- Management Reference Guide
- Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Strategic Management
- Establishing Goals, Objectives, and Strategies
- Aligning IT Goals with Corporate Business Goals
- Utilizing Effective Planning Techniques
- Developing Worthwhile Mission Statements
- Developing Worthwhile Vision Statements
- Instituting Practical Corporate Values
- Budgeting Considerations in an IT Environment
- Introduction to Conducting an Effective SWOT Analysis
- IT Governance and Disaster Recovery, Part One
- IT Governance and Disaster Recovery, Part Two
- Customer Management
- Identifying Key External Customers
- Identifying Key Internal Customers
- Negotiating with Customers and Suppliers—Part 1: An Introduction
- Negotiating With Customers and Suppliers—Part 2: Reaching Agreement
- Negotiating and Managing Realistic Customer Expectations
- Service Management
- Identifying Key Services for Business Users
- Service-Level Agreements That Really Work
- How IT Evolved into a Service Organization
- FAQs About Systems Management (SM)
- FAQs About Availability (AV)
- FAQs About Performance and Tuning (PT)
- FAQs About Service Desk (SD)
- FAQs About Change Management (CM)
- FAQs About Configuration Management (CF)
- FAQs About Capacity Planning (CP)
- FAQs About Network Management
- FAQs About Storage Management (SM)
- FAQs About Production Acceptance (PA)
- FAQs About Release Management (RM)
- FAQs About Disaster Recovery (DR)
- FAQs About Business Continuity (BC)
- FAQs About Security (SE)
- FAQs About Service Level Management (SL)
- FAQs About Financial Management (FN)
- FAQs About Problem Management (PM)
- FAQs About Facilities Management (FM)
- Process Management
- Developing Robust Processes
- Establishing Mutually Beneficial Process Metrics
- Change Management—Part 1
- Change Management—Part 2
- Change Management—Part 3
- Audit Reconnaissance: Releasing Resources Through the IT Audit
- Problem Management
- Problem Management–Part 2: Process Design
- Problem Management–Part 3: Process Implementation
- Business Continuity Emergency Communications Plan
- Capacity Planning – Part One: Why It is Seldom Done Well
- Capacity Planning – Part Two: Developing a Capacity Planning Process
- Capacity Planning — Part Three: Benefits and Helpful Tips
- Capacity Planning – Part Four: Hidden Upgrade Costs and
- Improving Business Process Management, Part 1
- Improving Business Process Management, Part 2
- 20 Major Elements of Facilities Management
- Major Physical Exposures Common to a Data Center
- Evaluating the Physical Environment
- Nightmare Incidents with Disaster Recovery Plans
- Developing a Robust Configuration Management Process
- Developing a Robust Configuration Management Process – Part Two
- Automating a Robust Infrastructure Process
- Improving High Availability — Part One: Definitions and Terms
- Improving High Availability — Part Two: Definitions and Terms
- Improving High Availability — Part Three: The Seven R's of High Availability
- Improving High Availability — Part Four: Assessing an Availability Process
- Methods for Brainstorming and Prioritizing Requirements
- Introduction to Disk Storage Management — Part One
- Storage Management—Part Two: Performance
- Storage Management—Part Three: Reliability
- Storage Management—Part Four: Recoverability
- Twelve Traits of World-Class Infrastructures — Part One
- Twelve Traits of World-Class Infrastructures — Part Two
- Meeting Today's Cooling Challenges of Data Centers
- Strategic Security, Part One: Assessment
- Strategic Security, Part Two: Development
- Strategic Security, Part Three: Implementation
- Strategic Security, Part Four: ITIL Implications
- Production Acceptance Part One – Definition and Benefits
- Production Acceptance Part Two – Initial Steps
- Production Acceptance Part Three – Middle Steps
- Production Acceptance Part Four – Ongoing Steps
- Case Study: Planning a Service Desk Part One – Objectives
- Case Study: Planning a Service Desk Part Two – SWOT
- Case Study: Implementing an ITIL Service Desk – Part One
- Case Study: Implementing a Service Desk Part Two – Tool Selection
