SERVICE MANAGEMENT – AN OPERATIONAL CHECKLIST
ACTIVITY / WHAT IT IS BASICALLY ABOUT / WHO DOES IT IN YOUR ORGANIZATION? / WHAT DO THEY CALL IT?IT Operation
Console management/operations bridge / Sometimes referred to as the Network Operations Center (NOC)
Job scheduling / All sorts of “jobs” have to be processes; things like reports, queries, lists, printouts, etc.
Backup / Making sure data is backed-up on a regular basis, whether it is active or passive
Restore / Helping people recuperate “lost” data
Print and output / Print: physically on paper or in electronic format
Output: includes reports, newsletters, invoices, publications, intermediate form, anything that people can “send” to someone else"
Mainframe Management,
Server Management & Support / Whether you have a mainframe, servers, or other such technology, the activities around them are fundamentally the same.
Server Management and Support
Operating system support / Supporting the operating systems that you have
License Management / Making sure you have enough and that you have not bought too many either. It is also about ensuring that people do have the right to use this product or that it is accepted as part of your corporate policy
Play close attention to demo, shareware, freeware and people’s own products from home
Second-level support / I threw this one in. someone has to support this
Third-level support / Supporting the mainframe and the servers
Procurement advice / Researching products and making recommendations. Don’t buy it and install it without having approval to do so first. Can you say change management?
System security / Security – enough said
Definition and management of virtual servers / Includes virtualization and cloud computing
Capacity and performance / Do you have enough and does it perform well?
When are the busy and quiet periods?
When are the “freeze” periods?
Ongoing maintenance / What happens to you car if you don’t do regular maintenance on it?
Decommissioning and disposal of old equipment / Make sure the hard drives are melted or shredded to powder first
Network Management / Routers, switches, cabling, etc
Storage and Archive / Onsite and offsite storage
What do you need to archive and for how long?
Database Administration / You do have DBAs somewhere
Directory Services Management / Who can access what based on their job needs (user profile)
Desktop Support / Someone will drop their coffee in their keyboard…
Middleware Management / Or whatever you call it
Internet/Web Management / Intranet, extranet, website
What people can go visit or not
Preventing others from hijacking your site
Facilities and Data Centre Management / Includes all offices as well as contingency locations
Building management / Raised floors, suspended ceiling, air conditioning, heating, water supply, doors, windows, carpets, paint, washrooms, eating area, garbage collection and disposal, recycling, etc
Equipment hosting / Also known as “The computer room”
Power management / Electricity, solar panels, gas, diesel generator, uninterrupted power supplies
Environmental conditioning and alert systems / Humidity levels, too hot, too cold, smoke, CO and CO2 detectors, alarms, power cut-off, automated doors, etc.
Safety / Workplace safety
Fire drills
Chairs, desks, reduced mobility personnel
Physical access control / Locks, card readers, cleaning personnel, visitors, contractors (includes trades people), security guards
Shipping and receiving / Includes any physical package that comes into the building or leaves the building
Can anyone ship anything
Can anyone order anything
Include the “mailroom”
Involvement in contract management / Know who the vendor of records are, providing feedback, managing complaints and issues
Maintenance / Maintaining the building inside and outside such as parking, landscaping, garbage, lights, cameras, security gate, etc
Data centre strategies / Know what the corporate decisions and directions are
Data centre automation / What can or cannot be automated?
What is the manual procedure in case it fails?
Policy-based management / What are the policies? Where are they?
Who enforces them?
What do you do if someone does not adhere to the policies?
When can the policies be circumvented?
Real time services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week / Round the clock staffing and/or on-call and/or automation
Standardization of equipment / What are the standards?
When does something become obsolete?
Why keep a “legacy” system?
Service oriented architecture (SOA) / It is about service, not the technology
Virtualization – (include the “cloud” in here’
Unified management systems / See standardization
Information Security Management and Service Operation
Policing and reporting / Who is supposed to do what, when, where, how and why?
Include in the orientation period of new personnel
What should or should not be reported when an event occurs?
Technical assistance / Second and third level support, providing assistance, answering questions, explaining how to do something
Operational security control / Who has access to what and why
Screening and vetting / Background checks?
Dealing with disgruntled employees
Employee leaving the organization
Training and awareness / When a change occurs, please inform the people on the receiving end as well as those who need to support it. Make sure they are trained in new policies, features, etc.
Documented policies and procedures / Yes it has to be documented and it has to be available and people must use them as well.
Improvement of Operational Activities
Automation of manual tasks / Can something be automated or simplified, not simply passed on to someone else
Reviewing makeshift activities or procedures / Some people invent work or activities to make believe they are busy
Operational audits / Deliver on the action items identified
Using incident and problem management / Fix it now
Don’t let it rot or sweep it under the carpet.
Communication / This is a two-way street. There must be opportunity for feedback
Education and training / Education – acquisition of knowledge and skills
Training: practicing the skills and applying the knowledge