Itilst0402 release and deployment management process

Release and Deployment Management Process

Implementation Guidance (this section must be removed from final version of the document)

Purpose of this document This document sets out the release and deployment management process including flowchart, activities, reporting and roles and responsibilities.

Areas of the ITIL® Framework addressed The following areas of the ITIL Framework are addressed by this document: Service Transition – Release and Deployment Management

General Guidance Depending on the size of your organization, release and deployment management can be a vast area which includes a significant amount of detail that is specific to the type of release or deployment being carried out. Particularly for large projects, such as the implementation of an ERP system, many months of planning may be required.

The key, as with much of ITIL, is to perform the planning as early as possible in the lifecycle so that the release and deployment process becomes one of implementing carefully considered plans rather than having to plan on the fly as issues come up.

Due to its complexity, we have provided a variety of plan and checklist templates that may be used during the release and deployment management process to help to ensure that nothing is missed.

Review Frequency We would recommend that this document is reviewed annually.

Toolkit Version Number ITIL® 2011 Service Transition Process and Policy Pack Version 1 ©CertiKit 2015.

Acknowledgements ITIL is a registered trade mark of AXELOS Limited.

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CertiKit is a trading name of Public I.T. Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 6432088 and registered office at 5 Falcons Rise, Belper, Derbyshire, DE56 0QN.

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Contents LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................................................. 6 LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................................ 6 1

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 7 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4

2

VISION STATEMENT .................................................................................................................................. 7 PURPOSE ................................................................................................................................................... 7 OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................................................................. 7 SCOPE ....................................................................................................................................................... 8

RELEASE AND DEPLOYMENT MANAGEMENT PROCESS .......................................................... 9 2.1 OVERVIEW AND PROCESS DIAGRAM ...................................................................................................... 9 2.2 PROCESS TRIGGERS ................................................................................................................................. 10 2.3 PROCESS INPUTS ..................................................................................................................................... 10 2.4 PROCESS ACTIVITIES ............................................................................................................................... 11 2.4.1 Release and Deployment Planning ............................................................................................... 11 2.4.2 Release Build and Test .................................................................................................................. 11 2.4.3 Deployment ................................................................................................................................... 12 2.4.4 Review and Close .......................................................................................................................... 14 2.5 PROCESS OUTPUTS .................................................................................................................................. 15 2.6 RELEASE AND DEPLOYMENT MANAGEMENT TOOLS ............................................................................... 15 2.6.1 Release Management System ........................................................................................................ 16 2.6.2 Change Management System ........................................................................................................ 16 2.6.3 Configuration Management System .............................................................................................. 16 2.6.4 Software Deployment Tools .......................................................................................................... 16 2.7 COMMUNICATION AND TRAINING ........................................................................................................... 16 2.7.1 Communication with Change Management .................................................................................. 16 2.7.2 Communication with Service Asset and Configuration Management (SACM) ............................. 17 2.7.3 Communication with Projects ....................................................................................................... 17 2.7.4 Process Performance .................................................................................................................... 17 2.7.5 Training for Release and Deployment Management .................................................................... 17

3

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ....................................................................................................... 18 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8

ROLES ..................................................................................................................................................... 18 RACI MATRIX ........................................................................................................................................ 18 RELEASE AND DEPLOYMENT MANAGEMENT PROCESS OWNER .............................................................. 19 RELEASE AND DEPLOYMENT MANAGEMENT PROCESS MANAGER .......................................................... 19 RELEASE PACKAGING AND BUILD PRACTITIONER .................................................................................. 20 DEPLOYMENT PRACTITIONER ................................................................................................................. 20 EARLY LIFE SUPPORT PRACTITIONER ..................................................................................................... 21 BUILD AND TEST ENVIRONMENT MANAGER ........................................................................................... 21

4

ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTATION ..................................................................................................... 22

5

INTERFACES AND DEPENDENCIES ................................................................................................. 23 5.1 5.2

6

PROCESS MEASUREMENTS AND METRICS .................................................................................. 25 6.1 6.2 6.3

7

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS .................................................................................................................. 25 KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS............................................................................................................ 25 PROCESS REVIEWS AND AUDITS ............................................................................................................. 26

PROCESS REPORTING ......................................................................................................................... 27 7.1 7.2

8

OTHER SERVICE MANAGEMENT PROCESSES ........................................................................................... 23 BUSINESS PROCESSES ............................................................................................................................. 24

PROCESS REPORTS .................................................................................................................................. 28 OPERATIONAL REPORTS .......................................................................................................................... 29

