This new title presents readers with an approach to software development that builds on established processes and also achieves a goal of better alignment of IT services within the business needs.
The concept of IT service design is certainly not a new one, but in the past, organizations have had to focus first on improving the underlying operational processes which act as the foundation of the IT enterprise. Industry Best Practice guidance, such as ITIL® and ISO20000, describes most processes, although certain aspects could be given greater prominence:
security management
application management
software change management
IT asset management
a close mapping of project management and resource management
The lack of detail within these elements poses a problem when an organization decides to move to an IT service design model, because quality, stability and availability of an IT service are determined by all of the lifecycles that flow in and out of the service lifecycle.
For example, IT Assets have their own lifecycle, from the time of requisition through to retirement, and this overlaps at predetermined points of the overall service lifecycle: impacts from one, have a ‘domino effect’ on the others.
This book helps readers to understand how better to apply process discipline to their environment, in order to deliver a higher quality of service at a lower cost to their business.
CA (Computer Associates) is a well-known thought leader and service provider in this field. Both of the Authors are Vice Presidents at CA and well established experts, being respectively (Brian Johnson) the brains behind ITIL v1&2 and Service Management Process Maps, and (John Higgins) leading Business Service Optimization Practice, including Software Change Management. This book covers best practice as described in all three versions of ITIL, and treats ITIL in generic, rather than version-specific terms. Where a particular version is applicable, it is clearly specified in the text.
