Context

Release Management is a complimentary process to Change Management. It controls the introduction of releases into the production environment, minimizing risk associated with the changes. A release is a collection of related, authorized changes to an information technology (IT) service, which are tested and then released into the production environment.

Release Management spans the planning and direction of the roll out of software, related hardware, documentation and operating procedures.

IBM® Accelerator for Service Management for Release Management is a services offering that provides well-defined processes, guides, skills, and implementation procedures required in the execution of release management.

This release management service product provides an effective & efficient customer-specific solution at a reduced cost percent of the cost of a non-accelerator solution. This solution consists of fully ITIL®-aligned Release Management process, role implementation, customized respected vendor products, and a well-designed out roll out methodology.

Details

The IBM Accelerator for Release Management services enables fast roll out because it contains a completely pre-built set of customer deliverables and workshop materials, all of which can be easily customized.

Offering components and deliverables

The key deliverables of the offering are two process references that document each aspect of the processes to the operational level. The documents include high-level and detailed process flows, tasks, activities, inputs, outputs, key performance indicators (KPIs), role definitions, role mappings, and reference data. Some examples include incident priority, impact, urgency, status codes and status transitions, and resolution target levels. These process references thoroughly document the role definitions and role mappings that allow for both the implementation of these processes in an operational environment and the relationship to the organization in question.

The main documents included in the IBM Accelerator solution are:

• Solution overview
• Solution installation guide
• Solution configuration guide
• Procedure guides (user guides)
• Predefined code
• Predefined reports
• Training material 

In addition to the base toolsets, the deliverables and services provided by the IBM Accelerator solution include:

• Project plan
• Organization Considerations Planning Workshop
• Base code validation procedures
• Maintenance activity review
• Technical support procedure
• Model training plan
• Completed personalization worksheet
• Organization change management considerations
• Personalization collection workshop
• Bill of materials
• Model organization communication plan
• Customized code
• Personalized code installation
• Solution architecture
• Solution document
• Teach the teacher training workshop
• Technical support

For the deployment of the solution, a predefined project plan defines the tasks, schedule, milestones, and assigned resources. This project plan is tailored to your engagement at the beginning of the project. A sample excerpt of the project plan is shown in the table.

1. Acceptance from client

2. Solution validation

2.1 Prepare release management solution validation workshop

2.2 Facilitate release management solution validation workshops

2.3 Review IM and PM solution validation findings

3. Organizational considerations

3.1 Prepare for organizational release management readiness planning workshop

The IBM Accelerator roll out methodology deployment flow is shown in the following diagram. The activities in yellow are customer led, the blue are IBM led, and those in green indicate a joint effort. Although the activities in blue are IBM led, customer participation and support is required.

The roll out process focuses on four major workshops:

1. Solution Validation Workshop (2 days): This workshop introduces the customer to the IBM Accelerator for Service Management services offering Release Managementsolution. During the workshop, the IBM consultant presents all aspects of the process and the accompanying documentation, conducts a solution walk-through to illustrate the different process execution paths, and provides an introduction to the solution's personalization opportunities.

At the end of the workshop, the core team has a complete understanding of the solution and the customization options to fine-tune the solution to meet customer-specific requirements.

2. Organization Considerations Planning Workshop (1/2 day): This workshop describes the roles required to effectively use the IBM Accelerator for Service Management services offering Release Managementsolution. It examines the tools to help implement organizational changes to support the solution, and reviews organizational change issues and considerations.

At the end of the workshop, the core team and the executives have a complete understanding of the predefined roles, their responsibilities in implementing the solution, and the impact this solution will have on the existing organizational structure.

3. Personalization Data Collection Workshop (2 days): This workshop is for collecting the personalization information required to complete the IBM Accelerator for Service Management services offering Release Managementsolution.

At the end of the workshop, every fine-tunable parameter is clearly defined to match a customer specific environment. This configuration is then used in the Solution Personalization phase to create the environment.

4. Solution Training Workshop (2 days): The teach-the-teacher workshop provides additional education to the (customer) project core team using the material that will be used to train the users of the Release Managementsolution.

At the end of the workshop, the core team has the skills to offer training workshops to their user community within the customer's organization. 

Obtaining more information

For additional information, contact your IBM Global Services representative or visit these Web pages:

• IBM ITIL Accelerator Solutions
• How IBM supports ITIL and provides ITIL-based capabilities and solutions
• Infrastructure Resource Management