Process Integrates with all Other Appropriate Processes
Understanding the Differences Between a Formal Process and an Informal Process
Helpful Ground Rules for Brainstorming
Methods for Prioritizing Requirements
Chapter 20 Using Technology to Automate and Evaluate Robust Processes
Evaluating an Infrastructure Process
Evaluating Process Documentation
Benefits of the Methodology to Evaluate Process Documentation
Chapter 21 Integrating Systems Management Processes
Distinguishing Strategic Processes from Tactical Processes
Identifying Strategic Processes
Identifying Tactical Processes
The Value of Distinguishing Strategic from Tactical Processes
Relationships Between Strategic and Tactical Processes
Difficulties with Integrating Solely Tactical Processes
Difficulties with Integrating Solely Strategic Processes
Difficulties with Integrating Tactical and Strategic Processes
Examining the Integrated Relationships Between Strategic and Tactical Processes
Significance of Systems Management Process Relationships
Chapter 22 Special Considerations for Client-Server and Web-Enabled Environments
Client-Server Environment Issues
Performance and Tuning Challenges
Web-Enabled Environment Issues
Moderate and Growing Companies
Appendix A Frequently Asked Questions
Appendix B Summary of Definitions
Appendix C Assessment Worksheets Without Weighting Factors
Appendix D Assessment Worksheets With Weighting Factors
Appendix E Historical Perspective
Appendix F Evolving in the 1970s and 1980s
Appendix G Into and Beyond the New Millennium