Process Tool Functionalities to look for in ITSM and Software Development

Not many tools can be categorized as software development process Management tools, as most of the process tools are included as a part of the development and management point tools. There are few generis process tools that are focused on different development and IT processes within the same tool. These can be broadly classified into Methodology specific and Methodology Agnostic.  Designed around a specific methodology, methodology specific tools have little room to incorporate deviations from the methodology it originally intended to implement. It has a shorter shelf life. On the contrary, the Methodology Agnostic Process implements a wide range of methodologies. Organizations following a proprietary or a modified methodology, can adopt the Methodology Agnostic Process, as it is the best option. It is capable of accommodating changes in the business and technology scenarios, and an investment in this process tools goes a long way. The following are the general features and functionalities in a generic Methodology Agnostic process.

●        Diverse Independent processes

Multiple process support is necessary for a few specific applications. It is simpler to design, develop and manage different processes in a more ordered way, especially for tools that support numerous independent processes for a single application.

●        Process Designer with visual drag and drop facilities

A visual drag and drop interface aids a process designer to visualize the process as it is being created. Consequently this enables it to be faster and easier to create a process.  It is vital that to decide on visual interfaces that have enough flexibility to execute convoluted processes. the process maintenance overhead is fairly high, as there IT resources need coding even the minimum changes.

●        Assign single activity to multiple owners.

It should be possible to assign tasks to numerous users based on policies. It is necessary to have ways to support queuing of tasks, load balancing, task sharing by multiple owners and independent owners of a single task among others.

●        Conditional Branching

Although a fundamental requirement of a process tool, this is absent from many tools in the market.

On the basis of complex conditions defined in terms of various variables of a particular item, a conditional branching in full form allows automatic selection of the next activity. These steering needs to be automatically executed based on the field values.

●        Union with quorum based forwarding policy

Synchronization of multiple parallel activities in a process needs to be combined for a process to move forward. When pre-defined percentages of the previous activities are completed, a quorum based merging allows the process to move forward.

●        Process Modification

As the old process continues to be running for the existing items, process modification should be possible, as it facilitates easier managing of the process changes.

●        Recommence process without repetition

It may be necessary to restart the current items running with this new process, especially in the event of a process change. With advanced tools it is possible to start at a particular step within the new process rather than at the ‘Start’, ensuring no repetition.

●        In built versioning

Process versioning is needed for any organization that needs to execute CMMI  Process or similar compliance processes. Just like any change management, it is necessary to track the changes in the process by tracking the versions. A good choice is tool which has built-in versioning for the process.

●        Coordination among various processes

In the tools that allow the execution of multiple applications like Requirements Management tools, Issues Management, Test Management, and Release Management, the need for this feature is critical.

Before making a final selection of the tool for your Application LifeCycle Management, it is necessary to some time thinking and discussing the process needs with vendors, thereby avoiding the investment in a wrong tool.

Learn more about :- service request management  & issue management tools

How to get the best out of your ALM tool?

Every enterprise needs an ITSM solution that can provide the best technology vale proposition irrespective of the needs of the specific application. You can get the best of your Application Lifecycle Management tool if you opt for the right kind of tool in the first place. Here’s a check list of what an ALM tool needs to be equipped with to provide your enterprise the best.

·         Firstly ensure that your set of integration tools  especially your ALM tool is a purely web based architecture that can effortlessly support multiple major browsers with no requirement of side software installations etc.

·         It should be a tool that is armed with drag and drop codeless configurable entities that allows for easy configurations for desired applications. This feature makes it a feasible and flexible long term investment with very high ROI.

·         It should be a task based tool that has process capabilities that can be added to any application

·         The ALM tool should facilitate for easy integration for any third party tool or software via thin adaptors that can easily allow for bidirectional data transfer between the tool and the 3^rd party software. This ensures that all of this is done in a single repository to enable best technical, management or reporting abilities.

·         The ALM tool should be able to offer optimized interconnectivity and data transferability for optimized point integrations.

·         An enterprise would do well to engage such a tool that can offer maximized integrations and ensure significant savings in both development and maintenance costs for upgrades for new version of tools.

·         Opting for a tool that is easily open for open to any type of software from any vendor including home grown tools or data bases for integrations can be a definite advantage to an enterprise.

·         If the ALM tool comes with a “Tools Class API” it can easily integrate with other tools relatively easy once the APIs for other tools are available, making it quite an advantage for the enterprise.

·         Also the tool should be able to improve upon the capabilities of other tools using its own built in tools that may not have a process engine.

·         The tool should be able to ably fill in the gaps that may arise from point tools

In today’s multi locations as well as outsourced development environment, enterprises realize that it is important that an Application Lifecycle Management tool especially a requirements management tool if based in Boston should be able to communicate with a Test tool based in Bangalore with ease, therefore enterprises need to ensure they get the best from their ALM tool. Hopefully the aforementioned check-list can help you choose the best integrated ALM tool solution available for your enterprise.

Learn more about: - requirements management here.

Addressing the Various Impediments of ITSM

ITSM fundamentally looks at exploring and working out problems that are reported by a geographically spread user base. It is usually Service Level Agreement (SLA) and other guidelines that help in managing these customer problems. When the activities require attention from multiple departments, this process gets even more complicated. In instances when departments use different information silos, there may be a lack of data integrity and cross functional alliance that could negatively affect the quality of service.  

IT service management personnel require solutions that can offer ways to solve user-reported problems and also ensure that such information are entered into a knowledgeable base for future reference. In any IT organization, the challenge is to be prepared to address any issues in these situations. Generally these challenges can be addressed by 

• Implementing an automated business process in a tool
• Sharing developments with users regarding problem resolution
• Ensuring problems if not resolved in time are escalated to ensure its full fledged resolution
• Having integrated tools in the IT ecosystem
• Offering global access
• Enabling knowledge base management
• Creating an external and internal customer database for information

It is possible to successfully implement the requires functionalities to meet these commonly faced challenges by following a comprehensive and complex business rule for investigating and resolving user problems. To maintain high quality of service, it is necessary to define and implement an automated process that can be used in a transparent manner without facing the complexity of its creation and implementation.  In any organization is important to preserve the prior process versions and also preserve the ability to go back to old process versions that are based on management directives. With a task based omniprocess workflow engine, it is possible to address all these issues while the users and the management have the complete visibility to the complete problem resolution process. Also, using an omnibus technology, it is possible to integrate the existing tools and enable an event based real-time communication between the tools. Consequently, there is an improved customer satisfaction due to better customer services and there is increased data integrity and reduced data inconsistency.

It becomes necessary to create a knowledgebase entity that has resolutions of the past known errors and multiple search facilities, to leverage past problem resolution efforts. This way there is no duplication of efforts resolving a problem that has at some point in time already been resolved in the past. In instances where it is difficult to cross reference customer information, creating a consolidated and linked repository of the customer information helps. This enables all the pertinent customer information on a single repository. Choosing the appropriate ITSM solutions will offer many benefits owing to its varied functional abilities and seamlessly integrate with all the other components like Problem management, the change management process and make it ideal for enterprises.

Learn more about: - service request management & enterprise service bus architecture