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 All Asset Classes

Asset life cycles vary widely depending on the type of asset. The following is a description of the general life cycle for all assets:

• Phase 1: Asset Requested & Approved
  During this phase, a need for the asset is determined and a decision is made to deploy the asset. Specifications for the equipment are determined, quotes are obtained, approvals are collected from appropriate stakeholders, and a supplier is selected. In some cases, the "supplier" may be internal if, for example, an existing device can be repurposed or one is located in another department.
  This phase ends when the asset has been approved for acquisition or development and required funding has been obtained.

• Phase 2: Order Placed & Asset Acquired
  If the asset is being acquired from a third party, an order is placed. If the asset is being transferred internally within OIT or from another department, the required documentation is prepared and executed. In the case of software assets, this phase includes the design and development of the software.
  This phase ends at the point where the asset has been delivered and is ready for installation or configuration.

• Phase 3: Asset Tested & Installed
  The asset must be compared to the original specifications and acquisition documents to confirm that it matches the original requirements. Any required assembly and configuration is done during this phase. This includes operating system software, application software and services, databases, network connections, user definition and security rules, and arrangements made for backups and disaster recovery. When all configuration steps are complete, a system test is performed on the asset in place to ensure it meets all client requirements.
  This phase ends when the asset is ready to be deployed into production.

• Phase 4: Asset in Service & Maintained
  This phase represents the useful production life of the asset. Throughout this phase, the asset will undergo periodic maintenance, upgrades, failures, and fixes. At some point, the usefulness of the asset will come to an end and plans need to be made to take it out of service. (Normally, these plans are made well in advance of the decommissioning of the asset.)
  This phase ends with the end of the useful life of the asset and planning for the retirement of the asset are complete.

• Phase 5: Asset Retired
  When the asset is no longer needed, either because it is being replaced by something newer or it no longer serves any useful function, it is retired. Retirement can be a fairly complex process depending on the asset class. If the services provided by the asset are no longer needed then retirement can be as simple as taking the asset off line and disposing of it or making it available for other purposes. Plans for retirement are generally made well in advance of the actual deinstallation of the asset.

  • Note that if a CI is entered into the CMDB by error or serves no purpose, and it does not have linked records, it must be deleted from the CMDB rather than Retired.   Please contact the ServiceNow Administrator to have  such a CI removed. 

Change Management

As assets progress through each phase of their life cycle, the corresponding CI record in the CMDB must be updated to reflect the current state and status of the asset. In some cases this is an automatic process but for some classes (e.g. Business Services, Applications, equipment used to house servers, and other classes) the updates are done manually. A CI does not need to be added to the CMDB until the asset is acquired and ready for deployment.

• Phase 1: Asset being acquired
  No CI required.

• Phase 2: Asset acquired
  Submit a Configuration Item Change Request and the new CI will be added by the CMDB Administration Team. Use the Status and State fields to indicate that the asset has been acquired but may not have been installed yet.

• Phase 3: Asset installed
  If a CI is on file for the asset then the Status, State, and other fields can be modified by the asset owner or the team supporting the asset. If no CI is on file for the asset then submit a Configuration Item Change Request and the new CI will be added by the CMDB Administration Team.

• Phase 4: Asset in service
  Changes to the Status, State, and other fields can be made as needed by the the asset owner or the team supporting the asset.

• Phase 5: Asset Retired
  The Status and State can be updated by the asset owner or the team supporting the asset but the CMDB Administration Team must be notified of the change via a Configuration Item Change Request. Under no circumstances should a CI ever be deleted from the CMDB. Deleting a CI record will make it impossible to trace the history of the asset and any activity documented by incidents or change requests.

Audit & Validation

CIs must be periodically audited with the information in the CI record 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