IT Service Management Research Articles

Anomaly Detection in Complex Real World Application Systems

The ability to understand application performance and pro-actively manage system state is becoming increasingly important as infrastructure services move toward commodisation models such as cloud computing. The complexity of systems being monitored in large corporations means that detailed component-by-component analysis and/or simulation of behaviour can be impractical. The key problem is to find practical systems management approaches that enable behavioural profiling and detection of anomalous events in complex real world systems. This paper details a system performance measurement method that enables slowdown event detection and characterisation of application behaviour. These measurement techniques can underpin IT service management frameworks such as the IT Infrastructure Library. This enables business to manage the stability and performance of the end-user experience in order to support productivity and effectiveness of business processes. This paper examines anomaly detection efficiency in two case studies using six detection models in a large Australian financial services organisation. The whole of service anomaly detection methodology proposed in this paper was found to be more efficient than alternative individual transaction and whole of service models.

Capital budgeting for information technology service management. Modeling, classifying, and disclosure from a structural capital perspective

Purpose of the paper : The study proposes a modeling, classifying and disclosure framework for investment evaluation in Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) considered as a component of structural capital, in order to communicate better with stakeholders in relation to ITSM value. Methodology : The research is based on a conceptual construction that also takes traditional capital budgeting criteria into consideration for Information Technology (IT) investments, and ITSM investments in particular, contextualizing them within the environment of structural capital. Results : In order to evaluate ITSM investments, blended methods (quantitative and qualitative) appear to be the most appropriate option, above all in order to better disclose their real value as fundamental components of structural capital to stakeholders. Research limitations : The study is mainly theoretical, with a single case of indirect practical evidence. Therefore, further empirical investigations would widen the conceptual framework, given growing interest for ITSM. Practical implications : Given the recent economic-financial crisis, a ’ back to basics ’ tendency has arisen, aiming at assigning the almost exclusive ability of assessment, even for IT investments, to fundamental methods. Appropriate evaluation methods, which are proposed in this study, will enable managers to communicate better with stakeholders about ITSM as a component of the structural capital. The use of blended methods of evaluation for structural investments, particularly ITSM, also highlights other appreciable factors, such as time saving, work wellbeing, pollution reduction, and others. Originality of the paper : The research focuses on ITSM and its activities, services, processes, procedures, and operations as innovative components of structural capital, proposing a conceptual framework to facilitate better communication to stakeholders in relation to the real value of such structural assets.

Review of Proposals for the Construction and Management of the Catalog of Information Technology Services

The catalog of information technology services is a structure where the information technology services are identified and classified within a given organization. This catalog is the basis for the information technology services portfolio to be properly managed during its useful life so that the financial, technological, and human and time resources are used correctly. There are many problems within the management of information technology services, beginning with the planning since many organizations avoid the construction of the information technology services catalog due to the complexity of this activity and the lack of proven proposals. Therefore, the general objective of this research project is to identify and compare the existing proposals for the construction and management of this catalog. As a methodology, a systematic review of the literature was done, with several proposals for the construction and management of the catalog in public and private entities. These proposals include models, frameworks, methods, and approaches, with the purpose of highlighting the characteristics of each one and serving as a basis for catalog management on bettering the information technology services. As a result of the research carried out, 14 proposals have been found for the construction and management of the information technology services catalog, reaching the conclusion that none of the proposals complies with all the activities of the information technology service catalog management. It is also necessary to experiment with the merger of one or more proposals in order to rescue the positive aspects of each one in order to devise a better proposal to properly manage information technology service catalogs, which guaranteeing its validity over time.

Machine Learning in IT Service Management

IT Service Management (ITSM) is a variety of activities directed towards maintenance of IT infrastructure. Hence, it is considered to be an important activity for any company, even to one not related to IT. Time of incidents’ resolution is the key performance indicator for ITSM. To reduce resolution time, authors propose infrastructure incident prediction model. Model is based on machine learning technologies. Application of machine learning models in ITSM allows significant improves in customer experience and handling issues more efficiently, decreasing service desk agents’ efforts and reducing service costs.This paper aims to propose predictive method of the incident resolution time estimation. Proposed model derives insights from incident data and predicts estimated time of resolution, allowing detection of incident resolution’s de-lays.Authors analyzed prediction accuracy, and derived results demonstrating that model can assist with prediction for a large set of incidents using dataset based on a real service desk incident data. Additionally, its practical use is applicable for service improvement process.

