Ivanti Service Manager (ISM), powered by HEAT, is the most affordable, flexible, and complete cloud-optimized ITSM solution available today. ISM allows you to automate workflows, eliminating costly manual processes while making your business more efficient, compliant, and secure.
Whether you’re looking for an IT help desk and support ticket solution or need to perform more advanced ITIL service management processes, Ivanti Service Manager (ISM) solution can easily scale and adapt to meet your specific business needs.
Ivanti ISM Workshop Series Index
Part 1 – Analysis and Requirements Gathering Part 2 – Design Considerations Part 3 – Build Your On-Premise Production Installation Part 4 – Application Configuration and Testing Part 5 – Preparation for Going Live Part 6 – Updating and Upgrading Part 7 – Using Xtraction for Enhanced Reporting
Overview
The intent of this article is to outline the analysis and requirements gathering phase of an ISM Implementation.
The installation and configuration of Ivanti Service Management (ISM) can be best accomplished by developing an understanding of the company’s customer’s environmental and organizational needs. We also recommend a full demonstration of the capabilities of ISM.
There are two phases in the project where the company will need to decide on requirements:
Discussions with sales, technical teams, and management will determine the type of installation and scope of the ISM implementation. This will consist of demonstrations and discussions about ISM and what facilities are best suited for use. The outcomes of this engagement are the Statement of Work (SOW) and Project Plan.
A workshop conducted by a Professional Services Consultant is conducted which provide a detailed review of ISM and specific variances to the out-of-the box implementation. The company may have an existing service management implementation that has features that should be considered. The outcome of the workshop is a “Design Specification”.
Once these phases have been completed, the installation and configuration of ISM will begin.
Understanding the Customers Existing Environment and Needs
In virtually all instances the company will have an existing service management application in place. We need to understand what they have in order to determine how to proceed with the configuration.
Typical questions include:
What is the existing service management application?
How many service desk analysts are active at any given time?
Do they utilize a self-service capability and, if so, how many users access the capability?
What is the organizational complexity? How many locations, employees, teams, etc. are involved?
Are there any specific security needs or special considerations?
If they are using HEAT Classic can we get a copy of their data so that we can do additional investigation on our own?
Project Engagement
The following topics will determine important milestones for an ISM migration or installation.
Demonstrate ISM and explain the benefits of SaaS versus On-Premise installations. Determine the type of installation desired.
As the demonstration progresses, determine the need for different “Workspaces” such as Incident, Self-Service, Service Request, Change, CMBD, etc.
Establish the cost of the desired implementation and configuration and the project goals and timeframe.
Requirements Gathering – Workshop
The Workshop consists of a number of activities that are outlined below:
A Workshop is typically scheduled over a 3-day period at the company location to help assure that all the interested parties are available. There are cases where the Workshop may extend beyond the 3-day guideline in the case of complex implementations.
The purpose of the Workshop is to guide the company thru the capabilities of ISM and identify the variance between the Customer’s needs and the “out-of-the-box” configuration. Here we need to work with the customer to help them understand that ISM is not the same as what they may be used to … as with any new application there will be a learning curve but we can configure the application to make the transition smooth and gentle.
The outcome of the workshop consists of a design document which specifies the changes needed based on the variance observed. Once approved, the design document will be the principal guide to the installation and configuration of ISM.
Conclusion
CDA is committed to assuring the best possible customer experience. The Analysis and Requirements Gathering phase assures that the capabilities of ISM and the needs of the customer are fully explored and understood.
We encourage participation during the Installation and Configuration process. The consultant will facilitate participation using remote conferencing via WebEx or some similar application.
In the next blog post in our ISM Workshop series, we will be discussing ISM design considerations.