Complex Monitor Control Loop

The Monitor Control Loop in Figure 5.2 is a good basis for defining how Operations Management works, but within the context of ITSM the situation is far more complex. Figure 5.3 illustrates a process consisting of three major activities. Each one has an input and an output, and the output becomes an input for the next activity.

In this diagram, each activity is controlled by its own Monitor Control Loop, using a set of norms for that specific activity. The process as a whole also has its own Monitor Control Loop, which spans all the activities and ensures that all norms are appropriate and are being followed.

Figure 5.3 Complex Monitor Control Loop

In Figure 5.3 there is a double feedback loop. One loop focuses purely on executing a defined standard, and the second evaluates the performance of the process and also the standards whereby the process is executed. An example of this would be if the first set of feedback loops at the bottom of the diagram represented individual stations on an assembly line and the higher-level loop represented Quality Assurance.

The Complex Monitor Control Loop is a good organizational learning tool (as defined by Chris Argyris, (1976) Increasing Leadership Effectiveness. New York: Wiley). The first level of feedback at individual activity level is concerned with monitoring and responding to data (single facts, codes or pieces of information). The second level is concerned with monitoring and responding to information (a collection of a number of facts about which a conclusion may be drawn). Refer to the Service Transition publication for a full discussion on Data, Information, Knowledge and Wisdom.

All of this is interesting theory, but does not explain how the Monitor Control Loop concept can be used to operate IT services. And especially – who defines the norm? Based on what has been described so far, Monitor Control Loops can be used to manage:

• Theperformanceof activities in a process orprocedure. Each activity and its related output can potentially be measured to ensure that problems with the process are identified before the process as a whole is completed. For example, in Incident Management, the Service Desk monitors whether a technical team has accepted an incident in a specified time. If not, the incident is escalated. This is done well before the target resolution time for that incident because the aim of escalating that one activity is to ensure that the process as whole is completed in time.
• Theeffectivenessof aprocessorprocedureas a whole. In this case the ‘activity’ box represents the entire process as a single entity. For example, Change Management will measure the success of the process by checking whether a change was implemented on time, to specification and within budget.
• Theperformanceof a device. For example, the ‘activity’ box could represent the response time of a server under a given workload.
• The performance of a series of devices. For example, the end user response time of an application across the network.

To define how to use the concept of Monitor Control Loops in Service Management, the following questions need to be answered:

• How do we define what needs to be monitored?
• What are the appropriate thresholds for each of these?
• How will monitoring be performed (manual or automated)?
• What represents normal operation?
• What are the dependencies for normal operation?
• What happens before we get the input?
• How frequently should the measurement take place?
• Do we need to perform active measurement to check whether the item is within the norm or do we wait until an exception is reported (passive measurement)?
• Is Operations Management the only function that performs monitoring?
• If not, how are the other instances of monitoring related to Operations Management?
• If there are multiple loops, which processes are responsible for each loop?

The following sections will expand on the concept of Monitor Control Loops and demonstrate how these questions are answered.

Date: 2014-12-29; view: 1313