Beyond Application Development

I come from an application development background myself. Moreover, I was involved in all aspects of app dev including Business Analysis, Programming, Quality Assurance and Project Management. It was only when I was first exposed to ITIL that I realized the tiny little well that I was a part of and the vastness of all the other parts of IT that existed that I had tuned myself out off.

SDLC, which, let us assume, for the sake of simplicity consists of the world of app dev is only a part of the going ons of an IT department. For those of us who have been involved in the SDLC most of our careers, there is a tendency to think only in terms of the application development lifecycle. However, the shift to understanding the entire IT infrastructure is important. There is currently a paradigm shift occurring in the IT industry globally where IT’s services to the business are being considered as opposed to the software IT produces only. The difference being that along with the application (or product) comes a host of related services. Consider a software application. The following will need to be considered once it has been released into operation:

• Support for users during operation including a help desk that will provide at least first line support.



• Continuous security management. This is particularly true for any sort of application that involves transfer of confidential data and financial information
  Capacity Management to ensure that the application can support the agreed upon number of users or load.



• Constant Availability Management checking to ensure that the application is performing as per specifications and to ensure quick follow up if it isn’t.
  Service Continuity Management to ensure that in the event of a disaster, the application can be brought back up as soon as possible.



• A continually evolving relationship with the customer to ensure alignment with customer needs and future needs.



• A strategy that encompasses customer demands and financial considerations to ensure that the correct portfolio of services and applications is chosen, developed, delivered to the customer, operated and finally retired at the appropriate time.



• A set of supporting processes that assist in providing the above services to the customer.

All this and more must be performed to ensure overall customer satisfaction over and above the development and testing of the software. The de facto standard for the services described above is ITIL. It is a large body of knowledge that most professionals will need to spend a significant amount of time and financial investment to master. It is recommended that most people get started immediately if not sooner.