Important information

Assignment

Word Limit: 7,000-8,000 words.

This assignment specifically addresses four of the learning objectives of the course:

? LO1: demonstrate an awareness of the importance of IT service management and the need for organisations to ensure that effective processes are in place to manage the significant investment in IT infrastructure

? LO2: demonstrate an awareness of the nature and contribution of the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and ISO/IEC 20000 in providing good practice frameworks for IT service management

? LO3: apply the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and ISO/IEC 20000 objectives, activities and associated roles and responsibilities to enable effective planning, management and improvement of IT service processes.

? LO4: apply the international standard for IT service management (ISO/IEC 20000) to case studies including the IT service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation and continual service improvement.
This assignment is an individual assignment, therefore you cannot work in a team for this assignment. Submit your assignment individually.

Requirements

Two articles are provided on Vodafone Ireland's IT Group.

For the purpose of this assignment, assume the role of consultant(s) who have been hired by Vodafone Ireland to contribute to a review of IT Service Management at Vodafone Ireland.

You will prepare a report for Mr Shane Gaffney, Head of IT Operations at Vodafone Ireland.

Refer to the marking criteria for details of mark allocations.

Note: the word count does not include letter of transmittal, executive summary, references or appendices.

USQ has a licence for Turnitin software. This online software enables students to check their assignment prior to submission. I encourage all students to use this facility to avoid allegations of academic misconduct from unintentional plagiarism from internet sources. Turnitin is enabled as a plugin in the USQ assignment submission system.

Referencing requirements for Assignment

References are required and the Harvard AGPS standard of referencing must be used.

Plagiarism, collusion and cheating will be severely penalised.

Ensure that your reports are fully referenced, including any reference to the text book. Your report should include in-text references and a List of References.

Another useful link on referencing is from USQ's Library site:

http://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing

Do not repeat verbatim large slabs of information from other sources such as the text - you must put the ideas/information in your own words.

Prepare a journal that records your activities and progress related to completing this assignment.

In date order, clearly list the following:

? Date of research activity/discussion

? Web sites visited to collect information; other references accessed

? Time duration of the activity

Submit this journal as an appendix to activity B. Any references to web pages and online documents, such as white papers, should be listed at the end of the journal.

Structure, presentation and introduction

Your report should include a letter of transmittal, executive summary and introduction to the report.

Part 1. Importance of vendors for ITSM implementation at Vodafone Ireland.

Explain why it is important for Vodafone Ireland to have a good partnership with its vendors HP and Perform IT for successful ITSM implementation.

Part 2. Service Transition

One of the core goals of service transition is to support the change process of the business. In ITSM, three processes: change management; configuration management; and release management play critical roles in service transition. How do you think these three processes are implemented at Vodafone Ireland? Provide examples of the use and integration of HP BSM applications in order to facilitate successful service transition at Vodafone Ireland.

Part 3. Service Operation

Service operation phase in ITIL is responsible for management of the technology required to provide and support IT services. The case refers to several applications and tools from HP being used to correlate events that links IT infrastructure to service performance. Discuss how end-to-end and integrated ITSM applications have enabled Vodafone Ireland to shift their service operation activities from a reactive to a proactive service management in a year. Provide references to the ITSM applications used and examples of process metrics belonging to the incident management and problem management processes used in service performance measurement.

Part 4. Continual Service Improvement

Vodafone Ireland presents a CSI workflow that worked for them: (1) re-align IT operations group to ITIL processes; (2) create meaningful service KPIs to measure service performance; (3) adopt an end-to-end service surveillance strategy using an integrated ITSM solution (HP BSM 9 software in the case); and (4) monitor and improve service using technology, process and service metrics for service measurement. How did this CSI workflow enable successful organisational change at Vodafone Ireland? Discuss the role of metrics and reporting in CSI.

Part 5. Conclusions and Recommendations

Provide a summary of your findings and make recommendations to other IT service providers about improving customer satisfaction from IT services, reflecting the positive experience showcased in the case.

Case study

Note that there are two documents to read for this assignment.

Vendors such as HP use publish case studies to promote their products.

Vodafone Ireland implements world-class service excellence with HP BSM

Source: http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=4AA3-8522ENW retrieved 11/02/2015

Case Study: Vodafone Ireland IT Group Sees Huge ROI

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/article/hp-discover-case-study-vodafone-ireland-it-groupsees-huge-roi-by-emphasizing-business-service-delivery/ retrieved 11/02/2015

NOTE: ITIL® is a registered trademark of Axelos Limited.

A: Journal

Journal Compelling and well Good structure and Adequate structure Adequate Poor structure 10% structured account. comprehensive and account of structure but and/or

Activities clearly account of activities activities limited description inadequate list of described. Initiative of activities. activities clearly demonstrated. Referencing Minor errors in Incoherent compliant with referencing method. Limited references account. Reference list provided Harvard AGPS provided and/or and correctly referencing method poorly formatted Lack of formatted. with some minor reference list. reference list or lapses. poorly formatted references.

Task B: Report

Presentation of Professional Carefully and Shows organisation Shows some Disorganised/ report presentation of material logically organised. and coherence. attempt to incoherent. resulting in clarity of organise in a message and Title page and table Adequate title page logical manner. Poor formatting, information. of contents clear and and table of or missing title accurate. contents. Some flaws in title page, table of Professional page and/or table contents. appearance of title page of contents. and accurate table of contents.