- Ethics, Scandals and Legislation
- Outsourcing in Response to Legislation
- Supplier Management
- Identifying Key External Suppliers
- Identifying Key Internal Suppliers
- Integrating the Four Key Elements of Good Customer Service
- Enhancing the Customer/Supplier Matrix
- Voice Over IP, Part One — What VoIP Is, and Is Not
- Voice Over IP, Part Two — Benefits, Cost Savings and Features of VoIP
- Application Management
- Production Acceptance
- Distinguishing New Applications from New Versions of Existing Applications
- Assessing a Production Acceptance Process
- Effective Use of a Software Development Life Cycle
- The Role of Project Management in SDLC— Part 2
- Communication in Project Management – Part One: Barriers to Effective Communication
- Communication in Project Management – Part Two: Examples of Effective Communication
- Safeguarding Personal Information in the Workplace: A Case Study
- Combating the Year-end Budget Blitz—Part 1: Building a Manageable Schedule
- Combating the Year-end Budget Blitz—Part 2: Tracking and Reporting Availability
- References
- Developing an ITIL Feasibility Analysis
- Organization and Personnel Management
- Optimizing IT Organizational Structures
- Factors That Influence Restructuring Decisions
- Alternative Locations for the Help Desk
- Alternative Locations for Database Administration
- Alternative Locations for Network Operations
- Alternative Locations for Web Design
- Alternative Locations for Risk Management
- Alternative Locations for Systems Management
- Practical Tips To Retaining Key Personnel
- Benefits and Drawbacks of Using IT Consultants and Contractors
- Deciding Between the Use of Contractors versus Consultants
- Managing Employee Skill Sets and Skill Levels
- Assessing Skill Levels of Current Onboard Staff
- Recruiting Infrastructure Staff from the Outside
- Selecting the Most Qualified Candidate
- 7 Tips for Managing the Use of Mobile Devices
- Useful Websites for IT Managers
- References
- Automating Robust Processes
- Evaluating Process Documentation — Part One: Quality and Value
- Evaluating Process Documentation — Part Two: Benefits and Use of a Quality-Value Matrix
- When Should You Integrate or Segregate Service Desks?
- Five Instructive Ideas for Interviewing
- Eight Surefire Tips to Use When Being Interviewed
- 12 Helpful Hints To Make Meetings More Productive
- Eight Uncommon Tips To Improve Your Writing
- Ten Helpful Tips To Improve Fire Drills
- Sorting Out Today’s Various Training Options
- Business Ethics and Corporate Scandals – Part 1
- Business Ethics and Corporate Scandals – Part 2
- 12 Tips for More Effective Emails
- Management Communication: Back to the Basics, Part One
- Management Communication: Back to the Basics, Part Two
- Management Communication: Back to the Basics, Part Three
- Asset Management
- Managing Hardware Inventories
- Introduction to Hardware Inventories
- Processes To Manage Hardware Inventories
- Use of a Hardware Inventory Database
- References
- Managing Software Inventories
- Business Continuity Management
- Ten Lessons Learned from Real-Life Disasters
- Ten Lessons Learned From Real-Life Disasters, Part 2
- Differences Between Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity , Part 1
- Differences Between Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity , Part 2
- 15 Common Terms and Definitions of Business Continuity
- The Federal Government’s Role in Disaster Recovery
- The 12 Common Mistakes That Cause BIAs To Fail—Part 1
- The 12 Common Mistakes That Cause BIAs To Fail—Part 2
- The 12 Common Mistakes That Cause BIAs To Fail—Part 3
- The 12 Common Mistakes That Cause BIAs To Fail—Part 4
- Conducting an Effective Table Top Exercise (TTE) — Part 1
- Conducting an Effective Table Top Exercise (TTE) — Part 2
- Conducting an Effective Table Top Exercise (TTE) — Part 3
- Conducting an Effective Table Top Exercise (TTE) — Part 4
- The 13 Cardinal Steps for Implementing a Business Continuity Program — Part One
- The 13 Cardinal Steps for Implementing a Business Continuity Program — Part Two
- The 13 Cardinal Steps for Implementing a Business Continuity Program — Part Three
