White Paper Strategy & Planning

Transcription

1 Strategy & Planning Configuration Management Database in ServiceNow

2 Table of Contents Abstract... 3 The Problem... 3 The Solution Establish the Leadership Team Define the Scope Design the CMDB Develop the Control Process Communicate!... 7 ServiceNow 2

3 Strategy & Planning : Configuration Management Database in ServiceNow Audience: IT Leadership, Configuration Process Owner, and Key Stakeholders Knowing which components exist and how they are being used (or not), enables an organization to better manage its costs. Abstract This white paper and associated workshop are intended to inform organizational senior IT leadership of the value of the ServiceNow Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and the first steps to take towards implementation. Every instance of ServiceNow includes a CMDB and associated management capabilities, but many organizations struggle with how to get started. This white paper discusses the rationale behind investing in a CMDB and the essential first steps required for successful implementation. The Problem Every IT organization has information about its IT infrastructure. This information is accumulated over time and is frequently stored and maintained in a variety of decentralized repositories by the various groups that support specific technology domains. The biggest problem with this arrangement is that accurate information is not always readily accessible to those who need it. The solution to this problem is a centrally managed and controlled Configuration Management Database (CMDB) that is the system of record for all information about the IT infrastructure. When properly implemented and maintained, the CMDB becomes a critical analysis and decision-making support tool for: Troubleshooting & Impact Analysis: Having information in the CMDB is valuable when troubleshooting incidents, investigating the root cause of a problem, analyzing the impact of a change, or planning a project. Compliance and Regulations: Depending on the industry, documentation and evidence must be provided that shows devices and assets are being managed and controlled (e.g., Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, FERC, etc.). Cost Optimization: Knowing which components exist and how they are being used (or not), enables an organization to better manage its costs. For example, how many licenses are available for distribution based on the software, and how many have actually been deployed? How many are unused that can be harvested back and redeployed instead of buying new? ServiceNow 3

4 With proper planning and management oversight, every IT organization can establish a Configuration Management framework and CMDB that provides critical information to all of their service management processes. While the CMDB stores information about the IT infrastructure components and their relationships with one another, it is the Configuration Management process that manages and controls the CMDB to ensure its content is accurate and reliable. Configuration Management is often confused with Asset Management, the process that tracks the value and ownership of assets throughout their lifecycle. Configuration Management builds upon the data tracked by Asset Management by adding information about the operational relationships between the infrastructure components. In this regard, Asset Management can be viewed as a subset of Configuration Management. Most of the advanced functionality in ServiceNow ITSM applications relies on information from the CMDB. Unfortunately, many customers fail to implement a CMDB and Configuration Management process so this functionality can be used and, as a result, are unable to realize the full value of their ServiceNow investment. This failure is typically due to the complex and challenging nature of implementing a CMDB and a Configuration Management process. But, it doesn t have to be that way. With proper planning and management oversight, every IT organization can establish a Configuration Management framework and CMDB that provides critical information to all of their service management processes. The Solution The following are a number of critical success factors that each organization should address as it begins a Configuration Management implementation initiative. 1. Establish the Leadership Team Creating the Configuration Management leadership team is an essential first step in implementing the CMDB. This team will be responsible for determining what information will be in the CMDB, how it will be organized, populated, and maintained. Getting the right people assigned to the core process roles will ensure a greater likelihood of success. The Configuration Management leadership team should be comprised of the following roles: A Process Owner is typically a senior manager who possesses the ability and authority to ensure that the process is implemented and used by all departments within the organization. The Configuration Management Process Owner role is particularly important due to the foundational nature of the CMDB and the number of crossfunctional groups that will use it to support the other ITSM processes. The individual filling this role must have the credibility and skills to influence across the various IT organizational silos to ensure process adoption and compliance. The Process Owner provides guidance and support to the team and ensures that they have the resources to build the Configuration Management process and CMDB. He or she protects the team from internal politics and removes any organizational barriers that impede their progress. Once implemented, the Process Owner remains responsible for communicating and ensuring the consistent execution of the Configuration Management process across the organization, and initiating and sponsoring any initiative needed for improvement. The Configuration Manager is responsible for managing the day-to-day operational activities of the Configuration Management process and ensuring that the CMDB effectively supports the needs of other ITSM processes such as Incident, Change, and Release. Initially, the Configuration Manager is involved in the design of the CMDB data model (including relationships, naming conventions, etc.) and the development of the policies, process procedures, and controls required to ensure the integrity of the CMDB data. ServiceNow 4

