MOF Self-Assessment Tool

Service Desk

1.	Have the scope and objectives of the Service Desk been defined?
2.	Does the service desk log incidents in accordance with a defined Incident Management process?
3.	Does the service desk perform escalation of incidents when service level objectives are in danger of being breached?
4.	Are calls to the service desk monitored and managed using a call-logging tool?
5.	Are the number of available call-takers managed to take account of peaks in demand for the service desk to ensure that calls are handled in an efficient manner?
6.	Does the service desk communicate short-term outage details to the user population?
7.	Are all incidents logged on a single incident-logging tool used by the entire IT organization?
8.	Does the Service Desk produce reports on number and type of calls received?
9.	Does the Service Desk have access to a database or log of known errors, for which there are workarounds, and known problems, which are still under investigation?
10.	Does the Service Desk have access to configuration data to assist in understanding the business impact of component failure, and to validate details are correct?
11.	Does the Service Desk check customer satisfaction at the closure of an incident?
12.	Does the SMF have an owner, who is responsible for its day-to-day management and ongoing development?
13.	Are those performing the SMF aware of how to do so?
14.	Are the customers and end users of the SMF aware of it and conforming to it?
15.	Are the processes within the SMF documented?
16.	Does the Service Desk SMF exchange information with other SMFs?
17.	Have the staff performing the SMF received appropriate training on the process, tools and any technical skills required to perform the process?
18.	Are tools used to assist in the execution of the SMF?
19.	Is the performance of the SMF measured against specific targets and Key Performance Indicators?
20.	Are users of the SMF regularly surveyed to measure customer satisfaction with the process?
21.	Does the SMF have a continuous service improvement program by which deficiencies in the process are identified and improvements implemented?

Incident Management

1.	Have the scope and objectives of Incident Management been defined?
2.	Are adequate details recorded and logged for each incident received?
3.	Is each incident allocated a unique reference?
4.	Are all incidents recorded on a specialist incident-logging tool?
5.	Are the details of each incident recorded against specific configuration items in a Configuration Management Database?
6.	Are incidents assigned to support groups when they cannot be resolved at the first point of contact?
7.	Is each incident assigned a classification code, which indicates the likely cause of the incident?
8.	Is the impact and urgency of each incident assessed, and a resolution priority assigned?
9.	Are the symptoms of reported incidents compared to a database or log of known errors to identify a workaround?
10.	When an incident is closed, is a closing category assigned which summarizes the cause of the incident?
11.	Do you ensure that the originator is satisfied with the resolution of each incident prior to closure?
12.	Is there a major incident process whereby resolution of the incident is expedited to reduce business impact?
13.	Does the Incident Management function have an owner, who is responsible for its day-to-day management and ongoing development?
14.	Are those performing Incident Management aware of how to do so?
15.	Are the customers and end users of the Incident Management aware of it and conforming to it?
16.	Are the processes for Incident Management documented ?
17.	Does the Incident Management SMF exchange information with other SMFs?
18.	Have the staff performing incident Management received appropriate training on the process, tools and any technical skills required to perform the process?
19.	Are tools used to assist in the execution of Incident Management ?
20.	Is the performance of the SMF measured against specific targets and Key Performance Indicators?
21.	Are users of Incident Management regularly surveyed to measure customer satisfaction with the process?
22.	Does Incident Management have a continuous service improvement program by which deficiencies in the process are identified and improvements implemented?

Problem Management

1.	Have the scope and objectives of Problem Management been defined?
2.	Do you investigate the underlying root cause of incidents, and track the progress of the investigation under a Problem Record?
3.	Do you monitor incidents for further occurrences of the problem and update the record with the number of occurrences?
4.	Do you categorize open problem records under standard descriptions?
5.	Do you assign a priority to each open problem record?
6.	Do you identify major problems by their impact, urgency and priority, and expedite the investigation and diagnosis processes to minimize business impact and restore normal service as soon as possible?
7.	If a workaround is found, do you communicate details of the workaround to the Service Desk, and update the problem record accordingly?
8.	Do you implement fixes to problems under change control?
9.	Do you monitor the infrastructure after implementation of the fix to ensure resolution?
10.	Do you receive and obtain information on known errors from developers, third party suppliers, maintainers and development teams?
11.	Do you perform trend analysis on incident data?
12.	Do you target preventative measures to prevent incidents occurring?
13.	Does problem Management have an owner, who is responsible for its day-to-day management and ongoing development?
14.	Are those performing Problem Management aware of how to do so?
15.	Are the customers and end users of the Problem Management aware of it and conforming to it?
16.	Are the processes for Problem Management documented ?
17.	Does the Problem Management SMF exchange information with other SMFs?
18.	Have the staff performing Problem Management received appropriate training on the process, tools and any technical skills required to perform the process?
19.	Are tools used to assist in the execution of Problem Management ?
20.	Is the performance of the SMF measured against specific targets and Key Performance Indicators?
21.	Are users of Problem Management regularly surveyed to measure customer satisfaction with the process?
22.	Does Problem Management have a continuous service improvement program by which deficiencies in the process are identified and improvements implemented?

