A Maturity Model for Analyzing Strategic IT Management from a service perspective

This paper presents the construction of a maturity model for analyzing the strategic IT service management process ofinternal IT service provider’s in early growth stages. This model is presented as an alternative tool for improving theunderstanding, from an IT service management perspective, of: (i) the strategic IT processes/practices situation in an ITorganization, and (ii) facilitate the improvement task of such IT organization. The model construction is done using acombination of best practices of IT service management and IT governance together with characteristics specific to the objectunder analysis, e.g. internal IT service providers, municipal governments standards. The model uses a wider scope forstrategic ITSM, which facilitates its applicability in IT organizations in early growth stages, giving a practical value to themodel

Improvement of IT infrastructure management by using configuration management and maturity models: a systematic literature review and a critical analysis

Background and purpose: This research aims to investigate which benefits one may expect using Maturity Models in Configuration Management (CM) domain. CM is a support process that helps organizations have better management of their infrastructure. Its importance, in the Information Technology (IT) domain, has increased in recent years, despite this process not being technologically new, and the fact that many organizations implement this process in a haphazard way, which results in it not producing the benefits that it should produce. With the intention of assessing and improving the organizations' IT processes practices and capabilities, MMs have been developed and implemented. However, the application of MM in the CM domain is yet to be explored. Design/Methodology/Approach: Two Systematic Literature Reviews (SLRs) and a Critical Analysis were performed. In sum, 80 scientific articles of the most rated conferences and scientific journals were analyzed and conclusions were drawn. Results: This research concludes that despite the CM process being badly implemented, using a MM this process could decrease operational costs and increase the quality management of the infrastructure. Conclusion: However, no MM has been developed so far for the CM process practices. This MM would be a viable support tool for the IT organizations providers since this would help organizations have a mature CM process and better control of their IT infrastructure. Therefore, the existence of a MM for the CM domain would be a welcome advancement that should be developed in the future.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Maturity model for configuration management

The Configuration Management process is a support process that helps organizations have a better management of their infrastructure. This process is being implemented in a haphazard way, not producing the benefits that it should produce. In an environment where the success depends on the client’s wills, have allowed a significant advance in IT domain, granting a substantial evolution in IT services. However, with all the frameworks provided, many of the organizations have challenges to implement several processes and to design an improvement plan. Maturity Models can be seen as support tools for this kind of task. The main objective of maturity models is to evaluate and improve the organization’s practices by creating an improvement roadmap. Nevertheless, the importance of the conjunction of both concepts, Configuration Management and Maturity Models, has not been justified and developed. The practices overlap, recommended by the Information Technology frameworks, has been a problem for the organizations due to the fact of several enterprises require to have to implement diverse frameworks, bringing an increase of cost and unnecessary redundancy. In this research, with the need of the organizations evaluate their Configuration Management process, was developed an overlapless Maturity Model for the Configuration Management by combining several frameworks, with the support of the Systematic Literature Review method and the Design Science research methodology.O processo de Gestão de Configurações é um processo de suporte que ajuda as organizações a terem uma melhor gestão da sua infraestrutura. É um processo que está a ser implementado de forma aleatória, não produzindo os benefícios que deveria produzir. Num ambiente onde o sucesso depende das vontades dos clientes, permitiu um avanço significativo no domínio das TI, garantindo uma substantiva evolução nos serviços das TI. Contudo, com todas as frameworks fornecidas, muitas das organizações da área das TI têm dificuldades em implementar vários processos e em desenhar um plano de melhoramento. Os Modelos de Maturidade permitem o suporte para este tipo de tarefa. O objetivo principal desta ferramenta é avaliar e melhorar as práticas das organizações, criando um plano de melhoramento e avaliando o estado as-is do processo. Mesmo assim, a importância da conjunção entre estes dois conceitos, Gestão de Configurações e Modelos de Maturidade, nunca foi justificado nem desenvolvido. A sobreposição das práticas, recomendadas pelas frameworks das TI, tem vindo a ser um problema para as organizações. Esta sobreposição traz um acréscimo de despesa e redundância desnecessária, uma vez que as organizações necessitam de implementar diversas frameworks. Nesta investigação, com a necessidade de as organizações das TI avaliarem o seu processo de Gestão de Configurações, foi desenvolvido um Modelo de Maturidade sem sobreposição para Gestão de Configurações combinando diversas frameworks, com o suporte do método Revisão Sistemática da Literatura e da metodologia de investigação Design Science Research

Marco para la definición y adecuación de una "service management office" en el contexto de los servicios de tecnologías de la información

