ITIL & ITSM: Analysis and Recommendations for Celanese

This report analyzes the use of ITIL and ITSM frameworks in the case of Celanese, providing recommendations and justification for improvement. It also includes a reflective learning journal.

Celanese Report &
Reflective Learning
Journal
2019
5/14/2019

ITIL & ITSM
Table of Contents
Understanding & Analysis.....................................................................................................................3
ITIL as the Starting Point..................................................................................................................3
Recommendations & Justification.....................................................................................................3
Maturity ratings, self-assessment, discussion of ratings, and recommendations................................3
Benefits of Process Improvement at higher levels.............................................................................4
Limitations to ITIL Approach............................................................................................................5
Minimize Challenges/Obstacles/Risks...............................................................................................5
Reflective Learning Journal...................................................................................................................6
Key Learnings...................................................................................................................................6
Process Followed...............................................................................................................................7
Future Applications...........................................................................................................................7
Areas of Improvement.......................................................................................................................7
References.............................................................................................................................................9
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ITIL & ITSM
Executive Summary
ITIL and ITSM frameworks are being used by numerous business firms that utilize IT
services and components in their architecture. The report covers the analysis of Celanese case
study to point out the issues and considerations associated with the process. The report also
includes a reflective journal.
Keywords: ITIL, ITSM
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ITIL & ITSM
Introduction
The report reflects upon the use of ITIL by an organization named Celanese which has spent
considerable number of years in ERP implementation. It has now decided to implement it by
integrating them in IT using ITIL. The report ends with a reflection report about the learnings
made throughout the analysis
Understanding & Analysis
ITIL as the Starting Point
The viewpoint of the Global Operations Manager for ITIL is correct and it can be a good
starting point for the upcoming tools and services. This is because ITIL will provide the
required framework to streamline all the tools and components with each other. The
continuous improvement of the processes can be carried out from any stage defined under
ITIL (Gervalla, Preniqi & Kopacek, 2018). It is not necessary to begin from the fixed phase
defined under ITIL. In the case of Celanese, there are issues in the strategy and plans.
Therefore, the beginning shall be done from the Service Strategy phase.
Recommendations & Justification
THE HP assessment that was carried out brought several issues and risks associated with the
ITSM implementation at Celanese. There were three major areas that were identified that
needed improvement. These included communication, collaboration, and integration.
Documentation processes were also not up to the mark. It is recommended that the isolation
of the processes was resolved and looked in to. This is because the Central IT Management in
Celanese was only concerned with SAP and Microsoft processes. There were absence of
standards and compliance with the defined norms which led to the emergence of several
flaws. A defined communication management plan should have been defined and set up by
the management to make sure that the streamlining of the project communications was done.
There were also issues in the resource collaboration during the heavy build stage. The use of
the communication guidelines and methods would have provided resolution to most of these
issues and the expectations would have met. The collaboration and communication
mechanisms would have also led to the resolution of the underlying conflicts.
These recommendations are provided so that the resolution of the basic issues around
communication and collaboration along with integration are avoided.
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ITIL & ITSM
Maturity ratings, self-assessment, discussion of ratings, and recommendations
High-level maturity self-assessment was undertaken to determine the overall IT management
status. The self-assessment included a questionnaire that had multiple questions from the
areas as service operation as a practice, service operation principles, service operation
processes, common service operation activities, organizing service operation, service
operation technology consideration, and implementing service operation. The questions were
rated on a scale of 1 to 5 and the average score assigned to the questions for Celanese came
out to be 3.
This is because there were processes that had been defined but there were issues in
management and standardization of the processes. In the service strategy phase, there were to
main processes that were defined as Central IT and PC standardization. However, these
processes were only defined and their actual implementation and success results could not be
obtained. The same was observed for a number of access management, supply management,
and ERP processes and functions (Schultze, 2011). The main aim of all the processes and
functions that were defined for Celanese was to make sure that the implementation and
integration was done in an effective manner.
There were several gaps that were assessed in this stage as the issues around collaboration
and communication were commonly seen. The definition of the processes was present;
however, the resources were not aware of the next tasks in the series. Also, they did not have
knowledge on the implementation approach that they shall follow. The decision-making
activities for some of the processes were effectively defined. However, for numerous
processes, the shared decision-making approach was missing. The absence of centralized
infrastructure was also seen with various components loosely held (Suhairi & Gaol, 2013).
