Attachment 5 ASSC IT Definitions.docx

Definition

Acceptable Quality level

(AQL)

AQL is the minimum acceptable service level measure that does not violate the service metric defined in the Service Level Agreement.

accurate, Reliable and meets its specified Requirements. Acceptance is usually preceded by Evaluation or Testing and is often required before proceeding to the next stage of a Project or Process.

Access Management

The process responsible for allowing users to make use of IT services, data, or other assets. Access management helps to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of assets by ensuring that only authorized users are able to access or modify the assets. Access Management is sometimes referred to as Rights Management or Identity Management.

Active Monitoring

Monitoring of a configuration item (CI) or an IT service that uses automated regular checks to discover the current status.

Also includes modifications mandated in response to laws or regulations that govern programs and support for changing business requirements within scope of the original business case. These modifications result in hardware or software changes and/or updates to the system within an organization’s technical architecture that are approved by the Enterprise Architecture Program.

has occurred. Alerts are often created and managed by System Management tools and are managed by the Event Management Process.

Application may be part of more than one IT Service. An Application runs on one or more Servers or Clients.

Access control is, in reality, an everyday phenomenon. For example, a userid and password to log on to a network or a pin on an ATM system at a bank is another means of access control. The possession of access control is of prime importance when persons seek to secure important, confidential, or sensitive information and equipment.

followed, that Records are accurate, or that Efficiency and Effectiveness targets are being met.

See Audit.

could contribute to the delivery of a Service. Assets can be one of the following types: Management, Organization, Process, Knowledge, People, Information, Applications, Infrastructure, and Financial Capital

Asset Management

Asset Management is the Process responsible for tracking and reporting the value and ownership of financial Assets throughout their Lifecycle. Asset Management is part of an overall Service Asset and Configuration Management Process.

See Asset Register.

Version number and Cost. Attributes of CIs are recorded in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB).

is being followed, that Records are accurate, or that Efficiency and Effectiveness targets are being met. An Audit may be carried out by internal or external groups.

See Certification, Assessment.

Automated Call Distribution

(ACD)

Use of Information Technology to direct an incoming telephone call to the most appropriate person in the shortest possible time

Availability

The Process responsible for defining, analyzing, Planning, measuring and improving all aspects of the Availability of IT Services. Availability Management is responsible for ensuring that all IT Infrastructure, Processes, Tools, Roles, etc. are appropriate for the agreed Service Level Targets for Availability.

Availability

Information System (AMIS)

A virtual repository of all Availability Management data, usually stored in multiple physical locations.

Also see Service Knowledge Management System

can be provided Cost Effectively.

Balanced Scorecard

A management tool developed by Drs. Robert Kaplan (Harvard Business School) and David Norton. A Balanced Scorecard enables a Strategy to be broken down into Key Performance Indicators. Performance against the KPIs is used to demonstrate how well the Strategy is being achieved. A Balanced Scorecard has 4 major areas, each of which has a small number of KPIs. The same 4 areas are considered at different levels of detail throughout the Organization.

· An ITSM Baseline can be used as a starting point to measure the effect of a Service Improvement Plan.

· A Performance Baseline can be used to measure changes in Performance over the lifetime of an IT Service.

· A Configuration Management Baseline can be used to enable the IT Infrastructure to be restored to a known Configuration if a Change or Release fails.

benchmark can be used in:

· Continual Service Improvement, to establish the current state for managing improvements.

· Capacity Management, to document Performance characteristics during normal operations.

· See Benchmarking, Baseline.

Benchmarking is also used to mean creating a series of Benchmarks over time, and comparing the results to measure progress or improvement.

Organizations. ITIL is an example of Best Practice.

Service. The term Build is also used to refer to a Release that is authorized for integration into the production baseline. For example, Server Build or laptop Build.

Also see Configuration Baseline.

