Environments Management Process Document Template

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PROCESS OWNER:
KEYWORDS
EM Environments Management
TEAM - Environments Management
CMDB Configuration Management Database
Environments Refer to Test Environments only
SLA in hours Refer to working hours (09.00hrs to 17.30hrs)
DISTRIBUTION:

Document Change History

Versi
on
V0.1
V0.2
V1.0

Doc
Number

Modifications

Released version.

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Date

Author

Environments Management Process Document Template

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Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Purpose............................................................................................3
Scope...............................................................................................4
Related Documents..........................................................................6
Tools to be used...............................................................................6
Inputs to process..............................................................................6
Outputs from process.......................................................................6
Process defined in both diagrammatic and textual form.................7
7.1 Process Diagram for all Environment Requests.........................7
7.2 Process Description...................................................................7
8 Responsibilities................................................................................8
9 Measurements to be taken............................................................10
10 Training.........................................................................................10
11 Feedback......................................................................................10
12 Appendix......................................................................................12

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Purpose

Figure1 (Amend as necessary)

Development
DevelopmentTeam1
Team1
(X
(Xdistinct
distinctprojects)
projects)

Development
Developm entTeam
Team22
(Y
(Yddistinct
istinctprojects)
projects)

Environments
Environ ments
Management
Management

Service Management

Enterprise Infrastructu re Group

&
Business Systems

Third
ThirdParty
Party Vendor
Vendor
(Z
(Zdistinct
distinctprojects)
projects)

VMS
VMSSupport
Support
CIS
CISSupport
Support
Legacy
LegacySupport
Support
Desktop
DesktopSupport
Support
SAP
SAPSupport
Support
Networks
Networks Support
Support&
&the
theSecurity
Securityteam
team
Third
ThirdParty
Party Vendors
Vendors

Scope

<List all applications covered>

<The environments to be provided will cover test phases to include
User Acceptance, Development, Systems Integration, Proof of Concept
and all manner of functional and non-functional testing based on the
given requirements.
The EM team will be responsible for ensuring that an environment is
delivered to a project at the current production level of software
(including databases, code levels and operating systems) or based on
a given requirement.
The EM team then receives the environment back from the project
after its use; the environment is decommissioned and maintained at
the current production level i.e. all production changes are applied
before its next use.

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Environments Management Process Document Template

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A request to be allocated a test environment, or for a code upgrade or

for a new environment to be built will be instigated by the Project
Manager which will be assigned to the EM team who will then ensure
that a new environment is built, the upgrade is carried out or an
existing environment is assigned. For all test environments the EM
team will ensure before officially handing over an environment that the
necessary pipe cleaning tests have been completed either by the
relevant support team or test teams.
All environments handed over to the project team will be accompanied
by an electronic handover sheet see example as an appendix which
will state the environment name, server name, code version level,
database, data, all interfaces etc.
The EM team will capture all environments booking in the Test
Environments Booking System (TEBS) to include start and end
dates and serve as a single source of consolidated information on all
test environments to include interfaces and connectivity at any given
time.
The Projects will be responsible for providing their own test data or for
any anonimising of production data that may be required. For all
requests for live sensitive data in a test environment, the EM team will
ensure that the Projects follow the necessary procedures as regulated
by the companys security policy before such a request is met.
All requests for rebooting servers, system date and time changes must
be raised with the EM team via the help desk call logging system who
will co-ordinate and manage any such activity to ensure that other
projects are not disrupted since multiple environments are hosted on
the same servers.
The EM team will meet regularly with the Project Managers,
Administrators etc to ensure that any booking conflicts are resolved
and that the requirements for test environments are adequately
planned for and subsequently met. Also a forward planning schedule
will be kept to proactively plan for any future test environment
requirements.

