Glossary

Below is a list of terms and definitions used in this documentation.

A

• ASM: abbreviation for asset management.
• Access management: according to ITIL®, the process responsible for allowing users to make use of IT services, data or other assets. Access management helps to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of assets by ensuring that only authorized users are able to access or modify them. Access management implements the policies of information security management and is sometimes referred to as rights management or identity management. In itmSUITE®, the typical activities required by access management can be dealt through service requests or changes.
• Admin: a special user type. The admin may: perform basic configuration and create other users for the administered company. For more information, have a look to the admin page.
• Application language: one of the languages for which itmSUITE® makes available the user interface (forms to interact and messages). See also business languages and Multi language management.
• Asset: any element, physical or virtual, which can contribute to the successful management of the business area supported by itmSUITE®. An asset can be, for example, a PC, a printer, a software component, a table a machine, etc.
• Asset management: one of the modules of itmSUITE®. The full name of it is ASM - Asset Management. It allows to manage assets, It can also refer to the asset management process according to the context. TBC.....
• Attribute: a configuration item information (e.g. its name, location, date of purchase, etc.).

B

• Billing: a feature, part of the FM - Financial Management module, enabling the possibility to create invoices based on timesheets or predefined amounts related, or not, to a delivery.
• Binding layer: a graphical frame used in the CMS - Configuration Management System module. For any object placed in it the relationships between the objects placed and the objects represented by the frame are automatically created. So, for example, a binding layer may represent an IT service and may be configured to generate the 'is component' relationships with the objects placed in it (e.g. a server is component of the IT service). Binding layers simplify the management and building of a CMS.
• Business language: a language used by the itmSUITE® users to communicate within the business processes. See also application languages and Multi language management.
• BIRT: an open source software project that provides the BIRT technology platform to create data visualizations and reports that can be embedded into rich client and web applications. The itmSUITE® REP - Reporting Engine allows exactly this embedding. For further information, visit the BIRT website.
• BIRT designer: one of the two key components of BIRT allowing to create new reports which can be embedded in itmSUITE®.
• BIRT engine: the component of BIRT which allows the execution and rendering of reports created through the BIRT designer and embedded in itmSUITE® as .rptdesign files.

C

• CAB: abbreviation for change advisory board.
• Change: according to ITIL®, a change is the addition, modification or removal of anything that could have an effect on IT services. Changes are managed through the change management process and a workflow cartridge is available for the SM module which supports its execution according to the guidelines provided by ITIL® and ISO/IEC 20000.
• Change advisory board: TBD
• Change authority: TBD
• Change management: according to ITIL®, the process responsible for controlling the life cycle of all changes, enabling beneficial changes to be made with minimum disruption to IT services. A workflow cartridgeis is made available for the SM module which supports the execution of the change management process according to the guidelines provided by ITIL® and ISO/IEC 20000.
• CI: abbreviation for configuration item.
• Client: a generic term that means a customer, the business or a business customer. itmSUITE® allows to manage client master data and client as an entity in workflows and modules.
• CMS: abbreviation for Configuration Management System.
• CMS fat client: a desktop application which enables to access CMS administration and reporting functionalities. See CMS fat client page for more information.
• CMS web client: a browser accessible application which enables to access and update CMS contents.
• Closure cause: TBD.
• Company: a business organization (legal entity or simply a business unit or a department) which is defined and used for the aim of segregating data. itmSUITE® is natively multi tenancy, meaning it allows to manage different companies in the same application instance. Only users login information (including the associated roles) and super admin may be cross companies while all the other information are managed at company level.
• Company working days calendar: the calendar specifying the working days and time for a specific company.
• Configuration exploration: a specific itmSUITE® functionality making possible, starting from a configuration item, to analyse and graphically represent the relationship of it with other configuration items. The number of levels and the scope of the exploration are defined at launch time. Configuration exploration is available if CMS module is installed. See also Configuration exploration page for more information.
• Configuration item: a specific type of asset which contributes to the delivery of an IT service.
• Configuration management: see service asset and configuration management.
• Configuration management database: (CMDB) organized repository of all elements of IT structure which undergo the configuration management process.
• Configuration management system: a set of tools, data and information that is used to support service asset and configuration management. A dedicated module of ItmSUITE®, CMS - Configuration Management System, is dedicated to this.

