ITIL-enabled Legacy

Integration for
Change and Release
Management

MOVE IMPROVE | PROCESSES, PEOPLE, TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

OVERVIEW 3
LEGACY INTEGRATION CHALLENGE 4
LEGACY INTEGRATION BEST PRACTICES 5
LEVEL 1: NORMALIZATION 5
LEVEL 2: CORRELATION 5
LEVEL 3: AUTOMATION 6
COMMERCIAL INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS 7
NXBRIDGE INTEGRATION SOLUTION 8
BENEFITS 9
SUMMARY 9
REFERENCES 10
 OVERVIEW
Adoption of IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best prac- While ITIL adoption has been focused primarily on dis-
tices has grown dramatically in the last decade. These tributed technology, many organizations are capital-
best practices provide a framework to integrate busi- izing on opportunities to integrate mature legacy en-
ness processes and supporting technology, and drive vironments to newly stabilized distributed systems. As
alignment between IT and the business. This trend has the distributed enterprise becomes more stable and
integrated, there is a tre-
ENTERPRISE CHANGE AND RELEASE DEPENDENCIES
mendous opportunity to
drive process integration
SERVICE STRATEGY SERVICE TRANSITION throughout more of the
enterprise. The mainframe
Demand & Change Release and Deployment
environment has typically
Portfolio Management Management employed best practices
Management
for decades. As distribut-
ed systems and processes
mature, integration to al-
ready capable and mature
Incident, Problem, Service Asset and Configuration
Request & Management (SACM) (and typically automated)
Event Management processes and tools on the
mainframe can accelerate
SERVICE OPERATION
adoption, provide quick
wins for ITIL/ITSM imple-

Figure 1.1
mentation initiatives, and
The ITIL integrated model for change, release and SACM processes. help drive cultural change.
This is particularly appli-
created a de facto standard in the IT industry, to which cable to the Change and Release Management pro-
commercial software providers (such as CA, IBM, BMC, cesses within the ITIL framework.
Serena and HP) have mapped their infrastructure and
service management suites. As a result of the wide-
spread adoption of ITIL best practices, the modern en-
terprise is more integrated in terms of process, tech-
nology, and practice then ever before.

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 LEGACY INTEGRATION CHALLENGE
When enterprises were mainframe-centric, mainframe
based change management systems often integrated
seamlessly with legacy release management systems.
Change requests or work requests were correlated to
change control and release management records in
the SDLC. As the enterprise shifted to a more distrib-
uted focus (and thus more distributed technology)
this level of integration was lost. Now that adoption
of ITIL best practices has normalized the distributed
tools and processes, an opportunity exists to re-estab-
lish this integration within the ITIL framework.
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Change
Records
Change
Status
One outcome of the commercial alignment of tools to
ITIL is the emergence of a de facto standard for service
desk and ticketing systems. The baseline functional-
ity of these tools maps well to well established main-
frame legacy release management (SDLC) tools. Most
change management tools will be an extension of the
Service Desk, and have the industry standard capabili-
ties such as ticketing, categorization, notification and
approval workflow, and a life cycle that manages the
ticket from open to close. The legacy release manage-
ment tools have similar control points, but employ
packages or some form
change ID to record the
RELEASE AND DEPLOYMENT MANAGEMENT
application change that is
Release being developed, tested,
Packages
approved and deployed
Release through the SDLC.
Status

Ticketing SDLC System Wider adoption of stan-

Change Release
System Approval Approval dards has also created the
ability to “federate” data
Change Release
Closure Closure from tactical databases
Ticket Lifecycle Software Development
to a central Configuration
Lifecycle (SDLC) Management Database
(CMDB). This allows pro-
Change
cesses to be seamlessly
History DB Definitive Software Library (DSL)
integrated, functional op-
erations to be correlated,
artifact relationships to be
Configuration Management Data Base (CMDB)
managed, and history and
SACM audit information to be
Figure 2.1 centrally stored.
The functional correlation of the change, release and SACM processes.