Change Management

1.	Have the scope and methods of Change Management been defined ?
2.	Are change requests filtered for completeness, duplication and practicality and returned to the initiator where required ?
3.	Are all changes assessed for their risk and prioritized accordingly (eg. High/medium/low) ?
4.	Are different procedures followed for the assessment and approval of normal or complex changes as opposed to simple changes ?
5.	Are different procedures followed to expedite the assessment of urgent/emergency changes, as opposed to normal changes ?
6.	Do all changes follow an approval process which prevents them from being implemented until the necessary approval has been granted ?
7.	Are changes scheduled to reduce risk of failure, reduce liklihood of conflict with other changes, and minimize impact on the business ?
8.	Is a schedule of forthcoming changes widely available to everyone in the organization ?
9.	Are all changes built to a common set of standards and procedures ? For example, the distribution method is appropriate for the change and method.
10.	Does an independent team test all changes in a test environment prior to implementation ?
11.	Are back out plans tested for every change ?
12.	After implementation is each change subject to a post-implementation review ?
13.	Does Change Management share information with other process owners such as Incident, Service Desk, Configuration and Problem Management ?
14.	Does Change Management have an owner who is responsible for its' day-to-day management and ongoing operations ?
15.	Are those performing Change Management aware of their roles and responsibilities ?
16.	Are the customers and users of change management aware of it and conforming to it ?
17.	Are change management processes documented ?
18.	Have the staff involved in change management received appropriate training in the process, tools and any technical skills required to perform the process ?
19.	Are tools used to assist in the execution of change management ?
20.	Is the performance of change management measured against specific targets and Key Performance Indicators ?
21.	Are the users of the change management process regularly surveyed to measure satisfaction with the processes ?
22.	Does the process have a continuous service improvement program by which deficiencies in the process are identified and improvements implemented ?

Configuration Management

1.	Have the scope and methods of Configuration Management been defined ?
2.	Have you identified and located the individual components within your infrastructure and recorded them within a single logical database (known as a Configuration Management Database or CMDB) using a unique identifier for each component?
3.	Is configuration data maintained under change control?
4.	Have you devised a standard naming convention for configuration items?
5.	Have you defined the level to which information on a specific component is required?
6.	Is each component within the infrastructure physically labeled with a unique identifier?
7.	Is configuration data stored in secure repositories?
8.	Do you regularly compare the data held within the CMDB with the physical environment and produce a report detailing any discrepancies?
9.	Have you identified relationships between components in order that the impact on other components of changes and outages can be accurately assessed?
10.	Do you regularly produce a report showing the current status of all components within the infrastructure?
11.	Does the SMF have an owner, who is responsible for its day-to-day management and ongoing development?
12.	Are those performing the SMF aware of how to do so?
13.	Are the customers and end users of the SMF aware of it and conforming to it?
14.	Are the processes within the SMF documented?
15.	Does the Configuration Management SMF exchange information with other SMFs?
16.	Have the staff performing the SMF received appropriate training on the process, tools and any technical skills required to perform the SMF?
17.	Are tools used to assist in the execution of the SMF?
18.	Is the performance of the SMF measured against specific targets and Key Performance Indicators?
19.	Are users of the SMF regularly surveyed to measure customer satisfaction with the process?
20.	IDoes the SMF have a continuous service improvement program by which deficiencies in the process are identified and improvements implemented?

