Service Request Management and Change Management in Kovair ITSM

Service Request Management

Think of service request management with a number of forms (which are actually Internet pages) as providing the facility to record wide array of requests. It will not create any confusion to service requester and service provider, unless they are allowed to navigate through disparate locations, and the requests based on their types are managed through disparate work flows. The challenge for IT service organizations is to improve the service operations and delivery through a standardized process of ‘request fulfillment.’ With the introduction of Service
Catalog and automation of request fulfillment, this application has become more
customer–focused and streamlined. Service Catalog is a list of services (Business Services and Technical Services) that IT service organization provides to its customers. In other words, it is just an articulation of services.

Highlights of Service Request Management in Kovair ITSM:

• Requests submitted by customers are managed through a simple process that involves two service teams – IT Service Management Service Desk and Level One Support. This pre-defined process can be enhanced (customizable) as per business need, and objectives of this application are work flow of service provider.

• Closure of IT-related Service Request is managed through process. Multiple IT Service Requests can be linked to an Incident, and in that case, closure of all these Requests strictly depends on closure of linked Incidents.

Change Management

Change Management application is a structured methodology of planning and coordinating the implementation of changes in an IT service environment. The competitive nature of the market economy allows IT service organizations to strive for the improvement of existing services and the development of new services. This is the reason why IT infrastructure moves through constant changes. The challenge of an IT service organization is to evaluate the requested changes and implement them in an IT environment in the most efficient way that has minimum impact on the quality and permanence of service. These applications are initiated by logging a Request for Change (RFC). An RFC may originate from Problem Management, or due to some other reasons such as the development of a new service, the change in a business strategy that may affect the service quality and/or continuity, updates in vendor software/hardware that may impact the IT infrastructure. The lifecycle of Change consists of four major phases including Acceptance of RFCs and their classification, approval and planning by CAB (Change Authority Board), implementation of Change (this will be effective in an IT environment through Release Management), and finally, evaluation of change (to review the change in service quality and continuity).

Highlights of Change Management in Kovair ITSM:

• Scope to report a Change from Incident Management and Problem Management. A Change can be created manually or automatically. If a similar Change exists, then the service team should link the Incident/Problem with existing Change. Otherwise (in absence of similar Change), the application will automatically create a Change against the Incident/Problem, and establish relational link among them.

• Classification of proposed changes (at review stage) based on their feasibility and risk parameters.

• Post-implementation verification before a change gets effective in an IT environment. This helps an IT service provider to maintain a high degree of service quality to minimize the number of potential Incidents/Problems that may occur due to that change.

• Define process for verification of all changes to minimize their negative impact on SLA, service quality and continuity. This pre-defined process can be enhanced (customizable) as per business need, and objectives of of this application is work flow of the service provider.
  
  

Read more about Service Request Management and Change Management at wikipedia.  Also read more about application lifecycle management here.