Transcript Life after Go-Live: How to Manage IT Production

Dennis Adams
associates
Challenges of
Managing Live Applications
A Strategy for Managing IT Production
TAMS 2.1 Product Briefing
17 November 2005
Dennis Adams Associates Limited
Consultancy for IT Production Management
www.dennisadams.net
The changing IT APPLICATION LANDSCAPE
• Mainframe
• Departmental
Computing
• Client/Server
Applications
• N-Tier Applications
• Message-Oriented
Middleware
• Composite Applications
linked together by a
Service-Oriented
Architecture: Enterprise
Service Bus.
Changes in APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
• Tools:
– Text Editors
– 4GL Intelligent Editors
– Integrated Development
Environments (IDEs)
– Sophisticated Debugging
– Integrated Test
Environments
– Design/Develop/Deploy
Environments (Eclipse)
• Techniques:
– Waterfall
– Prototyping
– Iterative Development
As Development has become more complex,
so too have Deployment and Production.
DEPLOYMENT into IT PRODUCTION
IT
Development
IT
Production
IT PRODUCTION Challenges: Managing Live Applications
• More and More Applications are being thrown over the wall.
• Applications being thrown over the wall are More Complex.
– Composite applications consisting of multiple inter-connections
between loosely coupled components.
– Complex inter-relationships between “applications”
• More “intermediate” Deployments for each Project
– Consequence of Architecture-Driven Iterative Development.
• In addition, IT Production has the responsibility for supporting all
of the existing Applications as well.
IT Production needs to be able to support
both modern Composite SOA applications
and Legacy applications at the same time.
The Pressures of IT PRODUCTION
• Tactical Reactions !
• Concentrate on solving Urgent Support Issues.
– Neglect Activity Reporting
• Adopt a short-term viewpoint
– Become less Client-Focused
• Support Culture can be Reactive
– Forward Planning ??
• The team gets blamed when things go wrong.
• Neither IT Development or Business are aware of Production
Costs or Activity
• It becomes difficult to justify further Investment in Infrastructure
or Headcount
• Outsourcing ? ! ?
The Result ?
etrics
perational Tools
rocesses & Procedures
tandards
Capture appropriate METRICS
• Metrics (or KPIs) enable us to:
– Understand which are the “problem support applications”
– Explain & Justify the Support Activity
• Several Types of Metrics to capture:
– Assets (Systems, Memory, etc.)
– Behavior of systems ( CPU used, Disk space used etc.)
– Activity (Man-days spent in support)
• Publish this data by Application Supported, not by Technical
Categories
• Capture Historic Trends so that we can capacity plan.
If Metrics are to be of value to IT Production management,
they should always relate to the Business benefit which is
being delivered.
Chose appropriate OPERATIONAL TOOLS
• Software Tools should assist the Management of IT Production.
• Different types:
• Metrics Collection Tools:
– Activity Tracking (Man-Days)
– Help Desk, Incident Management, Change Control
– Asset Management.
• Technical Support Tools:
–
–
–
–
Tivoli, Alerting console
Specialised Technical Monitoring of OS, Networks, Databases
Specialised monitoring of Application Infrastructure, J2EE
Backup / Recovery, Business Continuity
• Workflow:
Metrics Collection, Historical Analysis
Focus on the Application, not the Technology
Introduce relevant PROCESSES and PROCEDURES
Initiation
R&D
Configuration
Release
Build
Standards
Change
Problem
Deploy
Support
Handover
Incident
Service Desk
Define Production-Readiness STANDARDS
• Introducing IT Production Standards enables us to move
towards a more homogeneous data centre, with lower costs of
support.
• Establish a Production Architecture role
– Define Production Readiness Criteria
– Engage with Development
– Publish Technology “menu” of Production Standards
• Developers and Business need to understand that these
Standards represent the best Solution Options for development.
– Optimal Application support costs.
– Service Level Agreements should reflect these Standards
• Application design should be a collaborative activity, involving
both Development and Production Architecture.
Choice of Standards should depend upon whether or not a
Technology is “Production-Ready”
Conclusions: MANAGING LIVE APPLICATIONS
• The IT Application Landscape is changing.
• IT Development Tools and Techniques enable us to create
Composite Applications based on SOA
• IT Production is responsible for the ongoing Support and
Maintenance:
– New Composite Applications
– A huge legacy of Existing Applications
• Strategic Solutions need to be in place to enable IT Production
to proactively support the business:
–
–
–
–
METRICS
OPERATIONAL TOOLS
PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES
STANDARDS
• Solutions must focus on the Business Service we are providing.
Dennis Adams
associates
Challenges of
Managing Live Applications
A Strategy for Managing IT Production
TAMS 2.1 Product Briefing
17 November 2005
Dennis Adams Associates Limited
Consultancy for IT Production Management
www.dennisadams.net