1. Create a Configuration Management Roadmap
A CMDB is only as valuable as the processes it supports.
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2. Our Understanding of the Problem
VP or Director of Operations
Director of Infrastructure
Infrastructure Manager
Identify your configuration management objectives.
Design a target state for configuration management that will allow you to meet these objectives and derive value from the process.
Sell the roadmap that will allow you to achieve this target state.
CIO
Service Delivery Managers
Understand the value of configuration management.
Provide business and IT requirements to assist in target state design.

3. Executive Summary
Without a configuration management database (CMDB) or formal configuration management, there is no way to obtain information about the assets that support IT services and the relationships between them. This makes it difficult for IT departments to successfully execute more client-facing service management activities, particularly incident and change management.
CMDBs are not only valuable for large organizations.
You do not need a system to record and monitor every asset in your environment in order to reap the benefits of configuration management. Both the design and implementation of the system can be right- sized, if you invest in creating a roadmap first.
ITIL’s version of configuration management will be too expansive and costly for most small or medium-sized organizations to implement.
Without proper scoping and planning, organizations risk wasting time and resources procuring and maintaining an overly complex system.
Gather comprehensive stakeholder requirements in order to accurately define the organization’s configuration management objectives and identify the IT processes that will be redesigned to integrate with a CMDB.
Choose an appropriate technology target state. Configuration management can be achieved with a homegrown spreadsheet or vendor solution; the choice of solution will be driven largely by the complexity of your current environment and the availability of resources.
Estimate the cost and benefit of re-designing the processes identified during the requirements gathering stage and prioritize them accordingly.
Create a complete roadmap of initiatives that can be presented to stakeholders to obtain buy-in for selecting and implementing a CMDB and formal configuration management process.

4. Info-Tech is ready to assist. Book a free guided implementation today!
Book a Guided Implementation Today: Info-Tech is just a phone call away and can assist you with your project. Our expert Analysts can guide you to successful project completion. For most members, this service is available at no additional cost.*
Here are the suggested Guided Implementation points in the Configuration Management Roadmap project:
Section 2: Launch the Project
Get off to a productive start: Discuss the value of formal configuration management and critical success factors for implementing a CMDB. Identify stakeholders and prepare to create the roadmap by finalizing the project charter.
Section 3: Gather Requirements
Analyze process requirements: After you have met with relevant stakeholders, review each of the IT processes included in the blueprint, assess readiness for integration with a CMDB, and identify pain points that will be addressed by your new CMDB and configuration management process.
Section 5: Build the Roadmap
Define the technology end state and prioritize process initiatives: Discuss CMDB technology target states and select the one best suited to your organization. Assess the cost and benefit of the process initiatives identified in section 3, and decide which will be included in your initial CMDB implementation.
Section 6: Sell the Roadmap
Obtain approval for your initiatives: Discuss and review the contents of your business case and ensure that your roadmap is ready to be approved. Select metrics that can be tracked to measure your configuration management success as the roadmap is implemented.
*Guided Implementations are included in most advisory membership seats.

5. Succeed with a Right-Sized Configuration Management Roadmap
Succeed with a Right-Sized Roadmap
Launch the Project
Gather Requirements
Select a Target State
Build the Roadmap
Sell the Roadmap
The challenges associated with implementing a CMDB.
Info-Tech’s approach to successfully implementing a CMDB and formal configuration management.
Potential benefits of implementing a CMDB and formal configuration management.
A quick project readiness assessment.

6. Succeed with a right-sized configuration management roadmap1
Succeed with a right-sized configuration management roadmap
Activities in this step
Spot the challenges and difficulties associated with configuration management and implementing a CMDB.
Understand Info-Tech’s approach to creating a right-sized roadmap for implementing a CMDB.
Recognize the potential benefits of implementing a CMDB and formal configuration management.
Determine if your organization is ready to proceed with this project.
What is the best approach for implementing a CMDB and formal configuration management?
Is my organization ready for a CMDB?
Key Questions
Key Insight
Even without a CMDB, you are still executing configuration management on an ad hoc basis in order to complete a wide range of other service management tasks. With a right-sized CMDB and process, the potential for improved service delivery is high and worth investigating.
VP or Director of Operations/Infrastructure
Team Members
Section Outcomes
Comprehension of Info-Tech’s Methodology.
Go/No-Go decision for proceeding with configuration management project.

