Towards a Method for IT-Service Management

Practice of Enterprise Modelling (PoEM) 02.11.2011, Oslo, Norway

Towards a Method for IT-Service Management (Research in Progress)

Heiko Kattenstroth, David Heise Research Group Information Systems and Enterprise Modelling Institute for Computer Science and Business Information System (ICB) University of Duisburg Essen Germany

Institut für Informatik und Wirtschaftsinformatik (ICB)

Motivation & Problem  IT management – a task of remarkable complexity

 Analysis and assessment of IT requires knowledge: 



about IT artifacts, heterogeneous IT infrastructures, ever changing technologies, manifold interdependencies

… and about the business!

 Hence, requires involving people with different professional backgrounds.

Demand for approaches that  reduce complexity,  accomplish transparency,  foster communication.

2

PoEM 2011 | Heiko Kattenstroth

Motivation & Problem

– “IT Service” as key solution for IT Management?

 Introduction of the abstraction “IT service”   

represents outcome of the IT organisation serves to manage relationship between business and IT thus, acts as a reference for different stakeholders

 use of a service-abstraction in enterprise modelling promising   



promotes consistent support along the life cycle fosters adequate interpretation of (IT) services serves as foundation for software development increases reuse of IT services (e.g., as part of “Service Portfolio Management”)

General idea: Extend a method for multi-perspective enterprise modeling to address the requirements and challenges of IT service management by developing a domain-specific modelling language (DSML) 3


Conceptual Background: Enterprise Modelling

Value Chain

 enterprise models integrate models of the action system with models of information systems  semi-formal modelling languages with graphical visualisation (often domain specific modelling languages (=DSML))

Strategy Net

Organisational Chart

 reducing complexity through purposeful abstraction  overcoming language barriers by modelling concepts that correspond with the technical language of the domain

Business Process

 joint design of information system and organisational action system IT Resource Diagram

4

Object Model PoEM 2011 | Heiko Kattenstroth

Conceptual Background: Enterprise Modelling Senior Management Management

Front Office

Back Office

Legend Value Chain Core Enterprise Activity

Results of an analysis of current state of the art: Goal  service concept overloaded and not precisely definedBusiness Process Type  no explicit concepts to reduce complexity Aggregated Business (decomposition)  accounts(decomposition) only superficially for the business context Process Business Process  limited (unclear) support along the life cycle of IT Event (Message) services Asset Management

Sales

Corporate Finance

Retail Brokerage

Complaints Management

Customer complaint received

Complaint answered

Update Customer History

Customer complaint closed

uses

Respond to complaint

uses

IT Management

< C. Care Staff >

< C. Care Staff >

What would be a reasonable conceptualisation? CRM-System

ERP-System

Information System Software IT hardware resource part of comprises

IT Operations

Information System

5

Increase customer satisfaction through an attractive value proposition

Private Banking

Payment and Settlement

Operations

Organisation

Strategy

– Illustration of a Prototypical Enterprise Model

runs on Database Server

requires ERP Database Server

MEMO Perspective

runs on ERP Software

ERP Server

Principle Levels of Analysis


Research Objectives of our Research in Progress Prepare the extension of a multi-perspective enterprise modeling method by concepts and heuristics to support IT service management: 1. Develop and illustrate idealised support for entire life cycle 2. Analyse and discuss first design alternatives

 Follows a specific design research process (FRANK 2010): 1. Identification and justification of domain-specific scenarios, requirements and of design goals 2. Reconstruction of key concepts of the domain 3. thereby: Iterative design of DSML and process models 4. (optional: development of a corresponding information system) 5. Initial evaluation by comparing the method‘s features against its requirements and design goals 6


Illustration of the Solution – Overview 1

Requirements Analysis

2

Service Mapping

Customer Service

(dec

o mp

ion) osit

(d e c


Complaint answered


Service Level Agreement (preliminary)

osit ion)


Send personalized answer to customer, ...

