Information Technology Infrastructure Library Processes Research Articles

A Methodology to Sequence the Service Management Processes in IT Departments: Application to the Tourism Industry

One of the key elements to consider in business management is the management of IT (Information Technology) departments by implementing processes as described in the ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) standard. This is particularly important in industries that are not directly related to ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), such as the tourism industry. In this paper, we present a methodology to sequence the implementation of the ITIL processes in any company to support its development. The methodology is based on an optimization algorithm and the information extracted from a survey. The optimal sequence is built from this information and from the information of the restrictions imposed by the company that implements the ITIL processes. We applied the methodology to a company in the tourism industry. The sequence obtained shows the need to implement operative processes (initial positions in the sequence), and afterwards strategic processes (final positions in the sequence). A comparison with other authors’ proposals shows differences in the order of processes proposed by this methodology. The main conclusion is that it is possible to use the information of companies to efficiently generate an optimal sequence of ITIL processes which enhances their management; this sequence is unique for every company that wants to implement ITIL in the tourism industry, and it is independent from the proposals of other authors who designed generic/non-optimal sequences.

Security of Information Technology Infrastructure Library Processes in the Internet of Thing

Security of Information Technology Infrastructure Library Processes in the Internet of Thing

Optimization Algorithm to Sequence the Management Processes in Information Technology Departments

The most important standard in technology services management is the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). The literature review developed shows that one of the most important questions to answer is finding the sequence of processes to be implemented, mainly in small companies with few resources. The purpose of this paper is to show a methodology that defines an optimal specific sequence of processes for each small company depending on internal and external parameters. The main contribution of this paper is a proven methodology to obtain a particular sequence of ITIL processes specifically adapted to each company, based on a mathematical and statistical model that uses data from a web survey. Its application generates an optimal sequence of ITIL processes. The methodology has been applied with successful results in a real case, and it shows specific benefits over the previous approaches. The main learning objective of this research is a proven method to obtain an optimal sequence of processes for the implementation of ITIL in small companies. Finally, some future works are presented.

Model to Optimize the Decision Making on Processes in IT Departments

The objective of this article is the definition of an algorithm aimed to settle the sequence of implementation of Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) processes that should be followed in the technology departments for its proper management. The mathematical model presented solves the question of the best ITIL process to implement by using an optimization function that considers the objectives and restrictions given by the company. This model is the basis for an iterative greedy algorithm proposed that generates the optimal sequence of ITIL processes to implement. The algorithm has been proven in a company with satisfactory results: the proposed sequence of implementation allowed the company to properly manage the IT department as well as get close to competitors based on the objectives and restrictions reported by the company. The novelty of this contribution relies on the design of an algorithm to generate an optimal and specific sequence of ITIL processes to implement in the IT department of a company, as the previous solutions relied on generic sequences or required external consultants to get their opinion and so did not have a mathematical basis.

Attributes of IT certifications aligned to organizations’ needs

PurposeAn area of information technology (IT) in organizations is required to manage resources efficiently. For this, IT certifications are adopted by companies and sought by professionals. However, these have many requirements and to identify which are paramount to the performance of their activities and/or are much more important to IT managers is not a trivial task. The purpose of this study is to identify how the processes of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) v3 and Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (CobiT) 5 certifications are analyzed by IT managers. Regarding the knowledge of professionals about the processes, which are more important, less important or indifferent in the manager’s view.Design/methodology/approachA survey is carried out with IT managers using questions elaborated according to the Kano model in which the processes of the analyzed certifications are related to classify according to the proposed model.FindingsOf the 64 analyzed processes, 20 CobiT processes and 13 ITIL processes were classified as must-be requirements. Another 17 CobiT processes and 9 ITIL processes were classified as one-dimensional and 5 ITIL processes are present in more than one relationship with CobiT processes and, depending on the relationship, they were classified as must-be or one-dimensional requirements.Originality/valueIt is concluded that this study contributes in the discussion of the importance of the ITIL and CobiT implementations and analyzes the relevance of ITIL and CobiT certification processes in the view of IT managers, providing useful information for the professionals in terms of prioritization of the processes expected by the managers.

