Operations Logs

Standard Operating Procedures

IT Operations Management documentation

A number of document s are produced and used during IT Operations Management. This list is a summary of some of the most important and does not include reports that are produced by IT Operations Management on behalf of other processes or function s.

The SOPs are a set of documents containing detailed instructions and activity schedules for every IT Operations Management team, department or group.

These documents represent the routine work that needs to be done for every device, system or procedure. They also outline the procedures to be followed if an exception is detected or if a change is required.

SOP documents could also be used to define standard levels of performance for devices or procedures. In some organizations the SOP documents are referred to in the OLA. Instead of listing detailed performance measures in the OLA, a clause is inserted to refer to the performance standard s in the SOP and how these will be measured and reported.

Any activity that is conducted as part of IT Operations should be recorded for a number of reasons, including:

• They can be used to confirm the successful completion of specific jobs or activities
• They can be used to confirm that an IT service was delivered as agreed
• They can be used by Problem Management to research the root cause of incidents
• They are the basis for reports on the performance of the IT Operations Management teams and departments.

The format of these logs is as varied as the number of systems and Operations Management teams or departments. Examples of Operations Logs include the following:

• Operating System Logs stored on each device
• Application Activity Logs stored in a file on the application server
• Event Logs stored on the monitoring tool server
• Utilization Logs for key devices
• Physical access logs recording who accessed secure buildings and when
• Handwritten logs of actions performed by operators. This must be in a formal logbook or binder, numbered and stored in a secure environment. Checks should ensure that pages are not removed.

A policy needs to be established as part of the SOPs to state how long logs need to be kept, how they are archived and when they can be deleted. These policies will take into account statutory and compliance requirement s. Policies should also specify the parameters for adequate storage and backup strategies to store and retrieve log files.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-23