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CMS Project Planning

As a good Prince2 Practitioner should I have written a Project Plan for my CMS (CMDB) project (project geek).

Covering off the Project Owner, Stakeholders and resources involved.
As well as the Description, Prerequisites and External Dependencies I also included 'Lessons Incorporated'!

Lets face it, there are more failed CMDBs then there are successful CMDBs, they fail for many reasons.
* lack of senior management buy-in
* lack of clear ownership and responsibility
* Forcing analysts to use a centralised database with no buy-in
* High Administration resource
* Low Budget
* Garbage in Garbage out
* and there are more...

So a successful plan would aim to address all these failures, with one exception the Budget, money is tight and always will be.

To update on the information that will be collected from an Infrastructure CMDB, whats been included are:
* Host Name
* Environment - Prod, Standby Prod, Test, Dev...
* Manufacturer and Model
* Asset ID
* Serial Number
* IP Address / Subnet / Default Gateway
* Location
* OS and OS Version
* Local Disk and Partitions'
* Memory Size
* CPU - manufactures model
* Installation Date
* Last Change Date

Provide live information of the status of the Configuration Item, such as OK, Warning and Down.

Clearly this data is limited to an IT Server Configuration Item, however it is a good place to start.

I have given a 1 month schedule to provide a Draft version ready for UAT testing, plus a further 2 weeks til Final Quality Check is completed.

Watch This Space.

- Eric

A brief what is and isn't KCS

Following last weeks KCS course, I thought I would share what it is and what it isn't.
Honestly before anything has even started with implementing KCS there is a resistance movement brewing.

Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS) is a methodology and a set of practices and processes that focuses on knowledge as a key asset of the customer/technical support organisation. KCS seeks to:

* Create content as a by-product of solving problems, which is better known as Incident Management within the ITIL incident management process, as well as the problem management process. As people capture information related to an incident, they create knowledge that can be reused within the support process by others as well as customers with access to a self-service knowledge base.

* Evolve content based on demand and usage. As people interact with the knowledge based within the incident management process, they must review it before delivering the knowledge to a customer. If they discover the need to correct or enhance the knowledge, they will fix it at that time or flag it for another person to fix if they do not have the access authority to the knowledge. Under this model, knowledge is evolved just-in-time based on demand instead of just-in-case. This lowers the cost of knowledge management.

* Develop a knowledge base of an organisation's collective experience to-date. New knowledge capture within the incident management process is an experience resulting from one interaction. The knowledge has not been validated or verified beyond the initial incident. Thus the initial knowledge is not as trusted in this state, which is referred to as Draft knowledge. It is not until reuse occurs that trust is improved. At some point the knowledge will be marked as trusted and either Approved for internal use or Published for self-service.
The knowledge base under the KCS methodology includes knowledge that is at different states of trust and visibility. The collective experiences to date challenges the traditional thinking that all knowledge in a knowledge base must perfect, validated, and highly trusted.

* Reward learning, collaboration, sharing and improving. The culture of the organization must change to recognize the value of an individual based on the knowledge they share that enables the organization to be more effective and efficient.


KCS is not
* Another tool or piece of software.
* A set of directories or documents, or an information storage system.
* A replacement for a Wiki or Intranet, and it won’t duplicate what is already in these systems.

Having resistance to change is to be expected and should be treated as a positive opportunity to demonstrait improvements, because these people really want the best for their organisation, however also want to see you personally fail.

Be strong and fight the good fight.

- Eric

Data to be collected to feed the CMS

After some reading of manuals and online forums, I have come up with a simple list of things I want the CMS to gather from an Infrastructure CMDB. (Servers, Routers, Firewalls...).

* Name
* Model
* Serial Number
* IP Address / Subnet / Gateway
* Location
* OS
* OS Version
* Firmware
* Firmware Version
* Disk and Disk Space
* Partitions
* Backup information (partitions)
* Memory
* CPU
* Monitoring
* Installation Date
* Last Change

Would also like to be able to display live information for Cofiguration Item states, such as Up (working ok), Warning (reaching thresholds), Down (not good).

Now it is time to meet with the Infrastructure team to see if all of this (or any of this) is possible.

- Eric

New baby girl

I am once again the proud father of a new baby girl.

Emerson Riley, she was born on Sunday the 24th at a respectful time of the morning at 9:21am after a 2 hour labour. We were all home for lunch that same day.

Mum, Baby and the family are all well.

KCS - I'm in a course today

Just in case anyone (all 2 of your were wondering) I'm on a course today and tomorrow.

The course I am doing is call Knowledge Centered Support (KCS)
Here is the Wikipedia blurb about KCS

Following this course I'll continue my analysis of the Service Management tool I will be using for CMS, then gather feedback from stakeholders of the information they would like to see from the CMS reports.

As for KCS that is another project I have been charged with, if you have ever been interested in implementing a dynamic knowledgebase then watch this space.

CMS - Where to start?

Where to start?

A simple but effective business plan would be to follow 3 simple steps
1. Ask what your customers/users want
2. Build it
3. Give it to them
So I will keep it very simple and just start with Step 1:
“Ask the benefactors of the CMS database what is it that they want to see from it?”

Who are the benefactors?
• Change and Release Management
• Configuration Management
• Incident and Problem Management
• Capacity Management
• Availability Management
• Event Management
• Knowledge Management
• Project Management
• Technical Support Teams
• Development Teams
• Financial Management
• Business stakeholders for reports generated from the CMS
• And several more…

What should I ask?
• What do you have now that is important to your function?
• What would you like to see that could improve what you have now?

