Application Services Library
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The Application Services Library (ASL) is a
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...
framework of
best practices A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to other known alternatives because it often produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means or because it has become a standard way of doing ...
used to
standardize In statistics, the standard score is the number of standard deviations by which the value of a raw score (i.e., an observed value or data point) is above or below the mean value of what is being observed or measured. Raw scores above the mean ...
processes A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic. Things called a process include: Business and management *Business process, activities that produce a specific se ...
within
Application Management Application lifecycle management (ALM) is the product lifecycle management (governance, development, and maintenance) of computer programs. It encompasses requirements management, software architecture, computer programming, software testin ...
, the discipline of producing and maintaining
information system An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems are composed by four components: task, people ...
s and
applications Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...
. The term "library" is used because ASL is presented as a set of books describing best practices from the IT industry. ASL is closely related to the frameworks
ITIL The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a set of detailed practices for IT activities such as IT service management (ITSM) and IT asset management (ITAM) that focus on aligning IT services with the needs of business. ITIL d ...
(for
IT Service Management Information technology service management (ITSM) is the activities that are performed by an organization to design, build, deliver, operate and control information technology (IT) services offered to customers. Differing from more technology-or ...
) and BiSL (for Information Management and Functional Management) and to the Capability Maturity Model (CMM). The ASL framework was developed because ITIL proved inadequate for Application Management. At that time, ITIL lacked specific guidance for application design, development, maintenance and support. Newer ITIL versions, particularly V3, have increasingly addressed the Application Development and Application Management domains; the ASL BiSL Foundation has published a white paper comparing ITIL v3 and ASL. ASL was developed in the late nineties in the
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, originally as the proprietary R2C model, which evolved into ASL in 2000. In 2001 it was donated by the IT
Service Provider A service provider (SP) is an organization that provides services, such as consulting, legal, real estate, communications, storage, and processing services, to other organizations. Although a service provider can be a sub-unit of the organization t ...
PinkRoccade Getronics is a Dutch-headquartered ICT services business, founded in 1887 and today employing approximately 4,000 employees across Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Getronics has over 2000 customers, including Credit Agricole, Intersnack, a ...
to the ASL Foundation, now the ASL BiSL Foundation. The version ASL2 was published in 2009.


Purpose

The ASL2 is intended to support Application Management by providing tools. Two main categories of aids are defined: *Descriptions of the processes for Application Management. Plus the use of best-practises *Standard terminology, avoiding the pitfall of talking about different topics while using the same words.


Structure of ASL2

ASL2 contains 3 levels, 6 clusters of processes (3 on the operational level, 1 on the tactical level, 2 on the strategic level) and a totality of 26 processes.


Operational level


Application Support Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...
cluster

There are 4 processes within the Application Support cluster. The processes in the Service Organisation cluster support the daily use of the information systems. The processes in this cluster are: *
Use Support Use may refer to: * Use (law), an obligation on a person to whom property has been conveyed * Use (liturgy), a special form of Roman Catholic ritual adopted for use in a particular diocese * Use–mention distinction, the distinction between using ...
* Configuration Management * IT Operation Management * Continuity Management These processes have as well been defined in the ITIL framework. The processes are similar, but are viewed from another point of view, therefore the activities in each of these processes may differ from the activities in an ITIL-environment.


Application Maintenance and Renewal cluster

There are 5 processes within the Application Maintenance and Renewal cluster. Within this cluster the majority of the work of Application Development is done. A major part of the work of Application Management deals with designing, programming and testing applications and information systems. Processes are: * Impact analysis *
Design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...
*Realization * Testing *
Implementation Implementation is the realization of an application, or execution of a plan, idea, model, design, specification, standard, algorithm, or policy. Industry-specific definitions Computer science In computer science, an implementation is a real ...
These processes are not described at all in the ITIL V1 framework, but do have their counterparts in BiSL, the model for Information management / Functional Management.


Connecting Processes Operational Level cluster

There are 2 processes within the Connecting Processes Operational Level cluster. The connecting processes aim at the synchronisation of the activities between Service Organisation/operations (using the applications) and development and maintenance (changing the applications). The two processes included are: *
Change Management Change management (sometimes abbreviated as CM) is a collective term for all approaches to prepare, support, and help individuals, teams, and organizations in making organizational change. It includes methods that redirect or redefine the use o ...
* Software Control and Distribution


Management level


Management Processes cluster

There are 5 processes within the Management Processes cluster. The processes in this cluster are used in the management of the activities within the clusters on the operational level. The processes are located on the tactical level, are used for steering the operational processes. The processes included are: *
Contract Management Contract management or contract administration is the management of contracts made with customers, vendors, partners, or employees. Contract management includes negotiating the terms and conditions in contracts and ensuring compliance with the terms ...
* Planning and Control *
Quality Management Quality management ensures that an organization, product or service consistently functions well. It has four main components: quality planning, quality assurance, quality control and quality improvement. Quality management is focused not ...
*
Financial Management Financial management is the business function concerned with profitability, expenses, cash and credit, so that the "organization may have the means to carry out its objective as satisfactorily as possible;" the latter often defined as maximizi ...
* Supplier Management


Strategic level


Application Strategy Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a ...
cluster

There are 5 processes within the Application Strategy cluster. Applications live for longer than expected. Systems, functionality, concepts and structure of information systems remain stable over many years. This knowledge is rarely used. It is important that, while maintaining and enhancing systems, there is a clear view needed what the demands are in the future, and based on that, what and how the future of these applications should look like. This view, the application management strategies, is created within the cluster Application Strategy. The processes in this cluster are: *IT Developments Strategy *Customer Organizations Strategy *Customer Environment Strategy *Application Life Cycle Management *
Application Portfolio Management IT Application Portfolio Management (APM) is a practice that has emerged in mid to large-size information technology (IT) organizations since the mid-1990s. Application Portfolio Management attempts to use the lessons of financial portfolio manage ...


Application Management Application lifecycle management (ALM) is the product lifecycle management (governance, development, and maintenance) of computer programs. It encompasses requirements management, software architecture, computer programming, software testin ...
Organization Strategy cluster

There are 5 processes within the Application Management Organization Strategy cluster. Also the future of the Application Management organisation, with aspects as skills and capabilities, markets and customers, is very important. Creating the organisation management strategies for this is the aim of Application Management Organization Strategy cluster. Processes in this cluster include: *Account and Market Definition *Capabilities Definition *Technology Definition *Supplier Definition *Service Delivery Definition


ASL2 Maturity Model

There is also ASL2 Maturity Model with 5 levels of process maturity: *Level 1 - Initial *Level 2 - Repeatable *Level 3 - Defined and managed *Level 4 - Optimizing *Level 5 - Chain


References

*ASL 2 - A Framework for Application Management (book on ASL v2, , 2011) *ASL 2 Self-assessment (book on ASL v2, , 2014) *ASL 2: A Pocket Guide (book on ASL v2, {{ISBN, 978-9087536435, 2013) Official whitepapers:
ASL 2, An introductionITIL® v3 and ASL - Sound Guidance for Application Management and Application Development


External links


Official ASL BiSL Foundation website
IT service management Public domain