IT Service Management/Service Transition

Service transition ensures that new, modified or retired services meet the expectations of the business as documented in the service strategy and service design stages of the lifecycle. Service transition includes the processes of transition planning and support, change management, service asset and configuration management, release and deployment management, service validation and testing, change evaluation, and knowledge management.

Objectives and Skills

Objectives and skills for the Service Transition portion of ITIL Foundation certification include:

• Account for the purpose, objectives and scope of service transition
• Briefly explain what value service transition provides to the business
• Explain the purpose, objectives, scope, basic concepts, process activities and interfaces for:
  • Change management
    • Types of change request
    • Change models
    • Remediation planning
    • Change advisory board / emergency change advisory board
    • Lifecycle of a normal change
• State the purpose, objectives and scope for:
  • Release and deployment management
    • Four phases of release and deployment
  • Knowledge management
    • Data-to-Information-to-Knowledge-to-Wisdom (DIKW) & SKMS
  • Service asset and configuration management (SACM)
  • Transition planning and support
• Define and explain:
  • Change
  • Change proposals
  • Change types (standard, emergency and normal)
  • Configuration item (CI)
  • Configuration management system
  • Definitive media library (DML)
  • Release policy
  • Service knowledge management system (SKMS)

Readings

1. Wikipedia: ITIL#Service transition
2. Wikipedia: Change management (ITSM)
3. Wikipedia: Software asset management
4. Wikipedia: Configuration Management (ITSM)
5. Wikipedia: Configuration management database
6. Wikipedia: Release management
7. Wikipedia: Verification and validation
8. Wikipedia: Knowledge management
9. Archive.org: ITIL.org: Service Transition
10. UCISA: ITIL Introducing Service Transition

Multimedia

1. YouTube: Introduction to ITIL Service Transition

Activities

1. Describe the purpose, objectives and scope of service transition and explain what value service transition provides to the business.
2. Explain the purpose, objectives, scope, basic concepts, process activities and interfaces for change management, including examples for each:
   • Change management
   • Types of change request
   • Change models
   • Remediation planning
   • Change advisory board / emergency change advisory board
   • Lifecycle of a normal change
3. State the purpose, objectives and scope for one or more of the following, with examples:
   • Release and deployment management, including the four phases of release and deployment
   • Knowledge management, including Data-to-Information-to-Knowledge-to-Wisdom (DIKW) & SKMS
   • Service asset and configuration management (SACM)
   • Transition planning and support
4. Case Project - Continue the hypothetical organization and service desk design your team documented in the previous lesson. Add the following information to the Service Transition section.
   • Based on the new or changed services proposal identified in the previous lesson, determine and outline a transition plan.
   • Describe how the changes will be managed, including the change process, remediation planning, and the change advisory board,
   • Describe any technology or tools that will be used to manage deployment of the changes.
   • Describe how knowledge and wisdom will be collected and shared within the service desk organization.
5. Use the Discuss page to post comments and questions regarding this lesson.
6. Review the lesson summary, key terms, review questions and assessments below.