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 LEGACY INTEGRATION BEST PRACTICES
Legacy integration has been adopted by many orga-
nizations in the past to enable change and release
management across the enterprise. But because cur-
rent standards and frameworks had not yet emerged,
custom integration was often site specific and un-
Level 1: Normalization:
In normalization, a common subset of the data func-
tion points are correlated between distributed change
management platforms and the legacy release man-
agement platforms. While this is the most basic of inte-
gration, it is the most essential. Change management
and release management lifecycles share logical com-
mon correlation points that enable integration at the
CHANGE MANAGEMENT TICKETING SYSTEM
Change_Record_ID
Form_Driven_Field
Change_Status
Approval_Status
Close_Condition
Table 1
The integrated suites from commercial software providers
process level (see Table1). Change records, ticket num-
bers from the change management system are corre-
lated to change control records and release package
IDs on the legacy release management system. While
the processes may still be separate and even depen-
dent upon some manual re-purposing of information,
the normalization of terminology allows end-to-end
visibility of service transition activities.
NXBRIDGE ITIL- E N A B L E D
sustainable. The successful integration approach for
legacy change and release management is defined as
a three-tiered model: Normalization, Correlation, and
Automation.
Level 2: Correlation:
At level 2 integration, legacy change and release man-
agement functionality is correlated not just at the re-
cord data and naming convention but at the respective
change and release life cycles. Change ticket status is
mapped to correlating stages in the release manage-
ment life cycle (see Table 1).
DATA MAPPING RELEASE MANAGEMENT SDLS SYSTEM
Map to Package ID of CCID Package_ID
Map to Package ID of CCID Change_Control_ID
Map to SDLC Stage or Package Status SDLC_Stage
Map to SDLC Stage or Package Status Package Status
Map to Package Status or Deployment Status Deployment Status
Normalized Data Points
Integration Data Points
In this manner, the release management life cycle
becomes an extension of the change management
life cycle, and development, release and deployment
activity can be traced back to its origin in either the
service operation or service strategy process areas
(see figure 1.1). Each life cycle maintains separate ap-
proval workflows, but status updates are correlated
across respective ticketing systems. Status/stage nam-
ing conventions are aligned across the respective the
life cycles, and notification triggers are created upon
change in change/release status. These notifications
employ the same routing mechanism as the ticket
support queues, and drive process integration across
the respective life cycles.
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Level 3: Automation:

Normalization of data points and correlation of pro- the distributed change management system or the
cess lays the required foundation for effective automa- legacy release management system, driving bi-direc-
tion. In the automated model, approval workflows are tional updates across the respective systems. In more
externalized across the respective life cycles and sys- advanced models, a hierarchical approval workflow
tems. Approvals can be executed exclusively in either can span life cycles, systems and stakeholders. Once
defined and integrated
INTEGRATED RELEASE AND DEPLOYMENT MODEL across systems, condi-
tional variables such as
Change records and incident
numbers become change ID’s and
approval status, execution
tracking labels within the SDLC. target date / execution
DEV TEST QA z/OS window, and status/stage
Run Time
values automate creation
of change tickets and/or
release packages, promo-
View, audit and approve tion of release packages
packages and projects UNIX
for promotion through Run Time through the SDLC, and
the life cycle
update/closure of change
tickets upon successful re-
Deployment lease promotion and de-
Rule - Set
ployment (see figure 3.1).
Upon release approval, INTEL
From any change management deployment rule-set is provided Run Time
workbench, change records can to the distribution engine,
be created and control data is automating and standardizing the
Figure 3.1
normalized across the release deployment process to production A realized cross platform service
management workflow. and run-time libraries. transition workflow.

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 COMMERCIAL INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS
Software providers such as CA, IBM, and Serena have This already imperfect situation is made more compli-
offerings that span the distributed as well as the main- cated by the fact that most organizations do not have
the luxury of standardiz-
LEGACY ITSM INTEGRATION ing on ITSM support prod-
zOS RELEASE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION ucts from a single ven-
dor across the enterprise.
Since some of the leading
CA-Endevor ChangeMan ZMF SCLM Suite providers of Service Desk
technology do not have
LEVEL 1 / LEVEL 2 LEVEL 1 / LEVEL 2 LEVEL 1 / LEVEL 2
INTEGRATION INTEGRATION INTEGRATION mainframe offerings, inte-
gration of legacy release
ION CUSTOM INT management systems is
INTEGRAT EGRATIO
CUSTOM N
more often than not rel-
egated to custom devel-
opment as depicted in
CA Service Desk TeamTrack Tivoli / Maximo
CA Workbench Service Desk Clear Quest Figure 4.1.