La gestión de servicios de tecnologías de información (ITSM por sus siglas en inglés) está vinculada a la implementación y gestión de servicios de TI que buscan satisfacer las necesidades de las empresas. Dicha gestión es llevada a cabo por proveedores de servicios de TI a través de una combinación adecuada de tecnología, personas, procesos e información. La necesidad de realizar esta gestión parte del hecho de que los servicios de TI se han convertido en un activo indispensable dentro de las organizaciones, pasando de ser una herramienta operativa a un componente estratégico. Así, la gestión de servicios de TI ha dado lugar al surgimiento de marcos y modelos orientados a llevar a cabo esta gestión de una manera más eficiente. Más allá de las ventajas y desventajas de la implementación que cada uno de éstos provee, el análisis de literatura efectuado lleva a concluir que, para lograr el éxito y eficacia, se requiere de un adecuado seguimiento y control que vaya más allá de la fase de implementación. Dado que una de las actividades clave para la permanencia y mejora en la gestión de servicios de TI es llevar a cabo actividades post-implementación, esta tesis doctoral está dirigida a proporcionar un marco de procesos basados en las mejores prácticas de gestión de servicios de TI, que permita definir y adecuar la implementación de una Service Management Office (SMO) en el contexto de los servicios de TI, para que las organizaciones que tengan implementados procesos de gestión de servicios de TI, dispongan de una guía que les apoye a garantizar el cumplimiento de sus estrategias de servicio. Para el desarrollo de esta tesis se ha seguido una metodología de investigación sólida e integral que ha incluido el análisis sistemático de literatura y la integración de metodología tanto cualitativa como cuantitativa, incluyendo la aplicación de una encuesta a empresas hispanoamericanas para obtener evidencia de la necesidad de una SMO. La propuesta del diseño de la SMO se ha abordado a través de un análisis efectuado a diversos marcos y modelos de gestión de servicios de TI, prestando especial atención a aspectos tales como: objetivo, prácticas, roles, estructura organizacional, artefactos (entregables), pasos para su implementación, evolución (niveles de capacidad), existencia de un service manager, y existencia de una SMO. La última fase del diseño de investigación se basa en una validación empírica del marco propuesto a través de su implementación en dos casos de estudio en empresas reconocidas internacionalmente. La evidencia obtenida de dicha validación indica que el marco para la definición y adecuación de una SMO contribuye, en las organizaciones que lo adopten a: definir, monitorear y auditar procesos en operación y transición, que permiten una mejora de ejecución de sus procesos basado en el cumplimiento de niveles de capacidad. Estos resultados también se evidenciaron en mejoras contundentes en las estrategias de servicios de TI, entre los que se encontraron la generación de nuevos flujos de trabajo, el establecimiento formal en la estructura organizacional de una SMO, la mejora en la satisfacción de sus clientes y mejoras en el cumplimiento de los niveles de servicio a sus usuarios. ______Information technology service management (ITSM) is linked to the implementation and management of quality IT services intended to meet company needs. Such management is carried out by IT service providers through an adequate combination of technology, people, processes and information. The need to carry out this management stems from the fact that IT services have become an essential asset within organizations, shifting from being an operating tool to a strategic component. So, IT service management has given rise to various frameworks and models aimed at carrying out this management more efficiently. Aside of the advantages and disadvantages provided by the implementation of these frameworks and models, the literature analysis conducted leads to the conclusion that, in order to attain success and effectiveness from any of these models, adequate follow-up and control is required beyond the implementation phase. Considering that one of the key activities to attain permanence and improvement of the efficiency of IT service management is carrying out post-implementation activities, this doctorate thesis is intended to provide IT service managers with a process framework that is based in the best practices in IT service management allowing them to define and adapt the implementation of a Service Management Office (SMO) within the context of IT services, so that organizations have IT service management processes in place, and guidance allowing them to guarantee compliance of their strategies through an analysis conducted on various IT service management frameworks and models, with an emphasis on aspects such as: objective, practices, roles, organizational structure, deliverables, steps for implementation, evolution (maturity levels), the existence of a service manager, and the existence of an SMO. In order to develop this thesis, a solid, integral research methodology was followed, including the systematic analysis of literature and the integration of a qualitative and quantitative methodology, as well as the application of a survey to a set of Latin American companies in order to obtain evidence of the definitive need for an SMO. The last stage of the research design is based in an empirical validation of the proposed framework through its implementation in two study cases in internationally renowned firms. The evidence obtained from such validation indicates that the framework for definition and adaptation of an SMO contributes, in the organizations that adopt it to: defining, monitoring and auditing operating and intransition processes, which allows for better monitoring of processes based on compliance of capacity levels and, consequently, a more efficient and organized execution. These results also became evident in dramatic improvements in workflows, in the formal establishment of an SMO in the organizational structure, and an improvement in customer satisfaction and compliance of service levels