• Contact: a referent person related to a client or a supplier and his/her information.
• Contract: generally, a legally binding agreement between two or more parties. itmSUITE® allows to manage contracts master data and contracts as an entity in various modules and functionalities. Contracts may be of two types:sales contracts (with clients) and purchase contracts (with suppliers).Purchase contracts are also often used to manage standard internal cost for resources. This is an example of their flexible use, often for agreements which are not legally binding. Contracts management is made available only if the FM - Financial Management module is active.
• Cost occurence: an actual cost which is recorded for a service and, optionally, for a ticket (therefore a process instance, such as a specific change).
• Creator: the user who creates a ticket.
• Credit note: a form or letter sent by a seller to a buyer, stating that a certain amount has been credited to the buyer's. A credit note is issued in various situations to correct a mistake, such as when an invoice amount is overstated, correct discount rate is not applied, etc. itmSUITE® allows to issue and manage credit notes within the FM - Financial Management module.
• Custom field: see workflow custom field.

D

• Data source: is a name given to the connection set up to a database.
• DE: abbreviation for discovery engine.
• Delivery: TBD
• Demand management: the process enabling the clients (and their delegated users) of services (e.g. IT services) to ask for new services or changes to those existing. The process includes the analysis and authorization steps needed to authorize the request and activate the fulfilment process (generally managed by means of change management or request fulfilment processes). NOTE: this given definition of demand management is typical of some contexts (IT management in some countries) and does not fully match the ITIL® one nor the one commonly accepted in some business contexts (a planning methodology used to manage and forecast the demand of products and services). A workflow cartridge is made available for the SM module which supports the execution of the demand management process. See Demand Management page for more information on this configuration.
• Deployment change: TBD
• Deployment change management: TBD
• Discovery engine: one of the modules of itmSUITE®. The full name of it is DE - Discovery Engine. By installing its agents on IT components, it allows to gather information on hardware, software components and their relationships. The result of the discoveries may be imported in the CMS.

E

• EEM: abbreviation for external event management.
• Estimation: an overall economic evaluation of a service or project or a related to a specific ticket (process instance). The estimation may include the following types of costs: effort related (deriving from timesheets work declarations and associated purchase contracts), expenses related (deriving from expenses declared in timesheets and the applicable purchase contracts) and cost items related (deriving from specific cost elements such as investments or services). The evaluation may include three cost dimensions: budget, balance and forecast (budget + balance) at a specific estimation period.
• Estimation period: the date at which all costs of an estimation are evaluated.
• Estimation repository: the logical repository where estimations related to projects or services (not those related to tickets) can be saved and from where they can be later loaded.
• External event management: one of the modules of itmSUITE®. The full name of it is EEM - External Event Management. It facilitates the integration of events occurring in systems external to itmSUITE® with the functionalities of itmSUITE® itself or vice versa (e.g. the opening of an itmSUITE® ticket based on the content of an incoming email).
• Event type: predefined types of occurring activities or outcomes in the domain of itmSUITE®. Examples of event types are the following: change of the status of a ticket activity, assignment of a project activity to a resource, a change of status of a ticket, etc. Event types are associated to an event type template and sent according to the specified schedule (notification). See also Notifications management page.

• Event type template: the message template (an html file) related to an event type which is used when a notification for the event type is triggered.
• Exploration: see configuration exploration.

F

• Filter: it is a set of selection criteria to be applied to a view. Filters can be created and distributed to users. See Filter management page for more details.
• Field: see workflow field.
• Financial management: one of the modules of itmSUITE®. The full name of it is FM - Financial Management. It allows to manage financial aspects (budget, balance data and forecasting) of projects, services and their related entities (project activities, tickets, and ticket activities).
• FM: abbreviation for financial management.

G

• Grant: a permission given to a role to view a specific workflow field. Grants are given for specific workflow statuses in the context of workflow configuration.
• Group: a team of people but also one of the workflow related roles.For example, groups can be used to assign tickets and ticket activities.
• Group manager: the resource coordinating or responsible for a group.