Building a cognitive platform for the managed IT services lifecycle

In this paper, we present IBM's cognitive strategy for service delivery transformation to a services integration approach for IT service management. This transformation is fueled by three fundamental technological paradigms: cognitive, cloud, and data and digital content. At the foundation of this approach is the IBM Services Platform with Watson—an IBM Cloud and Watson-based platform that uses machine learning, natural language, discovery, and various Watson application programming interfaces to design superior client solutions, achieve an exceptional level of autonomic service management, and facilitate a healthy always-on environment. It continuously learns and optimizes information technology performance to enable enhanced client business outcomes.

Koncepcja zarządzania zasobami i usługami informatycznymi w sądach powszechnych

The paper describes good practice in IT resource and service management, developed during the implementation of a pilot study of good governance of judiciary units in the project “PWP Education in the time and cost management of judicial proceedings – case management” of the Human Capital Programme. The paper presents a detailed description of good practice objectives and the effects of their implementation.

Toward an Agile IT Service Management Framework

For a couple of decades, information technology (IT) as well as its management have been evolving toward more agility. Cloud computing and service-oriented computing have enabled increases in the agility of, respectively, the hardware and the software components of IT services. Similarly, companies more and more often use agile methods for managing their IT projects. This means that many IT organizations can follow the values and principles of the Agile theory, which shares many similarities with service science. However, regarding the management of IT operations, existing solutions are largely process oriented and focus on the control and respect of the initial commitments. Therefore, these solutions, called IT service management (ITSM) methods, are not aligned with the agile values and principles. In response, we propose the basics of a future agile IT service management framework. To do so, we revisit the agile values and principles applied in the software development to best suit the ITSM context. We also identify some practices applied in the current ITSM methods that (partially) block the evolution toward more agility in ITSM. These practices are discussed and rewritten accordingly.

Telemonitoring pacjentów z niewydolnością serca Doświadczenia oddziału kardiologii uzyskane podczas realizacji projektu MONITEL-HF

In hereby publication the authors shall present the solution encompassing the combination of well-known and verified organisational and technological solutions in the new field of services, namely telemedical monitoring in patients with heart failure, on the example of the research and development project MONITEL-HF co-financed by the National Centre for Research and Development within STRATEGMED Programme. Dynamic development of modern medical devices with integrated electronics saving or supporting life has caused the increase of diagnostic data sent in a specific format and time regime to medical centres for the purpose of their verification. The decisions which may be made on their basis depend on the quality and speed of processing of these data to the form acceptable to the medical personnel as well as on the degree of an organisation preparation for the process of their analysis. MONITEL-HF uses the elements of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) for IT departments. ITIL constitutes the most widespread collection of the best practice applied in many enterprises and governmental organisations for the purpose of appropriate management of IT services. An application was developed, for which the basic premise of its implementation was the principle of minimalism in the approach to communication, understood as the ability to eliminate sources of useless information. Only those data that are needed to perform the work by the person concerned or that may influence the quality of life of the monitored patient (eg patient activity constituting a good indicator of his or her own health) are collected and processed. This selection has made it possible to reduce the burden on physicians, redirect the majority of activities to more nursing staff, and focus on the most urgent cases. Productivity has been enhanced and the foundation for providing the best possible relationship with the patient, regardless of the history of pacemaker implantation, cardioverter defibrillators or resynchronizing devices. Cardiology is one of the few areas where healthcare professionals can start medical intervention in a patient who may not be aware of the risk. Focusing on really important information is extremely important when medical data is slowly beginning to meet the definition of Big Data.

The rhetoric of “knowledge hoarding”: a research-based critique

PurposeThis paper responds to a recent trend towards reifying “knowledge hoarding” for purposes of quantitative/deductive research, via a study of information technology (IT) service professionals. A “rhetorical theory” lens is applied to reconsider “knowledge hoarding” as a value-laden rhetoric that directs managers towards addressing assumed worker dysfunctionality.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative study of practicing IT service professionals (assumed within IT service management “best practice” to be inclined to hoard knowledge) was conducted over a 34-day period. Twenty workers were closely observed processing IT service incidents, and 26 workers were interviewed about knowledge-sharing practices.FindingsThe study found that IT service practice is characterized more by pro-social collegiality in sharing knowledge/know-how than by self-interested strategic knowledge concealment.Research limitations/implicationsThe study concerns a single occupational context. The study indicates that deductive research that reifies “knowledge hoarding” as a naturally occurring phenomenon is flawed, with clear implications for future research.Practical implicationsThe study suggests that management concern for productivity might be redirected away from addressing assumed knowledge-hoarding behaviour and towards encouraging knowledge sharing via social interaction in the workplace.Originality/valuePrevious studies have not directly examined the concept of knowledge hoarding using qualitative methods, nor have they considered it as a rhetorical device.

