Practical, Real-World ITIL Configuration Management—From Start to Finish The IT Infrastructure Library® (ITIL) places the “best practices” in IT operations at your command. ITIL helps you make better technology choices, manages IT more effectively, and drives greater business value from all your IT investments. The core of ITIL is configuration management: the discipline of identifying, tracking, and controlling your IT environment’s diverse components to gain accurate and timely information for better decision-making. Now, there’s a practical, start-to-finish guide to ITIL configuration management for every IT leader, manager, and practitioner. ITIL-certified architect and solutions provider Larry Klosterboer helps you establish a clear roadmap for success, customize standard processes to your unique needs, and avoid the pitfalls that stand in your way. You’ll learn how to plan your implementation, deploy tools and processes, administer ongoing configuration management tasks, refine ITIL information, and leverage it for competitive advantage. Throughout, Klosterboer demystifies ITIL’s jargon, illuminates each technique with real-world advice and examples, and helps you focus on the specific techniques that offer maximum business value in your environment. Coverage includes Assessing your current configuration management maturity and setting goals for improvement Gathering and managing requirements to align ITIL with organizational needs Describing the schema of your configuration management database (CMDB) Identifying, capturing, and organizing configuration data Choosing the best tools for your requirements Integrating data and processes to create a unified logical CMDB and configuration management service Implementing pilot projects to demonstrate the value of configuration management and to test your planning Moving from a pilot to wide-scale enterprise deployment Defining roles for deployment and ongoing staffing Leveraging configuration management information: Reporting and beyond Measuring and improving CMDB data accuracy Covers ITIL version 3. Preface xvii Acknowledgments xxi About the Author xxiii Chapter 1: Overview of Configuration Management 1 Part I: Planning for Configuration Management 17 Chapter 2: Gathering and Analyzing Requirements 19 Chapter 3: Determining Scope, Span, and Granularity 37 Chapter 4: Customizing the Configuration Management Process 55 Chapter 5: Planning for Data Population 67 Chapter 6: Putting Together a Useful Project Plan 85 Part II: Implementing Configuration Management 97 Chapter 7: Choosing the Right Tools 99 Chapter 8: Implementing the Process 117 Chapter 9: Populating the Configuration Management Database 127 Chapter 10: Choosing and Running a Pilot Program 137 Chapter 11: Communication and Enterprise Roll Out 149 Part III: Running an Effective Configuration Management System 161 Chapter 12: Building a Configuration Management Team 163 Chapter 13: The Many Uses for Configuration Information 179 Chapter 14: Measuring and Improving CMDB Accuracy 193 Chapter 15: Improving the Business Value of Configuration Management 207 Index 217

Practical, Real-World ITIL Configuration Management-From Start to Finish The IT Infrastructure Library® (ITIL) places the "best practices" in IT operations at your command. ITIL helps you make better technology choices, manages IT more effectively, and drives greater business value from all your IT investments. The core of ITIL is configuration management: the discipline of identifying, tracking, and controlling your IT environment's diverse components to gain accurate and timely information for better decision-making. Now, there's a practical, start-to-finish guide to ITIL configuration management for every IT leader, manager, and practitioner. ITIL-certified architect and solutions provider Larry Klosterboer helps you establish a clear roadmap for success, customize standard processes to your unique needs, and avoid the pitfalls that stand in your way. You'll learn how to plan your implementation, deploy tools and processes, administer ongoing configuration management tasks, refine ITIL information, and leverage it for competitive advantage. Throughout, Klosterboer demystifies ITIL's jargon, illuminates each technique with real-world advice and examples, and helps you focus on the specific techniques that offer maximum business value in your environment. Coverage includes Assessing your current configuration management maturity and setting goals for improvement Gathering and managing requirements to align ITIL with organizational needs Describing the schema of your configuration management database (CMDB) Identifying, capturing, and organizing configuration data Choosing the best tools for your requirements Integrating data and processes to create a unified logical CMDB and configuration management service Implementing pilot projects to demonstrate the value of configuration management and to test your planning Moving from a pilot to wide-scale enterprise deployment Defining roles for deployment and ongoing staffing Leveraging configuration management information: Reporting and beyond Measuring and improving CMDB data accuracy Covers ITIL version 3. Preface xvii Acknowledgments xxi About the Author xxiii Chapter 1: Overview of Configuration Management 1 Part I: Planning for Configuration Management 17 Chapter 2: Gathering and Analyzing Requirements 19 Chapter 3: Determining Scope, Span, and Granularity 37 Chapter 4: Customizing the Configuration Management Process 55 Chapter 5: Planning for Data Population 67 Chapter 6: Putting Together a Useful Project Plan 85 Part II: Implementing Configuration Management 97 Chapter 7: Choosing the Right Tools 99 Chapter 8: Implementing the Process 117 Chapter 9: Populating the Configuration Management Database 127 Chapter 10: Choosing and Running a Pilot Program 137 Chapter 11: Communication and Enterprise Roll Out 149 Part III: Running an Effective Configuration Management System 161 Chapter 12: Building a Configuration Management Team 163 Chapter 13: The Many Uses for Configuration Information 179 Chapter 14: Measuring and Improving CMDB Accuracy 193 Chapter 15: Improving the Business Value of Configuration Management 207 Index 217