Send response

Input

Customer ID (#), complaint result (Bool)

Output

Delivery notice (bool)

Required Performance

Delivery within 90 minutes

Future Requirements

Multi channel approach

Expected Load

50 < x < 250 complaints / workday

Service Level

inherited

3

#

Complaint Handling provided by

#

Send overdraft

Service Catalog

Assessment Complaints Management

-

Risk: Incorrect Complaints Visibility: high Uncertainty: medium

?

SLA

Avg. Load [#msg / day]

Check Credit Rating

4

IT Department

mms

external

Calculate discount Add Customer to loyality program

Avg. Delivery Time [s]

sms

Customer Credit Rating

Get payment method

Head of Customer Care

Campaign Handler

Track Lead

draft

# Complaints resolved in time [%]

SLA

Lead Mgmt.

Discount Manager

Required Functionality

Negotiation Complaints Management

Set reminder

Notify R & D

Service Candidates


Description

...

Check availability

Send E-Mail

Send response

Retrieve history

Notify R & D

draft

Appointment Manager

Retrieve history

< C. Care Staff >

< C. Care Staff >


o mp

Customer Manager

Complaint Handling


Service Owner

?

Risk: Internal fraud Visibility: high Uncertainty: medium

?

Risk: Incorrect Data Visibility: high Uncertainty: medium


IT Department

Service Owner

CRM-System

CRM-System

Helpdesk

Helpdesk

5

6

Build

Monitoring / Accounting

Complaint #41 (Customer: #342) Complaint Handling

Complaint Utilization Handling Availability

Product Customer Complaint

provided by

Submit

Average costs / instance Average duration

Cancel

Customer -id : Integer -created : Date -category : Integer

CRM-System

7

Database Server

requires

Complaint -id : Integer -description : Text

DBMS

CRM Software

runs on

Log -id : Integer -created : Date

CMDB

CRM-System

Messages «uses»

runs on

1.20 $ 02:54 minutes

«interface» messaging

Database Server

Purchase Costs

5.000 €

License Costs per year

25.000 €

requires DBMS

$ Accounting

Illustration of the Solution – Overview 1


2

Service Mapping

Customer Service

(dec

o mp

ion) osit

(d e c


Complaint answered



osit ion)



Send response

Input


Output




Future Requirements


Expected Load


Service Level

inherited

3

#


#

Send overdraft

Service Catalog


-


?

SLA


Check Credit Rating

4

IT Department

mms

external

Calculate discount Add Customer to loyality program


sms


Get payment method


Campaign Handler

Track Lead

draft


SLA

Lead Mgmt.

Discount Manager


Negotiation Complaints Management

Set reminder

Notify R & D

Service Candidates


Description

...

Check availability

Send E-Mail

Send response

Retrieve history

Notify R & D

draft

Appointment Manager

Retrieve history

< C. Care Staff >

< C. Care Staff >


o mp

Customer Manager

Complaint Handling


Service Owner

?


?



IT Department

Service Owner

CRM-System

CRM-System

Helpdesk

Helpdesk

5

6

Build





provided by

Submit


Cancel


CRM-System

8

Database Server

requires


DBMS

CRM Software

runs on


CMDB

CRM-System

Messages «uses»

runs on

1.20 $ 02:54 minutes


Database Server

Purchase Costs

5.000 €


25.000 €

requires DBMS

$ Accounting

Illustration of the Solution Analysis

Design

Implementation

Operation

1

Withdrawal

Requirements Analysis Customer Service

(dec

o mp

ion) o si t



o si t ion)



Retrieve history

Description


Send response

Input


Output




Future Requirements


Expected Load


Service Level

inherited

Notify R & D ...

