Configuration Items
This is my first blog posting for the ITPI and I must say it has been quite a ride since we published the Visible Ops Handbook in 2004. I have been amazed by the acceptance of the book and feedback that I have received. Thus, these blog posts are very exciting for me as I look forward to sharing ideas and hearing your feedback.
Let us begin our journey by discussing one of the most granular items in both Visible Ops and the ITIL – the Configuration Item (CI). Essentially, the best way to think of CIs is that everything in IT can be considered a CI. Hardware, software, documentation, contracts, agreements, systems, services, people, departments – they are all CIs.
Some ask about the when something should be a CI vs an attribute of a CI. The distinction can be thought of several ways.
- If something can be re-used/re-purposed then it ought to be a CI.
- If something has significant value to the organization, it ought to be a CI.
- If the impact of a risk is significant, it ought to be a CI.
- If something needs change management then it must be a CI.
The last bullet is a firm rule. It has to be tracked as a unique CI in order for proper relationships to be established in maintained. The first three bullets not so steadfast but represent one means to evaluate what should be a CI.
Through Configuration Management and CIs we begin to understand and track the relationships between CIs and that lays the foundation for other process areas such as Change, Incident and Problem Management. In the Catch and Release portion of Visible Ops, we want to not only establish what is in the data center but also relationships. From there, when Fragile Artifacts are identified, the CIs can be properly flagged. On a final note, don’t try to do Configuration Management activities before change management. For Visible Ops, we intentionally put the implementation and enforcement of Change Management in the first phase because otherwise the production systems will quickly drift from the baseline information stored in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB).