Life Cycles
- Life cycle of an item of equipment
- Life cycle of a service CI
- Life cycle of a license
- Life cycle of a contract
- Life cycle of a consumable
- Life cycle of an incident
- Life cycle of a problem and a known error
- Life cycle of a service request
- Life cycle of a change request
- Life cycle of an investment request
- Life cycle of a project
Each life cycle is managed using a status to monitor the progress of the object.
Life cycle of an item of equipment
The life cycle starts when the item of equipment is added to the IT infrastructure and ends when it is permanently removed from it.
Click to see life cycle step details.
Step 1: Stock entry of equipment in a storage location.
- New item of equipment provided by a supplier
- Item of equipment transferred from a storage location of another entity of the organization
- Item of equipment being returned to stock following:
- replacement-exchange;
- repair;
- temporary loan;
- departure of a user leaving the organization.
Step 2: Availability of equipment.
- Commissioning to a location / entity / user
- Recommissioning following a move or a replacement:
- if the equipment is reassigned, it is immediately reinstalled, without being returned to stock;
- if it is not reassigned, or following a breakdown requiring a repair, the equipment is returned to stock.
- Temporary loan to a user
Note: You can pre-assign equipment available in stock if you want to assign its future use to specific users. However, the equipment will remain available for all users as long as it is not installed.
Step 3: Stock exit of equipment.
- Planned when the equipment was installed. When the scheduled end date is reached, a renewal decision must be made:
- extension of the use of the equipment that remains part of the IT infrastructure for a new period of time (e.g. wait for a budget to replace it);
- purchase of the equipment under the terms of a leasing contract about to expire, enabling it to be retained as part of the IT infrastructure;
- final removal of equipment that is no longer used (obsolete, cannot be repaired).
- Permanent when the equipment no longer exists physically because it has been stolen, scrapped or sold.
Life cycle of a service CI
The portfolio of services comprises a set of provisions offered by a service provider, and managed as service configuration items (CI) in the CMDB. It consists of three components:
Click to see life cycle step details.
Step 1: Update of the Service Pipeline.
- The Pipeline identifies all service CIs that are currently being designed (development or test phases).
Step 2: Update of the Service Catalog.
- The Catalog identifies all the service CIs that are approved. They can be made available to users.
Note: You can move a service CI from the Service Catalog to the Service Pipeline if you want to initialize a new design or test phase.
Step 3: Archiving of the service CIs.
- The archieved CIs will disappear from the catalog. They will no longer be available to users.
Note: You can move an archived service to the Service Catalog if you want to make it available again.
Life cycle of a license
The life cycle starts with the acquisition of the license and ends when it is archived.
Click to see life cycle step details.
Step 1: Update of the software catalog.
- The software catalog identifies all the products available in the IT infrastructure (software, packages, applications, drivers, etc.).
Step 2: Installation of software versions.
- Installation through licenses
- Management of updates
Step 3: Analyze to reduce the operating costs.
- Management of variances between software programs installed /used and the corresponding licenses
- Analysis of exceeding the required configurations
- Corrective actions
Step 4: Archiving of licenses which are no longer used.
Life cycle of a contract
The life cycle starts when the contract is signed and ends when it is closed because it has not been renewed.
Click to see life cycle step details.
Step 1: Signing of the contract.
- The contract is established between the IT team and the supplier after conditions have been negotiated.
- Invoicing can be performed at the start and/or at scheduled periods.
Step 2: Period of activity of the contract.
Step 3: Application of the decision made by the manager.
- At the end of this period (in compliance with the renewal notice period set by the supplier), the contract may be:
- renewed tacitly under the same terms or renegotiated: the contract remains active for a new period;
- terminates: the contract will stop.
Life cycle of a consumable
The life cycle starts when the consumable is added to the IT infrastructure and ends when it is permanently removed from it.
Click to see life cycle step details.
Step 1: Stock entry of the consumable.
- Resupply order in terms of a request (service / investment)
- Manual adjustment
Step 2: Stock exit of the consumable.
- Stock taken in terms of a service request
- Destocking in terms of an incident/service request
- Manual adjustment
Life cycle of an incident
The life cycle starts when a user reports an incident to the hotline (following an interruption to or degradation of performance for an item of equipment) and ends when the IT team closes it. Progress within the process can be displayed via a breadcrumb in the Incident form. See Implementation
Click to see life cycle step details.
Step 1: Creation of the incident.