9

Complaint answered


o mp

< C. Care Staff >

< C. Care Staff >


(d e c

Service Candidates Required Functionality



Design

Implementation

Operation

2

Withdrawal

Service Mapping Complaint Handling draft

Customer Manager

Appointment Manager Check availability

Send E-Mail

Retrieve history

Set reminder

Send response Notify R & D

Campaign Handler

Track Lead

Discount Manager draft Get payment method Calculate discount Add Customer to loyality program

10

Lead Mgmt.


sms mms

external Check Credit Rating Send overdraft

Service Catalog



Design

Implementation

Operation

Withdrawal

5

Build Complaint #41 (Customer: #342) Complaint Handling


provided by

Submit

Cancel


CRM-System

Messages «uses»


11

requires


DBMS



CRM Software



Design

Implementation

Operation

6

Withdrawal

Monitoring / Accounting Complaint Utilization Handling Availability Average costs / instance Average duration

1.20 $

CMDB

02:54 minutes

CRM-System


12

Purchase Costs

5.000 €


25.000 €

requires DBMS

$ Accounting



Design

Implementation

Operation

6

Withdrawal

Monitoring / Accounting Complaint Utilization Handling Availability Average costs / instance Average duration

1.20 $

CMDB

How to design aCRM-System DSML that supports such analyses?


13

02:54 minutes

Purchase Costs

5.000 €


25.000 €

requires DBMS

$ Accounting


Design of a DSML in support of IT Service Management  Development of such a method requires reconstructing the key concepts of the ITSM domain  Key domain concepts are IT service and (IT) service level agreement

 General conceptualisation in Enterprise Modelling (business context) Indicates reuse from existing modelling languages

1..* Indicator

refers to

0..* Risk

occurs for

0..*

14

0..*

0..*

responsible for

Organisational Role

supports

Business Process

0..*

Goal

realizes

0..*

0..*

0..*

IT Service

Functionality has name : String 1..* 1..* description : String 0..* description : String lifecycleStatus : LifeCycleType

satisfies

0..*

Requirement

0..* description : String

priority : OrdinalScale


Design of a DSML in support of IT Service Management  Development of such a method requires reconstructing the key concepts of the ITSM domain  Key domain concepts are IT service and (IT) service level agreement

 However, various open research questions  



 



15

What is a an appropriate conceptualisations of IT service? Which relations between IT services need to be differentiated?

Is it necessary to conceptualise “functionalities” provided by a service? What is the “right“ level of abstraction to describe (IT) services? How to model service level agreements (SLAs) in general and juridical aspects in particular? …


Reconstruction of key domain concepts – “IT Service”

 On the one hand, “IT Service” understood by all stakeholders ... “An IT service describes any (IT-related) outcome of the IT organisation that is used by a customer.“

IT Service name : String description : String lifecycleStatus : LifeCycleType belongs to

0..*

1..1

Service Category categoryName : String description : String

16


Reconstruction of key domain concepts – “IT Service”

 … on the other hand, common definition lacks a precise semantic, thus does not allow for elaborated analyses or transformations  We identified at least three reasonable “types” of IT Services   

outcome of an IT process (e.g., “Help Desk”, “Maintenance”) outcome of an Information System (e.g., “Invoice Printing”) functionality of a Software (e.g., as in SOA) IT Service name : String description : String lifecycleStatus : LifeCycleType

Support Service

IS Service

SW Service

IT Process

17

0..*

Information System

provided by

0..*

provided by

provided by

: Integer signature : InterfaceDescription of Do supportTier you see any further reasonable conceptualisations contactPoint : String standard : Standard “IT service”? 0..* 0..* 0..*

0..*

Software

Reconstruction of key domain concepts – Associations of “IT Service”

 Various relations of “IT Service” suggested in literature, among others  

“related to”, core, enhancing, associate, … IT service “is part of” (another IT Service)

 ad 1) differentiation into core, supporting, … IT Services rather a context specific role (instead meta types)  ad 2) we suggest to differentiate between aggregation and utilisation similar to

aggregates

Service What about “similar” IT IT services (to uses avoid redundancy and support higher levels of abstraction)? replaces 18

pot. additive to PoEM 2011 | Heiko Kattenstroth

Reconstruction of key domain concepts – Associations of “IT Service”

 To avoid redundancy and to support higher level of abstraction, the use of generalisation/specialisation seems to be promising.

