In 2012, the IT service delivery practice at a large government transport agency recognized the need to formalize their internal IT environment management capabilities. Each IT portfolio team had developed their own environment solutions over time, resulting in a complex and costly environment sprawl without a consistent approach. The goal was to establish a formal environment management process that would centralize and optimize costs while ensuring that each team followed a consistent approach. Kirk Penn from Service Management Specialists was engaged to deliver a contemporary environment management process.
Kirk began by conducting a detailed review of environment management best practices guidelines but found a lack of formal guidance from ITIL. He then researched alternative environment management concepts and process models and facilitated workshops with portfolio stakeholders to understand their individual needs and define process requirements. Kirk drafted overarching operating principles and a three-phased environment management process that included activity descriptions tailored to specific organizational needs.
As a result of Kirk's efforts, the agency now has a formally adopted, fit-for-purpose environment management process. The process has also helped the team define a list of on-demand service providers to support the process. It has also supported further discussions to expand the concept across the wider transport cluster.
Overall, the agency now has a more centralized and optimized environment management process that has reduced costs, provided a consistent approach, and improved the availability of test data and versioned software.
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