Application Services Library

The Application Services Library (ASL) is a public domain standard, which describes a standard for processes within Application Management (the discipline of making and maintaining information systems and applications).

This standard was developed in the Netherlands, and relates to Information Technology Infrastructure Library, Business Information Services Library and Capability Maturity Model. It is described in several books and articles, as well as the official website of the ASL Foundation.

=Purpose=

The ASL is intended to simplify the process of application management by providing tools which fall into two categories: *Processes for application management and the use of free available best-practises *Standard terminology for dialogue about application management

The goal of ASL is to enhance and professionalize application management and to provide future-proof information systems and applications.

=Structure of ASL=

ASL contains six clusters of processes, three on an operational level, one on tactical level and two on a strategical level.

Maintenance

There are five processes within the cluster maintenance. Maintenance is the most important cluster, because these processes support the use of the information systems. Processes in this clusters are incident management, continuity management, capacity management, availibilty management and configuration management. The purpose and goals of these processes are similar of these of ITIL, however the way and the subjects are different.

Enhancement an renovation

Within this cluster the majority of the work of application management is done. Most of the work of application management deals with designing, programming and testing applications and information systems. Processes are impact analysis, design, realization, testing and implementation.

Connecting processes

The connecting processes synchronise the activities between maintenance (the use of the applications) and the activities changing them. The processes are change management and software control & distribution.

Management processes

The processes in this cluster manage the activities within the clusters above. Processes are quality management, service level management, cost management and planning & control.

Application Cycle management

Applications exist much longer than expected. Systems, functionality, concepts and structure of information systems remains stable over many years. This knowledge is rarely used. It is important that, while maintaining and enhancing systems, there is a clear view needed what the demands are in the future, and based on that, what and how the future of these applications should look like. This view is created within the cluster application cycle management, with processes like life cycle management, information portfolio management, customer organisation strategy, customer environment strategy and ICT developments strategy.

Organisation Cycle Management

Also the future of the application management organisation, with aspects as skills and capabilities, markets and customers, is very important. Creating a strategy on this future is the aim of Organization Cycle Management, with processes as account definition, market definition, skills definition and service delivery definition

For more information, many articles, best practises and information is (free) available at the website of the ASLFoundation.

=References=

*[http://www.aslfoundation.org/ ASL Foundation website]