The Business-Focused, Best-Practice Guide to Succeeding with ITIL Change and Release Management ITIL® (Information Technology Infrastructure Library®) can help organizations streamline and integrate their operations, dramatically improving efficiency and delivering greater business value. For the first time, there's a comprehensive best-practice guide to succeeding with two of the most crucial and challenging parts of ITIL: change and release management. Leading IBM® ITIL expert and author Larry Klosterboer shares solid expertise gained from real implementations across multiple industries. He helps you decide where to invest, avoid ITIL pitfalls, and build successful, long-term processes that deliver real return on investment. You’ll find detailed guidance on each process, integrated into a comprehensive roadmap for planning, implementation, and operation–a roadmap available nowhere else. Klosterboer offers in-depth coverage of the crucial issues every implementer will face, including make-or-break challenges most consultants can’t or won’t talk about. For example, he demonstrates how to set a reasonable project scope, migrate data, execute successful pilot programs, and continually improve quality once ITIL practices are in place. This book’s practical insights will be invaluable to every IT executive, professional, and user who wants to bring their current change and release practices in line with ITIL–and transform them from a source of frustration into a source of value. Coverage includes Discovering and managing your change and release management requirements Identifying the resources you’ll need to succeed Building comprehensive schedules for executing change/release management projects Moving from planning to real-world implementation Choosing the right tools–or modifying the tools you’ve already invested in Using change/release management to facilitate auditing and ensure compliance Leveraging the full business benefits of mature change/release management processes Covers ITIL version 3

Successfully Implement High-Value Configuration Management Processes in Any Development Environment As IT systems have grown increasingly complex and mission-critical, effective configuration management (CM) has become critical to an organization’s success. Using CM best practices, IT professionals can systematically manage change, avoiding unexpected problems introduced by changes to hardware, software, or networks. Now, today’s best CM practices have been gathered in one indispensable resource showing you how to implement them throughout any agile or traditional development organization. Configuration Management Best Practices is practical, easy to understand and apply, and fully reflects the day-to-day realities faced by practitioners. Bob Aiello and Leslie Sachs thoroughly address all six “pillars” of CM: source code management, build engineering, environment configuration, change control, release engineering, and deployment. They demonstrate how to implement CM in ways that support software and systems development, meet compliance rules such as SOX and SAS-70, anticipate emerging standards such as IEEE/ISO 12207, and integrate with modern frameworks such as ITIL, COBIT, and CMMI. Coverage includes Using CM to meet business objectives, contractual requirements, and compliance rules Enhancing quality and productivity through lean processes and “just-in-time” process improvement Getting off to a good start in organizations without effective CM Implementing a Core CM Best Practices Framework that supports the entire development lifecycle Mastering the “people” side of CM: rightsizing processes, overcoming resistance, and understanding workplace psychology Architecting applications to take full advantage of CM best practices Establishing effective IT controls and compliance Managing tradeoffs and costs and avoiding expensive pitfalls Configuration Management Best Practices is the essential resource for everyone concerned with CM: from CTOs and CIOs to development, QA, and project managers and software engineers to analysts, testers, and compliance professionals.

The Business-Focused, Best-Practice Guide to Succeeding with ITIL Capacity Management Using ITIL® capacity management processes, IT organizations can eliminate waste and overbuying, reduce both equipment and staffing costs, drive more value from existing investments, and consistently provide the right resources to meet the needs of the business. Now, in this comprehensive, best-practice guide, leading ITIL expert Larry Klosterboer systematically explains how to manage capacity using the ITIL framework and techniques. Drawing on his extensive ITIL experience, Klosterboer covers all facets of ITIL-based capacity management, and offers proven solutions to the challenges IT organizations encounter in implementation. He presents expert guidance on accurately projecting demand and growth, planning and staffing, tool selection, process implementation, and much more. This book’s practical insights will be invaluable to every IT leader who wants to leverage ITIL’s best practices for capacity management, and for every business and technical manager who wants IT to deliver greater value, efficiency, and effectiveness. Coverage includes Making the business case for capacity management Establishing specific goals for capacity management Mastering ITIL capacity management terminology Predicting capacity in dynamic, fast-changing organizations Implementing systems that help you anticipate trends Defining capacity plans, staffing capacity management teams, and implementing ongoing processes Linking capacity with performance management and with other ITIL processes Selecting the right capacity management tools for your environment Integrating capacity issues into your IT project management discipline Using “business capacity planning” to help the entire business become more agile

Ho> For CEOs, CIOs, CFOs, and IT leaders: The green IT business case and best practices for making it happen Timely help for companies facing rising energy costs, new government rules, and growing public concern Powerful new insights from IBM’s breakthrough $1 billion green computing initiative Chances are your enterprise IT organization has a significant carbon footprint. In an era of unpredictable energy costs, reducing energy usage throughout your data centers and IT infrastructure represents a powerful cost-cutting opportunity. Now, a top green IT expert shows business and IT leaders how to drive powerful business value by improving IT’s environmental performance. Drawing on leading-edge experience, John Lamb helps you realistically assess the business case for green IT, set priorities, and overcome the internal and external challenges to making it work. He offers proven solutions for issues ranging from organizational obstacles to executive motivation and discusses crucial issues ranging from utility rate incentives to metrics. Along the way, you’ll discover energy-saving opportunities–from virtualization and consolidation to cloud and grid computing–and solutions that will improve business flexibility as they reduce environmental impact. Lamb presents case studies, checklists, and more–all the practical guidance you need to drive maximum bottom-line value from your green IT initiative.