Lesson Summary

• Service transition ensures that new, modified or retired services meet the expectations of the business as documented in the service strategy and service design stages of the lifecycle. Service transition includes the following processes: transition planning and support, change management, service asset and configuration management, release and deployment management, service validation and testing, change evaluation, and knowledge management.
• Change management is the process responsible for controlling the lifecycle of all changes, enabling beneficial changes to be made with minimum disruption to IT services.
• Change request types include standard, emergency, and normal. Standard changes are preapproved, clearly defined and understood, with low or well-known risk. Emergency changes may be assessed and authorized by an emergency change advisory board, with limited testing, and documented after the change is completed. Normal changes follow the typical lifecycle with a request for change (RFC), assessment, evaluation, authorization, planning and testing, implementation, and review.
• Change models are repeatable ways of dealing with a particular category of change. These include specific agreed steps that will be followed for a change of this category. Change models may be very complex with many steps that require authorization or may be very simple with no requirement for authorization.
• Remediation planning is the plan of actions to be taken to recover after a failed change or release. Remediation may include back-out, invocation of service continuity plans, or other actions designed to enable the business process to continue.
• The change advisory board / emergency change advisory board is a group of people that support the assessment, prioritization, authorization and scheduling of changes. A change advisory board is usually made up of representatives from: all areas within the IT service provider; the business; and third parties such as suppliers.
• Release and deployment management is the process responsible for planning, scheduling and controlling the build, test and deployment of releases, and for delivering new functionality required by the business while protecting the integrity of existing services.
• The four phases of release and deployment are plan, build and test, deploy, and review and close.
• Knowledge management is the process responsible for sharing perspectives, ideas, experience and information, and for ensuring that these are available in the right place and at the right time. The knowledge management process enables informed decisions, and improves efficiency by reducing the need to rediscover knowledge.
• Data-to-Information-to-Knowledge-to-Wisdom (DIKW) is a way of understanding the relationships between data, information, knowledge and wisdom. DIKW shows how each of these builds on the others.
• A service knowledge management system (SKMS) is a set of tools and databases that is used to manage knowledge, information and data. The service knowledge management system includes the configuration management system, as well as other databases and information systems. The service knowledge management system includes tools for collecting, storing, managing, updating, analyzing and presenting all the knowledge, information and data that an IT service provider will need to manage the full lifecycle of IT services.
• Service asset and configuration management (SACM) is the process responsible for ensuring that the assets required to deliver services are properly controlled, and that accurate and reliable information about those assets is available when and where it is needed. This information includes details of how the assets have been configured and the relationships between assets.
• Transition planning and support is the process responsible for planning all service transition processes and coordinating the resources that they require.
• A change is the addition, modification or removal of anything that could have an effect on IT services. The scope should include changes to all architectures, processes, tools, metrics and documentation, as well as changes to IT services and other configuration items.
• Change proposals are documents that include a high level description of a potential service introduction or significant change, along with a corresponding business case and an expected implementation schedule. Change proposals are normally created by the service portfolio management process and are passed to change management for authorization. Change management will review the potential impact on other services, on shared resources, and on the overall change schedule. Once the change proposal has been authorized, service portfolio management will charter the service.
• Configuration items (CI) are any component or other service asset that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service. Information about each configuration item is recorded in a configuration record within the configuration management system and is maintained throughout its lifecycle by service asset and configuration management. Configuration items are under the control of change management. They typically include IT services, hardware, software, buildings, people and formal documentation such as process documentation and service level agreements.
• A configuration management system is a set of tools, data and information that is used to support service asset and configuration management. The CMS is part of an overall service knowledge management system and includes tools for collecting, storing, managing, updating, analyzing and presenting data about all configuration items and their relationships. The CMS may also include information about incidents, problems, known errors, changes and releases. The CMS is maintained by service asset and configuration management and is used by all IT service management processes.
• A definitive media library (DML) is one or more locations in which the definitive and authorized versions of all software configuration items are securely stored. The definitive media library may also contain associated configuration items such as licences and documentation. It is a single logical storage area even if there are multiple locations. The definitive media library is controlled by service asset and configuration management and is recorded in the configuration management system.
• A release policy defines how releases will be defined and processed and how release activities will be managed.

Key Terms

Key Terms definitions are copyright © AXELOS Limited 2011. All rights reserved. Material is reproduced with the permission of AXELOS.

asset management

A generic activity or process responsible for tracking and reporting the value and ownership of assets throughout their lifecycle.

asset register

A list of fixed assets that includes their ownership and value.

attribute

A piece of information about a configuration item.

back-out

An activity that restores a service or other configuration item to a previous baseline.

baseline

A snapshot that is used as a reference point.

benchmark

A baseline that is used to compare related data sets as part of a benchmarking exercise.

build

The activity of assembling a number of configuration items to create part of an IT service.

build environment

A controlled environment where applications, IT services and other builds are assembled prior to being moved into a test or live environment.

change

The addition, modification or removal of anything that could have an effect on IT services.

change advisory board (CAB)

A group of people that support the assessment, prioritization, authorization and scheduling of changes.

change evaluation

The process responsible for formal assessment of a new or changed IT service to ensure that risks have been managed and to help determine whether to authorize the change.

change history

Information about all changes made to a configuration item during its life.

change management

The process responsible for controlling the lifecycle of all changes, enabling beneficial changes to be made with minimum disruption to IT services.

change model

A repeatable way of dealing with a particular category of change.

change proposal

A document that includes a high level description of a potential service introduction or significant change, along with a corresponding business case and an expected implementation schedule.

change record

A record containing the details of a change.

change schedule

A document that lists all authorized changes and their planned implementation dates, as well as the estimated dates of longer-term changes.

change window

A regular, agreed time when changes or releases may be implemented with minimal impact on services.