GLOSSARY, ABBREVIATIONS AND REFERENCES ...................................................................... 30

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8.1 8.2 8.3

GLOSSARY .............................................................................................................................................. 30 ABBREVIATIONS...................................................................................................................................... 32 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... 33

List of Figures FIGURE 1 - RELEASE AND DEPLOYMENT MANAGEMENT PROCESS ............................................................................ 9 FIGURE 2 - DEPLOYMENT PROCESS ........................................................................................................................ 13

List of Tables TABLE 1 - RACI MATRIX ...................................................................................................................................... 18 TABLE 2 - ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTATION ............................................................................................................ 22 TABLE 3 - INTERFACES WITH OTHER SERVICE MANAGEMENT PROCESSES.............................................................. 24 TABLE 4 - INTERFACES WITH BUSINESS PROCESSES ............................................................................................... 24 TABLE 5 - CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS ................................................................................................................. 25 TABLE 6 - KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS .......................................................................................................... 25 TABLE 7 - PROCESS REPORTS................................................................................................................................. 29 TABLE 8 - OPERATIONAL REPORTS ........................................................................................................................ 29 TABLE 9 - GLOSSARY OF RELEVANT TERMS ......................................................................................................... 32

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1 Introduction 1.1

Vision Statement

The vision of [Service Provider] in the area of service management is as follows: [Insert the vision statement defined as part of service strategy] This process forms a key part of the realization of that vision.

1.2

Purpose

Due to the nature of its business, [Organization Name] has a need to introduce change on a frequent basis to ensure that its internal processes remain efficient and service to customers is continually improved.

The release and deployment of these changes needs to happen in a controlled way within [Organization Name] if the expected benefits of them are to be realized and ongoing support requirements minimized. This means that a defined, repeatable process must be used to ensure that all aspects of a release and its deployment are covered and that lessons are continually learned and re-input to the process.

This document defines how the process of release and deployment management is implemented within [Organization name].

The purpose of the release and deployment management process according to ITIL®1 is:

“to plan, control and schedule the build, test and deployment of releases and to deliver new functionality required by the business while protecting the integrity of existing services.”

(Source: “ITIL Service Transition Book 2011. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2011.

Reproduced under license from AXELOS) 1.3

Objectives

The objectives of the release and deployment management process are to: 

1

Define release management plans that ensure that the levels of utility and warranty expected from a new or changed service are delivered and that stakeholder change and expectations are managed

ITIL® is a registered trade mark of AXELOS Limited.

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  

1.4

Define releases that consist of packages of related changes to be deployed as a single unit Deploy release packages from verified components stored in the definitive media library (DML) in line with agreed plans and timescales Maintain the integrity of release packages during deployment and ensure that their implementation is managed in accordance with change management procedures Scope

The scope of this process is defined according to the following parameters:    

Organizational o [List organizations and parts of those organizations covered] Geographical o [List locations from which requests for change will be accepted and managed] Services o [Define the services covered by the process] Technical o [If necessary, cover the technology that may give rise to changes managed via this process]

The following areas are specifically excluded from this process: [Describe any areas that need to be clearly stated as outside the scope]

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2 Release and Deployment Management Process 2.1

Overview and Process Diagram

The process of release and deployment management is shown in Figure 1 and summarised below.

Release and deployment planning

Release build and test

Deployment

Review and close

Figure 1 - Release and deployment management process

The planning of releases and deployments will generally be performed within the service design stage of the lifecycle. This will cover most of the aspects of the release that will be required including packaging, build and logistics. Although these plans will need to be reviewed once service transition begins, the amount of additional input required at this stage should be small. Where possible, a pre-defined release and deployment model will be used so that the risk of inaccuracies and omissions is reduced.

A release will then be built and tested using the environments defined within the plan. This step will include the preparation of the release and build documentation, capture and recording of configuration items, release packaging and service testing.

Deployment will be conducted according to a defined procedure based on the agreed plans. This will include pre-deployment assessments, the deployment itself, verification steps and early life support, before being handed over to service operation.

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Review activities will then establish lessons learned and other inputs to continual service improvement.

2.2

Process Triggers

The release and deployment management process is initiated as a result of one or more of the following triggers: 

The authorization of a change that requires release and deployment activities

Different steps in the process will be initiated by the further authorization of a change as it progresses through its lifecycle.

