Note: Although project management and service management both espouse certain best practices, every organization implements them in their own way, depending on its culture, relative maturity in terms of these practices, and other factors. The information on this page relates to OIT’s implementation of service management and its “touchpoints” to our project management processes. For a graphic representation of how service management and project management relate to one another at OIT, click here.
OIT’s Service Readiness Board (SRB) reviews projects to launch new services or implement major upgrades to existing services, to determine alignment with OIT and institutional goals and strategy, and to ensure that solutions are selected, architected and implemented to have the greatest opportunity for success in production. As an OIT project manager, you may be engaged in an SRB-reviewed project. There are three key milestone/gate points for every service development/upgrade project.
Phase 1: Service Strategy – Pre-purchase/Pre-implementation
Before OIT leadership gives approval to purchase a commercial off-the-shelf application or consulting services, or before a contract is signed with a cloud/software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider, the SRB reviews potential solutions and providers to ensure that an appropriate decision is made. During this review, the SRB determines whether a project manager (usually from OIT’s Project & Consulting Services, PCS) should be assigned to the project, what service classification to assign, and if a review by OIT’s Technology Architecture Group (TAG) is needed.
Phase 2: Service Design
Service design encompasses how a planned service solution interacts with business and technical environments, the service management systems required to support the service, processes that interact with the service, technology, and the architecture required to support the service. These activities are reflected in the project plan. The SRB’s second review takes place after the project team has completed initial planning for an approved or purchased application or service, but before significant implementation (project execution phase) work has begun.
Phase 3: Service Transition – Move to Production
This phase begins after the project team has largely completed its development activities (execution phase) and the service is nearing go-live. The final SRB review ensures that the service has met production readiness goals (e.g. service book is updated, monitoring plan is created, etc.) and is ready for launch. Following a successful service transition review and move to normal operations, the project team will formally close the project.
For more on the SRB, visit their SharePoint site. (You’ll need your Duke NetID and password.)