How to Optimize the Implementation of ITIL through a Process Ordering Algorithm

One of the main points when implementing the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is which order the processes must be implemented. In the systematic literature review (SLR) developed, it is possible to find references about strategies and factors that ease the implementation of the ITIL, static sequences for the processes to be implemented, and recommendations about the first process to implement, but it is rather complicated to find references that explicitly define the order (adapted to a specific company) of the processes to be implemented. Thus, once it is shown that there is no methodology/algorithm providing a sequence of ITIL processes specifically adapted for each company, an algorithm to solve this problem is presented: The algorithm has a deep mathematical basis and returns a sequence of ITIL processes to optimize the efforts during implementation, so the company implementing the ITIL gets the closest to the competitors. The optimization is made considering parameters such as staff, age of the company, IT size, industry, etc. Thus, the sequence proposed is specific for each company. Finally, a comparative of the sequence obtained (from the proposed algorithm) with sequences discovered in the SLR is presented and applied to a real case.

Information Technology Infrastructure Library and the migration to cloud computing

The decision of migrating information technology to cloud computing, by an organisation, encompasses various decisions that must be undertaken in order to minimise risks and to perform a smooth and accurate transition to the cloud. Accordingly, to migrate information technology services to the cloud in a straightforward way, with more control and in a more accurate way, the organisation must use the right tools. Having in mind the cloud computing focus on information technology services shared with the Information Technology Infrastructure Library and processes that have been tested by distinct organisations, it makes sense to research whether the Information Technology Infrastructure Library processes can be used in the migration to cloud computing. Accordingly, in this paper, we investigate, on the one hand, how Information Technology Infrastructure Library could be useful to the migration of services, applications and data to cloud computing, and on the other hand, we discuss how these processes help people to improve their skills in the knowledge accessibility. The research was validated with the implementation of a case study and with interviews with stakeholders of the whole process. With this research, we were able to verify that the ITIL could be used to support the migration to cloud computing.

Multi-Agent Architecture for Implementation of ITIL Processes: Case of Incident Management Process

ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is the most widely accepted approach to IT service management in the world. Upon the adoption of ITIL processes, organizations face many challenges that can lead to increased complexity. In this paper we use the advantages of agent technology to make implementation and use of ITIL processes more efficient, starting by the incident management process.

Service management at CERN with Service-Now

The Information Technology (IT) and the General Services (GS) departments at CERN have decided to combine their extensive experience in support for IT and non-IT services towards a common goal – to bring the services closer to the end user based on Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practice. The collaborative efforts have so far produced definitions for the incident and the request fulfilment processes which are based on a unique two-dimensional service catalogue that combines both the user and the support team views of all services. After an extensive evaluation of the available industrial solutions, Service-now was selected as the tool to implement the CERN Service-Management processes. The initial release of the tool provided an attractive web portal for the users and successfully implemented two basic ITIL processes; the incident management and the request fulfilment processes. It also integrated with the CERN personnel databases and the LHC GRID ticketing system. Subsequent releases continued to integrate with other third-party tools like the facility management systems of CERN as well as to implement new processes such as change management. Independently from those new development activities it was decided to simplify the request fulfilment process in order to achieve easier acceptance by the CERN user community. We believe that due to the high modularity of the Service-now tool, the parallel design of ITIL processes e.g., event management and non-ITIL processes, e.g., computer centre hardware management, will be easily achieved. This presentation will describe the experience that we have acquired and the techniques that were followed to achieve the CERN customization of the Service-Now tool.

Impact of IT Service Management Frameworks on the IT Organization

Over 90 percent of companies are estimated to use IT Service Management (ITSM) frameworks, yet there is little research on their benefits to the Information Technology (IT) department and the business units. An international survey of 491 firms was conducted to assess the benefits of the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), the de-facto ITSM framework, specifically on how these benefits evolve as companies increase their adoption of the ITIL model. Also studied are the perception of challenges of the implementation and the number of ITIL processes implemented in relation to the progress of the adoption of ITIL. Results indicate that as the maturity of implementation increases, the perception of challenges decreases. Findings also show that as the maturity of implementation increases, the number of realized benefits increases, as well as the number of implemented ITIL processes. Implications for practitioners and researchers are also discussed.

Designing an evaluation framework for IT service management

Applying IT Service Management (ITSM) is a key issue in the management of an organisation's IT function. The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is the most popular and influential framework for applying ITSM. With adoption growing globally it is important to understand the benefits that ITIL processes can bring to an organisation. To date the benefits of implementing and using ITIL processes have been predicted or assumed with very little research and minimal anecdotal evidence. We present a design of a holistic evaluation framework for ITSM improvement efforts with particular focus on ITIL.