2.3

Process Inputs

The process of release and deployment management requires a number of inputs in order to be able to function effectively. These may not always be available but will ideally be:  

        

Authorized change Service design package (SDP) including: o A service charter that defines the requirements from the business/customer for the service, including a description of the expected utility and warranty, as well as outline budgets and timescales o Service models that describe the structure and dynamics of how the service is operated and managed o Service acceptance criteria IT service continuity plan and related business continuity plan Service management and operation plans and standards Technology procurements standards and catalogues Acquired service assets and components and their documentation Build models and plans Environment requirements and specifications for build, test, release, training, disaster recovery, pilot and deployment Release policy and release design from service design Release and deployment models including template plans Exit and entry criteria for each stage of release and deployment management

(Source: “ITIL Service Transition Book 2011. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2011.

Reproduced under license from AXELOS)

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2.4

Process Activities

The individual process activities at each step are detailed as follows.

2.4.1

Release and Deployment Planning

Release and deployment plans will be created as part of the service design stage of the service lifecycle and are triggered by the authorization of a release by change management. The plans will address the following areas where appropriate:        

Pass/fail criteria Build and test planning Planning release packaging and build Preparation for release build and test Deployment planning e.g. big bang or phased, push or pull Logistics and delivery planning Planning of pilots Financial/commercial planning

The release policy will specify the format (release units and packages) and frequency of releases for a service, particularly for those releases that are deployed on a regular cycle, such as monthly or bi-annually.

2.4.2

Release Build and Test

If a deployment is to be successful and risk to the business minimized, it is key that the right actions are taken during the release build and test stage of the process to ensure that:   

The release has been built correctly All required testing has been carried out The components of the release are stored appropriately such that the integrity of the release is assured

The end result of this is that a correct and complete version of the release package is stored in the Definitive Media Library (DML) to be used as the sole source of deployment.

This may require that the following areas are addressed as part of this stage, depending on the scope and type of release or deployment:   

Release and build documentation, including procedures to cover purchasing, distributing, installing, moving and controlling assets and components Acquiring and testing input configuration items and components, particularly those obtained from an external source Release packaging, including base-lining, installation and verification of the release package and associated documentation

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   

2.4.3

Building and managing the test environments, ensuring that they remain representative of the target environment Service testing and pilots, coordinated through the service validation and testing process Service rehearsal, if justified by a clear assessment of the risk of the deployment Pilot running of the service in a limited scenario, to test whether the anticipated benefits are likely to be achieved Deployment

Deployment is a sub-process of release and deployment and is summarized in figure 2. It consists of four main stages which are described below.

2.4.3.1

Plan and Prepare for Deployment

The plans previously produced as part of release and deployment planning will be revisited to ensure that they are complete and that the specific resources allocated to tasks are available.

The readiness of the target group of the deployment will also be assessed to identify any issues, risks, gaps and impacts that may need to be addressed prior to the deployment. A checklist will be used for this purpose.

Once detailed plans have been prepared and agreed, authority to proceed will be requested via change management.

2.4.3.2

Perform Transfer, Deployment and Retirement

The release will then be deployed according to the plans that have been prepared at earlier stages of the process. This may consist of the following main activities, depending on the scope and type of deployment:     

Change/Transfer financial assets e.g. contractual arrangements and funding Transfer/transition business and organization – training, recruitment, knowledge transfer Deploy process and materials e.g. policies, procedures Deploy service management capability to support the new or changed service Transfer service e.g. changes to service catalogue and reporting

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Assess readiness of target group

Plan and prepare for deployment

Develop plans

Change/transfer financial assets

Transfer/transition business and organisation

Deploy processes and materials

Deploy service management capability Perform transfer, deployment and retirement

Transfer service

Deploy service

Decommissioning and service retirement

Remove redundant assets

Verify/Remediate/ back-out release

Verify deployment

Early life support

Early life support

Figure 2 - Deployment process

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   2.4.3.3

Deploy service i.e. distribute and install the service components, test and address issues found Decommissioning and service retirement – securely retire assets and re-use where possible e.g. licenses Remove redundant assets e.g. recycling of old hardware Verify Deployment

The success of the deployment must be verified via adequate testing and communication with stakeholders to reach a view about whether all initial objectives have been achieved. This should include the people aspects of the deployment as well as the technical.

In the event that the deployment is deemed not to have succeeded, it may be necessary to take remedial action or to completely back it out according to plans previously prepared for this eventuality.

2.4.3.4

Early Life Support

A planned period of early life support (ELS) will then begin with the aim of stabilizing the service as quickly as possible. The ELS team will monitor the types of incidents being reported during live running and provide support to service operation in resolving them. There should be a process of gradual skills and knowledge transfer from the ELS team to those responsible for ongoing support.

