Configuration Item Life Cycles

Configuration Items (CI) are services, components, or other assets that need to be managed in order to deliver an IT service. They are the basic units of the configuration management system and represent the specific services provided by OIT. Examples of CIs include documents, software, hardware, and services such as consulting and technical support. Regardless of form, composition, or complexity, the life cycle of a CI is documented and controlled. CIs are classified into several configuration groups, each of which has a life cycle. The configuration group life cycle describes each phase of a CIs life from requirements definition and acquisition through deployment and maintenance to retirement and disposition of the CI.

Typical Life Cycles for Different Asset Classes

Asset life cycles vary widely depending on the type of asset

• Hardware or Other Physical Assets
• Virtual Servers
• Software or Other Intangible Assets

Audit & Validation /  Change Management

CIs must be periodically audited and information in the CI record will be validated against the actual asset. Wherever possible, auditing will be automated using a discovery process or some other method that does not require manual intervention. The result of the audit will be reviewed by the auditor who will also arrange for remediation of the differences. The audit process will be scheduled in such a way that every CI is audited at least once a year. Each time an audit is run, the following information will be maintained in a report that is stored with the CI class definition record in ServiceNow:

• Date and time of the audit
• Auditor
• CI class
• Method of audit (i.e. based on automated tools or manual audit)
• Results of the audit
• Revealed differences between CMDB and actual CIs installed
• Effects of the deviations
• Corrections carried out to the CMDB
• Improvement potentials
• Reasons for the revealed differences between CMDB and actual CIs installed
• Measures for the future avoidance of the differences