Challenges of Managing Live Applications

1
Challenges ofManaging Live Applications
Dennis Adams
a s s o c i a t e s

• A Strategy for Managing IT Production

Dennis Adams Associates LimitedConsultancy for
IT Production Managementwww.dennisadams.net
TAMS 2.1 Product Briefing 17 November 2005
2
The changing IT APPLICATION LANDSCAPE

• Mainframe
• Departmental Computing
• Client/Server Applications
• N-Tier Applications
• Message-Oriented Middleware
• Composite Applications linked together by a
  Service-Oriented Architecture Enterprise Service
  Bus.

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Changes in APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

• Tools
• Text Editors
• 4GL Intelligent Editors
• Integrated Development Environments (IDEs)
• Sophisticated Debugging
• Integrated Test Environments
• Design/Develop/Deploy Environments (Eclipse)
• Techniques
• Waterfall
• Prototyping
• Iterative Development

As Development has become more complex, so too
have Deployment and Production.
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DEPLOYMENT into IT PRODUCTION
IT Development
IT Production
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IT PRODUCTION Challenges Managing Live
Applications

• More and More Applications are being thrown over
  the wall.
• Applications being thrown over the wall are More
  Complex.
• Composite applications consisting of multiple
  inter-connections between loosely coupled
  components.
• Complex inter-relationships between
  applications
• More intermediate Deployments for each Project
• Consequence of Architecture-Driven Iterative
  Development.
• In addition, IT Production has the responsibility
  for supporting all of the existing Applications
  as well.

IT Production needs to be able to support both
modern Composite SOA applications and Legacy
applications at the same time.
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The Pressures of IT PRODUCTION

• Tactical Reactions !
• Concentrate on solving Urgent Support Issues.
• Neglect Activity Reporting
• Adopt a short-term viewpoint
• Become less Client-Focused
• Support Culture can be Reactive
• Forward Planning ??
• The team gets blamed when things go wrong.
• Neither IT Development or Business are aware of
  Production Costs or Activity
• It becomes difficult to justify further
  Investment in Infrastructure or Headcount
• Outsourcing ? ! ?

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The Result ?
M
O
P
S
8
M
etrics
M
O
O
perational Tools
P
P
rocesses Procedures
S
S
tandards
9
Capture appropriate METRICS
M

• Metrics (or KPIs) enable us to
• Understand which are the problem support
  applications
• Explain Justify the Support Activity
• Several Types of Metrics to capture
• Assets (Systems, Memory, etc.)
• Behavior of systems ( CPU used, Disk space used
  etc.)
• Activity (Man-days spent in support)
• Publish this data by Application Supported, not
  by Technical Categories
• Capture Historic Trends so that we can capacity
  plan.

If Metrics are to be of value to IT Production
management, they should always relate to the
Business benefit which is being delivered.
10
Chose appropriate OPERATIONAL TOOLS
O

• Software Tools should assist the Management of IT
  Production.
• Different types
• Metrics Collection Tools
• Activity Tracking (Man-Days)
• Help Desk, Incident Management, Change Control
• Asset Management.
• Technical Support Tools
• Tivoli, Alerting console
• Specialised Technical Monitoring of OS, Networks,
  Databases
• Specialised monitoring of Application
  Infrastructure, J2EE
• Backup / Recovery, Business Continuity
• Workflow

Metrics Collection, Historical Analysis Focus on
the Application, not the Technology
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Introduce relevant PROCESSES and PROCEDURES
P
R D
Configuration
Release
R U P
Standards
Change
ITIL
Problem
Handover
Incident
Service Desk
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Define Production-Readiness STANDARDS
S

• Introducing IT Production Standards enables us to
  move towards a more homogeneous data centre, with
  lower costs of support.
• Establish a Production Architecture role
• Define Production Readiness Criteria
• Engage with Development
• Publish Technology menu of Production Standards
• Developers and Business need to understand that
  these Standards represent the best Solution
  Options for development.
• Optimal Application support costs.
• Service Level Agreements should reflect these
  Standards
• Application design should be a collaborative
  activity, involving both Development and
  Production Architecture.

Choice of Standards should depend upon whether or
not a Technology is Production-Ready
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Conclusions MANAGING LIVE APPLICATIONS

• The IT Application Landscape is changing.
• IT Development Tools and Techniques enable us to
  create Composite Applications based on SOA
• IT Production is responsible for the ongoing
  Support and Maintenance
• New Composite Applications
• A huge legacy of Existing Applications
• Strategic Solutions need to be in place to enable
  IT Production to proactively support the
  business
• METRICS
• OPERATIONAL TOOLS
• PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES
• STANDARDS
• Solutions must focus on the Business Service we
  are providing.

M
O
P
S
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Challenges ofManaging Live Applications
Dennis Adams
a s s o c i a t e s

• A Strategy for Managing IT Production

Dennis Adams Associates LimitedConsultancy for
IT Production Managementwww.dennisadams.net
TAMS 2.1 Product Briefing 17 November 2005