Detailed server platform configuration standards were defined with precise business impact mapping. Building on the thorough platform knowledge within the problem management discipline, a virtual team of subject matter experts with deep technical expertise contributed to this aspect of the initiative. Microsoft also leveraged a wide range of other sources for robust input. These include industry best practices, the results of root cause analysis from past major or high priority incidents, critical server failure event data, deep analysis of the infrastructure, product group recommendations, and customer engagement data. With this information, Microsoft was able to both define the standards, and map specific standards’ non-compliance to a definite set of infrastructure failures. The areas where detailed server platform configuration standards were defined include: Microsoft operating systems Microsoft SQL Server and Database management Storage area network (SAN) Storage Clustering technologies Hyper-V layer Hardware models Firmware Third-party applications Miscellaneous software packages To help create a deep level of infrastructure accountability, this foundational phase also included Microsoft mapping servers to specific owners and teams within the organization. Measure and publish With consistent datacenter platforms and a baseline in place, Microsoft next leveraged System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), System Center Operations Manager (SCOM), and an in-house tool to collect server data. At regular intervals, large amounts of data were collected to validate compliance to the configuration standards. Microsoft created a robust BI system to analyze and report on the data. Compliance performance against the configuration standards was published and visible up to the CIO level. Role-specific views of reports were created, to support the needs for both long-term and immediate decision making. The data transparency alone gave stakeholders an incentive to invest in their server footprint; after data was published, close to 20 percent of defects were proactively remediated. Collect data SCCM and SCOM collected inventory and configuration data from servers, while monitoring them for availability. Additional configuration data was collected by the in-house tool. The daily and weekly data collection processes mine infrastructure assets without affecting their functionality. Customized Windows Management Instrumentation requests, registry calls, and customized SQL Server queries captured additional configuration data. Results from the configuration scans were then compared to the platform configuration standards. Establish a BI system
Detailed server platform configuration standards were defined with precise business impact mapping. Building on the thorough platform knowledge within the problem management discipline, a virtual team of subject matter experts with deep technical expertise contributed to this aspect of the initiative. Microsoft also leveraged a wide range of other sources for robust input. These include industry best practices, the results of root cause analysis from past major or high priority incidents, critical server failure event data, deep analysis of the infrastructure, product group recommendations, and customer engagement data. With this information, Microsoft was able to both define the standards, and map specific standards’ non-compliance to a definite set of infrastructure failures. The areas where detailed server platform configuration standards were defined include: Microsoft operating systems Microsoft SQL Server and Database management Storage area network (SAN) Storage Clustering technologies Hyper-V layer Hardware models Firmware Third-party applications Miscellaneous software packages To help create a deep level of infrastructure accountability, this foundational phase also included Microsoft mapping servers to specific owners and teams within the organization. Measure and publish With consistent datacenter platforms and a baseline in place, Microsoft next leveraged System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), System Center Operations Manager (SCOM), and an in-house tool to collect server data. At regular intervals, large amounts of data were collected to validate compliance to the configuration standards. Microsoft created a robust BI system to analyze and report on the data. Compliance performance against the configuration standards was published and visible up to the CIO level. Role-specific views of reports were created, to support the needs for both long-term and immediate decision making. The data transparency alone gave stakeholders an incentive to invest in their server footprint; after data was published, close to 20 percent of defects were proactively remediated. Collect data SCCM and SCOM collected inventory and configuration data from servers, while monitoring them for availability. Additional configuration data was collected by the in-house tool. The daily and weekly data collection processes mine infrastructure assets without affecting their functionality. Customized Windows Management Instrumentation requests, registry calls, and customized SQL Server queries captured additional configuration data. Results from the configuration scans were then compared to the platform configuration standards. Establish a BI system
6028_Six_Sigma_in_the_datacenter_drives_a_zero-defects_culture_TCS.docx