There are several recommendations for Celanese that can be worked upon to improve the
maturity levels and witness continuous improvement of the processes. There are four phases
included under ITIL as service strategy, design, transition, and operations. The assessment of
all of these phases and steps shall be done so that the documentation and standardization is
done in an effective manner. The improvement of the decision-making activities will also be
achieved and the resources will be aware of the tasks and activities that they shall perform.
The flexible and ad-hoc approaches will be brought in use along with the increased
collaboration among the resources. In this manner, the overall maturity levels will also
witness significant improvements from the current level (Kannamani, 2012).
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ITIL & ITSM
Benefits of Process Improvement at higher levels
 The communication and collaboration among the resources and the management at
the higher level will improve which will lead to overall business excellence.
 The management of the costs for each of the business operations will be streamlined
which will lead to enhanced cost-savings.
 The data sets will be stored and managed in a better way to ensure that the data
security and privacy does not drop under any circumstance.
 The legal and ethical compliance rates will improve and the adherence towards the
data protection acts, ethical & professional codes of conduct will be maintained.
 There may be numerous changes that may keep coming up at the team, project, and
organizational levels. The management and handling of these changes will become
easier.
 There will be integrations made with the third-party applications to make sure that the
overall execution is streamlined (Kim, 2011).
 The employees will have the ability to select from the best available option so that the
enhanced business results are achieved.
 There will be different categories of service-related and other risks that may emerge.
The handling and management of these risks will become easy and the simplification
of the risk handling procedures will also be achieved.
Limitations to ITIL Approach
There are a few limitations in terms of attaining the maturity levels that shall be analysed and
understood. The CIO shall be aware that ITIL is not an automated tool or a set-up that
requires installation and will start showing results after the installation is complete. Rather, it
is a framework that comes with specific guidelines that need to be understood and the ones
applicable to the organization shall be accepted. There will also be numerous changes that
will emerge and the CIO shall have a plan ready in advance to manage all the changes. The
same shall be the approach for managing the risks.
Minimize Challenges/Obstacles/Risks
The implementation and incorporation of ITIL framework in the organization will lead to the
emergence of numerous challenges and issues. It will be essential to manage these challenges
and risks. The involvement of numerous phases shall be present in order to manage the risks
and challenges. The identification of these challenges and risks shall be done in advance and
the data shall be collected from numerous sources internal and external to the organization.
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The analysis and assessment of these risks and issues shall be done to determine their priority
and severity levels. The risks and issues shall be treated and monitored accordingly.
There may also be various uncertainties and unexpected risks and issues that may occur. The
handling of such uncertainties and changes shall be done on an ad-hoc basis. The
management shall get involved and collaborate with the operations resources to understand
the nature of the issue and the resolution shall be accordingly carried out. It shall be ensured
that the management and leadership have the skill to manage the risks and changes. These
skills shall include a mix of leadership, communication, analytical, and technical skills and
abilities. This will provide the opportunity to streamline all of the services and operations and
handle the associated issues.
Reflective Learning Journal
Key Learnings
The project provided me with the opportunity and ability to learn numerous concepts and
gain varied skills for IT service management and overall project management.
There were a few gaps that were surveyed in the assessment and analysis procedures as the
issues around collaboration and communication were generally observed. The meaning of the
procedures was available; in any case, the assets didn't know about the approach to follow in
the arrangement. Likewise, they didn't have information on the execution approach that they
will pursue. The decision-production exercises for a portion of the procedures were
adequately characterized. Be that as it may, for various procedures, the common decision-
production approach was absent. The nonattendance of centralized framework was likewise
observed with different parts inexactly held. The execution and consolidation of ITIL
framework in the association will prompt the development of various difficulties and issues.
It provided me with the ability to analyse the possible risk areas and develop the approaches
to treat the same. It will be fundamental to deal with these difficulties and risks. The
contribution of various stages will be available so as to deal with the risks and difficulties.
The recognizable proof of these difficulties and risks was done with the progress of time and
the information was gathered from various sources inside and outer to the association. The
investigation and evaluation of these risks and issues was done to decide their need and
severity levels. The risks and issues were then dealt with and checked in like manner.
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ITIL & ITSM
There were likewise different vulnerabilities and surprising risks and issues that happened
during the project lifecycle. The treatment of such vulnerabilities and changes was done on a
specially appointed premise. The administration was included and worked together with the
activities to comprehend the idea of the issue and the goals were appropriately completed. It
was guaranteed that the administration and initiative have the ability to deal with the risks
and changes. These skills sets incorporated a blend of authority, communication, explanatory
and specialized abilities and capacities. This gave the chance to streamline the majority of the
administrations and activities and handle the related issues. (Cervone, 2008). I could acquire
that the amalgamation of varied skills and capabilities is extremely necessary to make sure
that the successful results are achieved.
