Maturing your Capacity Management processes - Situation Appraisal( 2 of 11)

Before you can set about implementing or maturing any ITIL process, the first step is to conduct a process audit or GAP analysis.  

This can obviously be done internally, but it’s unlikely to provide an objective and honest appraisal.  A better option is to use some targeted consultancy that will provide the necessary expertise, knowledge and importantly, objectivity.  Whether it’s delivered internally or via a third party the following approach has always proved successful.

Rather than using a prescriptive approach each time, a combination of the following will yield the relevant (and appropriate) information. 

The roles or groups will alter slightly depending on the organization but the following areas should be engaged to ensure the project is successful.

·         Key business stakeholders

·         Service Managers or Service Owners

·         Technical domain experts

·         Tooling Personnel – Monitoring, alerting etc

·         Existing capacity staff

·         Service Management personnel

Every environment is unique; however there are a number of key questions that should be asked. By thinking these through it will help to ensure you create a Strategy for Capacity Management, and if you need to de-scope elements to start building momentum, you will at least have a clear sight of your end objectives.

     ·         What information channels/interfaces exist currently?               
   ·         What reports are available and the associated delivery            mechanism?

         ·         What metrics are captured and how are their thresholds derived?
         ·         What tooling is available?
         ·         What KPIs are being used?
         ·         What capacity deliverables are being provided?
         ·         Is the business suffering from capacity outages?
         ·         Are upgrades performed in a timely fashion?                            

I’ll be looking at questionnaires and their relevance on Friday. Why not register for our webinar ' Capacity Management Maturity - Assessing and Improving'
http://www.metron-athene.com/services/webinars/index.html

Jamie Baker

Principal Consultant