Appendices are clearly Appendices used to Adequate use of Appendices not clearly identified or labelled and provide appropriate appendices to referenced. supporting material improve report readability.

Excellent clarity of Expression fluent. Grammar and Grammar and/or Frequent expression. Grammar Grammar and spelling mainly spelling contains mistakes in and spelling accurate. spelling accurate. accurate. errors. grammar and/or spelling.

Referencing fully Referencing Most sources are Gaps in compliant with Harvard compliant with referenced. Minor referencing and Unsatisfactory AGPS referencing Harvard AGPS errors in referencing errors in in-text referencing. Few method. referencing method method. references or or no references with some minor reference list. or inconsistent Wide range of lapses. Clear evidence of reference appropriate sources research and References are method. appropriately analysed, Variety of application of used in a purely applied and discussed. appropriate sources textbook concepts. descriptive way No evidence of appropriately indicating research or analysed, applied limitations of irrelevant and discussed. understanding. sources cited.

Clear and concise letter Format suitable At times language is Language is Lacks letter of of transmittal, Senior Manager unclear and/or poorly executed or transmittal or executive summary, except for minor unsuitable for uses too much executive suitable tone and style lapses in audience Senior Manager jargon. summary. Style for Senior Manager. focus. audience. not appropriate for Senior Manager.

Introduction

Attention to Clearly introduces the Reasonable details .Basic facts on Some aims Lacks vital purpose company and report. of company and company and identified. information report. report. about the Has addressed the Addressed the main company and purpose of the Has addressed the purpose of the report. assignment purpose of the assignment. Comprehensively. assignment Fails to address coherently the purpose of the assignment.

Task B1: Importance of vendors for ITSM implementation

Explain Provides excellent Clearly describes Adequate Limited Incomplete or importance of description of importance of description of description of inappropriate vendors for importance of vendors vendors and supplier importance of importance of description of ITSM and supplier management vendors and vendors and importance of implementation management process process at supplier supplier vendors and
for ITSM Vodafone. management management at supplier implementation at process at Vodafone. management at Vodafone. Vodafone. Vodafone.

Task B2: IT Service Transition

ITIL service Provides excellent Clear analysis of the Adequate analysis Limited Incomplete transition analysis of the three three service of the three service description of the analysis of the processes service transition transition processes transition processes three service three service (change processes at Vodafone at Vodafone at Vodafone transition transition management, processes at processes at configuration Vodafone Vodafone. management & release management) implemented at Vodafone Integration of Demonstrates excellent Good critical Adequate critical Limited critical Poor level of 10% HP BSM tools critical awareness and awareness and awareness and awareness and critical
for successful ability to apply ITIL ability to apply ITIL ability to apply ITIL ability to apply awareness and service service transition service transition service transition ITIL service ability to apply transition concepts to the concepts to the concepts to the transition concepts ITIL service integration of HP tools integration of HP integration of HP to the integration transition in the case. tools in the case. tools in the case. of HP tools in the concepts to the case. integration of HP tools in the case.

Task B3: IT Service Operation

Discuss event Demonstrates Comprehensive Adequate Limited Inadequate correlations that sophisticated understanding of understanding of understanding of understanding of link IT understanding of proactive service proactive service proactive service proactive service infrastructure to proactive service operation activities operation activities operation operation service operation activities at at Vodafone. at Vodafone. activities at activities at performance at Vodafone.

Discuss process Demonstrates Comprehensive Adequate Limited Inadequate 5% metrics used in sophisticated understanding of understanding of understanding of understanding of service understanding of process metrics process metrics process metrics process metrics performance process metrics belonging to belonging to belonging to belonging to measurement belonging to incident incident and incident and incident and incident and and problem problem problem problem problem management processes management management management management processes processes processes processes

Task B4: Continual Service Improvement

Understanding Demonstrates Provides a good Provides Provides limited Inappropriate of CSI sophisticated ability to description of the satisfactory description of the missing workflow at reflect on the CSI CSI workflow that description of the CSI workflow that description of
Vodafone. workflow that enabled enabled successful CSI workflow that enabled successful the CSI successful organisational enabled successful organisational workflow that organisational change change at Vodafone organisational change at enabled at Vodafone Ireland Ireland change at Vodafone Vodafone Ireland successful Ireland organisational change at Vodafone Ireland.

Discuss role of Provides excellent Clearly describes Adequate Limited Incomplete metrics and description of the role the role of metrics description of the description of the inappropriate reporting in CSI of metrics and and reporting in CSI role of metrics and role of metrics and description of reporting in CSI at at Vodafone. reporting in CSI at reporting in CSI at the role of Vodafone. Vodafone. Vodafone. metrics and
reporting in CSI at Vodafone.

Task B5: Conclusion and Recommendations Conclusions Clear conclusions and Good development Adequate Limited Conclusions and 10% and recommendations well- shown in development shown conclusions and recommendation recommendatio grounded in material conclusions and in conclusions and recommendations s not drawn from ns presented recommendations. recommendations. that do not build material. demonstrating insights on analysis. into improvement of customer satisfaction using ITSM concepts.