CI type

A category that is used to classify configuration items.

component CI

A configuration item that is part of an assembly.

configuration

A generic term used to describe a group of configuration items that work together to deliver an IT service, or a recognizable part of an IT service.

configuration baseline

The baseline of a configuration that has been formally agreed and is managed through the change management process.

configuration control

The activity responsible for ensuring that adding, modifying or removing a configuration item is properly managed.

configuration identification

The activity responsible for collecting information about configuration items and their relationships, and loading this information into the configuration management database.

configuration item (CI)

Any component or other service asset that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service.

configuration management database (CMDB)

A database used to store configuration records throughout their lifecycle.

configuration management system (CMS)

A set of tools, data and information that is used to support service asset and configuration management.

configuration record

A record containing the details of a configuration item.

configuration structure

The hierarchy and other relationships between all the configuration items that comprise a configuration.

Data-to-Information-to-Knowledge-to-Wisdom (DIKW)

A way of understanding the relationships between data, information, knowledge and wisdom.

definitive media library (DML)

One or more locations in which the definitive and authorized versions of all software configuration items are securely stored.

deployment

The activity responsible for movement of new or changed hardware, software, documentation, process etc. to the live environment.

early life support (ELS)

A stage in the service lifecycle that occurs at the end of deployment and before the service is fully accepted into operation.

emergency change

A change that must be introduced as soon as possible.

emergency change advisory board (ECAB)

A subgroup of the change advisory board that makes decisions about emergency changes.

environment

A subset of the IT infrastructure that is used for a particular purpose.

fixed asset

A tangible business asset that has a long-term useful life.

fixed asset management

The process responsible for tracking and reporting the value and ownership of fixed assets throughout their lifecycle.

impact

A measure of the effect of an incident, problem or change on business processes.

knowledge base

A logical database containing data and information used by the service knowledge management system.

knowledge management

The process responsible for sharing perspectives, ideas, experience and information, and for ensuring that these are available in the right place and at the right time.

live

Refers to an IT service or other configuration item that is being used to deliver service to a customer.

live environment

A controlled environment containing live configuration items used to deliver IT services to customers.

normal change

A change that is not an emergency change or a standard change.

pilot

A limited deployment of an IT service, a release or a process to the live environment.

priority

A category used to identify the relative importance of an incident, problem or change.

projected service outage (PSO)

A document that identifies the effect of planned changes, maintenance activities and test plans on agreed service levels.

qualification

An activity that ensures that the IT infrastructure is appropriate and correctly configured to support an application or IT service.

quality assurance (QA)

The process responsible for ensuring that the quality of a service, process or other service asset will provide its intended value.

release

One or more changes to an IT service that are built, tested and deployed together.

release and deployment management

The process responsible for planning, scheduling and controlling the build, test and deployment of releases, and for delivering new functionality required by the business while protecting the integrity of existing services.

release identification

A naming convention used to uniquely identify a release.

release package

A set of configuration items that will be built, tested and deployed together as a single release.

release record

A record that defines the content of a release.

release unit

Components of an IT service that are normally released together.

remediation

Actions taken to recover after a failed change or release.

request for change (RFC)

A formal proposal for a change to be made.

retire

Permanent removal of an IT service, or other configuration item, from the live environment.