Business Analytics

Business analytics include the study of business data in order to discover and understand historical patterns with an eye to predicting and improving business performance in the future. A simple and practical definition would be how a business arrives at an optimal or realistic decision based on an analysis of existing data.

Also see Cost Benefit Analysis.

Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

BIA is the Activity in Business Continuity Management that identifies Vital Business Functions and their dependencies. These dependencies may include Suppliers, people, other Business Processes, IT Services etc.

BIA defines the recovery requirements for IT Services. These requirements include Recovery Time Objectives, Recovery Point Objectives and minimum Service Level Targets for each IT Service.

Business Intelligence

Refers to skills, technologies, applications and practices used to help a business acquire a better understanding of its commercial context. Business Intelligence may also refer to the collected information itself. BI technologies provide historical, current, and predictive views of business operations. Common functions of Business Intelligence technologies are reporting, OLAP, analytics, data mining, business performance management, bench marking, text mining, and predictive analytics. Business Intelligence often aims to support better business decision-making. Thus a BI system can be called a decision support system (DSS).

Service to a DO Customer. Many Business Processes rely on IT Services.

Business Service

Business Service Management (BSM) is a strategy, approach and methodology for aligning IT elements to the goals of the business.

outgoing telephone calls.

See also Service Desk

Desk. Specific Call Types for the DO ASSC program are Incident and Service Request.

Capacity

The Process responsible for ensuring that the Capacity of IT Services and the IT Infrastructure is able to deliver agreed Service Level Metrics in a Cost Effective and timely manner. Capacity Management considers all Resources required to deliver the IT Service, and plans for short, medium and long term Business Requirements.

The Plan contains scenarios for different predictions of Business demand, and costed options to deliver the agreed Service Level Metrics.

Capacity Planning

The Activity within Capacity Management responsible for creating a Capacity Plan.

change as defined here includes all IT Services, Configuration Items, Processes, Documentation, etc.

Change Control Board (CCB)

A group of people that advises in the assessment, prioritization and scheduling of changes, and, following deliberation, approves or rejects the proposed change. This board will comprise representatives from all areas within the IT IMS Service Provider, OCIO, and DO IT Management.

History consists of all those Change Records that apply to the CI.

Change

The Process responsible for controlling the Lifecycle of all Changes. The primary objective of Change Management is to enable beneficial Changes to be made, with minimum disruption to IT Services. Change management must be supported through an automated tool that enables the electronic creation, submission, routing, approval, and recording of a change request.

Lifecycle of a single Change. A Change Record is created for every Change Request that is received, even those that are subsequently rejected. Change Records should reference the Configuration Items that are affected by the Change. Change Records are stored in the Configuration Management System.

proposed change, and shall be recorded electronically through an automated change management system.

dates. A Change Schedule is sometimes called a Forward Schedule of Change, even though it also contains information about Changes that have already been implemented.

Attributes and Relationships for a Configuration Record. Common CI Types include: hardware, Document, User, etc.

Status is Closed, no further action is taken.

together to deliver an IT Service, or a recognizable part of an IT Service.

Configuration is also used to describe the parameter settings for one or more CIs.

Configuration Baseline

A Baseline of a Configuration that has been formally agreed and is managed through the Change Management process. A Configuration Baseline is used as a basis for future Builds, Releases and Changes.

Configuration Control

The Activity responsible for ensuring that adding, modifying or removing a CI is properly managed, for example by submitting a Request for Change or Service Request.

Configuration Identification

The Activity responsible for collecting information about Configuration Items and their Relationships, and loading this information into the configuration management database (CMDB). Configuration identification is also responsible for labeling the CIs themselves, so that the corresponding Configuration Records can be found.

Configuration Item (CI)

Any Component that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT Service.

Information about each CI is recorded in a Configuration Record within the Configuration Management System and is maintained throughout its Lifecycle by Configuration Management. CIs are under the control of Change Management. CIs typically include IT Services, hardware, software, buildings, people, and formal documentation such as Process documentation and SLAs.