Process Followed
The learnings from the project had to be recorded adequately so that there were no issues of
missed points in the final stages. Therefore, I made sure that I kept a record of the learnings
since the project start-up and I made a personal note of all the key learnings, issues, and
achievements that I acquired and performed. The information was also shared with the
respective leaders and management to discuss upon the project matters and acquire the expert
point of view. The formal learning record was then prepared during the closure phase of the
project.
Future Applications
I will be able to successfully apply the learnings that I gained in the project. ITIL and ITSM
are the essential frameworks that now required by almost all the organizations. I have gained
knowledge and experience with these frameworks to apply the same in the future projects. I
will be able to make sure that I prevent the management and leadership from giving shape to
the same set of errors and mistakes that were a part of Celanese case. In this way, the chances
of success will be higher and the streamlined implementation will be made possible.
There were numerous skills that I could improve upon during the timeline of the project. I got
an opportunity to work in the team environment and I acquired the importance of
collaboration and communication in the team. I could also improve these skills so that the
overall team performance could improve.
Areas of Improvement
The project also provided me with a chance to carry out numerous improvements in terms of
the knowledge and skills. There are certain areas that I have identified as my weak points and
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ITIL & ITSM
can be improved for better success rates. For example, one such area is my knowledge and
experience with the technical tools that are used in the field of project management. These
tools have become essential in the present times as the project management operations are
carried out using the same. The tools will provide me with the ability to enhance the overall
accuracy and results of the project management operations. I also need to work on my
analytical skills and abilities along with the experience on the automated tools developed for
the same.
These two areas are found as the primary areas of improvement that need to be worked on the
priority basis. I will attend trainings and professional development sessions so that these areas
are improved and I can enhance my skill set as well.
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ITIL & ITSM
References
Cervone, F. (2008). ITIL: a framework for managing digital library services. OCLC Systems
& Services: International Digital Library Perspectives, 24(2), 87-90. doi:
10.1108/10650750810875430
Gervalla, M., Preniqi, N., & Kopacek, P. (2018). IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework
approach to IT Governance. IFAC-Papersonline, 51(30), 181-185. doi:
10.1016/j.ifacol.2018.11.283
Kannamani, R. (2012). Drawbacks &Suggestions on Major Incident Process under ITIL
Service Management. IOSR Journal Of Business And Management, 2(2), 48-50. doi:
10.9790/487x-0224850
Kim, H. (2011). A Case Study on Realization of ITSM Performance Applying the Change
Management Framework of ITSM. Journal Of The Korea Society Of IT Services,
10(3), 251-264. doi: 10.9716/kits.2011.10.3.251
Schultze, U. (2011). Finding the process edge: ITIL at Celanese. Journal Of Information
Technology Teaching Cases, 1(1), 22-39. doi: 10.1057/jittc.2010.1
Suhairi, K., & Gaol, F. (2013). The Measurement of Optimization Performance of Managed
Service Division with ITIL Framework using Statistical Process Control. Journal Of
Networks, 8(3). doi: 10.4304/jnw.8.3.518-529
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Appendix
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ITIL & ITSM
(Y)es or (N)o
Level 1: Pre-requisites
1. Are at least some configuration management activities established within
the organisation, e.g. registering Configuration Items (CIs)? y 2
2. Have you identified some of the CI attributes, e.g. location, current status,
service component relationships? y 2
3. Is there existing configuration data held in hard copy, local spreadsheets
or databases? y 1
4. Is there a high level configuration management plan? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this lev el: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1
othe r answer 'Y' PASS 6
Level 1.5: Management Intent
5. Has the purpose and benefits of configuration management been
disseminated within the organisation? y 3
6. Has the scope of configuration management activity been established
within the organisation? y 1
7. Is there a suitable budget for configuration management tools and a
commitment to resource configuration management activities? y 1
8. Does the organisation have procedures covering the registration of CIs? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this lev el: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1
othe r answer 'Y' PASS 6
Level 2: Process Capability
9. Have responsibilities for various configuration management activities
been assigned? y 6
10. Have configuration item naming conventions been agreed? y 6
11. Are there procedures for identifying, controlling, updating, auditing and
analysing configuration item information? y 6
12. Is configuration data routinely used in performing impact assessments? y 1
13. Are CIs recognised in terms of service component relationships? y 1
14. Is configuration data used routinely when building or releasing new CIs? y 1
15. Are there procedures covering housekeeping, licence management,
archiving and retention periods for CIs? y 1
16. For planned releases, is the configuration baseline determined in
advance? y 1
17. Are the configuration management activities reviewed on a regular
basis? y 1
18. Are configuration audits performed on a regular basis? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this lev el: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 2