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Environments Management Process Document Template

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For large test environment requirements mainly around creating or

building a large number of test environments rather urgently and for
support reasons there may be a need to second technical resources
from the support teams into the EM team to ensure that an adequate
level of service is provided.
Our primary customer or client will be the project teams and utilising
resources from the various support teams as necessary in providing an
end to end environments management service.
3

Related Documents
Title

Document reference

4 Tools to be used
The EM team and its stake holders will utilise the following tools in
providing an environments management service;
1) Test Environments Booking System
2) Help Desk Call Logging Tool
5

Inputs to process
Inputs

Document
Reference

Source Process

Outputs from process

Outputs

Pathways Reference

Handover
Document

TBC

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Destination
Process
Testing Strategy

Environments Management Process Document Template

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Process defined in both diagrammatic and textual form

7.1 Process Diagram for all Environment Requests (Amend as

necessary)

7.2 Process Description (Please amend as necessary, this is

only a guide)

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Environments Management Process Document Template

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Acti
on
Ref
ID
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.3

1.4

1.5

2.0
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
3.0
3.1

3.2

Description
Submit Phase
A request for an environment is instigated or raised via the
relevant call management tool and assigned to the EM team.
The request is reviewed for correctness and validated via phone
calls or by email
If there is no existing environment to satisfy the requirement. The
EM team will negotiate with the architecture (for all new hardware
procurement) and support teams to determine a time scale that
such a requirement can be met, continuously managing the
expectation of the project, providing them with updates as
necessary.
If the requirement can be met with existing environments or
requests for code upgrades the agreed SLA in the next section will
be adhered to.
If there are any details that are required from the Software
Configuration Team these are requested, provided and passed on
to the support team who will be carrying out the requested
upgrade or installation.
Build Phase
VMS Team undertake any tasks that are required to complete a
build
DB Team undertake any tasks that are required to complete a
build
Software Configuration/CMS Team undertake any tasks that are
required to complete a build
Networks Team undertake any tasks that are required to complete
a build
Application Support Team under take any tasks that are required
to complete a build.
Sanity Check Phase
Application Support Team and VMS Support Teams undertake
sanity check tests prior to handing over the environment to the
EM team who will hand it back to the Project accompanied by an
electronic handover sheet.
Development or Test Teams undertake their own sanity check tests

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Acti
on
Ref
ID

Description

4.0
4.1

prior to formally accepting the environment from the EM team.

Decommission Phase
Environment is decommissioned and cleaned down (where
appropriate) prior to be handed back to the EM team.

Responsibilities

Role
Development/
Test Teams
Environment
Management
Senior
Management
Forum

Responsibilities

CM Team
Application
Support Team
VMS Support
Team
DB Team
CMS Team
Networks
Team
9

Measurements to be taken
Collection
Metrics
Stora
Purpose
Responsib
Collected
ge
ility
Environme To establish the EM Team
TBC
nt requests number of
raised per
requests raised

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Analysis
Responsib
ility
EM Team

Reporting
Responsib
ility
EM Team

Environments Management Process Document Template

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month
Requests
completed
within the
SLA or not
per month.

over any given

period
To highlight any
process
improvements
that may be
required to
achieve close
to 100% SLA
adherence.

EM Team

TBC

EM Team

EM Team

10 Training
Training and guidance in the use of the above mentioned tools and the
underlying above processes will be required for all relevant personnel
both for the EM personnel and their stakeholders as may be necessary.
11 Feedback
In order to ensure the processes are continually meeting the specified
requirements and all inputs and outputs are being considered and
incorporated into the procedure there should be an annual review that
is aimed at complementing any IT Audit findings that may be
undertaken with the IT Department.
The annual review should take the form of a formal workshop with all
major users (including those inputting and receiving outputs from the
process) where they run through the process identifying any
improvements that can be made.
This review will take place during May each year with any
recommendation or changes being incorporated into this process
document and versioned controlled via the front page document
history. This will allow any improvements time to bed before IT Audit
review of the process that is conducted every January.
Over and above the annual review any failures in this process should
be quickly identified to Environment Management and investigated. If
there is a need to change the process then this should be completed in
the same way as the annual review.
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Environments Management Process Document Template

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Finally as these processes are relatively new they wiil be reviewed in

the first three months of its implementation.

Appendix A
Environment Handover Notice for a single
Environment
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Environments Management Process Document Template

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Environment Name:
Application:

<Env1>
<ApplicationTEM >

Testing environment: UAT or DEV etc

Database/s
Application

Server_Type
Database Server
Database Server
Database Server

Applicatio

UserName

Server_name
Sever1
Server2
Server 3

Version/Upgrade

Password

User_descriptio
n

Date

User_Type

Data Set
Change_made

Date

Details

Interfaces
<Define other interfaced applications or environments>

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