5 Scoping decisions are often dictated by policies that address an organization s business drivers, contractual obligations, service commitments, governing laws, regulations, and standards. On an ongoing basis, the Configuration Manager provides guidance and training to the Configuration Coordinators and directs their activities in support of the maintenance and continued growth of the CMDB. In doing so, the Configuration Manager must possess both technical and people management skills, a good understanding of the overall IT infrastructure, the ability to motivate and guide the efforts of others, and the skill to balance the needs of the various technical domains and service management processes. In smaller organizations, the Configuration Manager and Process Owner may be the same person. Each Configuration Coordinator represents a specific technical domain in the IT organization (e.g., applications, database, server, network, storage, etc.). These individuals may already have responsibility for maintaining information about the components within their specific domain, possibly in spreadsheets or some other decentralized repository. As part of the Configuration Management team, they will be responsible for identifying which configuration item (CI) types and attributes are tracked in the CMDB, and assisting with the initial loading of this data into the CMDB. On an ongoing basis, the Configuration Coordinators record and maintain domainspecific CIs in the CMDB and assist the Configuration Manager with audits and reports to ensure process compliance and the accuracy of the CMDB. Because of these oversight responsibilities, Configuration Coordinators should be able to influence and convince their peers to support and comply with the Configuration Management process. Individuals who are viewed as thought-leaders and respected by their peers perform well in this role. 2. Define the Scope While ITIL clearly articulates the goal and objectives of the Configuration Management process, each IT organization must determine how far its scope will extend. Scoping decisions are often dictated by policies that address an organization s business drivers, contractual obligations, service commitments, governing laws, regulations, and standards. Scoping decisions that must be made include: What environments will Configuration Management control (e.g., production, development, test, etc.)? Which CIs in the CMDB need to be managed at the relationship level and which CIs require only Inventory- or Asset-level management? What IT services will be included? Are there geographic considerations to take into account? Are there regulatory or compliance requirements that must be met? Are there specific levels of control required for traceability and auditability? What security issues must be addressed? Are interfaces to internal and external service providers required? Many of the answers to these questions may be stated as policies that will govern the design and development of the Configuration Management system, if they do not already exist. ServiceNow 5

6 Due to the expansive nature of most IT operational environments, it is advisable to take a phased approach to building out and populating the CMDB. Another aspect of Configuration Management scope that must be determined is the degree of integration required to support the other service management processes (Incident, Problem, Change, Release, Knowledge, and Request Fulfillment). The level of maturity and automation possible within each of these processes is highly dependent upon the information that can be obtained from the CMDB. Of particular importance is the integration between Change Management and Configuration Management. These processes need to work together seamlessly to ensure that the CMDB accurately reflects changes that have been made to the IT operational environment(s). However, instituting proper controls in the Change Management process to ensure CMDB accuracy is frequently overlooked during many ITSM implementations. 3. Design the CMDB The CMDB is the foundation upon which all ITSM processes should operate. The ServiceNow CMDB data model is an extensible class/sub-class structure that can be designed according to each organization s needs. While a detailed explanation of how to design a CMDB is beyond the scope of this paper, the following outlines the basic steps that must be taken to accomplish this task: Design the CMDB data model Class/sub-class structure (typically aligned to technology domains: server, network, database, application, storage, etc.) Identify required content for each class/sub-class Attributes (including class-level inheritance) Relationships (required) Establish CI naming conventions/standards Determine data ownership Define data security requirements Identify data sources and determine mechanism(s) to import data into the CMDB (discovered, automated, and manual) Once the CMDB data model has been designed and validated, plans must be developed for the initial build and import of data prior to the production implementation of the CMDB. Due to the expansive nature of most IT operational environments, it is advisable to take a phased approach to building out and populating the CMDB. There will always be some technical domains (classes) that have more complete and better-managed CI information than others, and these will be the best place to start. Subsequent phases may address the consolidation of redundant data sources, the implementation of autodiscovery, and the building of relationships between CIs. 4. Develop the Control Process After the CMDB has been implemented, it must be controlled to ensure the ongoing integrity of its contents. The Configuration Management process ensures that no CI is added, modified, or removed from the CMDB without proper approval authorization. As mentioned earlier, this control function is closely linked with the Change Management process, which is responsible for ensuring that all approved changes to the infrastructure are reflected in the CMDB in a timely manner. ServiceNow 6