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 IT service when it has been deployed.

service asset and configuration management (SACM)

The process responsible for ensuring that the assets required to deliver services are properly controlled, and that accurate and reliable information about those assets is available when and where it is needed.

service knowledge management system (SKMS)

A set of tools and databases that is used to manage knowledge, information and data.

service transition

A stage in the lifecycle of a service which ensures that new, modified or retired services meet the expectations of the business as documented in the service strategy and service design stages of the lifecycle.

service validation and testing

The process responsible for validation and testing of a new or changed IT service.

snapshot

The current state of a configuration item, process or any other set of data recorded at a specific point in time.

software asset management (SAM)

The process responsible for tracking and reporting the use and ownership of software assets throughout their lifecycle.

standard change

A pre-authorized change that is low risk, relatively common and follows a procedure or work instruction.

status accounting

The activity responsible for recording and reporting the lifecycle of each configuration item.

test

An activity that verifies that a configuration item, IT service, process etc. meets its specification or agreed requirements.

test environment

A controlled environment used to test configuration items, releases, IT services, processes etc.

transition

A change in state, corresponding to a movement of an IT service or other configuration item from one lifecycle status to the next.

transition planning and support

The process responsible for planning all service transition processes and coordinating the resources that they require.

urgency

A measure of how long it will be until an incident, problem or change has a significant impact on the business.

validation

An activity that ensures a new or changed IT service, process, plan or other deliverable meets the needs of the business.

verification

An activity that ensures that a new or changed IT service, process, plan or other deliverable is complete, accurate, reliable and matches its design specification.

verification and audit

The activities responsible for ensuring that information in the configuration management system is accurate and that all configuration items have been identified and recorded.

version

A version is used to identify a specific baseline of a configuration item.

Review Questions

Click on a question to see the answer.

1. Service transition ensures _____. Service transition includes the following processes: _____, _____, _____, _____, _____, _____, and _____.

   Service transition ensures that new, modified or retired services meet the expectations of the business as documented in the service strategy and service design stages of the lifecycle. Service transition includes the following processes: transition planning and support, change management, service asset and configuration management, release and deployment management, service validation and testing, change evaluation, and knowledge management.
2. Change management is the process responsible for _____.

   Change management is the process responsible for controlling the lifecycle of all changes, enabling beneficial changes to be made with minimum disruption to IT services.
3. Change request types include _____, _____, and _____. _____ changes are preapproved, clearly defined and understood, with low or well-known risk. _____ changes may be assessed and authorized by an emergency change advisory board, with limited testing, and documented after the change is completed. _____ changes follow the typical lifecycle with a request for change (RFC), assessment, evaluation, authorization, planning and testing, implementation, and review.

   Change request types include standard, emergency, and normal. Standard changes are preapproved, clearly defined and understood, with low or well-known risk. Emergency changes may be assessed and authorized by an emergency change advisory board, with limited testing, and documented after the change is completed. Normal changes follow the typical lifecycle with a request for change (RFC), assessment, evaluation, authorization, planning and testing, implementation, and review.
4. Change models are _____. These include specific agreed steps that will be followed for a change of this category. Change models may be very complex with many steps that require authorization or may be very simple with no requirement for authorization.

   Change models are repeatable ways of dealing with a particular category of change. These include specific agreed steps that will be followed for a change of this category. Change models may be very complex with many steps that require authorization or may be very simple with no requirement for authorization.
5. Remediation planning is the plan of _____. Remediation may include _____.

   Remediation planning is the plan of actions to be taken to recover after a failed change or release. Remediation may include back-out, invocation of service continuity plans, or other actions designed to enable the business process to continue.
6. The change advisory board / emergency change advisory board is a group of people that support _____. A change advisory board is usually made up of representatives from: _____.

   The change advisory board / emergency change advisory board is a group of people that support the assessment, prioritization, authorization and scheduling of changes. A change advisory board is usually made up of representatives from: all areas within the IT service provider; the business; and third parties such as suppliers.
7. Release and deployment management is the process responsible for _____.

   Release and deployment management is the process responsible for planning, scheduling and controlling the build, test and deployment of releases, and for delivering new functionality required by the business while protecting the integrity of existing services.
8. The four phases of release and deployment are _____, _____, _____, and _____.

   The four phases of release and deployment are plan, build and test, deploy, and review and close.
9. Knowledge management is the process responsible for _____. The knowledge management process enables _____, and improves efficiency by _____.

   Knowledge management is the process responsible for sharing perspectives, ideas, experience and information, and for ensuring that these are available in the right place and at the right time. The knowledge management process enables informed decisions, and improves efficiency by reducing the need to rediscover knowledge.
10. _____-to-_____-to-_____-to-_____ (DIKW) is a way of understanding the relationships between _____, _____, _____ and _____. DIKW shows how each of these builds on the others.

