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  • 1.  Mapping Applications to Services

    Posted Tue June 28, 2022 12:46 PM
    Hello all, 

    In my organization, we are associating Applications to Services (we are still using the earlier taxonomy and have not started using the "Solutions" terminology yet). There is some confusion over how we are doing the mapping and I'd like some expert advice.

    My team owns a content management platform called Alfresco upon which we build custom, business-facing applications. Currently, most of the business facing applications are aligned to the Content Management service, which I think is incorrect, as CM is a platform service.

    If I understand the taxonomy correctly, it seems the services of the applications should be the service of the consuming business unit. So for example, we have an application built on Alfresco used by the tax team; I think the service for this application would be Tax.  And if that application is replaced by a new Tax application and only used as an archive, I think the service is still Tax, as opposed to becoming Backup & Archive.

    Am I thinking about this correctly? Thanks so much in advance. 

    Erin
    #CostingStandard(CT-Foundation)


  • 2.  RE: Mapping Applications to Services

    Posted Wed June 29, 2022 09:54 AM
    Hi Erin!!  👋

    Hope you are doing well!

    You mentioned that it is a content management platform upon which you build custom, business-facing applications.

    I can see why they would want to assign it to the 'Content Management' service because that's the service it performs, but...

    What about the business-facing apps you create using Alfresco - do those new apps have their own identity in your application inventory?

    If yes, and say one of those apps is called Tax, then I would definitely send that one to the Tax service because that is the service it's performing.  And from there, you would send it on to the BU or BUs that benefit from that service.

    If the applications created using Alfresco are not in the application inventory, I would definitely look at creating those or at minimum, creating a mapping for the Alfresco app in order to split it across the services ultimately provided and BUs that receive that benefit.
    That's how I look at it, but others may look at it differently.  Looking forward to additional feedback!

    Take care!! 😊

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Mapping Applications to Services

    Posted Wed June 29, 2022 12:30 PM
    We have Applications mapped to Services in our CMDB and use that relationship to define Services.  All of our applications have an associated service, so we allocate the applications to the services.  Then you can use consumptive data to allocate those costs to the teams (Cost Centers and Divisions - in our case) to the business units.

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    MichelleMcGuire
    Blue Shield of CA
    michelle.mcguire2@blueshieldca.com
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Mapping Applications to Services

    Posted Thu June 30, 2022 04:22 AM
    We're still in a slightly evolved version of ATUM 2, with applications connected to business services.

    Part of the evolution covers the cases where we have something like your Alfresco, we have something I indirectly described in my ETBMA paper last year (link):
    We have frameworks for applications, and we have those as "Tools" that send their costs to all related applications.
    As @Jenny Franklin wrote, we don't connect the frameworks to services, we see them as application enablers.

    We're going towards a more ATUM 4-like hierarchy, implementing concepts such as IT products / solutions / platforms, but we still don't have a clear design. We're supposed to prototype it this year.​ I have to admit I don't quite know how to do ATUM 4.​

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    Regards, Guillermo
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Mapping Applications to Services

    Posted Thu June 30, 2022 12:18 PM
    This is a great conversation and feedback!  @Moussa Berete and I were discussing this and generally would agree that if the Application's sole purpose is to support the Tax Solution, allocating its cost there instead of Backup & Archive is appropriate.  Within the description it mentions "the orchestration of record retention", which it sounds like this application is intended for, and not intended as part of the Backup&Archive solution that supports the business.  
    Here's a our thoughts on its implementation related to the v4 taxonomy and model.  



    ​​
    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Mapping Applications to Services

    Posted Fri July 01, 2022 03:40 AM

    This is superb stuff, @Josh Roberto. I'm still unclear how to implement the arrows in the ATUM 4 model, while keeping the object hierarchy you have with Apptio's icon diagram to the right of the picture.

     
    You have Alfresco as a Platform Tool and as an Application. Sure, those can be different objects, but how to avoid overallocation? I guess you have in mind some kind of set of allocation keys that would prevent more than 100%.
     
    Our issue is that the portfolio people call Compute a product. I'm struggling to come up with something that would allow us to move the ITRT Compute costs to the IT infrastructure, as well as to the Platform product. Haven't been able to figure it out yet.
    ​



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    Regards, Guillermo
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Mapping Applications to Services

    Posted Sat July 02, 2022 08:27 AM

    This approach is intended to support Service and Solution showback.  If AppTCO was the objective, then the App layer may look different depending on which apps are included in the list of applications; Alfresca direct costs could just as easily pass straight to the Content Management Service. 

    The reason for both objects, is that we still want to understand the Cost of Alfresca so it can be allocated to the Content Management service.  As you observed, when costs leave the Foundation App object, we separate the costs associated with "using" it for Tax App1 and Tax App2 which would be AppDev and other costs of leveraging the platform from the direct costs of Alfresca (like software license) would go to itself in the application object.  An appropriate % of Alfresca cost is eventually applied to the Tax Solution through the Content Management service. 
    This allows us to have a defensible cost of the Content Management Service that supports Solution consumption (like Tax) and directly subscribed usage.   


    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Mapping Applications to Services

    Posted Sat July 02, 2022 10:25 AM
    Excellent solution!!
    Original Message


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