TECHNOLOGY BRIEF: SERVICE TRANSITION AND SUPPORT

Service Transition and Support:

A CA Service Management
Process Map
JUNE 2009

Malcolm Ryder
ARCHITECT
CA SERVICES

Table of Contents
Executive Summary

SECTION 1: CHALLENGE

Simplifying ITIL
How to Use the CA Service Management
Process Maps

2
4

SECTION 2: OPPORTUNITY

Service Transition and Support

Develop Strategy

Preparation and Planning

Knowledge Transfer

Monitor and Report

7
7

SECTION 3: BENEFITS

Benefits
A Key to Achieving IT Service Excellence
SECTION 4: CONCLUSIONS

11
11

Conclusions
SECTION 5: ABOUT THE AUTHOR

11

About the Author

Copyright 2009 CA. All rights reserved. All trademarks, trade names, service marks and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies. ITIL is a Registered Trademark and a Registered Community Trademark of the
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Executive Summary
Challenge
The Information Technology Infrastructure Library version 3 (ITIL V3) process framework
approaches IT Service Management (ITSM) in terms of the lifecycle of a service. The
Service Lifecycle is an organization model providing insight into the way ITSM is structured,
and embodies critical guidance for IT organizations seeking to improve service quality and
align more closely with business goals to create value for the business and its customers.
However, ITIL V3 best practice guidelines across the five phases of the service lifecycle are
complex and challenging to interpret. Moreover, they are not designed to provide definitive
advice about implementing ITSM processes. Many IT organizations consequently undertake
an ITIL journey without a firm idea of their goals and the path to achieve those goals.
One of the key ITIL management processes, Service Transition Planning and Support,
presents its own special challenges. Participants in the effort to bring a new service to
availability must co-operate; therefore they must see the business benefit in sharing
authority across functions or reorienting their responsibilities, while maintaining the
efficiency of their specialties.

Opportunity
The primary objective of the Transition Planning and Support process is to plan and
coordinate resources to ensure specifications for the service design are realized and,
starting with the transition phase, to identify, manage and limit risks that could interrupt
the service in operation.
CA has developed a unique approach to representing the ITIL framework and its
interdependent IT Service Management (ITSM) processes at a high level in the form of
an easy-to-use subway map. This map is an ideal starting point for understanding and
communicating about ITIL in support of successful program planning and implementation.

Benefits
Following the Transition Planning and Support map provides guidance to:
Improve business process capabilities
Effectively upgrade the IT infrastructure in timely alignment with business needs
Foster the efficient delivery of multiple IT services
Improve the quality of technical support

TECHNOLOGY BRIEF: SERVICE TRANSITION AND SUPPORT 1

SECTION 1: CHALLENGE

Simplifying ITIL
The ITIL V3 process framework focuses on the service lifecycle and the way that service
management components are structured and linked. It embodies critical guidance for
IT organizations that are seeking to improve service quality and align more closely with
business goals
But, the ITIL V3 best-practice guidelines across the five phases of the service lifecycle are
complex and challenging to interpret. Moreover, they are not designed to provide definitive
advice about implementing IT Service Management (ITSM) processes. Many IT organizations
consequently undertake an ITIL journey without a firm idea of their goals and the path to
achieve those goals.

CA ITSM Process Maps

illustrate at a high level
how best to navigate a
journey of continual service
improvement guided by
strategic controls throughout
the service lifecycle. Each
map describes the relevant
ITIL processes and activities
youll need to work with to
reach your goals.