Configuration

The Process responsible for maintaining information about Configuration Items required to deliver an IT Service, including their Relationships. This information is managed throughout the Lifecycle of the CI. Configuration Management is part of an overall Service Asset and Configuration Management Process.

Configuration

Database

(CMDB)

A database used to store Configuration Records throughout their Lifecycle. The Configuration Management System maintains one or more CMDBs, and each CMDB stores Attributes of CIs, and Relationships with other CIs.

Configuration

System (CMS)

A set of tools and databases that are used to manage an IT Service Provider's Configuration data. The CMS also includes information about Incidents, Problems, Known Errors, Changes and Releases; and may contain data about employees, Suppliers, locations, Business Units, Customers and Users. The CMS includes tools for collecting, storing, managing, updating, and presenting data about all Configuration Items and their Relationships. The CMS is maintained by Configuration Management and is used by all IT Service Management Processes.

See Configuration Management Database, Service Knowledge Management System.

Configuration Record

A Record containing the details of a Configuration Item. Each Configuration Record documents the Lifecycle of a single CI. Configuration Records are stored in a Configuration Management Database.

Continuous Service Improvement

(CSI)

A stage in the Lifecycle of an IT Service responsible for managing improvements to IT Service Management Processes and IT Services. The Performance of the IT Service Provider is continually measured and improvements are made to Processes, IT Services and IT Infrastructure in order to increase Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Cost Effectiveness.

See Plan-Do-Check-Act.

There are three Core Services identified in IT IMS:

1. End-User Services

2. Data Center Operations

3. Network Infrastructure Operations

Includes modifications to systems or programs that fix application problems caused by design, logic, or coding errors.

Cost Benefit Analysis

An Activity that analyzes and compares the Costs and the benefits involved in one or more alternative courses of action.

Cost Effectiveness

A measure of the balance between the Effectiveness and Cost of a Service, Process or activity, A Cost Effective Process is one which achieves its Objectives at minimum Cost.

that elects to use the IT IMS contract to obtain IT services. Customer is traditionally referred to as the “HQ IT’s customer,” whereas HQ IT is the contractor’s “client.”

Agreement or a Contract. Deliverable is also used in a more informal way to mean a planned output of any Process. A deliverable could be a document, a component, an IT system, a CI, or an IT Service.

wearing out, consumption or other reduction in the useful economic value.

deliver services from a production site, for what is expected to be an extended period of time, due to:

· a (partial) destruction of the production site,

· a loss of digital communication service(s) at the production site,

· a loss of power at the production site,

· a loss of climate control at the production site, and/or

· an inability to access the production site.

Service Time. The availability of an IT Service is often calculated from Agreed Service Time and Downtime. Also see Service Outage.

Process, Service or Activity. An Efficient Process achieves its Objectives with the minimum amount of time, money, people or other resources.

Emergency Change

A Change that must be introduced as soon as possible. For example, to resolve a Major Incident or implement a Security patch. The Change Management Process must have a specific Procedure for handling Emergency Changes.

1. New system development in support of business functions that are not currently augmented with information technology

2. Functional changes or modifications to existing systems that are outside the scope of the of the original business case.

· Include major changes to existing design patterns and application solution framework to implement new customer requirements that are not traceable to the project’s current functional or technical requirements baseline.

· Could include adding a new functional module or integrating a new hardware/software component to the current architecture.

3. Significant reengineering/modernization of an existing system to improve capability or performance through the implementation of new system architecture components, which could result in risks to the organization due to the introduction of new/unproven technologies or due to the magnitude of the planned modifications themselves.

· Planned replacement of multiple system components system due to hardware and/or software obsolescence.

· Planned replacement of the system based on an operational analysis determination of its inability to meet current business needs.

Items or IT Services. A mistake made by a person or a faulty Process that impacts a CI or IT Service is also an Error.

Level Metrics or Customer expectations. Escalation may be needed within any IT Service Management Process, but is most commonly associated with Incident Management, Problem Management and the management of Customer complaints.

