ITIL Service Transition

Service Transition   
The ITIL Service Transition helps to plan and deploy IT services. Service Transition ensures that the changes made to IT services and Service Management are carried out in a synchronous way.
The Service Transition includes different phases, namely :

• Service Asset &Configuration Management
• Change Management
• Change evaluation
• Transition planning and support
• Release & Deployment Management
• Knowledge Management
• Service validation and testing

SERVICE ASSET AND CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT
The objective of the Service Asset and Configuration Management includes :

• Identify, Record and provide accurate information of the Configuration Items (CI = IT components)
• Provide the Logical Model for IT infrastructure correlating the IT services & their components
• Protect Integrity of the CIs
• To create, implement and maintain Configuration Management System
• Manage Service Assets
• Perform regular audits / status accounting activities for all the CIs

CHANGE MANAGEMENT
The objective of the Change Management includes :

• Study the adverse Impact of change & minimize it
• Create & maintain a Change Management process
• Prevent Unauthorized changes
• Prepare Change Management Plans
• Post Implementation Reviews of Changes
• Maintain a record of all changes

Activities :

• Record RFC
• Review RFC
• Assess & Evaluate Change – 7 R s of Change
• Authorize Change
• Issue Change Plan (to R& D Team)
• Support/Coordinate Change Implementation
• Post Change Review

CHANGE EVALUATION
To assess major Changes, like the introduction of a new IT service or a change to an existing service, before those Changes are allowed to proceed to the next phase in their life cycle.

Change Evaluation prior to Planning

• To assess a proposed major Change before authorizing the Change planning phase.

Change Evaluation prior to Build

• To assess a proposed major Change before authorizing the Change build phase.

Change Evaluation prior to Deployment

• To assess a proposed major Change before authorizing the Change deployment phase.

Change Evaluation after Deployment

• To assess a proposed major Change after authorizing the Change deployment phase.

The next process of the Service Transition is

RELEASE AND DEPLOYMENT MANAGEMENT

• The objective of the Release and Deployment Management includes :
• Implementing the authorized changes as per Change Management plan
• Plan, Design, Build, Test & Install Hardware & Software components
• Skills & Knowledge Transfer to enable
  -- Customers & users the optimum use of service
  -- Operations & support staff to run & support the service

SERVICE VALIDATION AND TESTING
The objective of the Service Validation  and testing includes :
Service Validation and Testing ensure that the deployed releases and the resulting services meet customer expectations, and to verify that IT operations is able to support the new service.

• Test Model Definition
• Release Component Acquisition
• Release Test
• Service Acceptance Testing

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

The objective of the Knowledge Management includes :
Improve the efficiency by reducing the need to Re-discover the knowledge
Create, Maintain & update Service Knowledge Management System
Ensure that correct & up-to-date information is available at on the right time for organization’s requirements.

TRANSITION PLANNING AND SUPPORT
This process of Service Transition (Project management) deals with planning the resources to deploy major     release within predicted cost, time and quality estimates.

• Project Initiation
  To define stakeholders of the project, responsibilities and resources available to the project, and documenting risks, constraints and various assumptions affecting the project.

• Project Planning and Coordination
  To ensure the Service Transitions projects are planned in accordance with the software organization’s guidelines of the Project management, and to coordinate activities and resources across projects.

• Project Control
  To monitor project progress and resource consumption

• Project Reporting and Communication
  An overall summary of all planned or ongoing Service Transition projects as information for customers and other Service Management processes

Conclusion :
Thus, the IT software development should use and implement the Service Transition to plan, implement and manage the changes of an IT service as a part of ITIL processes. Managing the risk for the new as well as existing IT services and changes made to IT services will protect the product environment. This eventually leads to deliver business value along with the customer relationship management.

References :
http://wiki.en.it-processmaps.com/index.php/ITIL_Service_Transition