Continuously Improving IT Service Management in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of IT Service Management (ITSM) adoption in the highly regulated pharmaceutical sector. The outcomes in the case company included (1) the integration of regulatory requirements into ITSM workflows, (2) refining IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) modules, and (3) establishing a comprehensive Configuration Management Database (CMDB). The project was conducted for nearly a year and started with a maturity assessment to identify areas requiring improvement. ITSM case studies in the pharmaceutical industry are scarce, and new guidelines are necessary to assist IT departments in their mission. For practitioners, this paper describes critical steps on how to assess and improve service management using the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) approach. For academics, our work identifies sector-specific compliance requirements for ITSM and a solution to address them with ITSM tools. Our approach can be crucial to IT departments operating in economic sectors with an impact on human safety. This paper provides a compelling argument for consistently refining ITSM practices, which can lead to relevant improvements in IT service quality.