ITIL vs DevOps Incident Process Flow

• Detected via Monitoring tools (BPPM, Aternity)

Detection • Detected via Manual monitoring
• Identified by end users / support groups
Incident • Issues identified via Monitoring tools and ticket auto-
generated in Jira
• Tickets auto-logged via monitoring tools. Identification • End users/Support groups create incidents in Jira.
Reporting • Tickets created via Self-Service.
• Ticket created by contacting Service Desk

• Priority is initially set by SD.

Priority • In case of P1 and P2, incident priority is then
reassessed by the Incident Manager. • Jira ticket is initially assigned to the Frontline
queue.
Response • Frontline engineer (FE) analyses the issue,
• Coordinated by Incident Manager.
Investigation • Contributed by Support teams/Resolver groups.
and assess the priority and perform escalation
incase of P1 and P2 incidents.
Resolution • FE initiates the War Room, DevOps team
members are engaged to perform resolution.
• Performed by Resolver groups / Support teams.
Resolution • Involvement from end users / Business needed in
some cases.

• End user is engaged to confirm resolution. • PIR discussion performed by DevOps

Closure • Support teams/Resolver groups/incident manager
Post Incident members.
finalize the incident closure. • Problem ticket created in Jira
Review • Development Items created as PIR outcome.
• Formal PIR is created by Incident Manager/Support • Development items are followed via Sprints.
teams.
Problem • Problem Management team is engaged on the
Problem Investigation.
1
Incident Management Summary

1. Frontline engineer (FE) acting as Service Desk.

• One Dedicated source on daily basis to do the role of Frontline Engineer.
2. Single process to handle the Incident and Problem
3. DevOps team to work on the Incidents and Problems
4. Team collaborates from end-to-end, with improved visibility and system exposure
5. Team acknowledge an incident, loop in the necessary people, and collaborate
around the incident / problem all in one place
6. A DevOps culture improves cross-functional collaboration between Incident
Identification till Post Implementation Review.
7. Cross Functional team with complete exposure to systems / Applications makes it
easier for them to fix incident / problems when they arise.
8. Team ensures a higher level of visibility and communication throughout the entire
incident life cycle, from Incident Identification till Post Implementation Review..

2
Incident Management Summary

1. Incident Management process followed currently and by DevOps team is the

same
• Cross Functional team with complete exposure to systems / applications makes it easier
for them to fix incident / problems when they arise.
• Team ensures a higher level of visibility and communication throughout the entire incident
life cycle, from Incident Identification till Post Implementation Review.

3
Change Management Summary

1. Change Management process followed currently and by DevOps team

• Release management
• Stakeholders are involved too late
• Validations are often done manually and regression testing is frequently insufficient.

4
As-is State Summary
Assessment Dimension Attributes of Dimension ITIL DevOPS Remarks

Incident Management Documentation

Incident Reporting

Incident Prioritisation

Incident Investigation and Resolution

Incident Escalation

Escalation Matrix

Problem Management Problem detection & logging

Problem Prioritisation

Problem Investigation & Diagnosis

Change & Release Known Errors in release

Management
New changes/changes to existing services

Prioritisation of changes

Legend:
Performed completely Performed partially Not Not applicable
performed
Recommendations Summary
Dimension Recommendation Benefit Time Effort Remarks
Process – Incident
Management
Process – Incident Establish prioritisation matrix to determine priority of Incident and Service
Management Request by determining impact and urgency of ticket
People

Interface

Process – Incident
Management
Governance, Metrics Define practical Key Performance Indicators(KPIs) to monitor, measure and
& Reporting improve process performance and agree with users.

Governance, Metrics Establish formal Governance Reporting mechanism, where not existing.
& Reporting

Process – Problem Institutionalise Problem Management and define clear roles and responsibilities.
Management
Process – Service
Request

HIGH
MEDIUM
LOW
Conclusion

1. Application of Agile and DevOps principles over the foundation of ITIL® can
overcome this.
2. By using your ITIL® processes as starting points for analysis of potential
benefits, an Enterprise DevOps implementation should be given greater
focus.
3. Identify pain points that could benefit from greater collaboration and
automation. Prioritize them based on potential benefit and estimated effort.
Get started today though, otherwise your business will most certainly be left
behind.