There are two types of Escalation: Functional Escalation and Hierarchic Escalation.

One type of escalation will involve the contractor’s internal organization both at the program level and at the corporate-level. A second type of escalation will involve those between the IT IMS contractor and other service providers within DO such as the wide are network contractor or the application development and support contractor. These escalation methods between contractors will be managed through Operating Level Agreements.

Item or IT Service. The term Event is also used to mean an Alert or notification created by any IT Service, Configuration Item or Monitoring tool. Events typically require IT Operations personnel to take actions, and often lead to Incidents being logged.

Event

The Process responsible for managing Events throughout their Lifecycle. Event Management is one of the main Activities of IT Operations.

Facilities

The Function responsible for managing the physical Environment where the IT Infrastructure is located. Facilities Management includes all aspects of managing the physical Environment, for example power and cooling, building Access Management, and environmental Monitoring.

term Failure is used when referring to IT Services, Processes, Activities, Configuration Items, etc. A Failure often causes an Incident.

Processes are correctly followed. Governance includes defining Roles and responsibilities, measuring and reporting, and taking actions to resolve any issues identified.

Gradual Recovery

A Recovery Option which is also known as Cold Standby. Provision is made to Recover the IT Service in a period of time greater than 72 hours. Gradual Recovery typically uses a Portable or Fixed Facility that has environmental support and network cabling, but no computer Systems. The hardware and software are installed as part of the IT Service Continuity Plan.

Failure on the Users of an IT Service. High Availability solutions are Designed to achieve an agreed level of Availability and make use of techniques such as Fault Tolerance, Resilience and fast Recovery to reduce the number of Incidents, and the Impact of Incidents.

IT Service or a reduction in the Quality of an IT Service. Failure of a Configuration Item that has not yet impacted Service is also an Incident. For example, Failure of one disk from a mirror set.

Incident

The Process responsible for managing the Lifecycle of all Incidents. The primary Objective of Incident Management is to return the IT Service to Users as quickly as possible.

Lifecycle of a single Incident.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

A form of Automatic Call Distribution that accepts User input, such as key pad input/entry and spoken commands, to identify the correct destination for incoming Calls.

Intermediate Recovery

A Recovery Option which is also known as Warm Standby. Provision is made to Recover the IT Service in a period of time between 24 and 72 hours. Intermediate Recovery typically uses a shared Portable or Fixed Facility that has computer Systems and network Components. The hardware and software will need to be configured, and data will need to be restored, as part of the IT Service Continuity Plan.

Service Provider. The IT Service comprises people, processes and technology, and is defined in a Service Level Agreement.

IT Service

(ITSM)

The implementation and management of Quality IT Services that meet the needs of the Business. IT Service Management is performed by IT Service Providers through an appropriate mix of people, Process and Information Technology.

IT Service Provider

The IT IMS contractor, or other DO contractors such as the WAN service provider, the Secure Systems Managed Service provider, or the application support contractor.

Known Errors may also be identified by Development or Suppliers.

Maintenance

A process for to modify a software product after delivery to correct faults, to improve performance or other attributes, or to adapt the product to a modified environment. (See Adaptive Maintenance, Corrective Maintenance, and Perfective Maintenance)

Maintenance Window

A regular, agreed time when Changes or Releases may be implemented with minimal impact on Services. Maintenance windows will be proposed by the contractor, mutually agreed upon between the contractor and Treasury, and incorporated into the SLAs. Changes to the established maintenance windows must be submitted through a change request and approved through the change management process.

significant disruption to the Business

Manual Workaround

A Workaround that requires manual intervention. Manual Workaround is also used as the name of a Recovery Option in which The Business Process Operates without the use of IT Services. This is a temporary measure and is usually combined with another Recovery Option.

Mean Time Between Failures

(MTBF)

A Metric for measuring and reporting Reliability. MTBF is the average time that a Configuration Item or IT Service can perform its agreed Function without interruption. This is measured from when the CI or IT Service starts working, until it next fails.