replaces specialised by variation point Service Specialisation

aggregates

IT Service

description : String variation : VariationType variability : VariationDependency specialised into

uses

pot. additive to

 but: semantics and operationalization of service variation points has not been clarified yet

19


Reconstruction of key domain concepts – “Service Level Agreement”

 As an “additional“ concept … SLA serviceLevel : OrdinalValue escalationProcedure : String freqOfReview : FrequencyType isInternalContract : Boolean

governs

1..*

IT Service name : String 0..* description : String lifecycleStatus : LifeCycleType

supports

0..*

Business Process

0..*

 … or as a key interface between IT and business? IT Service name : String description : String 0..* lifecycleStatus : LifeCycleType

SLA governs serviceLevel : OrdinalValue escalationProcedure : String 1..* freqOfReview : FrequencyType isInternalContract : Boolean

supports

0..*

Business Process

0..*

… as well as various further questions guiding our research 20


Questions, Answers & Discussion

Development of an Enterprise Modelling Method for IT Service Management Domains and their professional languages

Enterprise Modelling Value Chain Diagram

Action System

Business Process 2

Strategy Net

Business Process Map

Organisational Chart

IS Organisation Service “Customer Rating”

Database Server “DB1”

Service “Customer Data” Service “Billing” Database Server “DB2”

Business Process Diagram

IT Resource Diagram

Application Server

Object Model

Database Admin

Development of a DSML for ITSM

Design Alternatives for Meta Model

… enriched by IT Service concepts 1


2

Service Mapping

Customer Service

(decom

pos

ition)

(decom


Complaint answered




Send response

Input


Output



Delivery within 90 minutes Multi channel approach 50 < x < 250 complaints / workday inherited

3


#


IT Department

-


?

SLA

#

Send overdraft

Service Catalog



mms

external Check Credit Rating

4

Negotiation

sms


draft Calculate discount Add Customer to loyality program



Set reminder

Campaign Handler

Track Lead

Discount Manager Get payment method

Expected Load Service Level


Check availability

Lead Mgmt.

Notify R & D



Future Requirements

SLA

Appointment Manager

Send E-Mail

Send response

Description

...

draft Retrieve history

Service Candidates

Retrieve history

Notify R & D

Customer Manager

Complaint Handling


ition)

< C. Care Staff >

< C. Care Staff >


pos


Service Owner

?


?



IT Department

Service Owner

CRM-System

CRM-System

Helpdesk

Helpdesk

5

6

Build





provided by

Submit


Cancel


CRM-System

«uses»

21

runs on

requires


runs on


1.20 $

CMDB

02:54 minutes

CRM-System

Messages


Purchase Costs

5.000 €


25.000 €

requires

$

PoEM 2011 | Heiko Kattenstroth Database Server

DBMS

CRM Software

Database Server

DBMS

Accounting

References

22



Frank U (2006) Towards a Pluralistic Conception of Research Methods in Information Systems Research. ICB Research Report. 7. Universität Duisburg-Essen. 2006.



Frank U (2008) The MEMO Meta Modelling Language (MML) and Language Architecture. ICB Research Report. 24. Universität Duisburg-Essen, Essen. 2008.



Frank U (2010) Outline of a Method for Designing Domain-Specific Modelling Languages. ICB Research Report. 42. Universität Duisburg-Essen, Essen. 2010.



Frank U, Heise D, Kattenstroth H, Ferguson D, Hadar E, Waschke M (2009) ITML: A DomainSpecific Modeling Language for Supporting Business Driven IT Management. In: Proc. of the 9th OOPSLA workshop on domain-specific modeling (DSM '09), Helsinki.



Frank U, Heise D, Kattenstroth H (2009) Use of a Domain Specific Modeling Language for Realizing Versatile Dashboards. In: Tolvanen J, Rossi M, Gray J, Sprinkle J (Hrsg.) Proc. of the 9th OOPSLA workshop on domain-specific modeling (DSM '09), Helsinki.