- The 13 Cardinal Steps for Implementing a Business Continuity Program — Part Four
- The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)
- The Origins of ITIL
- The Foundation of ITIL: Service Management
- Five Reasons for Revising ITIL
- The Relationship of Service Delivery and Service Support to All of ITIL
- Ten Common Myths About Implementing ITIL, Part One
- Ten Common Myths About Implementing ITIL, Part Two
- Characteristics of ITIL Version 3
- Ten Benefits of itSMF and its IIL Pocket Guide
- Translating the Goals of the ITIL Service Delivery Processes
- Translating the Goals of the ITIL Service Support Processes
- Elements of ITIL Least Understood, Part One: Service Delivery Processes
- Case Study: Recovery Reactions to a Renegade Rodent
- Elements of ITIL Least Understood, Part Two: Service Support
- Case Studies
- Case Study — Preparing for Hurricane Charley
- Case Study — The Linux Decision
- Case Study — Production Acceptance at an Aerospace Firm
- Case Study — Production Acceptance at a Defense Contractor
- Case Study — Evaluating Mainframe Processes
- Case Study — Evaluating Recovery Sites, Part One: Quantitative Comparisons/Natural Disasters
- Case Study — Evaluating Recovery Sites, Part Two: Quantitative Comparisons/Man-made Disasters
- Case Study — Evaluating Recovery Sites, Part Three: Qualitative Comparisons
- Case Study — Evaluating Recovery Sites, Part Four: Take-Aways
- Disaster Recovery Test Case Study Part One: Planning
- Disaster Recovery Test Case Study Part Two: Planning and Walk-Through
- Disaster Recovery Test Case Study Part Three: Execution
- Disaster Recovery Test Case Study Part Four: Follow-Up
- Assessing the Robustness of a Vendor’s Data Center, Part One: Qualitative Measures
- Assessing the Robustness of a Vendor’s Data Center, Part Two: Quantitative Measures
- Case Study: Lessons Learned from a World-Wide Disaster Recovery Exercise, Part One: What Did the Team Do Well
- (d) Case Study: Lessons Learned from a World-Wide Disaster Recovery Exercise, Part Two
This section was written by Jeff Rohloff.
This article describes my experiences with researching, proposing and initiating efforts to develop a configuration management process for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). Configuration management is described and lectured on by academics and IT consultants alike, with different concepts and approaches on how an IT organization can implement such a process. My intent with this first part of the series is to show how we arrived at a common definition of the term configuration management and to describe the approach I used to propose a new method of performing configuration management. At the conclusion of part one I will share some important lessons learned from these activities.
In part two of this series I will describe how the LVMPD-ITB initiated efforts to begin designing a configuration process, how the Information Technologies Bureau (ITB) of the LVMPD was currently gathering and managing configuration data, and some of the lessons we learned from these efforts.
Definitions of Configuration Management
I began my efforts of implementing a configuration management process by assembling a cross-functional team. One of our first tasks was to agree on our definition of configuration management. This term means different things to different organizations. Research can introduce one to theories, and a myriad of concepts on how this process should be structured within an IT organization. However, I believe that in order to best understand the surreptitious nature of this process, it is necessary to share some of the varieties of definitions of configuration management. I offered the team three different, but well-accepted, definitions of configuration management from three very different sources.
The first was a definition defined by Reference Guide host, Rich Schiesser, who writes that configuration management is a process to ensure that the interrelationships of varying versions of infrastructure hardware and software are documented accurately and efficiently.