Building Automated Data Driven Systems for IT Service Management

Enterprises and service providers are increasingly challenged with improving the quality of service delivery while containing the cost. However, it is often difficult to effectively manage the comp...

Challenges and Directions in Service Management Automation

Research teams and IT service providers are continuously increasing the degree of Automation in Hybrid IT environments spanning multi-provider Clouds as well as traditional IT. Automation and Cognitive Systems are widely regarded as the foundation for improving the productivity as well as the quality of Service Delivery. At the same time, Hybrid IT deployments are being subject to a variety of challenges in large deployments on a global scale. Based on our experience of running a service practice that delivers IT Service Management in Hybrid IT environments to customers worldwide, this paper will review the challenges and directions in implementing Integrated Network, Systems and Service Management technologies and point out gaps encountered in current tools and implementations. This is fueled by the desire of Service Providers to evolve Automation from a development activity to an approach focusing on recording and storing the practices of the best system administrators and further on to a cognitive activity where the management system learns over time which actions need to be undertaken under a given set of circumstances. By means of real-life examples, we identify candidate concepts and technologies that will help us build the next generation of Integrated Network, Systems and Service Management.

IPv6 Security

IPv4 network addresses are running out and the deployment of IPv6 networking in many places is now well underway. Following the work of the HEPiX IPv6 Working Group, a growing number of sites in the Worldwide Large Hadron Collider Computing Grid (WLCG) are deploying dual-stack IPv6/IPv4 services. The aim of this is to support the use of IPv6-only clients, i.e. worker nodes, virtual machines or containers.The IPv6 networking protocols while they do contain features aimed at improving security also bring new challenges for operational IT security. The lack of maturity of IPv6 implementations together with the increased complexity of some of the protocol standards raise many new issues for operational security teams.The HEPiX IPv6 Working Group is producing guidance on best practices in this area. This paper considers some of the security concerns for WLCG in an IPv6 world and presents the HEPiX IPv6 working group guidance for the system administrators who manage IT services on the WLCG distributed infrastructure, for their related site security and networking teams and for developers and software engineers working on WLCG applications.

Smart Technical Street Furniture Design: Case study of ''New Cairo Administrative Capital''

The high pace of technology has redefined street furniture as smart devices that contribute to build future cities. Thus, it is a combination of passion; skills, ideas and tools of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) converted into finished products. ICT is a catalyst for cities to address these challenges in a ‘smart’ manner that links and strengthens networks of people, businesses, infrastructures, resources, energy and spaces. On the other hand, one of the most important components to be adopted for designing Smart Cities is the IT service management (ITSM). It refers to the entirety of the activities directed by policies, organized and structured to plan, design, operate and control ITSM offered to citizens by adopting a process approach towards management, focusing on their needs and stressing continual improvement.New trends in urban planning are heading to draw a new future- a Smart City that is able to link the physical capital with the social one. Street furniture, as an important element of Smart Cities, is a term used to define objects in public spaces. Such concept is related to the context of wireless infrastructure and house small-cell units. They are considered –visually- as common and tolerable places to the public.This research will focus on smart Street-Furniture design as a standard guide for designers and planners of the ''New Cairo Administrative Capital'', which is currently under construction as the first Smart City in Egypt.

Proactive Management of IT Operations to Improve IT Services

IT Service Operations is a high priority improvement target for IT service providers because it is critical for business operations and involves daily interaction with customers, thus directly effecting customer satisfaction. An action research project involving three organizations explored current IT service operation activities and challenges and initiated projects to improve service operation at each organization. The findings indicate that the major challenges include reactive rather than proactive approach to IT operations management, measurement and reporting, classification of incidents, management of customer feedback, and interfaces between IT service operation processes. Recommendations are formulated to help IT service managers and theoretical contributions are provided.