I

• Impact analysis: a functionality of CMS. Starting from a configuration item, it allows to find the impact of its failure on other configuration items of type IT service.
• Incident: according to ITIL®, an incident is an unplanned interruption to an IT service or reduction in the quality of an IT service. Failure of a configuration item that has not yet affected service is also an incident – for example, failure of one disk from a mirror set. Incidents are managed through the incident management process and a workflow cartridge is available for the SM module which supports its execution according to the guidelines provided by ITIL® and ISO/IEC 20000.
• Incident management: according to ITIL®, the process responsible for for managing the lifecycle of all incidents. Incident management ensures that normal service operation is restored as quickly as possible and the business impact is minimized. A workflow cartridge is made available for the SM module which supports the execution of the incident management process according to the guidelines provided by ITIL® andISO/IEC 20000. See Incident Management page for more information on this configuration.
• Invoice: a commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer. It identifies both the trading parties and lists, describes, and quantifies the items sold, prices, discounts (if any), etc. itmSUITE® allows to issue and manage invoices within the FM - Financial Management module.
• Invoice attachment: an attachment related to a specific invoice, specifying the activities and or expenses included to which the invoice refer. Invoice attachments may be automatically generated during the billing process. See also billing and invoice.
• ISO/IEC 20000: an international standard for the quality of IT service management. See also the ISO website for more information.
• ITIL®: a set of best-practice publications for IT service management. Owned by Axelos limited, ITIL® gives guidance on the provision of quality IT services and the processes, functions and other capabilities needed to support them. The ITIL® framework is based on a service lifecycle and consists of five lifecycle stages (service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation and continual service improvement), each of which has its own supporting publication. See also the ITIL® official site for more information. ITIL® is a registered trade mark of Axelos limited.
• IT Service Management: the implementation and management of quality IT services that meet the needs of the business. IT service management is performed by IT service providers through an appropriate mix of people, process and information technology.

K

• Key business entity: one of the key entities managed by itmSUITE® (resources, projects, timesheets, tickets, etc.).
• Known error: a problem that has a documented root cause and/or a workaround. The known error management process is responsible to manage known errors lifecycle. Known errors are typically used to provide (by publishing) workarounds to service users until a final solution for the underlying problem is not found.
• Known error management: the process responsible of managing the life cycle of known errors. A workflow cartridge is made available for the SM module which supports the execution of the incident management process according to the guidelines provided by ITIL® and ISO/IEC 20000. See Known Error Management page for more information on this configuration.

L

• License: the activation key enabling the use of itmSUITE® modules by users. The license articulation is per module and per user type. View the License details page for more information.
• Log info: the information about the access of users to itmSUITE® automatically recorded by the system. See Log management page for more info.

M

• Manager: a user with associated user type "Manager". A manager can configure company master data according to the privileges set in MURM. Furthermore, he/she is automatically associated to the static role "Manager" which can be used in workflows and projects configurations.
• Master data: the set of data agreed and shared across itmSUITE® which supports the management of the key business entities. For the list of master data tables refer to cross master data configuration.
• MDMM (Master Data Management Matrix): the functionality which allows to manage grants for the records of some master data. See MDMM management page for more details.
• Master solution group: a dynamic workflow role (e.g. used to define rights for workflow transitions or workflow fields). The workflow field Master Solution Group let define the master solution group among available solution groups and this assignment can be done for each ticket instance.
• Menu: a link to a management functionality of itmSUITE®. These links are provided on the left of the itmSUITE® screen and changes according to the privileges and the configuration of their visibility. See the Menu management page for more information.
• Message: a communication, caracterized by a subject, content, recipient(s) and, optionally, attachment(s) which can be sent through itmSUITE® message system to users or external recipients (in such a case the communication is sent through an email service). See the Message system page for more information.
• Message system: one of the technical component of itmSUITE®, the message system is the engine dispatching all the messages automatically or manually generated within the system. The message system has a user interface which allows to receive and send messages and it can be synchronized with external mailing systems. See the Message system page for more information.
• Module: one of the components of itmSUITE® which makes avaiable a specific sets of functionalities. Modules may be core or complementary. Core modules can be installed and activated autonomously. Complementary modules require the presence of at least one core module. For a list of core modules and a description of their features refer to itmSUITE® - Core modules. For a list of complementary modules and a description of their features refer to itmSUITE® - Complementary modules.
• Model: a set of configuration items and their relationship represented according to specific modelling conventions which includes the definition of the entities, relationship types among them and graphical appearance.
• MSG: abbreviation for master solution group.
• MURM (Managers User Rights Management); the functionality used to grant rights for managers. This functionality can be accessed from General/Company/MURM.