CA has developed a unique approach to charting the ITIL journey through a visual representation
of the ITIL framework and its interdependent ITSM processes modeled after an urban subway
system. This three-part map (Figure A) presents an easy-to-navigate, high-level view of the
ITIL terrain. IT executives, strategists and implementers can use these Service Management
process maps along with the family of CA Service Management process map technology briefs
that expand on them. The maps and technology briefs provide a common reference point for
understanding and communicating about ITIL and help you with program planning and
implementation.
How to Use the CA Service Management Process Maps
CAs Service Management process maps (Figure A) illustrate every process (or track), each
activity (or station) and the key relationships that are relevant to navigating continuous IT
service improvement. The ITIL quality cycle takes the form of a circle with each Plan-DoCheck-Act (P-D-C-A) step as a process integration point (junction) on the line. Junctions
serve both as reference points when assessing process maturity, and as a means to consider
the implications of implementing a process in isolation.
Strategic controls (Service Portfolio Management, Demand Management and Financial
Management) are needed to reduce risk and optimize integration across the service lifecycle,
as illustrated on the three points of the triangle centered in the P-D-C-A quality circle (seen
more easily in Figure B). These strategic controls help in evaluating, prioritizing and assuring
the appropriate levels of financial and human resources for existing and new services.
This paper is part of a series of Service Management Process Map technology briefs. Each brief
explains how to navigate a particular ITIL process journey, reviewing each process activity that
must be addressed in order to achieve process objectives. Along each journey careful attention
is paid to how technology plays a critical role in both integrating ITIL processes and automating
ITIL process activities.

2 TECHNOLOGY BRIEF: SERVICE TRANSITION AND SUPPORT

Service Catalog
Management

Service Design

Service Operation

Service Transition
Release and
Deployment
Management

Maintain
Business
Services

Test

Adopt
Best Practices

Raise Incident

Responsiveness

Resolve

Validate &
Verify

Transition
Planning and
Support

Perform
Tests

Preparation
and Planning

CH

Service Portfolio
Management

Executive
Policy
Transfer/
Disseminate
Transform
to Usable
Knowledge

Verify

Record

CT

AN

PL
Service
Review

Customer
Satisfaction
Publish
Live Services

Optimize
Availability

Monitor
Performance

Design SLA
Framework

Report
Achievements

Catalog
Operational
Services

Key Intersections

Service Catalog Management

Service Level Management

Strategic Controls
IT Service Continuity Management

Meet Business
Requirements

Service Validation and Testing

Key Intersections

Investigate

Strategic Inputs

Info. Security Management

Continual Service
Improvement

Capture Info.
Approval
(Financial, Compliance)

Service Asset and Configuration

Management

Strategic Controls

Incident Management
Strategic Controls

Service Asset and

Configuration

Change Management
Strategic Inputs

Release and Deployment

Management

Management

Continual Service
Improvement

Work
Around

Fulfillment

Resolve/
Recover

Key Intersections

Problem Management

Transition Planning and Support

Availability Management

Problem
Management

Escalate

Known
Errors

Deliver
Standardized
Services

Assure
Quality

Event Management

Capacity Management

Problem
Control

Report/
Closure

Identify
Configurations

Manage
and Plan

IT Service
Continuity
Management

Access
Management

Diagnose
Financial
Management

Monitor
and Report

Coordinate
Resources
Revise
SLAs / OLAs
Manage
Issues

Demand
Management

AN

AN

PL

Technical
Service
Views

Service Level
Management

Monitor
Demand

Business
Service
Views
Financial
Management

Deploy

Manage
Build/Release

Categorize

RFC
Analysis

Financial
Management

Configuration
Control

CT

Mitigate Risk

Demand
Management

PL

Change
Management

Determine
Vulnerabilities

Demand
Management

Prioritize

Review
and Audit

Proactive
Management
Build Plan

Automate
and Control
Store Info.

Manage
Security Incidents

Test

Detect
(Incl. Fault Detection)

Review/
Action

Access Request

Knowledge
Transfer

Build Catalog
Contents

Analyze

Filter /
Correlate
Select Response

Verify

Build
Schedule

EC

CH

Provide
Rights

Preparation

Document
Service
Definition
Service Portfolio
Management

Analyze
Performance

Capacity
Management

O
Ensure
Release
Value

EC

O
Maintain
Policy

Error
Control

CH

Service Portfolio
Management

Event
Management

Record

Service Request
(Incl. Self-Service)

Status
Reports

O
Develop
Strategy

Model/Trend

Forecast
Requirements

Request
Fulfillment

Impact
Analysis

Adjust and Tune

Set Security
Controls

Assess Risk

Request Fulfillment

Strategic Inputs

Knowledge Management

Continual Service
Improvement

Access Management

Restore
Service

Knowledge
Management

SERVICE TRANSITION MAP

Service Transition
Service
Validation
and Testing

Maintain Accurate
Service Configurations

Schedule
Change

Release and
Deployment
Management

CAB Review
Execute
(Emergency/
Standard)