First I better work out what the CMDB tool that I will be using can actually produce, rather not get into a scenario of over promising and under delivering. Even if what the CMS has to offer is far better than the current state.

Starting a New Project

I'm about to start a new project.

To provide some background, I am in IT Service Management (manager of computer services stuff), I write procedures and flow charts on how to best do a job that will produce an outcome that the business would be interested in knowing.

The project I am about to start brings together as many procedures and functions via their exsisting databases into a single database, for easy access and consolidated reporting... bored already?

If you are still reading then you might know of what I am talking about.
I am implementing a CMS (Configuration Management System) made up of at least 3 databases (CMDBs - Configuration Management Databases).

I am going to use a central Service Management tool that currently handles the Incident Management, Problem Management and Known Errors Database procedures, to act as the CMS interface of the multiple CMDBs, this will of course allow my Service Desk to easily link Incidents to CIs and Known Errors in the CMDB.

Once the CMS has been implemented I will then implement Change Management and Request Fulfilment Management into the same Service Management tool.

However this is looking like a very large elephant to me, does anyone have any suggestions, templates or checklists to getting started on this momentous task?

- If you are interested in this type of subject I will post regular updates on my progress.

eBook promoted on NZ TV

Scott was interviewed about our new book "Baby on a Budget" on TVNZ's Breakfast Show. Here's the link if you've missed it: TVNZ Breakfast Show



Check out the "Baby on a Budget" page on DIYFather.com for more information about the book.

Cheers Eric

First eBook!!!

First eBook is now available, looking at being budget conscious while having a baby???

DIYFather has an answer to the slow economic recovery and GST increase. Our new Book Baby on a Budget published on September 1st delivers real savings to families. The 130-page book presents the combined wisdom of fathers around the world on how to save thousands of dollars during pregnancy and the first year with a baby. Baby on a Budget is a must have for all parents who want to enjoy their new life with a baby without breaking the bank More...

Download and enjoy

Eric

Its fixed and better than ever!

The scooter is finally fixed!...

Yes I got someone that actually knows what they are doing to fix it, but hey ats all going and not for a bad price either.

Thank you Antony from AUTO-KINETIC services limited (plug)

However I hear the weather is crap tomorrow, so may still be on public transport

Back together???

I have had a good go at trying to fix the Scooter, even dealt to the carburetor, which was clean by-the-way

And still the motor won't turn over

Going to get the battery looked at today, and maybe try a new spark plug

Then I need to remember how to put the bike back together!

iPad yes? iPad no?

Have borrowed an iPad for the weekend to see if it is even worth concidering

The standard applications out of the box, aren't anything special, however the 1000s of additional applications that can be downloaded from iTunes, is where I think the real value is experianced

I did expect to see a built in web cam and mic for online Skype conversations???

will I rush out and buy one?... no
would I put it on my Christmas list?... sure why not?

Will see how I feel by the end of the weekend

Scooter Broken

I have this great looking scooter, to get me from home to work in the most cost effective way

Runs on the smell of an oily rag, parking is free and the list goes on

All I need to right now to enjoy all these cost savings, is for it to go

It just won't start, and when i do finally manage to get it going it dies while on the move

On my list of things to do this weekend:
- Charge battery
- Check fuel lines
- get brave and clean the carburetor

Wheel it to a motorbike repair specialist and deny I have done anything to ad to the issues

Seeking great IT staff

I'm looking for some experianced service desk analysts to join my team

IT Service Desk Analyst

Kelburn, North Island

We are seeking enthusiastic and experienced Service Desk Analysts for our 24/7 IT Service Desk, at our Kelburn Head Office.

The successful candidate’s duties will include:

Supporting the Service Desk phone and email box
Monitoring of IT Infrastructure Services such as servers, network and communication systems, including weather applications
Read more...

Twitter Growth

I have been looking at growing my twitter following for some time, however one will have to wonder why???

Anyway my following is over 10k!
• Is it all real?
• Does having a large number offer any value at all?!?!
• Does it matter?

I realise that if I participate more in actual real conversations, than the true value of twitter presents itself.
I have met some really good people, who share in similar ideals, and of course on other occasions have been met with Spam and invitations to sites that will upset the wife

I have not been able to find any real way of converting followers or fans into any income, however I feel that just going for big numbers does not guarantee any results at all, and it is really more about context and community interaction...
watch this space

My April Update

Been hard out decorating, only have 120 houses to get done in the next 9 weeks!!!

My little girl, Ava is now 2, my 2 eldest are both learning to drive... where did the time go?!?!

Still doing odd favours, like burning 300 promotional CDs, designing and building websites, putting up irons roofs, bar tending and being a general dogs body...

Make your own work

I have been doing some consultancy work for websites, as well as some project management in housing construction.

dealing with contractors is a little like pushing brown mushy stuff up hill

Sigh

Still looking for work, have been doing temp work for a quator of the amount I should be on... it is all very draining.

I must apply for work everyday

Does anyone know anything about Google AdSence? or shouldn't I bother with it?

Cheers

Eric

Back at home

No change, still looking for work

Twitter growth still charging forward now up to over 6000 followers

NOTHING... NADA... NILTCH from Google Adsense

Maybe I'll check again