Dennis Drogseth, Vice President of Enterprise Management Associates offered a second version by describing configuration management as a process to identify and arrange network resources to optimize the quality of the user experience.
The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) offers a third version, stating that configuration management To provide a logical model of the IT infrastructure by identifying, controlling, maintaining, and verifying the versions of all configuration items (CIs) in existence. CIs are all infrastructure components to be controlled – they may be hardware, software or documentation – and contain details describing themselves and their relationships to other components.
Industry organizations, such as Gartner Group, and software vendors such as Encora, also have definitions for configuration management, but the preceding three versions provided us with sufficient input for the team to arrive at a consensus. We all agreed that our definition of configuration management would focus on a proactive approach. We also researched other IT environments similar to our own to learn of their experiences with configuration management.
Configuration management can be applied to any level of the OSI model. It can be applied to the physical networks that connect computing resources, and can also apply to the applications that feed those networks. It can be as broad as managing the security of a networked environment, and as specific as changing a routing table on a network device. Within the enterprise, things are somewhat simpler, but at the same time often less well defined.
Although configuration management can imply a multitude of functions, within the enterprise the focus of configuration management currently is primarily the network itself. But even this can carry its own complexity: It can be as simple as workflow management to automate the various approval processes required for consummating a configuration change, to highly complex automation engines that provide graphical user interfaces that abstract the process of configuration within heterogeneous networks. All of these functions can have a place in the enterprise, but the extent to which an enterprise may want to implement configuration management will be highly dependent on the desired outcome. In most cases, even a little well focused attention to configuration management will yield considerable dividends in improved IT efficiency and reduced costs.
In reviewing these definitions, I believe that we can agree that configuration management should be a proactive IT management concept. Unfortunately, configuration management has been neglected as a comprehensive process by vendors, standards organizations and others in the IT community. The primary reason is that configuration management is exceedingly difficult to implement. Configuration management requires that the organization, from the "top down" gain an understanding of the processes that make up configuration management, and only then implement those pieces that the organization can support, from both a personnel and fiscal standpoint.
To help us determine what pieces of configuration management we could best support, we participated in a very effective brainstorming session referred to as a SWOT analysis. This session enabled us to identify and prioritize the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) associated with configuration management. From this point we proceeded with the development of the process.
4.21.3 Lessons Learned from Initial Efforts
The following are five lessons we learned during the initial phases of implementing a configuration process.
- Assemble cross-functional team – One of the best approaches we used was to assemble a cross-functional team of key representatives of all of the infrastructure groups. This provided valuable input from a variety of viewpoints and critically needed buy-in across the infrastructure.
- Agree on a definition of configuration – I found that by identifying several definitions of configuration management from reputable sources led us to a definition that all parties agreed with and understood. It emphasized a proactive approach and resulted in strong buy-in and support from executives and team leads alike.
- Research what others have done similar to your environment – I sought out other IT environments similar to my own such as Clark County and the Los Angeles Police Department to learn of their experiences with configuration management. This saved us time and effort in learning which products and procedures worked best. For example, trying to find a single product that would address all of our needs was not realistic as others found out. Instead, we scaled our project down in scope and used multiple products linked together.
- Conduct a SWOT session at the outset – We participated in a professionally-facilitated brainstorming session to identify and prioritize our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) concerning configuration management. This helped us to exploit the strengths we already had such as in-house tools and to mitigate weaknesses such as lack of integration with other processes.
- Bring in outside professional help when appropriate – We hired a professional consultant who led us through a brainstorming session to assess where we were and the best method to use to get to where we wanted to be. This enabled us to focus on only the parts of our environment most critical to our needs.
In part two of this series I will describe how the LVMPD-ITB initiated efforts to begin designing a configuration process, how the Information Technologies Bureau (ITB) of the LVMPD was currently gathering and managing configuration data, and some of the lessons we learned from these efforts.
References
Schiesser, Rich, IT Systems Management, Prentice Hall, 2002