Audit
Adopt
Best Practices

Evaluation/
Decision

Business
Planning

Responsiveness
Validate &
Verify
Impact
Analysis

Transition
Planning and
Support

Status
Reports

CH

Service Portfolio
Management

EC

Ensure
Release
Value

Develop
Strategy

Preparation
Perform
Tests

Preparation
and Planning

Verify

Build
Schedule

Prioritize

Change
Management

Demand
Management

Configuration
Control

Deploy

PL

Manage
Build/Release

Categorize

RFC
Analysis

Financial
Management

AN

Knowledge
Transfer

CT

The Service Transition map represents

a journey of developing and improving
capabilities for the transition of new
and modified services to production.

Monitor / Track

Informed
Decisions

Build
Specify
Continuity
Requirements

Methods/
Techniques

Assess &
Classify Assets

Info. Security
Management

FIGURE B

Prevent and
Eliminate
Problems

Audit

Business
Planning

Incident
Management

Secure
Service Access

CAB Review
Execute
(Emergency/
Standard)
Evaluation/
Decision

Deliver
Required
Resources

Monitor
Services

Service
Validation
and Testing

Maintain Accurate
Service Configurations

Schedule
Change

Availability
Management

EC

CA has developed three maps:

Service Design, Service Transition
and Service Operation since most
ITSM discussions focus on these
critical ITIL disciplines.

THREE MAPS

CT

FIGURE A

Monitor
and Report
Report/
Closure

Coordinate
Resources
Identify
Configurations

Manage
and Plan

Service Validation and Testing

Key Intersections

Service Asset and Configuration

Management

Strategic Controls

Change Management
Strategic Inputs
Transition Planning and Support
Release and Deployment
Management

Continual Service
Improvement

Assure
Quality

Service Asset and

Configuration
Management

TECHNOLOGY BRIEF: SERVICE TRANSITION AND SUPPORT 3

Finding the Right Path to IT Service Excellence

Many organizations have not formalized a Transition Planning and Support discipline. This
is not so much due to a level of difficulty in carrying out the functions; instead, it is because
many of the functions are active already but are not strategically coordinated to optimize their
beneficial influence on driving future state development in alignment with the business. Key
points in this optimization include:
Enabling Business-Oriented Investment Decisions
Managing Service Components using Business Priorities
Ensuring that Services are Compliant
One of the main outcomes of the Transition Planning and Support effort is a decrease in lost
or conflicting opportunities to update the infrastructure with business-enhancing capabilities.
However, this comes about through bringing multiple contributing disciplines out of their silos
to push progress together with less redundancy and fewer gaps in process.

SECTION 2: OPPORTUNITY

Transition Planning and

Support concerns itself
with proactively making
the significant interrelated
factors of value, quality
and risk visible across the
full lifecycle of a new
deployment of a service.

Service Transition and Support

The Service Transition and Support process is responsible for planning and coordinating
resources to ensure specifications for the service design are realized and, starting with the
transition phase, to identify, manage and limit risks that could interrupt the service in operation.
As a direct approach to managing demand and expectations for services, Transition Planning
and Support concerns itself with proactively making the significant interrelated factors of value,
quality and risk visible across the full lifecycle of a new deployment of a service. Stakeholders
are able to assess gains, responsibilities and trade-offs before the deployment is in effect.
Consequently, Transition Planning and Support ensures that the new deployment of services
will present lower risk to the infrastructure and business, and will experience more immediate
effectiveness of user adoption.
Transition Planning and Support concerns itself with proactively making the significant
interrelated factors of value, quality and risk visible across the full lifecycle of a new
deployment of a service.
The ultimate goal of Transition Planning and Support track (Figure C) is a full coordination of
resources required to newly and successfully deploy a service. The subway map for this journey
plots the key stations along the course in this way:
Develop Strategy
Preparation and Planning
Knowledge Transfer
Monitoring and Reporting

4 TECHNOLOGY BRIEF: SERVICE TRANSITION AND SUPPORT

Transition
Planning and
Support

Service Portfolio
Management

CH

Develop
Strategy

EC

Preparation
and Planning

Demand
Management

Financial
Management

AN

Knowledge
Transfer

PL

The Transition Planning and Support

track represents managements
attention to how resources are
identified and aligned with the
requirements for fostering a rapid
adoption of an upcoming new
service deployment.