This market reality induc-

Remedy
Service Desk
Figure 4.1
The integrated suites from commercial software providers.
frame environments. While these vendors have built
some integration between their products, integra-
tion varies based upon market position of the main-
frame platform, go-to-market strategy of the distrib-
uted ITSM suite, and the impact of recent acquisitions
on that architecture. As a rule, vendors who market a
mainframe based release management tool have built
some integration to their distributed change manage-
ment and broader ITSM suites, but this integration is
typically very basic in nature (somewhere between
level 1 and level 2 as defined in the model above). The
true integration and automation, is enabled through
documented web services interfaces and APIs.
Service Manager
Service Desk
es a tremendous amount
of risk to the enterprise
attempting to achieve the
promised benefits of ITSM implementation. Many of
these ITSM suites are sold to C-level executives un-
der the banner of “out-of-the-box (OOTB)” or “off-the-
shelf (OTS)” functionality. Even under the best of cir-
cumstance, most modern enterprises quickly find the
promise of OOTB/OTS functionality falls far short of
requirements. Because the OOTB/OTS expectation has
shaped the ITIL implementation project, the charter
does not allow customization, and has allocated little
to no budget for integration of systems. Given the real-
ities of the hybrid enterprise, many organizations can
find themselves actually creating silos and manual by-
pass of standard processes, which can greatly weigh
down an implementation and adoption initiative.

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 NXBRIDGE INTEGRATION SOLUTION
NXBridge from Nexio Technologies employs the data, functions and life cycles are normalized and cor-
Normalization, Correlation and Automation model related, NXBridge enables automation by establishing
outlined above to achieve seamless integration be- life cycle status, approval status, and execution target
tween mainframe legacy release management and conditional triggers. This level of integration can help
the distributed change management systems.
While ITIL best practice release management Release Management CA Endevor Data Serena IBM SCLM
has been in place for decades on the mainframe, SDLC System Mapping ChangeMan Mapping
the systems that facilitate those processes differ Mapping
slightly in their definitions. NXBridge normalizes Package_ID Package_ID Package_ID ARCHHL
vendor-specific legacy release management data Change_Control_ID CCID WRID AUTH_CODE
to a common standard (see Table 2). NXBridge SLDC_Stage Stage Stage Group
correlates release and change management life Package_Status Status Status Custom
cycle data to distributed change management Deployment_Status Executed Baseline Custom
systems, which share common function points Normalized Data Points Integration Data Points
because they are mapped to ITIL best practice Table 2
definitions. The common mapping points for commercial legacy release management systems.

NXBridge interfaces to legacy release management to reinforce the adoption of standards-based pro-
system control files through standard published exits cesses, which is critical to organization attempting to
and APIs, and with distributed change management integrate their enterprise at the business process and
through a standards based messaging layer. Once technology layers.

LEGACY ITSM INTEGRATION By externalizing normal-

ized data via a standard
zOS RELEASE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION
messaging layer, NXBridge
can support business
processes across a wide
CA-Endevor ChangeMan ZMF SCLM Suite range of systems, includ-
ing ERP systems, monitor-
ing and alerting systems,
N LEVEL 3 INT
INTEGRATIO E GRATION and PDAs for productivity
L E V EL 3
gains. More importantly,
NXBridge provides accel-
eration to organizations
to integrate disparate sys-
tems on disparate plat-
forms, while reinforcing
standardized processes
CA Service Desk Tivoli / Maximo across the enterprise.
CA Workbench Clear Quest
TeamTrack
Figure 4.2
Service Desk
Full Level-3 integration via the
Remedy Service Manager NXBridge utility from Nexio
Service Desk Service Desk
Technologies
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 BENEFITS
Change and release management is the pipe through
which changes in service are delivered to the produc-
tion enterprise. Whether these changes are driven by
the need to fix a problem (or remove and known er-
ror in ITIL terms), or deliver innovation through new
or enhanced functionality, this is essentially the chan-
nel by which IT delivers value to the business. Through
seamless integration of change and release manage-
ment processes across silos, development and sup-
port groups, and across the diverse application com-
ponents that comprise a business application, the
organization is expanding its capacity to deliver.
This can be reflected in the ITIL model on a per pro-
cess basis, relative to their relationship to change and
release management:

Service Strategy • Service levels are met/maintained

Service Portfolio, • Service levels are exceeded
Business Relationship, and • Service levels are better understood and measured.
Demand Management • Effective change and release management expands the capacity of IT to deliver services. Essen-
tially, by reducing break/fix (service operation) volumes, the IT support organization can meet
more demand from the business.
• Time to market, time to value can be better forecast measured and delivered.
Service Operation • Effective change and release management improves quality and ultimately drives down the
Incident, incident volume.
Problem, • the Corrective measures can be managed throughout their delivery life cycle, and correlated to
Request, the originating ticket
Event, and • Lead times and service levels can be mapped to visible life cycle and workflow.
Access Management • Fulfillment resources can be mapped to visible life cycle and workflow.
• Key service desk and service operation metrics can be more accurately mapped to the enterprise
IT Service Continuity Management (ITSM) • Changes to enterprise baselines can be more predictive and visible, which helps to maintain
ITSCM baselines.
• Cross platform application dependencies can be managed to ITSCM baselines.
Financial Management • Fulfillment resources can be mapped to visible life cycle and workflow.
• Project and delivery initiatives can be more accurately forecast and measured against.

SUMMARY
A successful legacy integration approach that employs
the three-tiered model of Normalization, Correlation,
and Automation, can greatly enhance an organizations
ability to reach ITIL integration. Legacy integration can
also create “quick wins” for an organization by integrat-
ing mature and well established best practices that ex-
ist in the legacy environment to newly consolidated
practices on the distributed change management en-
vironment. More importantly, recognizing integration
opportunities early on in the ITIL project can greatly
decrease risk, and the three-tiered model maps well to
the milestones of standard process development.
The adoption of ITL best practices has for the first
time, aligned distributed technology with established
norms on the mainframe platform. Long standing and
mature release management best practices can now
map seamlessly to newly adopted change manage-
ment best practices on the industry leading platforms.
By integrating distributed change management sys-
tems with legacy release management systems, an
organization can achieve enterprise integration and
visibility, and accelerate the time to value of the ITIL
implementation project.

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 ABOUT NEXIO TECHNOLOGIES
Nexio is a leader in the delivery of comprehensive
IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions to Fortune
1000 companies. At the heart of our success is broad
subject matter expertise in technology, business
processes, and industry standards. This expertise
enables us to help our clients to move beyond tradi-
tional IT approaches and continuously improve their
bottom line performance. Further information can
be found at nexio.com.

Contact Information

Nexio Corporate Headquarters Nexio USA

417 St-Nicolas 858 West Armitage
Suite 400 Suite 174
Montreal, QC Chicago, IL
H2Y 2P4 60614
Phone : 514-798-3707 Phone : 312-543-0249
nxbridge@nexio.com nxbridge@nexio.com

REFERENCES
IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) “Service Strategy”. OGC Crown Copyright © 2007.
IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) “Service Transition”. OGC Crown Copyright © 2007.
IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) “Service Operation”. OGC Crown Copyright © 2007.

ChangeManTM and TeamTrackTM are registered trademarks of Serena Corporation.

SCLMTM, SCLM SuiteTM, ClearCaseTM, ClearQuestTM, and TivoliTM are all registered trademarks of the IBM Corpora-
tion.
EndevorTM, is registered trademarks of CA Corporation.
ServiceCenterTM is a registered trademarks of HP Corporation.
RemedyTM is a registered trademarks of BMC Corporation.
©NEXIO - April 30, 2009

M O V E I M P R O V E | P R O C E S S E S , P E O P L E , T E C H N O L O G Y A N D B U S I N E S S
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