Applying the ITIL Service Lifecycle to IT Projects

Understanding how ITIL works with real-world IT projects is crucial. Here’s a brief description of each activity of a typical project and its relation to the ITIL service lifecycle:

• Business case and project initiation: You use a business case to justify the cost and effort involved in providing the new service or changing an existing service. The business case triggers the project initiation. These activities happen at the service strategy stage.

• Requirements gathering and analysis: You identify and analyse the detailed requirements of the service or change. These activities happen in the service design stage.

• Design: You produce a design of the service that meets the requirements. This is usually a paper-based design at this point. These activities take place in the service design stage.

• Build: The physical bit where you acquire the solution, such as building the hardware, the servers and networks, or programming the software application. These activities happen in the service transition stage.

• Test: Testing the service is essential to ensure it meets the needs of the business, works in the way you expected, and can be supported. These activities also take place during the service transition stage.

• Implement or deploy: Launching the new or changed service into the live operational environment. This takes place during the service transition stage.

• Deliver and support: The service is now in the live or production environment and is being used by the users. The IT organisation must make sure the service is working and fix it quickly when it goes wrong. These activities take place during the service operation stage.

• Improve: After a service has been operated for some time, it’s often possible to optimise or improve the way it’s delivered. These activities are part of the CSI stage.

Cloud Computing Glossary

cloud computing

A networking solution in which everything — from computing power to computing infrastructure, applications, business processes to personal collaboration — is delivered as a service wherever and whenever you need.

Cloud Computing Glossary

cloud service

The delivery of software, infrastructure, or storage that has been packaged so it can be automated and delivered to customers in a consistent and repeatable manner.

Cloud Computing Glossary

deprovision

The release of cloud services that are no longer needed.

Cloud Computing Glossary

federating

Linking distributed resources together over the cloud.

Cloud Computing Glossary

hypervisor

An operating system that acts as a traffic cop, managing the various virtualization tasks in the cloud to ensure that they make things happen in an orderly manner.

Cloud Computing Glossary

multi-tenancy

The sharing of underlying resources by multiple companies over a cloud.

Cloud Computing Glossary

network attached store

Storage that has its own network address through which it is accessed by the network's workstation users. Acronym: NAS

Cloud Computing Glossary

service level agreement

A contract that stipulates the type of service you need from providers and what type of penalties would result from an unexpected business interruption. Acronym: SLA

Cloud Computing Glossary

solution stack

An integrated set of software that provides everything a developer needs to build an application.

Cloud Computing Glossary

storage area network

A storage systems that is flexible and scalable because it's available to multiple hosts at the same time. Acronym: SAN

Cloud Computing Glossary

vertical industry groups

Workgroups comprised of members from a particular industry such as technology and retail.

Cloud Computing Glossary

virtual memory

The portion of your hard drive that Windows uses to expand the available RAM

Cloud Computing Glossary

virtualization

Using computer resources to imitate other computer resources or whole computers to maximize performance and flexibility.