FIGURE C

CT

FIGURE C

Monitor
and Report

Coordinate
Resources

Develop Strategy
Effectively implementing the management process for Transition Planning and Support is
of course a prerequisite to using the process well. For this, the key is to inform identifiable
stakeholders of the purpose of the process, emphasizing the objective to co-ordinate, not to
replace, their contributions. In addressing a business-orientation, the strategy management
practice is the most familiar territory where process owners collaborate on common objectives.
This means visualizing and sharing a framework in which process owners can see themselves
collaboratively driving benefits with other contributors under controlled circumstances.
This will generate the business justification and motivation for beginning the new resource
coordination. However, to demonstrate sustainability, a project portfolio management
approach is frequently the right level of information and description to show how the
collaboration will have familiarity and accountability. There, the familiarity can readily
be expressed in the following shared terms:
High-level requirements
Scope
Policies
Organizational responsibilities
Anticipated Resources
Individual processes and procedures with touch points or hand-offs
A view of roles, processes and standards will allow stakeholders to anticipate what the
approach means to them in terms of responsibilities and costs in their budgets and schedules.
With that prerequisite done, attention can turn strategy from the generic mode of conduct to
particular deployments. But first the other steps of the full journey should be described.
TECHNOLOGY BRIEF: SERVICE TRANSITION AND SUPPORT 5

Preparation and Planning

Resource coordination calls for identifying, streamlining, fitting, and tracking across the
capacities of people, procedures and tools to provide and consume timely information. The
objective at this station is to align resources for generating the targeted outcomes of the
deployment. Different stakeholders have different targets, but the big advantage to pursue
here is a focus on a standardized model of the service to be delivered. With the common
model of the service in hand, all parties understand that they are working on the same thing
and can identify what they need to be effective contributors or users.
A Configuration Management System (CMS) is a shared utility that stakeholders can use
to reference the model of the service to be deployed. The data in the CMS, which is used to
describe and record the model, resides in a configuration management database (CMDB).
Planners are thereby able to consistently refer to the characteristics of the target service
that are most pertinent to the particular stakeholders, and relate those back to the relevant
supporting resources for developing and deploying the service. Two key items that come
from this are service design specifications and formal requests for managed change (RFCs).
Preparation and Planning benefits greatly from the efforts of the Service Asset and Configuration
Management process to maintain and validate service specifications with the CMS.
Because deployments are ineffective if they cannot be adopted and absorbed by the target
customer, timing is a critical success factor and should be represented in terms of schedules
where lead time is provided for accommodating anticipated stakeholder impacts of the
deployment as it progresses from design to implementation. Meanwhile, managers of the
organizations Service Desk should be able to provide key information about what kinds of
risks are associated with different kinds of services.
Knowledge Transfer
Information that drives production of the service deployment is well accounted for in the
first two stations, but equally important is information about the usability, supportability and
operational requirements that will be the new (future) state brought about with the deployment.
At the knowledge transfer station, advance notification, progress reports and education
should be coordinated with each other to establish high awareness and higher comfort
with both the upcoming deployment event and aftermath. A combination of scheduled and
on-demand information delivery about the service deployment should be established and
maintained for stakeholders, organized for user-friendliness per the stakeholders respective
role. A knowledgebase and a communications campaign are two prominent tools that can
establish resource-efficient maintenance of awareness.

6 TECHNOLOGY BRIEF: SERVICE TRANSITION AND SUPPORT

Monitor and Report

The ability to determine the actual impacts of deployment efforts is naturally important in
terms of identifying incidents or problems caused by the deployment. However, for the
Transition Planning and Support effort, the focus of monitoring and reporting is two-fold:
on the progress of the deployment lifecycle such as timing and testing; and, on establishing
relevant criteria for post-deployment validations and risk mitigation. As with much of
Transition Planning and Support, the resources for this are probably already active, and the
work to be done now is to coordinate them and if necessary to reconcile them so that cause
and effect relationships underlying deployment success or service quality are more visible.
ITIL v3 is distinguished by its emphasis on ITs strategic alignment to business benefit. So, to
cut to the chase, how do the above steps combine to raise the value of IT services?