    Data-to-Information-to-Knowledge-to-Wisdom (DIKW) is a way of understanding the relationships between data, information, knowledge and wisdom. DIKW shows how each of these builds on the others.
11. A service knowledge management system (SKMS) is _____. The service knowledge management system includes _____. The service knowledge management system includes tools for _____.

    A service knowledge management system (SKMS) is a set of tools and databases that is used to manage knowledge, information and data. The service knowledge management system includes the configuration management system, as well as other databases and information systems. The service knowledge management system includes tools for collecting, storing, managing, updating, analyzing and presenting all the knowledge, information and data that an IT service provider will need to manage the full lifecycle of IT services.
12. Service asset and configuration management (SACM) is the process responsible for _____. This information includes _____.

    Service asset and configuration management (SACM) is the process responsible for ensuring that the assets required to deliver services are properly controlled, and that accurate and reliable information about those assets is available when and where it is needed. This information includes details of how the assets have been configured and the relationships between assets.
13. Transition planning and support is the process responsible for _____.

    Transition planning and support is the process responsible for planning all service transition processes and coordinating the resources that they require.
14. A change is the _____, _____or _____of anything that could have an effect on IT services. The scope should include changes to _____.

    A change is the addition, modification or removal of anything that could have an effect on IT services. The scope should include changes to all architectures, processes, tools, metrics and documentation, as well as changes to IT services and other configuration items.
15. Change proposals are documents that include _____, along with _____. Change proposals are normally created by _____ and are passed to change management for authorization. Change management will review _____. Once the change proposal has been authorized, _____ will charter the service.

    Change proposals are documents that include a high level description of a potential service introduction or significant change, along with a corresponding business case and an expected implementation schedule. Change proposals are normally created by the service portfolio management process and are passed to change management for authorization. Change management will review the potential impact on other services, on shared resources, and on the overall change schedule. Once the change proposal has been authorized, service portfolio management will charter the service.
16. Configuration items (CI) are _____. Information about each configuration item is recorded in a configuration record within the configuration management system and is maintained throughout its lifecycle by _____. Configuration items are under the control of _____. They typically include _____.

    Configuration items (CI) are any component or other service asset that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service. Information about each configuration item is recorded in a configuration record within the configuration management system and is maintained throughout its lifecycle by service asset and configuration management. Configuration items are under the control of change management. They typically include IT services, hardware, software, buildings, people and formal documentation such as process documentation and service level agreements.
17. A configuration management system is _____. The CMS is part of an overall service knowledge management system and includes tools for _____. The CMS may also include information about _____. The CMS is maintained by _____ and is used by all IT service management processes.

    A configuration management system is a set of tools, data and information that is used to support service asset and configuration management. The CMS is part of an overall service knowledge management system and includes tools for collecting, storing, managing, updating, analyzing and presenting data about all configuration items and their relationships. The CMS may also include information about incidents, problems, known errors, changes and releases. The CMS is maintained by service asset and configuration management and is used by all IT service management processes.
18. A definitive media library (DML) is _____. The definitive media library may also contain _____. It is a single logical storage area even if there are multiple locations. The definitive media library is controlled by _____ and is recorded in the _____.

    A definitive media library (DML) is one or more locations in which the definitive and authorized versions of all software configuration items are securely stored. The definitive media library may also contain associated configuration items such as licences and documentation. It is a single logical storage area even if there are multiple locations. The definitive media library is controlled by service asset and configuration management and is recorded in the configuration management system.
19. A release policy defines _____.

    A release policy defines how releases will be defined and processed and how release activities will be managed.

Assessments

• Flashcards: Quizlet: IT Service Management - Service Transition
• Quiz: Quizlet: IT Service Management - Service Transition

See Also

• BMC: ITIL Service Transition
• IT Process Maps: ITIL Service Transition

References

Type classification: this is a lesson resource.

Completion status: this resource is considered to be complete.

ITIL Translated Glossaries content is copyright © AXELOS Limited 2011. All rights reserved. Material is reproduced with the permission of AXELOS.

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