Release Management

1.	Has the scope and objectives of the SMF been defined?
2.	Are changes to the infrastructure implemented using the concept of releases to ensure a consistent delivery mechanism and decrease the likelihood of failure?
3.	Are releases classified as Full Releases, Delta Releases, and Package Releases as appropriate (known as Release Types)?
4.	Are releases numbered so that they can be tracked and easily understood by all those involved?
5.	Are standard builds used on each computing platform within your infrastructure?
6.	Are the master copies of all software in use within the organization stored in a single repository (known as a Definitive Software Library)?
7.	Is configuration data updated to reflect changes to the hardware, software, licenses, documentation, etc. made by the Release Process?
8.	Are releases managed and implemented in accordance with the change management SMF?
9.	Is the allocation of software licenses managed to ensure that the number of licenses allocated does not exceed the number of licenses available?
10.	Do you maintain a schedule of forthcoming releases, detailing the contents of the proposed release together with its proposed implementation date?
11.	Are releases tested prior to implementation?
12.	Is a back-out plan developed for each release?
13.	Do you review the effectiveness of the implementation of releases after their implementation and take steps to address deficiencies in the release process?
14.	Does the SMF have an owner, who is responsible for its day-to-day management and ongoing development?
15.	Are those performing the SMF aware of how to do so?
16.	Are the customers and end users of the SMF aware of it and conforming to it? In this case, the customers and end users may be internal to the process.
17.	Are the processes within the SMF documented?
18.	Does the Release Management SMF exchange information with other SMFs?
19.	Have the staff performing the SMF received appropriate training on the process, tools and any technical skills required to perform the process?
20.	Are tools used to assist in the execution of the SMF?
21.	Is the performance of the SMF measured against specific targets and Key Performance Indicators?
22.	Are users of the SMF regularly surveyed to measure customer satisfaction with the process?
23.	Does the SMF have a continuous service improvement program by which deficiencies in the process are identified and improvements implemented?

Service Level Management

1.	Has the scope and objectives of SLM been defined?
2.	Have you identified each service you provide, together with the customers who use that service, and the infrastructure components required to deliver the service and documented these in a Service Catalogue?
3.	Have you defined a structure for the SLAs within your organization?
4.	Do you have written agreements between the IT provider and the customer that have been agreed by both parties?
5.	Do you have internal agreements between the support teams and the IT Service provider that commit them to delivering service to a defined level?
6.	Do you have contracts with third party suppliers and maintainers?
7.	Are SLA targets fully supported by OLAs and/or Underpinning Contracts?
8.	Are customer requirements for each new service documented in a Service Level Requirements (SLR) document?
9.	Are changes to SLAs requested through the change management process?
10.	Is an SLA template used for the creation of SLAs?
11.	Do you have the means to monitor Service Level Objectives such as response times and availability targets?
12.	Do you regularly produce reports showing the performance of a service against its SLOs?
13.	Do you regularly review the performance of the service against its SLOs with the customer?
14.	Does each service have a Continuous Service Improvement Programme (CSIP) that addresses deficiencies in the service being provided?
15.	Are the contents of SLAs reviewed regularly to ensure that they meet the customer’s requirements, that SLOs are still relevant and achievable, and that any changes to the service have been included with the document?
16.	Does SLM have an owner, who is responsible for its day-to-day management and ongoing development?
17.	Are those performing SLM aware of how to do so?
18.	Are the customers and end users of the SMF aware of it and conforming to it?
19.	Are the processes within SLM documented?
20.	Does the Service Level Management SMF exchange information with other SMFs?
21.	Have the staff performing the SMF received appropriate training on the process, tools and any technical skills required to perform the process?
22.	Are tools used to assist in the execution of the SMF?
23.	Is the performance of the SMF measured against specific targets and Key Performance Indicators?
24.	Are users of SLM regularly surveyed to measure customer satisfaction with the process?
25.	Does SLM have a continuous service improvement program by which deficiencies in the process are identified and improvements implemented?