othe r answer 'Y' PASS 25
Level 2.5: Internal Integration
19. Have measure been taken to avoid duplication and anomalies with CI
records? y 4
20. Is configuration data used routinely for capacity planning purposes, e.g.
to ascertain the actual growth of CI's within the organisation? y 1
21. Is there interface control between configuration management and third
parties? y 1
22. Are there links and interfaces between configuration management and
other Service Management systems? y 1
23. Do service support and service delivery personnel regularly retrieve
configuration data to facilitate their activities? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this lev el: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1
othe r answer 'Y' PASS 8
Level 3: Products
24. Are standard reports concerning CI information produced regularly? y 3
25. Is there a configuration management database? y 1
26. Are there controlled environments available within which CI's are
manipulated? y 1
27. Are build and release schedules produced on the basis of the CI
records? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this lev el: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1
othe r answer 'Y' PASS 5
Level 3.5: Quality Control
28. Are the standards and other quality criteria applicable for the registration
of CIs made explicit and applied? y 2
29. Are the personnel responsible for configuration management activities
suitably trained? y 2
30. Does the organisation set and review either targets or objectives for
Configuration Management? y 1
31. Does the organisation use any tools to support the configuration
management process? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this lev el: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1
othe r answer 'Y' PASS 6
Level 4: Management Information
32. Do you provide management with information concerning configuration
items affected by major changes? y 3
33. Do you provide management with information concerning information on
the achievement of targets and objectives set for Configuration
Management?
y 3
34. Do you provide management with information concerning database and
record growth usage? y 1
35. Do you provide management with information concerning exceptional
problems regarding specific CIs / types of CI? y 1
36. Do you provide management with information concerning non-
conformance to standards? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this lev el: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1
othe r answer 'Y' PASS 9
Level 4.5: External Integration
37. Do you hold regular meetings with interested parties in which
Configuration Management matters are discussed? y 4
38. Do you receive notification from, or provide information to Change
management relating to every CI to be changed or introduced? y 4
39. Is information exchanged with Release Management in order to keep
the Definitive Software Library (DSL) consistent with the CMDB? y 4
40. Is configuration information made available to the Service Desk
regarding new CIs? y 1
41. Does Configuration Management exchange information with Problem
Management concerning details of CIs relating to problems, suppliers,
customers and changes?
y 1
42. Does Configuration Management exchange information with Financial
Management for IT Services regarding new cost and charging codes and
other attributes?
y 1
43. Is configuration information made available to IT Service Continuity
Management regarding CIs and backup details, and other security and
contingency matters?
y 1
44. Is configuration information made available to Capacity Management
concerning growth estimates based on the CMDB? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this lev el: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 2
othe r answer 'Y' PASS 17
Level 5: Customer Interface
45. Do you check with the customer that the activities performed by
Configuration Management adequately support their business needs? y 1
46. Do you check with the customer that they are happy with the services
provided? y 1
y 1
y 1
ITIL Service Support Self Assessment: Configuration Management
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ITIL & ITSM
(Y)es or (N)o
Level 1: Pre-requisites
M
1. Are at least some change management activities established in the organisation,
e.g. logging of change requests, change assessments, change planning, change
implementation reviews?
