Service transition

The achievement of formal confirmation that service acceptance criteria have been met, and that the service provider is ready to operate the new service when it has been deployed. (Service acceptance criteria are used to ensure that a service meets the defined service requirements, including functionality, operational support, performance and quality requirements).

The planning, management, control and governance of organisational, project and service assets and artefacts. The identification, classification and specification of configuration items (CIs) and their inter-relationships. Identifying the configuration and version of source code, software, systems, documents and service dependent CIs at distinct points in time. Systematically controlling changes to the configuration and maintaining the integrity and traceability of the configuration throughout the project, system and/or service life cycle. Identifying and documenting the functional and physical characteristics of CIs, controlling changes to those characteristics, recording and reporting change processing and implementation status. Verifying and auditing CIs for data quality and compliance with specified internal and external requirements.

The management of the lifecycle for all managed assets (hardware, software, intellectual property, licences, warranties etc) including security, inventory, compliance, usage and disposal, aiming to protect and secure the corporate assets portfolio, optimise the total cost of ownership and sustainability by minimising operating costs, improving investment decisions and capitalising on potential opportunities. Knowledge and use of international standards for asset management and close integration with security, change, and configuration management are examples of enhanced asset management development.

The management of change to the service infrastructure including service assets, configuration items and associated documentation. Change management uses requests for change (RFC) for standard or emergency changes, and changes due to incidents or problems to provide effective control and reduction of risk to the availability, performance, security and compliance of the business services impacted by the change.

The management of the processes, systems and functions to package, build, test and deploy changes and updates (which are bounded as “releases”) into a live environment, establishing or continuing the specified service, to enable controlled and effective handover to operational management and the user community. The application of automation to improve the efficiency and quality of releases.