7 Forums, town hall meetings, individual team meetings and peer-to-peer conversations are all very effective means to communicate and plant the seeds of culture change throughout the organization. The following activities should be performed to ensure that appropriate controls are established within the Configuration Management process: Define the process and procedures for creating new CIs Establish integration with the Change Management process Define the process and procedures for Discovery reconciliation (if used) Define the process and procedures for CMDB verification and audit Identify Configuration Management and CMDB KPIs and establish measurement procedures and a reporting schedule Create a roadmap for continual CMDB expansion and Configuration Management process improvement 5. Communicate! A successful Configuration Management implementation requires culture change. Support teams must give up their domain-specific information repositories and maintain them in the centralized CMDB, process users must learn to depend on information in the CMDB to get the desired process outcome, and all reports must now be generated for the new system of record. In essence, people must change their behavior, and this is not an easy thing to do. There are numerous bodies of work dedicated to culture change, and John P. Kotter s book, Leading Change, is one of the most widely accepted roadmaps for implementing it. Kotter s roadmap to culture change is an eight-step process, where the fourth step is Communicate for Buy-in. Behavior change requires buy-in, and buy-in requires awareness, understanding, and acceptance that the change is a good thing and this begins with communication. Therefore, a comprehensive communication plan is critical to the success of the Configuration Management and CMDB implementation. A communication plan is a detailed map that describes messaging: the message target audience(s), the content of the message, the media used to deliver the message, and the timing of the message delivery. The primary objectives of the communication plan should be to: Create awareness of why a CMDB is needed. In Kotter s words, create a sense of urgency. Explain what the CMDB is and how it will be supported and used. Describe the value it will provide in terms that the various support teams will understand answer the question, What s in it for me? Inform the staff of the progress that is being made and provide advanced notice of key milestones. Communicate success stories. An effective communication plan also provides mechanisms for the implementation team to receive information and feedback from the impacted staff. There are a number of tools and techniques that can be used to accomplish this, but face-to-face communication is best. Forums, town hall meetings, individual team meetings and peer-to-peer conversations are all very effective means to communicate and plant the seeds of culture change throughout the organization. ServiceNow 7

8 The CMDB is a core component of the ServiceNow platform and the foundation upon which all ITSM disciplines and business processes operate. The CMDB is a core component of the ServiceNow platform and the foundation upon which all ITSM disciplines and business processes operate. It is the central hub for information sharing and collaboration, and it is an absolute necessity for every ITSM endeavor. There is no denying that implementing a CMDB and Configuration Management process is a complicated undertaking and involves more than what has been described here. But critical to the success of every Configuration Management initiative are 5 activities that should be addressed from the very start: 1. Establish the Configuration Management leadership team 2. Define the scope of the CMDB 3. Design the CMDB 4. Develop the process to control the CMDB 5. Continually communicate with all affected staff If done well, these critical success factors will set the course for a successful Configuration Management journey ServiceNow, Inc. All rights reserved. ServiceNow believes information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. This publication could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. The information is subject to change without notice. Changes are periodically added to the information herein; these changes will be incorporated in new additions of the publication. ServiceNow may make improvements and/or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this publication at any time. Reproduction of this publication without prior written permission is forbidden. The information in this publication is provided as is. ServiceNow makes no representations or warranties of any kind, with respect to the information in this publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. ServiceNow is a trademark of ServiceNow, Inc. All other brands, products, service names, trademarks or registered trademarks are used to identify the products or services of their respective owners. SN-WP-CMDBStrategyPlanning