Leveraging IT Service Management Techniques To Enhance Reliability Of Safeguards Instrumentation: Performance Monitoring, Issue And Knowledge Management

Leveraging IT Service Management Techniques to enhance reliability of SG instrumentation: Performance Monitoring, Issue and Knowledge Management.This paper highlights how additional operational efficiencies could be achieved in a specialized organizational setting by leveraging best practices from the IT Service Management Lifecycle. The underlying principles of service management were extended in aligning the core business processes of the Division of Technical and Scientific Services (SGTS) within the Department of Safeguards at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). SGTS is responsible for the implementation of measurement systems, containment and surveillance techniques and all verification logistics applied in IAEA Safeguards verification activities worldwide. Governing criteria for the optimum tool selection considered minimal development effort, sustainability over the long run, licensing structure (cost of ownership), alignment with the security posture of the IAEA, usability and the ability to integrate with other IT applications. The paper further examines how a sound business process mapping exercise enhanced the integration of various IT applications supporting the business processes of performance monitoring and issue management. Additional efforts in change management by including key users in the project team ensured that expectations were managed in a timely manner from both the customer and the service provider perspective. The collaborative partnership between the Office of Information and Communication Systems (SGIS) and SGTS was crucial in the successful implementation of this project. As a result, improved data quality, transparency, customer responsiveness, optimized issue, knowledge management and performance monitoring features have enhanced the reliability of Safeguards instrumentation. Lessons learned from the implementation could be extended to other organizational units to bring to fruition the concept of Enterprise Service Management.