The performance of the service and user/customer satisfaction with it will also be monitored to identify any outstanding issues or risks which need to be addressed or managed down.

During ELS the Service Level Agreement (SLA) will be firmed up and agreed based on a combination of stated requirements and actual service performance. However, instances where critical service requirements cannot be met by the deployed service will be identified and managed as issues prior to the SLA being finalized.

2.4.4

Review and Close

At the point where a release is deemed ready to move out of early life support, a review will be held to discuss and agree the handover to service operation.

This will consider the following areas:     

Customer and user feedback about the service and release Outstanding actions such as changes, problems and incidents Performance targets, including whether they were met and whether sufficient resources are now available to meet them Residual risk levels Any other issues relevant to the handover and operation of the service

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This type of review will be held at the end of each deployment. Where a transition has consisted of several deployments, the following issues will also be addressed at the end of the overall transition:   

That all project activities have been completed Lessons learned during the transition An assessment of whether the objectives of the transition were met

Where appropriate this review may be conducted via the change evaluation process.

2.5

Process Outputs

The outputs of the release and deployment management process will be the following:      

       

New, changed or retired services Release and deployment plan Updates to change management for the release and deployment activities Service notification Notification to service catalogue management to update the service catalogue with the relevant information about the new or changed service New tested service capability and environment, including SLA, other agreements and contracts, changed organization, competent and motivated people, established business and service management processes, installed applications, converted databases, technology infrastructure, products and facilities New or changed service management documentation SLA, underpinning OLAs and contracts New or changed service reports Tested continuity plans Complete and accurate configuration item list with an audit trail for the Cis in the release package and also the new or changed service and infrastructure configurations Updated service capacity plan aligned to the relevant business plans Baselined release package – checked in to DML and ready for future deployments Service transition report

(Source: “ITIL Service Transition Book 2011. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2011.

Reproduced under license from AXELOS) 2.6

Release and Deployment Management Tools

There are a number of key software tools that underpin an effective release and deployment management process. These are subject to change as requirements and technology are updated and so specific systems are not described here.

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However the main types of tools that play a significant part in the process within [Organization Name] are as follows.

2.6.1

Release Management System

The release management system provides the capability to define releases and link changes to them, so allowing a group of changes to be managed as a single unit.

The system is closely linked to the change management system.

2.6.2

Change Management System

The change management system provides the means to create, track and authorize changes using workflow. Release and deployment management use the system to update the status of changes in the course of their deployment.

2.6.3

Configuration Management System

The CMS allows relationships between configuration items to be defined and their versions baselined. This is critical to release management as it provides the mechanism to track the components of a specific release, thus ensuring the release’s integrity.

2.6.4

Software Deployment Tools

For those changes that are deployed to many individual nodes such as desktop computers and network devices, software deployment tools allow the management and automation of the distribution of software according to defined policies and schedules.

2.7

Communication and Training

There are various forms of communication that must take place for the release and deployment management process to be effective.

These are described below.

2.7.1

Communication with Change Management

At each stage of the release and deployment process a trigger is required from change management to say that the next stage has been authorized. This therefore requires that regular communication takes place between the two processes so that release and deployment activities are initiated promptly and that change management is aware of the status of each change, including any actual or expected delays.

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2.7.2

Communication with Service Asset and Configuration Management (SACM)

Many releases will consist of a large number of related configuration items which need to be tracked as a unit and packaged appropriately for deployment. This requires that release and deployment management hold regular communications with SACM to inform them of impending releases and to ensure that preparations are made for the storage (and check-in/check-out) of releases within the Definitive Media Library (DML).

2.7.3

Communication with Projects

At the appropriate stage in a project it may be necessary for the Release and Deployment Process Manager (or nominated deputy) to attend project progress meetings to understand requirements fully and to report on progress of releases managed as projects.

2.7.4

Process Performance

It is important that the performance of the release and deployment management process is monitored and reported upon on a regular basis in order to assess whether the process is operating as expected. The content of performance reports is set out in section 6 of this document but it is vital that the reports are not only produced but are also communicated to the appropriate audience.

This will include the customers of the IT service and the management of IT concerning resource utilization and allocation. Depending on the health of the process it may be appropriate to hold regular meetings with customers and IT management to discuss the performance and agree any actions to improve it.

2.7.5

Training for Release and Deployment Management

In addition to a well-defined process and appropriate software tools it is essential that the people aspects of release and deployment management are adequately addressed. The process requires that training be provided to all participants in order that it runs as smoothly as possible.

