ITIL Application Management: Phases, Life Cycle, Definition

The activities of services that are responsible for helping and regulating applications throughout the process are known as ITIL application management. All individuals who maintain operating applications or provide specific abilities are included in this procedure. 

Application management is important because it aids in making decisions about applications, such as whether they should be acquired or built in-house. This decision is frequently made by a Chief Technical Officer or a Steering Committee, although it is based on a variety of factors. Following the decision to acquire or build in-house, Application Management collaborates with Technical Management to produce and refine the information needed to configure, test, supervise, and enhance IT administrations. ITIL application management also provides assets to aid the Service Lifecycle and, when necessary, prepares and transmits such assets in a viable manner. 

ITIL Application Management – An Overview

ITIL in Application Management is important for controlling the lifespan of applications. This technique is critical in the application-related parts of constructing, assessing, running, and improving IT services that are required to develop the qualities needed to use IT business applications. Instead of being a one-time set of practices for building applications, ITIL Application Management is a continuous effort. 

Description and mapping of processes 

Application management is referred to as a “function” in ITIL. It plays a crucial role in the management of applications and systems. 

Other ITIL patterns include several application management procedures. We decided to add the Application Management process as a segment that contains behaviors that aren’t included in the IT Process Mapping. 

ITIL Application Management Process 

The ITIL Application Management lifecycle consists of five basic functions: defining application requirements, designing the application, assembling or building and testing the application, deploying and ensuring effective operation, and optimizing the application.

ITIL Application Management Objectives

The primary goals of application management are to aid an organization’s business processes, to assist in the planning and creation of new applications, and to assist in the maintenance and improvement of existing applications. These objectives are attained by: 

• Deploying apps that are well-designed, dependable, and intelligent. 
• Assuring that the company has the resources which it needs to achieve its objectives. 
• Ensuring that the technical staff is responsible for maintaining the apps that have critical specialized knowledge. 
• Troubleshooting and fixing technological issues. 

ITIL Application Management Phases

The six stages of ITIL application management lifecycle are as follows: 

• Define: The business requirements are used to generate the requirements for a new application. 
• Design: During this stage, needs are converted into specifications for the IT components that will be produced. This stage involves the application’s design as well as the runtime environment’s design. 
• Build: This is the stage in which the real application and the operational model are created. The application components are coded, integrated, and tested at this stage. During this phase, any customization that is necessary is completed. 
• Deploy: The operational model, as well as the application, are both released and put into production. This is the stage when the Release and Deployment Management process interacts with this function. 
• Operate: This is the stage in which the programme becomes operational, and real users begin to utilize it. The total performance of the application is used to assess its service quality, and critical areas are highlighted for future service enhancement. 
• Optimize: In this step, the findings of the Service Level Performance measurement from the “Operate” stage are analyzed, and improvement actions are devised. If necessary, the control is sent back to the “Define” or “Design” stage to work on improvement plans. 

Application Management Life Cycle

ALM makes the development process more visible. Because the process is integrated, you can see how far you’ve come, which stages are still outstanding, how long things are taking, which tests have been performed, and so on. 

Application management

The choices made concerning an application are referred to as management. When you start the process of developing a new app, you’ll need to think about the app’s initial concept as well as how it ties to your company’s objectives and goals. 

This adds to the new application’s needs, which must be specified and agreed upon during the governance stage. 

Application governance also includes resource management, data and security, and user access. 

The possibility to automate governance arises from the standardization of these procedures. Application delivery will be sped up by automating these governance procedures. 

Application development

After the application’s or update’s needs have been identified and agreed upon, development may begin. Teams using the agile technique for development may build and deploy as many as once, if not multiple times, per day. 

The ITIL application development process includes the phases of designing, creating, testing, and deploying the application. 

Software evaluation

Before moving forward with production, the new application must be tested, and defects must be rectified. 

Testing should take place concurrently with development in agile and DevOps teams. Feedback should be sent to the development team on a regular basis. To avoid conflicts between these frequent changes, continuous integration should be a component of the development process. 

