This is the glossary for the EOSC-Future project. It may be referred by project deliverables, milestones and other publications. Additions and other changes to this glossary should only be done by workpackage leaders. Definitions which contain terms that themselves are defined in the glossary should be marked in italics. If you have any questions please contact Matthew Viljoen
Accessibility of information
(FitSM-0) Property of information being accessible and usable by an authorized party
Activity
(FitSM-0) Set of actions carried out within a process
Assessment
(FitSM-0) Set of actions to evaluate the capability level of a process or the overall maturity level of a management system
AAI
Authentication and Authorization Infrastructure. A service (or distributed set of services) which enables users to be identified and to access protected information, other services or functionality.
AARC
Authentication and Authorization for Research and Collaboration. A series of EC-funded projects which use AAI to bring researcher collaborations closer together.
AEGIS
AARC Engagement Group for Infrastructure. Body which brings together representatives from research and e-infrastructures, operators of AAI services and the AARC team to bridge communication gaps and make the most of common synergies.
Availability
(FitSM-0) Ability of a service or service component to fulfil its intended function at a specific time or over a specific period of time
CAB
Change Advisory Board. A group of people within CHM who reviews, evaluates and approves changes within an IT environment.
Capability level
(FitSM-0) Achieved level of effectiveness of an individual process or general aspect of management
Capacity
(FitSM-0) Maximum extent to which a certain element of the infrastructure (such as a configuration item) can be used
Note: This might mean the total disk capacity or network bandwidth. It could also be the maximum transaction throughput of a system.
Capacity Management (CAPM)
SMS process which ensures sufficient capacities are provided to meet agreed service capacity and performance requirements
Change
(FitSM-0) Alteration (such as addition, removal, modification, replacement) of a configuration item (CI)
Change Management (CHM)
SMS process which ensures changes to configuration items are planned, approved, implemented and reviewed in a controlled manner to
avoid adverse impact of changes to services or the customers receiving services
Classification
(FitSM-0) Assignment of items to defined groups based on common attributes, relations or other criteria
Note 1: Items that are subject to classification may include documents, records (such as incident records or change records), services, configuration items (CIs), etc. Defined groups may include categories (such as incident categories or change categories) or priority levels.
Note 2: The act of classification often comprises the application of more than one classification scheme. For instance, an incident record might be assigned to a technical incident category such as ‘software related’, ‘network related’, etc., and also to a priority level like ‘low priority’, ‘medium priority’, etc. The assignment of various incidents, service requests, changes and problems to an affected CI is also a classification.
Note 3: Besides the presentation and analysis of relationships, classification is often used as input for controlling the workflow of a process, e.g. by assigning a priority level to an incident.
Closure
(FitSM-0) Final activity in a workflow of a process to indicate no further action is required for a specific case
Note: Cases that are subject to closure may include incidents, problems, service requests or changes. The activity of closure puts the connected record (such as the incident record, problem record, service request record or change record) in its final status, usually called ‘closed’.
Competence
(FitSM-0) Sum of knowledge, skills and experience that an individual or group needs to effectively take on a specific role
Confidentiality of information
(FitSM-0) Property of information not being accessible to unauthorized parties
Conformity
(FitSM-0) Extent to which requirements are met in some context
Note: In the context of FitSM, the term compliance is generally used as a synonym for conformity. However, sometimes conformity is used in the context of adherence to internal regulations and requirements as defined by policies, processes and procedures, while compliance is used in the context of adherence to external requirements, such as laws, standards and contracts.
Configuration
(FitSM-0) State of a specified set of attributes, relationships and other relevant properties of one or more configuration items (CIs)
Note: The documented configuration of a number of CIs at a given point in time is called a configuration baseline, which is usually taken prior to the deployment of one or more changes to these CIs in the live environment.
Configuration item (CI)
(FitSM-0) Element that contributes to the delivery of one or more services or service components, therefore requiring control of its configuration
Note 1: CIs can vary widely, from technical components (e.g. computer hardware, network components, software) to non-technical items such as documents (e.g. service level agreements, manuals, license documentation).
Note 2: The data necessary for effective control of a CI is stored in a CI record. In addition to attributes of the CI, the CI record likely includes information on relationships it has with other CIs, service components and services. CI records are stored in a configuration management database (CMDB).
Configuration Management (CONFM)
SMS process which provides and maintains a logical model of all configuration items and their relationships and dependencies
Configuration management database (CMDB)
(FitSM-0) Store for data about configuration items (CIs)
Note: A CMDB is not necessarily a single database covering all configuration items (CIs). It may rather be composed of multiple physical data stores.