SECTION 3: BENEFITS

Benefits
IT Services are the building blocks of business processes and business services. A successful
delivery of a service will feature the right thing arriving at the right place at the right time for the
right reason. The business uses multiple services to support its own performance and growth
Executives own the service portfolio, set service goals and control the investment in the
service. This executive demand and influence thus should begin the origination of the service
as an adopted and implemented success factor for the business.
ITIL v3 refers to the implementation of services as a transition, for a single key reason: the
service implementation takes the service user from an older or current state to a different
future state of operational options and constraints. This transition may include re-use,
augmentation, modification, and replacement of the incumbent operational techniques.
Thus it is appropriate to have the variety of possible impacts visualized and accommodated
by time, skills and attention before the deployment occurs.
The executive view of a successful service implementation includes concerns about the
control, compatibility and delivery of the service. These three factors translate, respectively,
into management of the quality, risk, and value of the provided service, as deliberately
generated from end-to-end of the lifecycle of the service.
ITIL v3 describes Service Design, Service Transition (deployment), and Service Operation as
three major phases in the service lifecycle. Within Service Transition, the Transition Planning
and (Transition) Support effort is a high-level management process that links the appropriate
design of the service to the smooth operability of the service.
The goal of Transition Planning and Support is to plan and coordinate resources to ensure
specifications for the service design are realized and, starting with the transition phase, to
identify, manage and limit risks that could interrupt the service in operation.

TECHNOLOGY BRIEF: SERVICE TRANSITION AND SUPPORT 7

In effect, Transition Planning and Support provides a sturdy bridge between IT Governance and
Business Service Management. The key deliverables of Transition Planning and Support will be
A strategy for transition
An integrated set of transition plans
Training, knowledge transfer, and communications
Verification of deployment through monitoring and reporting

FIGURE D

COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT OF DEMAND

Surrounding the business demand

for services are multiple perspectives
that bring management processes
for projects, changes and releases
into cooperative responsibilities.

Managing business demand for services requires strategically prioritizing the use of resources
to generate fulfillment and support. This support of IT Governance includes:
Tying the business case for a service to the project management to build a new or improved
service. Maintaining this relationship makes it possible to compare the expected ROI with
the service design and implementation project. This provides transparency for business
users and helps ensure that IT and business goals stay aligned and that the benefits that
have been stated in the business case are tracked and realized.
Traceability from development through to deployment in the service portfolio. All project and
development activity for building or maintaining a service can be related directly to the release
published in the service catalog. This linkage provides visibility into in the process and investment
in delivering services, including an assessment of risk versus value (target benefit).
Business Service Management is an approach that links IT infrastructure to the business
services it supports, and provides comprehensive and integrated management of the entire
infrastructure. As part of that infrastructure management, which underpins any service,
managing the entire change life cycle is fundamental to successfully delivering services.

8 TECHNOLOGY BRIEF: SERVICE TRANSITION AND SUPPORT

In the big picture of transition, we expect Service Designs and RFCs to drive production of
the appropriate implementations for the business. Proper implementations will pass muster
for acceptance both in terms of the risks they present and the compliance of the actual
deployment to the design.

FIGURE E

CMDB SUPPORT OF DEPLOYMENTS

Service definitions live in the

configuration management database
(CMDB). Existing services and
dependencies are stakeholders
in transitions, and they may also be
models for proposed new services.

Service Transition (deployment) is supported by the configuration management database

(CMDB). The CMDBs data provide the context to understand the impact of a change before
it is made, and it provides a basis for validating the actual state of deployed services against
the intended state.
The design of a service represents a balanced business view of IT in a consistent model to
assure that business and technology are integrated. It goes beyond the usual CMDB focus
on configuration management to encompass stakeholders, design, metrics, service level
agreements, controls, security and service lifecycles. A services defined configuration is
maintained within the CA CMDB. This configuration is shared by all participating applications.
The service design will link end users, the service and IT components.