y 2
2. Are change management activities assigned to specific individuals or functional
areas? y 1
3. Is there a procedure for raising and issuing requests for change? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1 other
answer 'Y' PASS 4
Level 1.5: Management Intent
M 4. Has the purpose and benefits of change management been disseminated within
the organisation? y 2
5. Has the scope of change management activity been established within the
organisation? y 1
6. Does the organisation have standards or other quality criteria for the raising and
registering of changes? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1 other
answer 'Y' PASS 4
Level 2: Process Capability
M 7. Have responsibilities for various change management activities been assigned? y 4
M 8. Are the procedures for initiating change always adhered to? y 4
M 9. Is there a procedure for approving, verifying and scheduling changes? y 4
10. Are the business and technical impacts of changes always assessed? y 1
11. Is change progress monitored adequately by Change Management? y 1
12. Is the successful implementation of a change confirmed by Change
Management? y 1
13. Is there a procedure for the review of all changes? y 1
14. Are adequate change management reports produced? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 2 other
answer 'Y' PASS 17
Level 2.5: Internal Integration
M 15. Are all changes initiated through the agreed change management channels, for
example a Change Advisory Board? y 3
M 16. Are changes planned and prioritised, centrally or by common agreement? y 3
17. Are change records maintained to reflect the progress of changes? y 1
18. Are the reasons for change failure explicitly recorded and evaluated? y 1
19. Are successful changes reviewed against the original business needs? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1 other
answer 'Y' PASS 9
Level 3: Products
M 20. Are formal change records maintained? y 2
M 21. Is a change schedule of approved changes routinely issued? y 2
22. Are standard reports on changes produced on a regular basis? y 1
23. Are there established standards for documenting changes? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1 other
answer 'Y' PASS 6
Level 3.5: Quality Control
M 24. Are there standards and other quality criteria for the documentation of change
made explicit and applied? y 2
M 25. Are the personnel responsible for change management activities suitably
trained? y 2
26. Does the organisation set and review either targets or objectives for Change
Management? y 1
27. Does the organisation use any tools to support the change management
process? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1 other
answer 'Y' PASS 6
Level 4: Management Information
M 28. Does Change Management provide pertinent information concerning requests
for change received (e.g. a breakdown of reasons for changes)? y 5
M 29. Does Change Management provide pertinent information concerning the
change schedule? y 5
30. Does Change Management provide pertinent information concerning number
and % of changes? y 1
31. Does Change Management provide pertinent information concerning number of
successful and failed changes? y 1
32. Does Change Management provide pertinent information concerning business
impact of changes? y 1
33. Does Change Management provide pertinent information concerning change
slippage (including backlogs and bottlenecks)? y 1
34. Does Change Management provide pertinent information concerning number of
problem record initiated changes? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 2 other
answer 'Y' PASS 15
Level 4.5: External Integration
M 35. Do you hold regular meetings with interested parties in which Change
Management matters are discussed? y 10
M 36. Does CM exchange information with Configuration Management regarding
change progress and change closure? y 10
M 37. Does CM exchange information with Configuration Management regarding
change impact assessment on configuration items? y 10
M 38. Does CM exchange information with Problem Management regarding
changes required to resolve problems / known errors? y 10
M 39. Does CM exchange information with Problem Management regarding
progress reporting and for receiving problem escalation reports? y 10
M 40. Does CM exchange information with Problem Management regarding
obtaining problem information relating to change? y 10
41. Does CM exchange information with the Service Desk for notification of change
progress? y 1
42. Does CM exchange information with the Service Desk for notification of change
schedule? y 1
43. Does CM exchange information with the Service Desk for assessing impact of
change on Service Desk support levels? y 1
44. Does CM exchange information with the Service Desk for obtaining information
concerning incidents and calls relating to change? y 1
45. Does CM exchange information with Release Management concerning
change implementation? y 1
46. Does CM exchange information with Release Management concerning the
notification and scheduling of software and hardware releases? y 1
47. Does CM exchange information with Service Level Management regarding the
change schedule? y 1
48. Does CM exchange information with Service Level Management regarding
potential change impact on service level agreements? y 1
49. Does CM exchange information with IT Service Continuity Management for
notification of change schedule? y 1
50. Does CM exchange information with IT Service Continuity Management for
assessing impact of change on contigency plans? y 1
51. Does CM exchange information with Capacity Management regarding
performance and capacity issues relating to change? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 2 other
answer 'Y' PASS 71
Level 5: Customer Interface
M 52. Do you check with the customer if the activities performed by Change
Management adequately support their business needs? y 1
M 53. Do you check with the customer that they are happy with the services provided? y 1
M 54. Are you actively monitoring trends in customer satisfaction? y 1
M y 1
M y 1
ITIL Service Support Self Assessment: Change Management
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ITIL & ITSM
(Y)es or (N)o
Level 1: Pre-requisites
M 1. Are at least some release management activities established within the
organisation, e.g. procedures for the release and distribution of software? y 3
