Process mapping must be carried out to eliminate issues such as system downtime, server failures, lack of integration between resources, security breaches, or any other occurrences that compromise equipment operation and teams’ work capacity.
Thus, IT infrastructure management must cover the entire technology-related structure through proactive monitoring, preventing this type of situation by identifying vulnerabilities and resolving occurrences.
The purpose of this post is to help IT managers understand what is required to perform process mapping and resolve these bottlenecks related to IT infrastructure. Check it out!
The basis for process mapping
The IT infrastructure to be mapped relates to the platforms of:
- Hardware (desktops, notebooks, processor, motherboard, hard drive, peripherals…);
- Software;
- Servers;
- Security solutions (antivirus, firewall…);
- Physical facilities (computer park, workstations, etc.);
- LAN and WAN networks;
- Methodologies and tools to assist in process mapping
However, process mapping is not limited only to IT assets. It must also encompass system users. In other words, the intellectual capital involved in the processes: all people who perform activities related to technology, such as work teams, suppliers, and the company’s business partners as a way to aggregate knowledge.
Activities and resources that require analysis
Supplier relationships
It is necessary to verify the relationship with suppliers, who must be prepared to align strategies and bring value to the existing infrastructure, greater flexibility, and effective support for IT assets.
To increase partnership efficiency:
- Check your company’s demands and what is expected of each tool to be deployed;
- Perform contract management;
- Analyze the supplier’s experience, expertise, certifications, and the guarantees they can provide;
- Evaluate the quality of service and the use of best practices in the development and application of solutions.
Update methods
In efficient management, updating IT assets must be a priority. This ensures maintaining a level of sophistication throughout the infrastructure that does not compromise quality and resource integration due to obsolescence.
Process integration
The integration between elements present in the IT infrastructure also needs to be evaluated in process mapping. This is because information centralization and data flow are the key to organization, standardization, and agility in executing activities and workflow. These are indispensable qualities for adapting the company to Industry 4.0, for example.
Intellectual capital
Related to the professional qualification required of those involved in the IT project, who must demonstrate competencies such as:
- Multidisciplinarity;
- Autonomy;
- Sense of urgency;
- Systemic vision;
- Data analysis capability;
- Emotional security;
- Proactivity.
Steps for IT governance
Process mapping in IT infrastructure can be performed using ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library). This model consists of best practices for IT service management, contained in a set of publications.
ITIL relates to information about:
- Processes, with practices tested and validated by companies worldwide;
- Functions;
- Skills;
- Service lifecycle structure (outsourcing, shared services, cloud, virtualization, web services, and mobile).
This lifecycle encompasses strategy, design, transition, operation, and continual service improvement actions, from conception to discontinuation. See below for more details on each of these stages.
Strategy (ITIL Service Strategy)
This is the phase where the direction of IT services is strategically defined:
- Who the customers are;
- How the value creation process will work through personalized services with competitive quality.
Once objectives, implementation policies, and standards responsible for accelerating pursued results are defined, proposals for resource financing used to develop them are analyzed.
Design (ITIL Service Design)
This is the moment when an idea or service is modeled, as well as the proposal for modifying an existing service. This is done through plans, designs, and estimates.
This stage incorporates processes such as:
- Coordination;
- Management of SLA (Service Level Agreement);
- IT security actions;
- Service portfolio management;
- Suppliers and KPI (Key Performance Indicator) rates — such as system availability indices or device capacity.
Transition (ITIL Service Transition)
A roadmap that assists in planning and managing changes in services such as installation, configuration, and updating of any component (software and hardware, for example) or documentation associated with it.
Its goal is to ensure that previous requirements are effectively met in process operation, as well as any expected changes for an efficient lifecycle.
Operation (ITIL Service Operation)
At this stage, planned activities are coordinated and executed aiming to deliver value regarding what will be offered to business customers and users, according to agreed SLAs.
It consists of project fulfillment, routine management and technology access, management of potential events, problems, and incidents, but above all, support for all services offered.
Continual improvement (ITIL Continual Service Improvement)
In this final phase, the company cyclically and continuously aligns and realigns the IT services specified in the previous phases according to customer needs, in order to implement improvements in business processes.
Other available tools
The tools available for IT process mapping and analysis are numerous, but they must be aligned with the goals the company intends to achieve with the process.
Check out some examples below:
Deming Cycle, or PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, and Act)
Cyclical strategic activities with result observation, to perform correction actions again, observation, and so on.
SMART Method (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound)
Used to establish short-term objectives and goals. Analyzes how urgent the need is to implement these resources.
Remember that some mapped processes or services contained in IT management can be very complex and involve different users, serving different needs. Therefore, seek to involve them in testing before presenting a final solution, to reduce potential bottlenecks and increase satisfaction with the solution.
Finally, document the results of process mapping for comparison with new data or other projects at different times. Thus, it will be possible to assess the need for updates or realignments of structures, as well as user training and the acquisition of new IT assets.
Want to continue this analysis and test the feasibility of new projects in the field of information technology? Check out how to verify the ROI of IT projects!