Capacity Management

1.	Have the scope and objectives of the SMF been defined?
2.	Do you regularly obtain business related information from your customers relating to future changes in business usage?
3.	Do you perform demand management by influencing the use of key services during busy times?
4.	Do you monitor the capacity available to individual services by setting thresholds and creating alerts when these thresholds are exceeded?
5.	Do you monitor the capacity available on individual resources by settings thresholds and creating alerts when these thresholds are exceeded?
6.	Do you analyze capacity data and incident data to aid in the identification of trends and issues?
7.	Do you continuously implement tuning measures to address identified issues and problems?
8.	Are all capacity related changes to the infrastructure implemented under change control?
9.	Do you produce reports showing the results of the monitoring and tuning activities undertaken on services and resources in a specific reporting period?
10.	Is all capacity data stored in a logical capacity database?
11.	Do you assess Requests for Change for their impact upon capacity?
12.	Do you use capacity data in the negotiation of achievable, measurable SLOs/OLOs in concert with the Service Level Management SMF?
13.	Do you use application sizing and modeling techniques in the development of services and to predict the required infrastructure to support changes to existing services?
14.	Do you regularly produce a capacity plan that details the current levels of utilization for services and components, and predicts the likely levels of utilization in future?
15.	Does the SMF have an owner, who is responsible for its day-to-day management and ongoing development?
16.	Are those performing the SMF aware of how to do so??
17.	Are the customers and end users of the SMF aware of it and conforming to it?
18.	Are the processes within the SMF documented?
19.	Does the Capacity Management SMF exchange information with other SMFs?
20.	Have the staff performing the SMF received appropriate training on the process, tools and any technical skills required to perform the process?
21.	Are tools used to assist in the execution of the SMF?
22.	Is the performance of the SMF measured against specific targets and Key Performance Indicators?
23.	Are users of the SMF regularly surveyed to measure customer satisfaction with the process?
24.	Does the SMF have a continuous service improvement program by which deficiencies in the process are identified and improvements implemented?

Availability Management

1.	Have the scope and objectives of the SMF been defined?
2.	Do you regularly undertake risk analyses on existing services to understand where availability targets may be threatened? Do you also assess the risks to availability targets for new services?
3.	Are proposed availability targets subject to a feasibility study to verify that they are achievable and to assist in negotiations with the customer?
4.	Do you have the means to measure service availability to an appropriate level of detail?
5.	With regards to your monitoring capability, have you set specific thresholds and defined automated and manual actions to be taken when thresholds are exceeded?
6.	Do you regularly produce an Availability plan, showing current levels of availability, and including recommendation for improving availability?
7.	Where changes are made to improve availability, are these tested and/or modeled prior to implementation?
8.	Are all changes implemented in accordance with Change Management processes?
9.	Are all requests for change assessed for their impact upon availability prior to implementation?
10.	Do you maintain historical availability data that can be used in trend analysis and reporting?
11.	Do you analyze availability data for trends, identifying opportunities to improve availability and prevent unplanned downtime?
12.	Do you regularly report on the levels of availability achieved for each service and component within the scope of the SMF?
13.	Does the SMF have an owner, who is responsible for its day-to-day management and ongoing development?
14.	Are those performing the SMF aware of how to do so?
15.	Are the customers and end users of the SMF aware of it and conforming to it?
16.	Are the processes within the SMF documented?
17.	Does the Availability Management SMF exchange information with other SMFs?
18.	Have the staff performing the SMF received appropriate training on the process, tools and any technical skills required to perform the process?
19.	Are tools used to assist in the execution of the SMF?
20.	Is the performance of the SMF measured against specific targets and Key Performance Indicators?
21.	Are users of the SMF regularly surveyed to measure customer satisfaction with the process?
22.	Does the SMF have a continuous service improvement program by which deficiencies in the process are identified and improvements implemented?

Financial Management

1.	Have the scope and objectives of the SMF been defined?
2.	Do you produce a regular budget, preferably annually, which documents the predicted spend for the forthcoming period?
3.	Do you base the production of the budget on the accuracy of previous budgets?
4.	Is each budget item categorized as either a capital or revenue cost?
5.	Is the budget subject to some form of reforecast exercise, where it is reviewed and reassessed periodically throughout the cycle?
6.	Are you able to account for IT expenditure incurred by your organization?
7.	Do you report on expenditure compared against the budget for each item, identifying variances between the budget and the actual spend?
8.	Where variances occur, are these managed within predefined limits and escalated where variances exceed these limits?
9.	Do you allocate/apportion costs using a cost model?
10.	Does the IT service provider charge back incurred costs to its customers?
11.	Is the charge made to the customers directly proportionate to the services consumed by that customer?
12.	Is there a charging / pricing policy which identifies the chargeable items and the prices which will be charged for these items?
13.	Is expenditure for new projects or equipment subject to cost benefit analysis / investment appraisal?
14.	Does the SMF have an owner, who is responsible for its day-to-day management and ongoing development?
15.	Are those performing the SMF aware of how to do so?
16.	Are the customers and end users of the SMF aware of it and conforming to it?
17.	Are the processes within the SMF documented?
18.	Does the Financial Management SMF exchange information with other SMFs?
19.	Have the staff performing the SMF received appropriate training on the process, tools and any technical skills required to perform the process?
20.	Are tools used to assist in the execution of the SMF?
21.	Is the performance of the SMF measured against specific targets and Key Performance Indicators?
22.	Are users of the SMF regularly surveyed to measure customer satisfaction with the process?
23.	Does the SMF have a continuous service improvement program by which deficiencies in the process are identified and improvements implemented?