Continual Service Improvement Management (CSI)
SMS process which identifies, prioritizes, plans, implements and reviews improvements to services and service management
Continuity
(FitSM-0) Property of a service to maintain all or parts of its functionality, even in exceptional circumstances
Note: Exceptional circumstances include emergencies, crises or disasters which affect the ability to provide services over extended periods of time.
Customer
(FitSM-0) Organisation or part of an organisation that commissions a service provider in order to receive one or more services
Note: A customer usually represents a number of users.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
SMS process which establishes and maintains a good relationship with customers receiving services
Document
(FitSM-0) Information and its supporting medium
Note: Examples of documents include policies, plans, process descriptions, procedures, service level agreements, contracts or records of activities performed.
EOSC
European Open Science Cloud. An EC initiative aimed at developing an infrastructure providing its users with services promoting open science and aggregating services from multiple service providers.
EPOT
EOSC Portal Onboarding Team
Effectiveness
(FitSM-0) Extent to which goals and expectations are met
Note: In a management system, effectiveness is mostly measured against the defined goals of the processes that are subject to this system.
Efficiency
(FitSM-0) Degree of ability to meet goals and expectations with minimum consumption of resources
Note 1: In a management system, efficiency is mostly considered in the context of the processes that are subject to this system.
Note 2: Resources may be human, technical, informational or financial.
Escalation
(FitSM-0) Change of responsibility for a case (such as an incident, service request, problem or change) or activity to another individual or group
Note: There are two basic types of escalation: Hierarchical escalation transfers responsibility (temporarily) to someone with a higher level of authority. Functional escalation transfers responsibility to someone with a different set of competencies or privileges required to handle the case or activity.
FAIR
Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, Reusability. Four principles for guiding scientific data management and stewardship.
Federation
(FitSM-0) Situation in which multiple parties, the federation members, jointly contribute to the delivery of services to customers without being organised in a strict hierarchical setup or supply chain.
Federation member
(FitSM-0) Individual, organisation or body that works together with other federation members in a federation to provide one or more services
Note: Often, federation members will not be bound together by strict contractual agreements.
Federator
(FitSM-0) Body that acts to coordinate a set of federation members
FIM4R
Federated Identity Management for Research. A collection of research communities working to enable federated identity management for their infrastructures.
Improvement
(FitSM-0) Action or set of actions carried out to increase the level of conformity, effectiveness or efficiency of a management system, process or activity, or to increase the quality or performance of a service or service component
Note: An improvement is usually implemented after an opportunity for improvement has been identified, for instance during a service review, audit or management review.
Incident
(FitSM-0) Unplanned disruption of operation in a service or service component, or degradation of service quality versus the expected or agreed service level or operational level according to service level agreements (SLAs), operational level agreements (OLAs) and underpinning agreements (UAs).
Incident and Service Request Management (ISRM)
SMS process which restores normal / agreed service operation within the agreed time after the occurrence of an incident, and to respond to user service requests
Information security
(FitSM-0) Preservation of confidentiality, integrity and accessibility of information
Information security control
(FitSM-0) Means of controlling or treating one or more risks to information security
Information security event
(FitSM-0) Occurrence or previously unknown situation indicating a possible breach of information security
Note: An occurrence or situation is considered a potential breach of information security if it may lead to a negative impact on the confidentiality, integrity and / or accessibility of one or more information assets.
Information security incident
(FitSM-0) Single information security event or a series of information security events with a significant probability of having a negative impact on the delivery of services to customers, and therefore on the customers’ business operations
Information Security Management (ISM)
SMS process which manages information security effectively through all activities performed to deliver and manage services, so
that the confidentiality, integrity and accessibility of relevant information are preserved
Infrastructure and value-added services
Generic capabilities that users/customers or thematic services can use to perform/ease compute and data intensive steps. Example services within this group: IaaS clouds; HTC clusters; Container execution sites; Orchestrators; Schedulers; File transfer; Data replication
Integrity of information
(FitSM-0) Property of information not being subject to unauthorized modification, duplication or deletion
IoC
Indicators of Compromise. A piece of digital forensics which indicates a potential breach of a host system or network
IT service
(FitSM-0) Service that is enabled by the use of information technology (IT)
IT service management (ITSM)
(FitSM-0) Entirety of activities performed by an IT service provider to plan, deliver, operate and control IT services offered to customers
Note: The activities carried out in the ITSM context should be directed by policies and structured and organised by processes and supporting procedures.