N

• News: they are broadcast communications relevant for the users or part of the users of itmSUITE®. The system makes available a management system to broadcast news to the target audience and for specific time frames. See News management page for more information.
• News management: TBD

• Notification: the configured schedule to communicate the event type template message related to an event type. Notifications are sent via the itmSUITE® message system. See also Notifications management page.

O

• Object: in CMS - Configuration Management System context, an element which can be used to represent an asset or a configuration item.
• Objectives: objectives characterized by a metric and targets which can be set and calculated by means of the OCE module. They can be typically used in order to manage service levels.
• Objectives calculation engine: a complementary module of itmSUITE®. The full name of it is OCE - Service Level Management. This module enables to manage service levels for service and projects.
• OCE: abbreviation for objectives calculation engine.
• Organizational unit: the representation of the organizational structure of a client. Levels of the organization can be defined by means of tree nodes and clients' associated resources can be related to each. The service provider' s organization can be mapped by using a fictitious client.
• OU: abbreviation fororganizational unit.

P

• Personal options: the set of user's preferences concerning the use of itmSUITE® which can be managed by the user. See the Personal options page for more details.
• Pm: abbreviation for project manager.
• PM: abbreviation for project and portfolio management.
• Problem: according to ITIL®, a problem is a cause of one or more incidents. The cause is not usually known at the time a problem record is created, and the problem management process is responsible for further investigation. Problems are managed via the problem management process and a workflow cartridge is available for the SM module which supports its execution according to the guidelines provided by ITIL® and ISO/IEC 20000.
• Problem management: according to ITIL®, the process responsible for managing the lifecycle of all problems. Problem management proactively prevents incidents from happening and minimizes the impact of incidents that cannot be prevented. A workflow cartridge is made available for the SM module which supports the execution of the problem management process according to the guidelines provided by ITIL® and ISO/IEC 20000.
• Process owner: TBD
• Product: this is any product or service provided by the company internally or to its clients. itmSUITE® allows to manage product master data product as an entity in workflows and modules.See also Introduction to basic configuration page for products configuration.

• Project: a temporary organization that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to an agreed Business Case. For this purpose, in itmSUITE® a set of entities, their attributes and related management functionalities are made available to the users which play a role in the project.
• Project activity: an activity scheduled for a project. This is one of the information managed by itmSUITE® for a project.
• Project and portfolio management: one of the modules of itmSUITE®. The full name of it is PM - Project and Portfolio Management. This module enables to manage projects and portfolios of projects.
• Project manager: this is a special role on a project, automatically inheriting specific rights and visibility of data for it.
• Purchase contract: see contract.

R

• RE: abbreviation for reconciliation engine.
• REP: abbreviation for reporting management.
• Reconciliation: a process performed by the reconciliation engine which allows to import information from a data source into the CMS in a controlled way (deciding which information for which configuration item to import).
• Reconciliation engine: one of the modules of itmSUITE®. The full name of it is RE - Reconciliation Engine. This module enables the reconciliation process.
• RfC: abbreviation for Request for Change.
• Relationship: a relationship between two configuration items.
• Release: according to ITIL®, one or more changes to an IT service that are built, tested and deployed together. A single release may include changes to hardware, software, documentation, processes and other components. Releases are managed through the release and deployment management process and a workflow cartridge is made available for the SM module which supports its execution according to the guidelines provided by ITIL® and ISO/IEC 20000.
• Release and deployment management: according to ITIL®, the process responsible for planning, scheduling and controlling the build, test and deployment of releases, and for delivering new functionality required by the business while protecting the integrity of existing services. A workflow cartridge is available for the SM module which supports its execution according to the guidelines provided by ITIL® and ISO/IEC 20000. See Release Management page for more information on this configuration.
• Release management: see release and deployment management.
• Reporting management: one of the modules of itmSUITE®. The full name of it is REP - Reporting Engine. This modules enables to define and embed new reports in addition to those predefined in itmSUITE®.
• Request: see self service request.
• Request for Change: TBD.
• Request fulfilment: according to ITIL®, the process responsible for managing the lifec ycle of all service requests. A workflow cartridge is available for the SM module which supports its execution according to the guidelines provided by ITIL® and ISO/IEC 20000. See Request Fulfilment page for more information on this configuration.
• Resource: term used to refer to a human resource and his/her associated information managed in itmSUITE®. A resource may or may not have an account and, therefore, be a user.
• Resolution cause: TBD
• Role: a usage profile determining user's rights on data and functionalities. More than a role may be associated to a user. Roles are distinguished in application level roles, projects and services related roles, workflows related roles. Application level roles are set at user's level and related to the available licenses (they determine the number of users who may be activated). Project and service roles are dynamically assigned to users in the context of each project or service. Workflows roles are dynamically assigned to users in the context of each workflow See also Roles page for more information.
• .rptdesign: extension for a file created by the BIRT designer component.