2. Is there a release policy which has been agreed with customers? y 1
3. Has change management been established within the organisation? y 1
4. Is there an up-to-date inventory of software and hardware configuration items
(CIs)? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1 other
answer 'Y' PASS 6
Level 1.5: Management Intent
M 5. Has the purpose and benefits of release management been disseminated within
the organisation? y 2
6. Has the scope of release management activity been established within the
organisation? y 1
7. Have sufficient resources and time been made available for building, testing and
implementing releases? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1 other
answer 'Y' PASS 4
Level 2: Process Capability
M 8. Have roles and responsibilities for various release management activities been
assigned between operational groups and development teams? y 4
M 9. Are there operational procedures for defining, designing, building and rolling out a
release to the organisation? y 4
M 10. Are there formal procedures for purchasing, installing, moving and controlling
software and hardware associated with a particular release? y 4
M 11. Are there formal procedures available for release acceptance testing ? y 4
M 12. Are explicit guidelines available on how to manage release configurations and
changes to them? y 4
13. Are Releases subject to Change Management? y 1
14. Are there operational procedures for software release and distribution? y 1
15. Are there procedures available to ensure that distributed software has arrived as
expected at remote locations? y 1
16. Is the CMDB updated to reflect the contents of new or changed releases? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1 other
answer 'Y' PASS 24
Level 2.5: Internal Integration
M 17. Are all CI's within a release traceable, secure and do procedures ensure that
only correct , authorised and tested versions are installed? y 3
M 18. Are CI records for a release kept in alignment with physical CI movements for the
release? y 3
19. Is license information recorded against software CI records and is this checked
during the software distribution process (if appropriate)? y 1
20. Is the exact content and roll-out of releases agreed with Change Management? y 1
21. Are master copies of all software in a release secured in the Definitive Software
Library (DSL) and the configuration management database updated? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1 other
answer 'Y' PASS 9
Level 3: Products
M 22. Are there release naming and numbering conventions? y 3
M 23. Are plans produced for each Release? y 3
M 24. Are back-out plans produced for each Release? y 3
M 25. Are test plans, acceptance criteria and test results produced for each Release? y 3
M 26. Is there a library containing master copies of all controlled software within the
organisation? y 3
27. Is operating and support documentation produced for each Release? y 1
28. Is authorisation to implement each Release obtained from Change
Management? y 1
29. Is the CMDB updated to reflect new live components within a Release? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1 other
answer 'Y' PASS 18
Level 3.5: Quality Control
M 30. Are the standards and other quality criteria for release management made
explicit and applied? y 2
M 31. Are the personnel responsible for release management activities suitably
trained? y 2
32. Does the organisation set and review either targets or objectives for release
management? y 1
33. Are there suitable tools in use to support the release management process? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1 other
answer 'Y' PASS 6
Level 4: Management Information
M 34. Does Release Management collate information concerning the number of major
and minor releases within a given period? y 4
M 35. Does Release Management collate information concerning the number of new,
changed and deleted objects introduced by each release? y 4
M 36. Does Release Management collate information concerning the number of
problems in the live environment attributable to new releases? y 4
37. Does Release Management collate information concerning the number of
releases completed within agreed time-scales? y 1
38. Does Release Management collate information concerning software licenses? y 1
39. Does Release Management collate information concerning specific details on
any license breaches? y 1
40. Does Release Management collate information concerning identification and
removal of redundant releases? y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1 other
answer 'Y' PASS 16
Level 4.5: External Integration
M 41. Do you hold regular meetings with interested parties in which Release
Management matters are discussed? y 4
M
42. Does Release Management exchange information with Configuration
Management relating actual software and hardware components and inter-
relationships, identifying any changes / additions.
y 4
M 43. Does Release Management exchange information with Change Management
concerning change records for any new / changed CIs? y 4
44. Does Release Management exchange information with Capacity Management
for verification and possible amendment of space requirements on software library
datasets / files.
y 1
45. Does Release Management exchange information with Problem Management
for any known errors recorded against CIs? y 1
46. Does Release Management exchange information with Availability
Management to discuss any required outage to facilitate CI distribution? y 1
47. Does Release Management exchange information with the Service Desk
regarding potential inclusion of advice via user bulletins etc? y 1
48. Does Release Management exchange information with Cost Management for
any associated costing / charging implications, e.g. from revised license
distribution?
y 1
Minimum score to achieve this level: 'Y' for all mandatory ('M') questions + 1 other
answer 'Y' PASS 17
Level 5: Customer Interface
M 41. Do you check with the customer if the activities performed by Release
Management adequately support the business needs? y 1
M 42. Do you check with the customer that they are happy with the services provided? y 1
M 43. Are you actively monitoring trends in customer satisfaction? y 1
M 44. Are you feeding customer survey information into the service improvement
agenda? y 1
M y 1
ITIL Service Support Self Assessment: Release Management
13

ITIL & ITSM
14