The main areas in which training will be required for release and deployment management are as follows.    

The release and deployment management process itself, including the activities, roles and responsibilities involved Release and Deployment management software tools such as the change management system and configuration management system The basics of the technology and how it is implemented within [Organization Name] The business, its structure, locations, priorities and people

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3 Roles and Responsibilities This section describes the main operational roles involved in the release and deployment management process, their interaction with the process and their detailed responsibilities.

3.1

Roles

The following main roles participate in the release and deployment management process:      

Release and Deployment Management Process Owner Release and Deployment Management Process Manager Release Packaging and Build Practitioner Deployment Practitioner Early Life Support Practitioner Build and Test Environment Manager

There will also be interaction with IT and business management at various points in the process.

3.2

RACI Matrix

The table below clarifies the responsibilities of these roles at each step of the release and deployment management process using the RACI system, i.e.: R= Responsible Role: Step

A= Accountable

C= Consulted

I= Informed

Process Owner

Process Manager

Release Packaging and Build Prac.

Deploy ment Prac.

Early Life Support Prac.

A

R

C

C

C

Build and Test Env. Mgr C

A

R

R

C

C

R

A A

R R

C C

R C

R C

C C

Release and deployment planning Release build and test Deployment Review and close Table 1 - RACI Matrix

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3.3

Release and Deployment Management Process Owner

The responsibilities of the release and deployment management process owner are:                 

Sponsoring, designing and change managing the process and its metrics Defining the process strategy Assisting with process design Ensuring that appropriate process documentation is available and current Defining appropriate policies and standards to be employed throughout the process Periodically auditing the process to ensure compliance to policy and standards Periodically reviewing the process strategy to ensure that it is still appropriate and change as required Communicating process information or changes as appropriate to ensure awareness Providing process resources to support activities required throughout the service lifecycle Ensuring process technicians have the required knowledge and the required technical and business understanding to deliver the process and understand their role in the process Reviewing opportunities for process enhancements and for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the process Addressing issues with the running of the process Identifying improvement opportunities for inclusion in the CSI register Working with the CSI manager and process manager to review and prioritize improvements in the CSI register Making improvements to the process Designing release models and workflows Working with other process owners to ensure that there is an integrated approach to the design and implementation of change management, service asset and configuration management, release and deployment management and service validation and testing

(Source: “ITIL Service Transition Book 2011. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2011.

Reproduced under license from AXELOS) 3.4

Release and Deployment Management Process Manager

The responsibilities of the release and deployment management process manager are:    

Working with the process owner to plan and co-ordinate all process activities Ensuring all activities are carried out as required throughout the service lifecycle Appointing people to the required roles Managing resources assigned to the process

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        

Working with service owners and other process managers to ensure the smooth running of services Monitoring and reporting on process performance Identifying improvement opportunities for inclusion in the CSI register Working with the CSI manager and process owner to review and prioritize improvements in the CSI register Making improvements to the process implementation Planning and coordinating all resources needed to build, test and deploy each release, including resources from other functions such as technical management or application management Planning and managing support for release and deployment management tools and processes Ensuring that change authorization is provided before any activity that requires this, for example before a release is checked in to the definitive media library (DML) and before it is deployed to a live environment Coordinating interfaces between release and deployment management and other processes, especially change management, SACM and service validation and testing

(Source: “ITIL Service Transition Book 2011. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2011.

Reproduced under license from AXELOS) 3.5

Release Packaging and Build Practitioner

The responsibilities of the release packaging and build practitioner are:      

3.6

Helping to design the release package, during the service design stage of the service lifecycle, in conjunction with personnel from other teams and functions Establishing the final release configuration, including knowledge, information, hardware, software and infrastructure Building the release Testing the release prior to independent testing Establishing and reporting outstanding known errors and workarounds Providing input to support change authorization for check-in of the release to the DML Deployment Practitioner

The responsibilities of the deployment practitioner are:    

Helping to plan the deployment, during the service design stage of the service lifecycle, in conjunction with personnel from other teams and functions Ensuring that all deployment activity has been authorized by change management Carrying out the final physical delivery of the deployment Coordinating release documentation and communications, including training and customer, service management and technical release notes

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  

3.7

Providing technical and application guidance and support throughout the release process, including known errors and workarounds Providing feedback on the effectiveness of the release Recording and reporting deployment metrics to ensure that these are within agreed SLAs Early Life Support Practitioner

The responsibilities of the early life support practitioner are:     

   

