IT Systems Management, Second Edition

Chapter 20. Using Technology to Automate and Evaluate Robust Processes

Introduction

One of the distinctions that separate world-class infrastructures from marginal ones is the degree to which their processes are automated. In the first part of this chapter we present three important preparatory steps necessary for automating a process successfully and discuss how to use technology properly in this activity.

We then show how to evaluate the robustness of any process, using both weighted and nonweighted methods, based on 24 characteristics of the process. We conclude with a thorough discussion on how to evaluate the quality and value of any type of infrastructure process documentation.

Automating Robust Processes