Integrated feedback control reporting for improving quality of technical service reporting in IT service management

Service Reporting is an essential part of Service Level Management (SLM) in IT Service Management (ITSM). These SLM reports show Service Quality status in compare to Service Level Target (SLT) based on Service Level Agreement (SLA). However, producing Technical Service Reports (TSRs) for SLM has Data Quality (DQ) challenges when IT services of a large enterprise are outsourced to a large IT service provider (ITSP). In fact, sources of technical metrics in these reports are coming from huge, unverified and non-normalized system-generated events and logs in a large enterprise environment. In addition, there are lacks of configuration items and service information meta-data that are essential for producing these SLM reports. These challenges lead to low intrinsic and contextual DQ of reports that destroy customer’s trust and management visibility which lead to Service Quality (SQ) issues and financial penalties. This research used Action Design Research (ADR) methodology and insider participant observation, focus group, interview and questionnaire data gathering and content analysis. Design, actions and data collection are done in and from a Multi-National Company (MNC) in Malaysia that provides IT services to one of the top 10 biggest enterprises in the world, during 4years of research. The research implemented artifact is an integrated reporting system. It used Feedback Control System (FCS) theory and ITSM concepts to create Reports Data Quality Improvement Loop (RDQIL) to improve TSRs’ DQ. The research output is an ensemble artifact which formalized in the class of problems, class of solutions and set of design principles that consist of new Hybrid Normalize Data Warehouse (HNDW) architecture and Integrated Feedback Control Reporting (IFCR) process model. The importance of research emerges by improving SQ and reducing the risks of financial penalties by providing complex event processing and service reporting integrated into Operation processes. The research’s design principles and IFCR process model create RDQIL that improves TSRs’ DQ in large ITSPs which lead SQ improvement and prevent financial penalties.

Strategic management in the IT department

Alexander N. Biryukov - Associate Professor, Department of Business Informatics, Financial University under the Government of the Russian FederationAddress: 49, Leningradskiy Prospect, Moscow, 125993, Russian Federation E-mail: anbiryukov@fa.ru This paper describes a new approach to strategic management in IT departments as compared with the existing approach, traditionally based on the development of an IT strategy aligned with the enterprise’s business strategy. The proposed method assumes gaining greater trust from the business to be the principal goal of an IT department. Meanwhile, all the other goals are treated as implications of the trust, because none of them can be achieved if the IT department is not considered a trusted partner by the business management. Trust in the IT department is an aggregate of individual trust exhibited by its customers, some of which are interrelated and mutually affect their opinions. To obtain maximal personal trust, the IT department should apply an individual approach to each of its customers. In terms of IT Service Management (ITSM), this means that an individual Service Level Agreement (SLA) should be designed and used with respect to each customer. As a result, the IT Department will be able to gain the maximal integral trust. The IT Department can benefit from the acquired trust for different purposes. For example, the IT Department can use the increasing customer trust to justify modifications of SLA conditions so as to reduce IT costs without affecting the customer. Another way is using the integral trust to guarantee support of the corporate management when the IT Department starts some innovative undertaking in its own field. In the conclusion, it is shown that the problem of maximizing integral trust is not easier than the well-known knapsack problem.

Information Technology Service Management Processes for Small and Medium Enterprises A Proposal for an Implementation Sequence

Information Technology Service Management Processes for Small and Medium Enterprises A Proposal for an Implementation Sequence

Perancangan Sistem Informasi Helpdesk Menggunakan Framework ITIL V3

In order to improve and to ensure the availability of information technology (IT) services quality, many organizations now have a helpdesk which acts as a center point in solving and organizing problems. However, in the planning and implementation of Information Systems Service Helpdesk, it is necessary to do a thorough analysis of the framework of the Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) that is appropriate and in accordance with the needs of organizations, that is also capable of providing the function of knowledge management. It is because each type of organization has different needs and Standard Operation Procedure in providing IT services. The purpose of this study is to analyze the right ITSM framework in developing Helpdesk Information System in PT Len Industri (Persero), which is one of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). Helpdesk services provide repairs of hardware, software, and network. Previously, informations about problems and the handling are not complete, and the information storing is unstructured. This causes difficulties in monitoring and evaluation activities conducted by helpdesk admin and manager of Information Systems. To solve this problem, a system is designed using ITSM best practices standard from the Information Technology Infrastructure Library version 3. The system is designed to perform the classification to every problem. Classifications are made into several level of priorities which correspond with profile matching method, according to position and division within the PT Len Industri (Persero)’s value chain. The developed dashboard has been able to support the helpdesk results evaluation process. To ensure the usability of the system, a user acceptance test is conducted with the standard of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. The system obtains overall score of 88,89% in the user interface aspect and 83,715% in the functional requirement of information system aspect.

2111 情報システムの運用のオフショア化におけるSECIモデルを適用した改善事例(一般セッション)

2111 情報システムの運用のオフショア化におけるSECIモデルを適用した改善事例(一般セッション)

Innovation in Information Technology Services: Framework to Improve the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Information Technology Service Management Processes, Projects and Decision Support Management

Innovation in Information Technology Services: Framework to Improve the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Information Technology Service Management Processes, Projects and Decision Support Management