Six sensible steps towards implementing ITIL capacity management

ITIL describes Capacity Management as one of ten ITSM processes within two books, Service Support and Service Delivery. The refresh of ITIL in Version 3 is likely to add a book on the introduction (i.e. implementation) of ITSM and one on its maintenance and improvement for “business as usual” processes. This paper describes the core approach in regular use by a number of sites in the pragmatic implementation and enhancement of Capacity Management over the years. It briefly introduces the use of Six Sigma techniques to improve the measures of performance of a process. It describes the use of the layers of the Capability Maturity Model to help assess current levels of implementation and strategic targets for improvement. It expands this to explicit edicts at the level of detail appropriate for practical decisions on the implementation of Capacity Management and the steps to achieve it. It gives guidelines for successful implementation and responds to typical excuses for inactivity. It incorporates some of the “business as usual” practices and reports necessary to maintain a Capacity Management regime in terms of both Performance Management and Capacity Planning.