Workforce Management

1.	Have the scope and objectives of the SMF been defined?
2.	Does your organization have a standard set of terms and conditions that all staff are subject to?
3.	Is the number of employees within the IT organization based upon the number of people they support, and their geographical locations?
4.	For each role within the IT organization, is there an associated job description that describes the key features and required qualifications for the role?
5.	Does each employee within the IT organization have a skills profile, which details the skills and competencies they possess and gives and indication of the level of skill they possess?
6.	Are the job descriptions and skills profiles brought together to form skills matrices showing the level of skills required for each role, and together with the skills available within the organization?
7.	Is the skills matrix analyzed for "gaps"?
8.	Is the use of contract staff managed effectively?
9.	Are training plans maintained for each employee to document the individuals development needs and reduce any skills shortage or duplication within the organization?
10.	Are employees professionally accredited where there job description suggests that this is necessary?
11.	When employees leave the service of the organization, are steps taken to recover hardware assets and software licenses in their possession?
12.	Is there a charging / pricing policy which identifies the chargeable items and the prices which will be charged for these items?
13.	When employees leave the service of the organization, are user accounts and profiles disabled, preventing them from being used?
14.	Are those performing the SMF aware of how to do so?
15.	Are the customers and end users of the SMF aware of it and conforming to it?
16.	Are the processes within the SMF documented?
17.	Does the Workforce Management SMF exchange information with other SMFs?
18.	Have the staff performing the SMF received appropriate training on the process, tools and any technical skills required to perform the process?
19.	Are tools used to assist in the execution of the SMF?
20.	Is the performance of the SMF measured against specific targets and Key Performance Indicators?
21.	Are users of the SMF regularly surveyed to measure customer satisfaction with the process?
22.	Does the SMF have a continuous service improvement program by which deficiencies in the process are identified and improvements implemented?

Service Continuity Management

1.	Have the scope and objectives of the SMF been defined?
2.	Have you performed a Business Impact Analysis to identify the impact on the business on the loss of key business processes and the supporting IT services?
3.	Have you performed a risk analysis for each component that supports each service, identifying the risks and vulnerabilities and implementing appropriate countermeasures?
4.	Have you developed a Service Continuity Plan for each service, detailing the recovery options, prevention measures and procedures in the event of the loss key components?
5.	Do you have clearly documented procedures for the invocation of the Service Continuity Plan?
6.	Have you clearly documented procedures for returning back to normal service after invocation of a service continuity plan?
7.	Is the service continuity plan reviewed in light of changes that occur?
8.	Do you regularly backup critical data, and have a process for the restoration of data in the event of invocation of the service continuity plan?
9.	Do you regularly test invocation of the plan under various failure scenarios?
10.	Do you undertake post-test reviews, to identify lessons that can be learnt from the test, and identify improvements to the Service Continuity Plans?
11.	Do you maintain technical recovery documentation for components within the infrastructure?
12.	Does the SMF have an owner, who is responsible for its day-to-day management and ongoing development?
13.	Are those performing the SMF aware of how to do so?
14.	Are the customers and end users of the SMF aware of it and conforming to it?
15.	Are the processes within the SMF documented?
16.	Does the Service Continuity Management SMF exchange information with other SMFs?
17.	Have the staff performing the SMF received appropriate training on the process, tools and any technical skills required to perform the process?
18.	Are tools used to assist in the execution of the SMF?
19.	Is the performance of the SMF measured against specific targets and Key Performance Indicators?
20.	Are users of the SMF regularly surveyed to measure customer satisfaction with the process?
21.	Does the SMF have a continuous service improvement program by which deficiencies in the process are identified and improvements implemented?