Publicado em: 18/03/2013

Proposta de Tese em Redes de Computadores

UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL
INSTITUTO DE INFORMÁTICA
PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM COMPUTAÇÃO
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DEFESA DE PROPOSTA DE TESE

Aluno: Carlos Raniery Paula dos Santos
Orientador: Prof. Dr. Lisandro Zambenedetti Granville

Título: Performance Management and Quantitative Modeling of IT Service Processes Using Mashups
Linha de Pesquisa: Redes de Computadores

Data: 22/03/2013
Horário: 10h
Local: Sala 215. Prédio 43412 – Instituto de Informática

Banca Examinadora:
Prof. Dr. Luciano Paschoal Gaspary (UFRGS)
Profa. Dra. Rossana Maria de Castro Andrade (UFC) – Por videoconferência
Profa. Dra. Regina Melo Silveira (USP) – Por videoconferência
Presidente da Banca: Prof. Dr. Lisandro Zambenedetti Granville

Resumo:

Modern IT service provider organizations are under a continuous pressure to increase their competitiveness. Ways to reduce costs while improving performance – in terms of effectiveness, productivity, and quality – of services are a key focus area for companies in the IT industry. However, despite all the solutions that have been proposed, modeling and optimizing human-centered processes remains a burdensome task. The human operator may be influenced by multiple factors and execute the process in a different way each time, thus introducing a significant variability in the final process outcome.

Although the researches proposed so far have introduced improvements on service management, there are several challenges (e.g., rapid change, budgetary constraints, skill shortages, system complexity, current and future user requirements, and growing user expectations) that are not completely covered by the current efforts. Among the new technologies available today, a set of novel ones, referred to as Web 2.0, has not yet been investigated by both industry and academy in the ITSM context. In the myriad of technologies and applications that define the Web 2.0, one is of special interest in this thesis: the mashups. Easiness of use, extensibility, and context specific development are examples of characteristics presented by mashups that candidate them to be a viable technology for improving IT Service Management.

Therefore, this thesis aims at providing a comprehensive framework for evaluating and optimizing performance in human-centered ITSM processes. In particular, the focus is on the service provider’s perspective, specifically on aspects of performance that have direct implications on the efficiency and cost of the operation from the provider’s point of view. In this context, mashups are analyzed as an effective approach to cope with inefficiencies and errors introduced by human operators while performing their daily activities in the context of ITSM. An extensive analysis of tasks performed by a group of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in a very large IT Service Support and Delivery organization was performed. The analysis covers the steps that human operators follow to execute the process, and identifies the areas where performance improvement is possible. The results demonstrate the viability of the mashups technology as a means for improving IT Service Management.

Palavras-chave: IT Service Management; Mashups; Web 2.0; Performance Management; Quantitative Analysis