S

• SACM: abbreviation for service asset and Configuration management.
• Sales contract: see contract.
• Search context: the definition of the scope where a search, with a Quick Search (available right on the top part of the itmSUITE® screen). Search contexts are of three types: preinstalled (and not modifiable), published by a manager or defined by a user. Search contexts are listed next to the Quick Search command and their scope can be tailored on any part of itmSUITE®. See search context management page for more information.
• Self service: see self service portal.
• Self service category: a part of the organization of the self service portal. Self service categories may be defined for each self service topic and they appear as a tree on left side of the self service portal with a maximum two level of depth.
• Self service portal: a functionality of itmSUITE® enabling users to quickly open tickets by browsing a structured presentation of the available ones. The levels of presentation are self service topics (highest level), self service category (intermediate level) and self service requests (lowest level). itmSUITE® makes it possible to define the visibility of data according to needs. See the self service portal page for more information.
• Self service request: the lowest element for the structure of a self service portal. For each self service category it is possible to define one or more self service requests. Self service requests are configured to trigger the activation of a workflow, also passing some initial settings to it.
• Self service topic: a part of the organization of the self service portal. Self service topics may be customized with icons and they appear in the upper part of the self service portal. Their selection influences the visibility of self service categories.
• Service: a mean to provide value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers wants to achieve using resources and capabilities. For this purpose, in itmSUITE®, a set of entities, their attributes and related management functionalities are made available to the users which play a role in the delivery of the service.
• Service activity: an activity scheduled for a service. This is one of the information managed by itmSUITE® for a service.
• Service asset and configuration management: according to ITIL®, the process responsible for ensuring that the assets required to deliver services are properly controlled, and that accurate and reliable information about those assets is available when and where it is needed. This information includes details of how the assets have been configured and the relationships between assets. Service asset and configuration management purpose and objectives are fully supported by the CMS module of itmSUITE®.
• Service desk: according to ITIL®, the single point of contact between the service provider and the users. A typical service desk manages incidents and service requests, and also handles communication with the users. itmSUITE® fully enables the implementation and management of a service desk.
• Service desk and service management: one of the modules of itmSUITE®. The full name of it is SM - Service Desk and Service Management. This module enables to manage services.
• Service level: according to ITIL®, a measured and reported achievement against one or more service level targets. The term is sometimes used informally to mean service level target. In itmSUITE® service levels can be defined and measured by means of the OCE - Service Level Management module.
• Service level management: according to ITIL®, the process responsible for negotiating achievable service level agreements and ensuring that these are met. It is responsible for ensuring that all IT service management processes, operational level agreements and underpinning contracts are appropriate for the agreed service level targets. Service level management monitors and reports on service levels, holds regular service reviews with customers, and identifies required improvements. Several itmSUITE® modules support the implementation and management of the service level management process: OCE - Service Level Management supports the definition, calculation and use (e.g. in ticket lists or forms) of the service levels; SM - Service Desk and Service Management supports the definition of processes to manage service reviews and service improvements; REP - Reporting Engine supports the monitoring and reporting of service levels.
• Service manager: this is a special role on a service, automatically inheriting specific rights and visibility of data for it. In ITIL®, this is a generic term for any manager within the service provider. Most commonly used to refer to a business relationship manager, a process manager or a senior manager with responsibility for IT services overall.
• Service provider: TBD
• Service request: according to ITIL®, a formal request from a user for something to be provided – for example, a request for information or advice; to reset a password; or to install a workstation for a new user. Service requests are managed by the request fulfilment process, usually in conjunction with the service desk. A workflow cartridge is available for the SM module which supports its execution according to the guidelines provided by ITIL® and ISO/IEC 20000. See Request Fulfilment page for more information on this configuration. Service requests should not be confused self service request although self service requests may often be a configured to instantiate service requests.