The purpose of the testing step is to ensure that the governance criteria have been satisfied and that the programme functions properly before it is deployed to users. 

Maintenance and operations

The programme may be released to users once all the tests have been finished and all the essential defects have been addressed. 

The operations and maintenance stage is when ALM focuses on an application’s whole lifecycle. Once an application is deployed, the operation does not finish. Maintenance and upgrades should be considered on a regular basis. 

Maintenance should also include the retirement of an application or service. Teams should decide when a programme will stop being supported or when a newer version will be released. 

What are the different levels of ITIL certification?

The ITIL certification’s 5-tiered structure provides applicants with much-needed flexibility in terms of application areas. The ITIL Qualification Scheme includes five levels of certification, as listed below: 

Foundation Level

This entry-level ITIL certification will help you comprehend all the ITIL service lifecycle’s terms, ideas, and aspects. It aids in the implementation of ITIL techniques to simplify operations and ensure continuous improvement. The ITIL Foundation course online earns you two credits toward the ITIL Expert certification. 

Practitioner Level

Following the foundation certification, this level assists you in improving your ability to follow the ITIL framework. It teaches you how to implement and customize an ITSM system to meet your company’s goals. ITIL Practitioner creates the full strategy for Continual Service Improvement by including all three important aspects for successful improvement projects, namely communication, organizational change management, and measurement / metrics (CSI). 

Intermediate Step

The next level up from practitioner, ITIL Intermediate Service Operation Training gives you a thorough understanding of the modular framework, which is made up of many modules focusing on IT service management. The ITIL Intermediate certification sharpens your skills in service operation, technology, and managing important success factors. 

Expert Level

The next level up from intermediate is expert-level ITIL certification which is for professionals who want to show their complete understanding of the ITIL Scheme. In addition to the ITIL Intermediate certification, you must have extensive knowledge of ITIL best practices. 

Master Level

This is the most advanced ITIL certification available, created for ITIL professionals who have demonstrated expertise choosing and using a variety of ITIL principles, methodologies, and approaches to get the best results. You must have five years of experience in leadership, management, or upper management advisory positions to earn the Master Level certification. 

Conclusion

The globally recognized IT service management certification courses online will be the most sought-after prerequisite for IT project management roles today and in the future. The foregoing explanations of ITIL ideas, basic components, advantages, and career scope make it clear why the ITIL certification is the most popular choice among experienced IT professionals who are looking to further increase their skills. ITIL certification guarantees that all team members are aware of all elements of service management, not simply the duties that have been given to them. Knowledgehut ITIL foundation course online and classroom training for all levels of ITIL certification is quite beneficial to ITIL certification preparation; thus, don’t hesitate to investigate your possibilities. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: What is ITIL application management?

ITIL Application Management is a collection of best practices for managing and improving applications throughout their life cycle. This job assists in the creation, testing, and improvement of applications, as well as supporting and maintaining operating applications. 

Q2: What is the role of application management in ITIL?

Application management is in charge of overseeing the lifespan of apps. Application management is a function that supports and maintains operational applications while also contributing to the design, testing, and enhancement of IT service applications. 

Q3: What are the ITIL application management processes?

From cradle to death, the ITIL application management process is the lifecycle process for software applications, including how an application works, its maintenance, version control, and updates. 

Q4: What is the objective of application management?

The goal of ITIL application is to support an organization’s business operations by assisting in the identification of functional needs for application software, as well as assisting in the design, deployment, and continuing maintenance of such applications. 

Q5: What does ITIL application portfolio management aim to achieve?

The purpose of ITIL application portfolio management is to maintain track of and monitor portfolio parts, keeping what works and replacing what doesn’t. 

Q6: What is ITIL’s primary goal?

ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a framework for standardizing IT service selection, planning, delivery, maintenance, and overall lifecycle management inside a company. The objective is to increase efficiency while ensuring consistent service delivery.