- Self Service: Alert by the requestor user/recipient through the portal (simplified input screen) and transfer to the incidents manager
- Back Office: Creation of a quick call (ticket) or through the New Request/Incident assistant from the inventory of the equipment
Step 2: Start of the workflow associated with the subject of the incident.
Step 3: Incident processing by the hotline.
- 3 options are available from the quick call:
- Resolved immediately: the workflow is ended immediately
- Sent to the incidents manager
- Creation of a draft for a resume later
Step 4: Set of actions performed by the technicians.
- Each technician can carry out:
- a transfer to another group: redirection of the incident which has not been assigned to the correct group
- an escalation to an expert group
- a requalification by modifying the category: the incident will be reassigned to new Support persons and the workflow associated to the new category will be triggered
- The incident is resolved at the end of the process.
Step 5 (Optional): Suspension/Reopening of the incident.
- At any time, the incident processing can be suspended due to events for which the IT team cannot be held responsible, e.g. absence of the user, repairs not carried out by the supplier.
- During this phase, the incident acquires an On-hold meta-status.
- The response time is paused, unless it is an event for which the IT Department is responsible.
Step 6: Closure of the incident.
- The processing time is then calculated automatically.
- The incident acquires a Completed meta-status associated with the final step of the workflow.Notes :
- At any time, the incident can be closed early, e.g. manipulation error.
- A solved incident can be reopened. This may occur, for example, if the recipient discovers, after tests are run, that the problem is still not solved.
Life cycle of a problem and a known error
The life cycle starts when a malfunction occurs without the cause being known (usually following identical mass incidents), and ends when it cannot reoccur. Progress within the process can be displayed via a breadcrumb in the Problem form. See Implementation
Click to see life cycle step details.
Step 1: Creation of the problem.
- There is no immediate or obvious solution
Step 2: Diagnostics and investigations.
- Search of a workaround
Step 3: Creation of a known error.
- A known error can be created once the cause of the malfunction has been found.
Step 4: Correction of the incidents related to the problem.
- Processes of correction through change requests can then be put in place to deal with and resolve all the related incidents.
Life cycle of a service request
The life cycle starts when a user submits a request to the IT Department for the provision of goods or services, and ends when he confirms that it has been resolved. Progress within the process can be displayed via a breadcrumb in the Service request form. See Implementation
Click to see life cycle step details.
Step 1: Creation of the service request.
- Usually, the request is made through the Self-Service Portal.
Step 2: Validation by the manager.
- It can be a financial or a hierarchical manager.
Step 3: Process of the request.
- Stock taken for the available items
- Process of an order for the items not available in stock
Step 4 (Optional): Stock entry for the items delivered.
- If an order has been processed
Step 5: Installation and provision of the items requested by the user.
Step 6: Validation of the service by the user.
- Validation and assessment of the service by the recipient: quality of the action taken, deadlines met
Life cycle of a change request
The life cycle starts when a Back Office user submits a request for a change to be made (usually for an item managed in CMDB), and ends when he confirms that it has been implemented. Progress within the process can be displayed via a breadcrumb in the Change request form. See Implementation
Click to see life cycle step details.
Step 1: Creation of the request.
Step 2: Validation by the manager.
- It can be a financial or a hierarchical manager.
Step 3: Implementation of the change.
- The procedure depends on the type of change: Standard, Normal, Urgent -
See Description
Step 4: Validation of the change by the requestor.
Life cycle of an investment request
The life cycle starts when a Back Office user submits arequest for a standard configuration of equipment / software / consumables, and ends when all the items have been received.
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Step 1: Creation of the request.
Step 2: Validation by the manager.
- It can be a financial or a hierarchical manager.
Step 3: Process of the request.
- Placing of an order or addition to an existing order
Step 4 (Optional): Entry into stock of the items delivered.
Step 5: Input of the invoice.
- The analytical cost allocation of the invoice is completed to the amount of the order on the budget previously defined through a budgetary commitment.
Life cycle of a project
The life cycle starts when the project is initiated and ends with the delivery of the product, or with it being abandoned in the event of a problem.
Click to see life cycle step details.
Step 1: Initiation of the project.
- Definition of the project objectives (the product) its budget, risks, uncertainties, target date for completion and any links with change requests
Step 2: Definition of the project structure.
- Definition and planning of tasks and resources (participants, equipment, CI)
- Setting up the project team
- Production of the Gantt Chart
Step 3: Real-time monitoring.
- Input of time sheets by the team members
- Analysis of the project health indicators by the managers (meeting the budget, deadlines, progress, workload).
Step 4: Delivery of the product.