Mean Time Between Service Incidents

(MTBSI)

A Metric used for measuring and reporting Reliability. MTBSI is the mean time from when a System or IT Service fails, until it next fails. MTBSI is equal to MTBF +

MTRS.

Mean Time To Repair (MTTR)

The average time taken to repair a Configuration Item or IT Service after a Failure.

MTTR is measured from when the CI or IT Service fails until it is Repaired. MTTR does not include the time required to Recover or Restore.

Mean Time to Restore Service

(MTRS)

The average time taken to Restore a Configuration Item or IT Service after a Failure.

MTRS is measured from when the CI or IT Service fails until it is fully Restored and delivering its normal functionality.

Operational Readiness

Operational readiness is defined as the ability of the user community, the service provider organization, and the production environment to accept a change.

Operating Level Agreement

(OLA)

An Agreement between two IT Service Providers operating within and servicing the same customer or client organization. An OLA supports the IT Service Providers’ delivery of IT Services to Customers. The OLA defines the goods or Services to be provided and the responsibilities of both parties.

Performance indicators

The measures that will be used to indicate whether agreed service levels have been met. Performance indicators may be based on qualitative or quantitative criteria including timeliness, consistency, accuracy, and responsiveness. Indicators must be measurable and meaningful, and should measure the service quality attributes that are important to the customer

Post Implementation Review (PIR)

A Review that takes place after a Change or a Project has been implemented. A PIR determines if the Change or Project was successful, and identifies opportunities for improvement.

Change. Priority is based on Impact and Urgency, and is used to identify required times for actions to be taken. For example, the SLA may state that Priority2. Incidents must be resolved within 12 hours.

Problem Record is created, and the Problem Management Process is responsible for further investigation.

Problem

The Process responsible for managing the Lifecycle of all Problems. The primary Objectives of Problem Management are to prevent Incidents from happening, and to minimize the Impact of Incidents that cannot be prevented.

Lifecycle of a single Problem.

IT Service often includes recovering data to a known consistent state. After Recovery, further steps may be needed before the IT Service can be made available to the Users (Restoration).

are Do Nothing, Manual Workaround, Reciprocal Arrangement, Gradual Recovery, Intermediate Recovery, Fast Recovery, and Immediate Recovery. Recovery Options may make use of dedicated facilities, or Third Party facilities shared by multiple Businesses.

Recovery Point Objective (RPO)

The maximum amount of data that may be lost when Service is Restored after an interruption. Recovery Point Objective is expressed as a length of time before the Failure. For example, a Recovery Point Objective of one day may be supported by daily Backups, and up to 24 hours of data may be lost. Recovery Point Objectives for each IT Service should be negotiated, agreed and documented, and used as Requirements for Service Design and IT Service Continuity Plans

Recovery Time Objective (RTO)

The maximum time allowed for recovery of an IT Service following an interruption.

The Service Level to be provided may be less than normal Service Level Targets.

Recovery Time Objectives for each IT Service should be negotiated, agreed and documented.

See Business Impact Analysis.

Management it is the interaction between the IT Service Provider and the Business.

In Configuration Management it is a link between two Configuration Items that identifies a dependency or connection between them. For example, Applications may be linked to the Servers they run on, IT Services have many links to all the CIs that contribute to them.

Release

The Process responsible for Planning, scheduling and controlling the movement of Releases to Test and Live Environments. The primary Objective of Release Management is to ensure that the integrity of the Live Environment is protected and that the correct Components are released. Release Management is part of the Release and Deployment Management Process.

Function without interruption. Usually measured as MTBF or MTBSI

Resolution Action taken to repair the Root Cause of an Incident or Problem, or to implement a Workaround.

Organization.

Capacity Management as a measure of IT Infrastructure Performance, and in Incident Management as a measure of the time taken to answer the phone, or to start Diagnosis.