7. Configuration Management Roadmap Project Overview
Identified potential processes for improvement through use of a CMDB
CIO
Section 1
Succeed with a Right-Sized Configuration Management Roadmap
I see the value of investing in a CMDB.
Section 2
Launch the Project
Section 3
Gather Requirements
Director of Infrastructure and Project Team v
Case Study
Project Charter
Configuration Management Roadmap Template
Prioritized Technology and Process Initiatives
Estimated Initiative cost, benefit, and duration
Inputs for Roadmap Business Case
Section 4
Select a Technology Target State
Section 5
Build the Roadmap
Section 5
Sell the Roadmap v
Configuration Management Technology Target State
Configuration Management Roadmap Template
Configuration Management Roadmap Template
Configuration Management Roadmap Stakeholder Presentation Template
This icon indicates that a section of a template should be populated by following the instructions on the slide and/or executing a project step. 
Roadmap Approval

8. Establish clear definitions to get everyone on the same page
Term
Definition
Configuration Management
The purpose of configuration management is to:
“Identify, control, record, report, audit, and verify services and other configuration items (CIs), including versions, baselines, constituent components, their attributes and relationships.”
“Support efficient and effective service management processes by providing accurate configuration information to enable people to make decisions at the right time.”
– ITIL 2011 Service Transition
Configuration Management Database (CMDB)
A repository of configuration records. It can be as simple as a spreadsheet or as complex as an integrated database that is populated through multiple auto-discovery tools.
Configuration Record
Detailed information about a configuration item.
Configuration Item (CI)
A uniquely identifiable component of your IT environment.
Attributes
Characteristics of a CI included in the configuration record. Common attributes include: name, version, licence expiry date, location, supplier, SLA, and owner.
Relationships
Information about the way CIs are linked. A CI can be part of another CI, connect to another CI, or use another CI. A CMDB is significantly more valuable when relationships are recorded. This information allows CMDB users to identify dependencies between components when investigating incidents, performing root cause analysis, assessing the impact of changes before deployment, and much more.

9. Do not confuse configuration and asset management
Asset management is about controlling the life cycle of assets to manage risk and cost:
Track licenses to avoid over-spending on software licenses.
Track licenses to ensure compliance and avoid running the risk of a painful software audit.
Ensure assets are properly disposed.
Maximize the financial value of each IT asset throughout its lifecycle.
Configuration management is about maintaining an accurate source of useful information about the makeup of the IT environment that can be leveraged to improve service delivery.
Understand how configuration items are connected and where dependencies exist in order to provide better service. For example, when an outage occurs, the CMDB can be used to trace it and quickly discover which services have been affected and what must be done to resolve it.
Provide a source of accurate information about configuration items that facilitates better decision making. The CMDB can be leveraged by a number of distinct processes, particularly change, incident, and problem management.
While both processes are aligned, and many organizations will use an existing asset management system to populate the CMDB, configuration management has a distinct goal – improved service delivery. A CMDB should NOT be an inventory of all software and hardware assets. It is meant to serve as a tool for other service management processes and should only contain enough information to render it useful to these processes. This is why it is critical to define a target state first, to avoid deploying an overly complex database that provides no service delivery value.

10. Continual Service Improvement
Configuration management is a required Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) process
Configuration management is a component of the ITIL service transition phase:
Service Strategy
How will IT align its service portfolio and service management capabilities with the organization’s business strategy?
MAINTENANCE
RELEASE
Service Design
How will IT design and develop its services to meet business objectives?
NEW
APPLICATION
Service Transition
How will IT successfully introduce new or changed services to the live environment?
Service Operation
How will IT manage its services and effectively support its customers and users?
Continual Service Improvement
How will IT identify and take advantage of opportunities to improve its delivery of service to the business?

11. Configuration management is executed using a CMDB, which is simply a repository of configuration information
A CMDB serves one central purpose: To provide information about IT assets, their components, and the relationships between components. When you know what is in your environment and how it fits together, you can make smarter decisions, perform work faster, and deliver better service.
Service Transition
Service Operation
Service Design
Service Strategy
CMDB: A repository of information about IT components and their relationships.
Financial Management
Service-Level Management
Capacity Management
Change Management
Release and Deployment Management
Incident Management
Problem Management
Meet SLAs through better risk management
Cost services more easily
Verify configuration
pre-requisites
Assess change impact more accurately
Identify impacted components faster
Identify root cause faster
Proactively address shortages       

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