A Better Way to Understand Complexity – Introducing the Service Navigator

Service NavigatorThe Service Navigator has been added to the 4me service. It offers a graphical presentation of the dependencies between services, as well as the configuration item relations. You can find the Service Navigator in the Analytics console.

What makes the Service Navigator so special is that it allows you to switch between the logical service view and the physical infrastructure view.

These are the symbols that are used for the graphical representation:

Service category symbol
Service category

 

Service symbol

Service

 

 

Service instance symbolService instance

 

 

Configuration item symbol


Configuration item

Service Navigator Action menu option

You can also launch the service navigator from a request, problem, service, configuration item, etc. To do this, click on the Actions toolbar button and select the menu option ‘Service Navigator’.

The Service Navigator also works wonderfully on tablets such as the iPad or the Galaxy Tab. On a tablet you can make pinch gestures with your fingers to zoom in and out.

Internet Explorer 8, however, cannot open the Service Navigator. That’s because IE8 does not support scalable vector graphics (SVG). If you are not yet able to upgrade to a more recent version of Internet Explorer and want to use the Service Navigator, then Firefox and Chrome provide good alternatives.

In a future post, I shall elaborate on the useful qualities of SVG for the ITRP service.

Cor is the CEO and co-founder of 4me. He started his career in the service management industry in 1996 helping to set up the global consulting organization for, what later became, HP OpenView Service Desk. As a consultant, Cor has assisted many large enterprises over the years with their global ITSM deployments. These include Procter & Gamble, Philip Morris and Roche.