• SG: abbreviation for solution group.
• Sm: abbreviation for service manager.
• SM: abbreviation for service desk and service management.
• Solution group: see groups. A solution group is generally meant as a group dedicated to the resolution of incidents and/or problems.
• Solution group manager: see group manager.
• SRCS: abbreviation for Self Service Configuration System, see self service.

• Superadmin: a special user type. A superadmin user is created with predefined access credentials when itmSUITE® is initially installed. The superadmin may: create new companies, create other users (either superadmins or users with user type "Admin" enabled to configure the companies to which they are associated) and perform some key essential settings in order to enable other users to complete company configurations. For more information, have a lookg to the superadmin page.
• Suppliers: a generic term that means a supplier providing services, resources and/or goods to a company. itmSUITE® allows to manage supplier master data and supplier as an entity in workflows and modules.
• Symbol: in CMS context - TBD

T

• Ticket: term used to refer to an instance of a process managed through the workflow engine.
• Ticket activity: an activity scheduled to manage a ticket.
• Ticket worker: a resource assigned to work on a specific ticket. This is also a workflow related role.
• Timesheet: a record corresponding to a declaration of work done. This work can be related to a project or a a service or to any detailed elements (such as project activities, service activities, or tickets or ticket activities) of them.
• Timesheet attachment: an attachment (document) related to a timesheet. A timesheet attachment is generally used to document expenses.
• Transition: see workflow transition.

U

• User: the login information which can be associated to one resource per company. A resource with an active user can enter and use itmSUITE® according to the configured grants. Only a user can be associated with a resource per each company (a user may be associated to different resources in different companies). The association of a user to a resource is not mandatory. Users should have one or more user type.
• User type: there are different types of users ("Requester", "Resource", "Project/Service Manager", "Manager", "Admin" and "Superadmin"). one or more user types may be associated to a user. The association of a user type also enables some related functionalities: see Users and resources and Roles pages for additional information.

V

• View: is a preconfigured selectionof attributes and associated preferences (including a filter) to list records for an itmSUITE® managed entity (e.g. projects, services). Views can be created and distributed to users. See Views management page for more details.

W

• Workaround: according to ITIL®, reducing or eliminating the impact of an incident or problem for which a full resolution is not yet available – for example, by restarting a failed configuration item. Workarounds are documented in known error records. The known error management process is responsible for the life cycle of knonw errors.
• Workflow: a business process, made of a sequence of activities transforming inputs into outputs with the aim to achieve specific outcomes. With itmSUITE® it is possible to support the execution of workflows by means of the workflow engine. See the Workflow engine page for more information.
• Workflow cartridge: the set of configuration settings which define the contents and execution of a workflow by means of the workflow engine. See the Workflow engine page for more information.
• Workflow fields: an informational field (and its associated data) defiend to be used in a workflow. It may be present and used in a ticket form.
• Workflow engine: the component of itmSUITE®, part of the SM - Service Desk and Service Management module, which allows to configure and execute workflows.See the Workflow engine page for more information.
• Workflow custom field: see workflow fields.
• Workflow field: a component of a workflow corresponding to a managed entity attribute which can be used in a workflow form. Workflow fields can be of two types: "predefined" and "custom". Predefined workflow fields are pre installed and available for any workflow while custom ones can be specifically defined and managed for a workflow.
• Workflow form:
• Workflow notifications: TBD.
• Workflow role: see role.
• Workflow status: a condition of a workflow instance. Workflow statuses may be defined by the process owners and are of two types: "normal" and "legacy". TBC
• Workflow transition: the rule allowing users to pass from a workflow status to another. Rights to execute workflow transitions are part of the workflow configuration.