3.8

Providing IT service and business functional support from prior to final acceptance Ensuring delivery of appropriate support documentation Providing release acceptance for provision of initial support Providing support to assist the service desk in responding to incidents and errors detected within a new or changed service Adapting and perfecting elements that evolve with final usage such as o User documentation o Support documentation, including service desk scripts o Data management, including archiving Embedding activities for anew or changed service Dealing with final transition of the service to service operation and continual service improvement Monitoring incidents and problems and undertaking problem management during release and deployment, raining RFCs as required Providing initial performance reporting and undertaking service risk assessment based on performance Build and Test Environment Manager

The responsibilities of the build and test environment manager are:      

Ensuring that service infrastructure and application are built to design specification Planning the acquisition, build, implementation and maintenance of ICT infrastructure Ensuring that all components are from controlled sources Developing an integrated application software and infrastructure build Delivering appropriate build, operations and support documentation for the build and test environments Building, delivering and maintaining required test environments

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4 Associated Documentation The following documentation is relevant to the release and deployment management process and should be read in conjunction with it: Document ITIL Service Transition Book Release and Deployment Management Policy Change Management Policy Problem Management Process Configuration Management Process Incident Management Process Change management system user guide Change management system admin guide

Reference ISBN number 9780113313068

Version 2011 V1.0 Final

ITILST0202

V1.0 Final

ITILSO0401

V1.0 Final V1.0 Final

ITILSO0301

V1.0 Final

Location [Network drive location] [Network drive location] [Network drive location] [Network drive location] [Network drive location] [Network drive location] [Network drive location] [Network drive location]

Table 2 - Associated Documentation

In the event that any of these items is not available please contact the release and deployment management process manager.

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5 Interfaces and Dependencies The release and deployment management process has a number of interfaces and dependencies with other processes within service management and the business. These are outlined here and are described in further detail in the relevant procedural documentation.

5.1

Other Service Management Processes

ITIL Lifecycle Stage

Process

Service Strategy

Financial Management for IT Services Design Coordination Supplier Management

Service Design

Service Transition

Change Management

Service Operation

Service Asset and Configuration Management Service Validation and Testing Transition Planning and Support Incident Management

Continual Service Improvement

Problem Management 7 Step Improvement Process

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Inputs to release and deployment management from the named process Release and deployment budgets Service design package requirements Interaction with suppliers involved in releases and deployments Notification of authorization of changes CI statuses and information Test results and recommendations Overall release and deployment coordination Incident reports as part of Early Life Support (ELS) Problem reports as part of ELS Process improvements

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Outputs from release and deployment management to the named process Changes to financial arrangements for new or changed services Interaction with suppliers involved in releases and deployments Updates on status Release packages and new or changed CIs Plans and requirements for testing Status updates and risks Incident models and experience gained from ELS Known errors and workarounds Details of improvements made; lessons learned from change reviews

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Table 3 - Interfaces with other service management processes

5.2

Business Processes

[Business processes will obviously be numerous and highly industry- and organization-specific. We therefore recommend that you only address those that are closely linked to the process in question here.]

Business Area

Business Process

Inputs to release and deployment management from the named process

Outputs from release and deployment management to the named process

Human Resources Finance Sales and Marketing Production/Operations Legal and Compliance Research and Development Distribution and Logistics Customer Services Purchasing Public Relations Administration [Insert further business processes here] Table 4 - Interfaces with business processes

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6 Process Measurements and Metrics In order to determine whether the release and deployment management process is working effectively and achieving what we want it to achieve, we must first define our critical success factors and identify how we will determine if they are being fulfilled.

6.1

Critical Success Factors

The following factors are defined as critical to the success of the release and deployment management process: Ref. CSF1 CSF2 CSF3 CSF4

Critical Success Factor Effective planning of releases and deployments Ensuring package integrity during deployment Achievement of intended utility and warranty of deployed releases Knowledge required to operate the service is transferred

Table 5 - Critical success factors

Achievement of these critical success factors will be measured via the use of relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

6.2

Key Performance Indicators

The following KPIs will be used on a regular basis to evidence the successful operation of the release and deployment management process: CSI Ref. CSF1

KPI Ref. KPI1.1 KPI1.2 KPI1.3

CSF2

KPI2.1 KPI2.2

CSF3

KPI3.1

CSF4

KPI3.2 KPI4.1

Key Performance Indicator Deployments achieved to planned timescale Deployments achieved to planned budget Deployments achieved via use of release and deployment models Number of incidents experienced due to lack of release package integrity after deployment Errors detected during testing and deployment due to lack of package integrity Number of incidents logged against the new or changed service Customer and user satisfaction with the service Satisfaction of service operation personnel with knowledge transfer

Table 6 - Key performance indicators

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6.3

Process Reviews and Audits

Reviews will be carried out by the process owner in conjunction with the process manager on a three monthly basis to assess whether the release and deployment management process is operating effectively and delivering the desired results.

