Introduction¶
This manual is intended for OTRS::ITSM administrators and users to provide information on the basic use of OTRS::ITSM by IT service managers, IT service staff (agents) and end users (customers). Information pertaining to the installation, configuration and administration of OTRS::ITSM is only provided if there are differences to the OTRS core product or for functions, which only exist in OTRS::ITSM.
IT is expected to consistently deliver high service quality in an increasingly complex field. In this context, effective and efficient incident and problem management are indispensable. However, IT service management remains a task almost impossible if there is no consistent and up-to-date database with information about the state and configuration of the IT infrastructure.
The IT Infrastructure Library®, short ITIL®, is a series of books published by the United Kingdom’s Office of Government Commerce (OGC), which generically combine best practice approaches to designing, providing, operating and managing IT services. ITIL does not focus on the technology but the services provided by the IT and comprises information on processes, roles, responsibilities, potential problem fields/resolutions, and definitions of terms.
ITIL has established itself as de facto standard over the past years and its circulation in IT organizations has contributed considerably to the development of a collective awareness and consistent terminology for IT service management. However, ITIL only describes who should do what and what should be considered along the way. In order to cover as wide a user group as possible, it does not or to a little extent address the issue of how to do things. Therefore, no implementable information is given for particular industries, companies, or manufacturers.
In December 2005, the ITIL based ISO/IEC 20000 industry standard for IT service management was published. IT organizations can apply for ISO/IEC 20000 certification and prove their conformity.
The continuing boom caused demand for IT service management tools, which could represent the ITIL-based processes. So far, only proprietary solutions existed. Because of their considerable complexity, most of these tools are only affordable for large companies and effective in large IT departments.
The development of OTRS::ITSM was started as a result of the great success of the OTRS framework in order to combine the globally accepted, public ITIL recommendations with the benefits of open-source software.
OTRS::ITSM was the first real-world ITIL compliant IT service management solution on open-source basis, built on the solid basis of OTRS with its over thousands known OTRS installations and its community.
OTRS::ITSM is practically-oriented. This was accomplished by developing it in collaboration with ITIL consultants and with some of OTRS Groups’ customers.
The service-desk and ticket system solution OTRS is the basis for the ITIL compliant IT service management solution OTRS::ITSM, its incident management, problem management, service level management, change and configuration management modules, and integrated CMDB.
Just like ITIL, OTRS::ITSM does not claim to be an out-of-the-box solution for all tasks and questions arising in IT service management. It is, in fact, supposed to serve as a flexible, stable and easy to understand information platform that can be adapted to meet the requirements of virtually every organization.
Therefore, please excuse us for bringing the following to your attention: The use of an ITIL aligned tool such as OTRS::ITSM only makes sense if processes, people, and products (IT services) are truly ITIL aligned.
Without the thoughtful tailoring of generic ITIL processes to meet the requirements of the specific business scenario, OTRS::ITSM will not achieve a discernible improvement of the key performance indicators of IT service management.
You should also be aware of the fact that successful ITIL implementation projects typically take up to a year and longer. Their scope and impact on the organization is not to be underestimated. However, we would like to mention that a neatly implemented ITIL aligned ITSM tool can help to save time and money, as the process support of the tool aids and accelerates the process of organizational realignment.
Note
The implementation of OTRS::ITSM is based on ITIL v3.
OTRS::ITSM supports the following features and processes, which are usually designed during the first phase of an ITIL implementation:
- Incident Management
- Problem Management
- Service Level Management
- Change Management
- Configuration Management Database
A more detailed description of use and adaptation of the system can be found in the following sections. Please note that the each OTRS::ITSM package can be installed independently and that their names correspond to their respective ITIL topics.
Note
The ITSM packages are installed into OTRS by the Customer Solution Team. In case of On-Premise systems, the customer can install the packages from the package manager, when the Customer Solution Team added the selected packages to the repository. To install a package, please contact the Customer Solution Team via support@otrs.com or in the OTRS Portal.