TECHNOLOGY BRIEF: SERVICE TRANSITION AND SUPPORT 9

Change management is a primary consumer of the service information found in the CMDB,
using it as a basis for determining if a proposed service design is new or enhanced, and if the
designs likely impact if instantiated carries any particular risks to existing infrastructure,
relationships and services.
STRATEGY. Transition Planning and Support must acquire information about the identified
requirements of resources ranging from the current IT environment, business timeframes,
budgets and people. This information, in a gap analysis, must lead to an understanding of
the feasibility and viability of the proposed service transition, expressed as a manageable
production effort.
PREPARATION AND PLANNING. By associating the change activity with a specific plan for a
Release, and leveraging project portfolio management to coordinate the resources for the
change activity, Transition Planning and Support will prepare and manage the building (or
procurement), testing and actual deployment of the proposed service.
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER. Communicating the transition plan is critical to assuring that
stakeholders in the transition are able to respond appropriately at the points where the
deployment reaches their roles. This requires transforming data (in specifications and plans)
into useful role-oriented information. Since this communication will more likely be a process
or campaign than an event, the ongoing and on-demand availability of the information is a
prime concern both in managing the transition and in understanding, after the fact, what
has actually been deployed. Thus, conversion of the information to knowledge documents,
and follow-on management of that knowledge, is an important key to the successful transfer
of the knowledge amongst stakeholders. That in turn facilitates the hand-off of support
responsibility to operations and the more immediate adoption of the service by its
consumers.
MONITOR AND REPORT. Validation of the transition success requires that the effects of
actual utilization will be tracked and measured in a timely manner, to confirm that the
expected outcomes of the deployment are being met.
An overview of concerns addressed by Transition Planning and Support is shown in the
table below.
PLANNER

CONSUMER

OPERATIONS

Design

Specifications

Justification and ROI

Validation criteria

Build or Procure

Projects

Schedules

Policies and Procedures

Train and Inform

Communications

Knowledge

Metrics and Requirements

Verify Delivery

Completeness

Compliance

Supportability

10 TECHNOLOGY BRIEF: SERVICE TRANSITION AND SUPPORT

A Key to Achieving IT Service Excellence

Automating ITSM through technology can help your organization reduce the amount of
resources required to achieve ITIL v3 best practices. This assists your IT department in
improving the quality of its services while embarking upon a continuous IT service excellence
program focused on fostering business growth.
As you reach the end point of the Planning and Support journey outlined in the CA Service
Transition process map, your organization should have a better handle on the steps needed to
promote successful service deployments. Specifically, bringing deployment efforts in line with
ITIL best practices can help you:
Improve business process capabilities
Effectively upgrade the IT infrastructure in timely alignment with business needs
Foster the efficient delivery of multiple IT services
Improve the quality of technical support

SECTION 4: CONCLUSIONS

Conclusions
Transition Planning and Support Management facilitates ITSM by managing the deployment of
services needed by the business. However, doing so requires rigorous processes, appropriate
communication plans and support commitments as well as an outline detailing where to
start and how to proceed through the journey.
Following the steps outlined in the CA Service Transition process map gives organizations a
clear view of how their Transition Planning and Support journey will take shape and illustrates
the key stops en route to achieving effective resource coordination. This journey results in:
Consolidated deployment process
Better planning and resource allocation
Improved risk management
Stronger integration with other ITSM and ITIL best practices

SECTION 5: ABOUT THE AUTHOR

About the Author

Malcolm Ryder has over 25 years experience in the IT industry, with expertise in the areas
of service delivery and support and IT strategy. For the last 15 years, Malcolm has worked in
consulting and solution strategy roles with a heavy emphasis on service management systems,
with vendors, service providers and end-user customers. Malcolm has been a co-developer of
multiple market-leading commercial ITSM solutions since the mid 80s.
To learn more about the CA ITIL solutions, visit ca.com/itil.

TECHNOLOGY BRIEF: SERVICE TRANSITION AND SUPPORT 11

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management software companies, unifies and simplifies
the management of enterprise-wide IT for greater business
results. Our vision, tools and expertise help customers
manage risk, improve service, manage costs and align their
IT investments with their business needs.

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