These reviews will have the following as input:       

Follow-up action list from previous reviews Relevant changes and developments within the business and IT KPI reports from the previous period Details of all complaints logged during the period Internal and external audit reports Feedback from users and customers Identified opportunities for improvement

Each review will be documented by the process owner and actions arising agreed and published.

Audits will be carried out on an annual basis by the internal auditing department. The scope and timing of the audit will be agreed in advance. Recommendations from the audit will be published and actions discussed and agreed with the process owner.

All actions will be followed up by the internal auditor within the agreed timescales for each action.

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7 Process Reporting It is important that regular reports are produced for two main reasons: 1. to help to assess whether the release and deployment management process is meeting its critical success factors (see section 6.1 above) 2. to assist the process manager in the day-to-day management of the release and deployment management process and its resourcing These two purposes may require different views of the information available and will need to be produced at varying frequencies for differing audiences.

The format of the reports produced will also be subject to regular review and amendment as requirements become clearer and the available reporting technology within the business matures. What must be avoided is the continued production of reports that are not read and serve no purpose. It is up to the process owner, in consultation with the process manager, to ensure that all reporting remains focused and relevant.

The following tables show the reports that will be produced together with their purpose, method of production, data source, audience and frequency. Some of the reports listed will be used for multiple purposes.

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7.1

Process Reports

The following reports are produced by the process manager and are intended to help the process owner assess whether the CSFs for release and deployment management are being met.

Ref. CSFR1

Report Title Description On Target - Time Deployments achieved to planned timescale

Method of Production Comparison of initial plans with actual live dates at end of deployment

CSFR2

On Target Budget

Deployments achieved to planned budget

Comparison of initial budgets with actual spend at end of deployment

CSFR3

Models used

CSFR4

Integrity incidents

Manual assessment of releases where models used Report from incident management

CSFR5

Integrity errors

CSFR6

Service incidents

CSFR7

Customer Satisfaction

Deployments achieved via use of release and deployment models Number of incidents experienced due to lack of release package integrity after deployment Errors detected during testing and deployment due to lack of package integrity Number of incidents logged against the new or changed service Customer and user satisfaction with the service

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Data Source Project plans; status updates; postimplementation review Project plans; status updates; postimplementation review Release and deployment plans Incident management database

Frequency Audience Ad-hoc Process Owner

Report from testing system Report from incident management Survey of customers and users after

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Ad-hoc

Process Owner

Ad-hoc

Process Owner

Monthly

Process Owner

Testing database

Ad-hoc

Process Owner

Incident management database Survey data

Monthly

Process Owner

Ad-hoc

Process Owner

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Ref.

Report Title

CSFR8

Knowledge transfer satisfaction CSFR13 [Insert further reports]

Description Satisfaction of service operation personnel with knowledge transfer

Method of Production deployment Survey of service operation personnel after deployment

Data Source

Frequency Audience

Survey data

Ad-hoc

Process Owner

Table 7 - Process reports

7.2

Operational Reports

The following reports are to provide further ongoing operational information to the process manager. They are in addition to the relevant process reports described above.

Ref. OPR1

Report Title Workload

OPR2

Progress

OPR3

Resources

Description Number and size of releases in pipeline, active and closed Release and deployment status reports Allocation of available resources to projects

Method of Production Maintained as a spreadsheet

Data Source Service pipeline, transition plans

Manual report by project Release and manager deployment plans Consolidation of Project plans individual project plans

Frequency Audience Monthly Process Manager Weekly

Process Manager

Weekly

Process Manager

[Insert further reports] Table 8 - Operational reports

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8 Glossary, Abbreviations and References 8.1

Glossary

For a full list of terms used and their definitions within ITIL, please refer to the back of any of the books in the ITIL Lifecycle Suite 2011.