Incident. This is the primary Objective of Incident Management.

Environment. Retired is a stage in the Lifecycle of many Configuration Items.

Root Cause Analysis (RCA)

An Activity that identifies the Root Cause of an Incident or Problem. RCA typically concentrates on IT Infrastructure failures.

Service Acceptance Criteria (SAC)

A set of criteria used to ensure that an IT Service meets its functionality and Quality Requirements and that the IT Service Provider is ready to Operate the new ASS Contract when it has been Deployed.

See Acceptance.

Services, including those available for Deployment. The Service Catalog is the only part of the Service Portfolio published to Customers, and is used to support the sale and delivery of IT Services. The Service Catalog includes information about deliverables, prices, contact points, ordering and request Processes.

Service Desk manages Incidents and Service Requests, and also handles communication with the Users. Call Center and Service Desk are used interchangeably.

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

The SLA is an Agreement between an IT Service Provider and a Customer that specifies what service is to be provided, how it is supported, times, locations, costs, performance, and responsibilities of the parties involved. The SLA describes the IT Service, documents Service Level Targets, and specifies the responsibilities of the IT Service Provider and the Customer. A single SLA may cover multiple IT Services or multiple Customers.

Service Level

(SLM)

The Process responsible for negotiating Service Level Agreements, and ensuring that these are met. SLM is responsible for ensuring that all IT Service Management Processes, Operational Level Agreements, and Underpinning Contracts, are appropriate for the agreed Service Level Targets. SLM monitors and reports on Service Levels, and holds regular Customer reviews.

Service Level Metric

A commitment that is documented in a Service Level Agreement. Service Level Targets are based on Service Level Requirements, and are needed to ensure that the IT Service design addresses DO business requirements.

Service Level Objective (SLO)

SLOs are a key elements of a SLA between the offeror and Treasury. SLOs are specific, measurable characteristics of the SLA such as availability, throughput, frequency, response time, or quality. They must be attainable, measurable, understandable, meaningful, controllable, affordable, and mutually acceptable.

Access to an IT Service. For example, to reset a password or to provide standard IT Services for a new User. Service Requests are usually handled by the Service Desk, and do not require a change request to be submitted.

Services, but are available to support IT Service Continuity Plans. For example, a Standby data center may be maintained to support Hot Standby, Warm Standby or Cold Standby arrangements.

· Prime Hours of Service: 6:00am to 7:00pm Monday through Friday (excluding holidays)

· Non-prime Hours of Service: 7:00pm to midnight Monday through Friday (excluding holidays)

· After Hours: Midnight to 6:00am Mondays –Fridays/Weekends/Holidays Service Desk response timeframes and other associated metrics are defined in the SLAs.

Supporting Service

A Service that enables or enhances a Core Service. In the IT IMS program, these are defined as:

· IT Security

· Disaster Recovery & Continuity of Operations

· Engineering & Testing Services

· Process & Project Management

example:

· A computer System including hardware, software and Applications.

· A management System, including multiple Processes that are planned and managed together. For example, a Quality Management System.

· A Database Management System or Operating System that includes many software modules that are designed to perform a set of related Functions.

System Availability

System availability means the system is operational when you have work to do. The system is not down due to problems or other unplanned interruptions. In measurement terms, system availability means that the system is available for use as a percentage of scheduled uptime.

System

The part of IT Service Management that focuses on the management of IT Infrastructure rather than Process

Vulnerability of flammable floor coverings. This term is commonly used in Information Security Management and IT Service Continuity Management, but also applies to other areas such as Problem and Availability Management.

Total Cost of Ownership

(TCO)

A methodology used to help make investment decisions. TCO assesses the full Lifecycle Cost of owning a Configuration Item, not just the initial Cost or purchase price.

Resolution is not yet available. For example, by restarting a failed Configuration Item. Workarounds for Problems are documented in the knowledge database.

Workarounds for Incidents that do not have associated Problem Records are documented in the Incident Record.