What is configuration management? This is the broadest of all the itSMF processes. Effective Configuration Management requires a combination of well defined manual processes and discovery. In addition, differentiating between the deployment of application code in the Definitive Media Library, DML, and Configuration Management is critical. In chaos theory, chaos is sometimes described as all the activity that is just below what appears well organized. Visualizing what’s behind a web page would certainly appear chaotic to the untrained eye. Configuration Management puts order to what otherwise would be chaos.
The image below depicts what happens when a request is made using the Service Catalog. It shows how a single service request transform into a number a individual change requests to the environment.
The concept of ‘transformation’ is a very important data concept to understand when building a software solution. Understanding that a Service request can transform into a number of change requests shows two distinct data concepts, Service Request and Change Request. Understanding this will allow the owners of the service catalog define their service requests with the appropriate workflow and change requests.
On the surface, a service request seems similar to a change request. The service request is the abstract delivered to the requester while the change requests are the tangible actions taken to fulfill the service request.