The following subset of terms is specifically relevant to this document: Term assessment

back-out

baseline build category change Change Advisory Board (CAB) change history change management change model change proposal

change record change schedule

closed configuration item configuration management system continual service improvement

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Meaning Inspection and analysis to check whether a standard or set of guidelines is being followed, that records are accurate, or that efficiency or effectiveness targets are being met An activity that restores a service or other configuration item to a previous baseline. Back-out is used as a form of remediation when a change or release is not successful A snapshot that is used as a reference point The activity of assembling a number of configuration items to create part of an IT service A named group of things that have something in common The addition, modification or removal of anything that could have an effect on IT services A group of people that support the assessment, prioritization, authorization and scheduling of changes Information about all changes made to a configuration item during its life The process responsible for controlling the lifecycle of all changes, enabling beneficial changes to be made with minimum disruption to IT services A repeatable way of dealing with a particular category of change 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 A record containing the details of a change A document that lists all authorized changes and their planned implementation dates, as well as the estimated dates of longerterm changes The final status in the lifecycle of an incident, problem, change etc. When the status is closed, no further action is taken Any component or other service asset that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service A set of tools, data and information that is used to support service asset and configuration management A stage in the lifecycle of a service. Continual service improvement ensures that services are aligned with changing

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Term

customer

definitive media library (DML) deployment

early life support (ELS) emergency change emergency CAB environment

error escalation financial management impact incident incident management IT service

key performance indicator model

normal change pilot plan Post-

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Meaning business needs by identifying and implementing improvements to IT services that support business processes Someone who buys goods or services. The customer of an IT service provider is the person or group who defines and agrees the service level targets One or more locations in which the definitive and authorized versions of all software configuration items are securely stored The activity responsible for the movement of new or changed hardware, software, documentation, process etc. to the live environment A stage in the service lifecycle that occurs at the end of deployment and before the service is fully accepted into operation A change that must be introduced as soon as possible – for example to resolve a major incident or implement a security patch A subgroup of the Change Advisory Board that makes decisions about emergency changes A subset of the IT infrastructure that is used for a particular purpose – for example, live environment, test environment, build environment A design flaw or malfunction that causes a failure in one or more IT services or other configuration items An activity that obtains additional resources when these are needed to meet service level targets or customer expectations.

A generic term used to describe the function and processes responsible for managing an organization’s budgeting, accounting and charging requirements A measure of the effect of an incident, problem or change on business processes An unplanned interruption to an IT service or reduction in the quality of an IT service The process responsible for managing the lifecycle of all incidents A service provided by an IT service provider. An IT service is made up of a combination of information technology, people and processes A metric that is used to help manage an IT service, process, plan, project or other activity A representation of a system, process, IT service, configuration item etc. that is used to help understand or predict future behaviour A change that is not an emergency or a standard change A limited deployment of an IT service, a release or a process to the live environment A detailed proposal the describes the activities and resources needed to achieve an objective A review that take place after a change or a project has been

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Term Implementation Review (PIR) priority problem release release identification release package release record release unit remediation Request For Change (RFC) retire service desk service level agreement test urgency user

vision

Meaning implemented A category used to identify the relative importance of an incident, problem or change A cause of one or more incidents One or more changes to an IT service that are built, tested and deployed together A naming convention used to uniquely identify a release A set of configuration items that will be built, tested and deployed together as a single release A record that defines the content of a release Components of an IT service that are normally released together Actions taken to recover after a failed change or release A formal proposal for a change to be made Permanent removal of an IT service, or other configuration item, from the live environment The single point of contact between the service provider and the users An agreement between an IT service provider and a customer An activity that verifies that a configuration item, IT service, process etc. meets its specification or agreed requirements A measure of how long it will be until an incident, problem or change has a significant impact on the business A person who uses the IT service on a day-to-day basis. Users are distinct from customers, as some customers do not use the IT service directly A description of what the organization intends to become in the future

Table 9 - Glossary of Relevant Terms

(Based on “ITIL Service Transition Book 2011”. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2011.

Reproduced under license from AXELOS) 8.2

Abbreviations

The following abbreviations are used in this document: CAB CI CMS CSF CSI DML ELS IT

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Change Advisory Board Configuration Item Configuration Management System Critical Success Factor Continual Service Improvement Definitive Media Library Early Life Support Information Technology

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ITIL OLA RFC SLA 8.3

Information Technology Infrastructure Library operational Level Agreement Request for Change Service Level Agreement References

The following sources have been used in the creation of this process document and should be consulted for more information on particular aspects of it:     

ITIL Service Transition Book 2011. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2011 [Organization Name] IT organization structure, published mm/dd/yy [Organization Name] Business Strategy yyyy-yyyy [Organization Name] IT Strategy yyyy-yyyy [Organization Name] IT Service Management Strategy yyyy-yyyy

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