Improvement of system performance in an IT production support environment

Abstract

The paper aims to be to identify how dashboards can be used to help Information and Communications Technology (ICT) production support teams to manage systems better and giving business stability and performance to be able to be more competitive. This includes forecasting potential problems that can occur as well as prescribe possible solutions before there are any major system outages. Dashboards will track and monitor behaviour of systems to allow for faster turnaround time in resolving issues when it occurs. The analysis and design show how the technologies work together to create a prescriptive dashboard, e.g. alerts sent through to mobile devices (phones) which create a quick reaction time and staff not on site (vendors, remote locations, etc.) can be informed and reduce downtime to the business. The proposed method provides knowledge management requests/ incidents/problems and existing monitoring tools can all be integrated to provide the support staff with possible solutions. This paper will explain how dashboards can assist ICT, with the focus on production support areas, to help resolve ICT incidents, problems, and requests. A few concerns were highlighted however these concerns form part of the continuous improvements to the prescriptive dashboards. The system model will help minimize the run around between various ICT teams for troubleshooting. The flow diagram shows how it would provide early warnings and recommended solutions based on calculations of previous ICT incidents and problems. This model is complementary in the sense that it will work/integrate with existing system monitoring tools. Various types of technologies have been identified and researched through the review of the literature. The research was conducted to identify the feel for dashboards, how they can be used, and the various technologies that can complement each other to get the success of a prescriptive dashboard.