Key performance indicator (KPI)
(FitSM-0) Metric that is used to track the performance, effectiveness or efficiency of a service or process
Note: KPIs are generally important metrics that will be aligned to critical success factors and important goals. KPIs are therefore a subset of all possible metrics, intended to allow for monitoring a service or process.
Known error
(FitSM-0) Problem which has not (yet) been corrected, but for which there is a documented workaround or temporary fix to prevent (excessive) negative impact on services
Management review
(FitSM-0) Periodic evaluation of the suitability, maturity and efficiency of the entire management system by its accountable owner(s), from which opportunities for improvement are identified and follow-up actions are determined
Note: The accountable owner of a management system is usually a top management representative of the organisation operating the management system. In a federation, the accountable owner is usually one person nominated by top management representatives of all organisations (i.e. federation members) involved.
Management system
(FitSM-0) Entirety of policies, processes, procedures and related resources and capabilities aiming at effectively performing management tasks in a given context and for a given subject
Note 1: A management system is generally intangible. It is based on the idea of a systematic, structured and process-oriented way of managing.
Note 2: While documentation (such as process definitions, procedures and records) and tools (such as workflow support and monitoring tools) can be parts of a management system, management system considerations are not limited to the questions of documentation and tool support.
Note 3: With respect to (IT) service management and the FitSM standard series, the idea of a service management system (SMS) is a central concept, where the context of the management system is the organisational context of the service provider, and the subject is to plan, deliver, operate and control (IT) services.
Maturity level
(FitSM-0) Achieved overall effectiveness of a service management system, based on the combination of the capability levels of its processes and general aspects of management
Nonconformity
(FitSM-0) Case or situation where a requirement is not fulfilled
Note: This may also be referred to as noncompliance.
Operational level agreement (OLA)
(FitSM-0) Documented agreement between a service provider and another part of the service provider’s organisation or a federation member to provide a service component or subsidiary service needed to allow provision of services to customers
Operational target
(FitSM-0) Reference / target value for a parameter used to measure the performance of a service component, listed in an operational level agreement (OLA) or underpinning agreement (UA) related to this service component
Note: Typical operational targets might include availability or allowed resolution times for incidents.
Policy
(FitSM-0) Documented set of intentions, expectations, goals, rules and requirements, often formally expressed by top management representatives in an organisation or federation
Note: Policies are then realised in processes, which are in turn made up of activities that people carry out according to defined procedures.
Post implementation review (PIR)
(FitSM-0) Review after the implementation of a change that determines if the change was successful
Note: Depending on the specific type and complexity of the change, the post implementation review may vary widely in its depth.
Priority
(FitSM-0) Relative importance of a target, object or activity
Note: Often incidents, service requests, problems and changes are given a priority. In the case of incidents and problems, priority is usually based on the specific impact and urgency of the situation.
Problem
(FitSM-0) Underlying cause of one or more incidents that requires further investigation to prevent incidents from recurring or reduce the negative impact on services
Problem Management (PM)
SMS process which investigate the root causes of (recurring) incidents in order to avoid future recurrence of incidents by resolving the underlying cause, or to ensure workarounds / temporary fixes are available
Procedure
(FitSM-0) Specified set of steps or instructions to be carried out by an individual or group to perform one or more activities of a process
Process
(FitSM-0) Structured set of activities, with clearly defined responsibilities, that bring about a specific objective or set of results from a set of defined inputs
Note: Generally, a process consists of a number of activities used to manage services, if the process is part of a service management system (SMS).
Record
(FitSM-0) Documentation of an event or of the results of performing a process or activity
Release
(FitSM-0) Set of one or more changes to configuration items (CIs) that are grouped together and deployed as a logical unit
Release and Deployment Management (RDM)
SMS process which bundles changes of one or more configuration items to releases, so that these changes can be tested and deployed to the live
environment together
REFEDS
REsearch and Education Identity FEDerationS. A group which articulates the mutual needs of research and education identity federations worldwide.
Request for change (RFC)
(FitSM-0) Documented proposal for a change to be made to one or more configuration items (CIs)
Risk
(FitSM-0) Possible negative occurrence that would have a negative impact on the service provider’s ability to deliver agreed services to customers, or that would decrease the value generated through some service
Note: Risk is made up of the probability of the threat entailed, the vulnerability to that threat of some asset, and the impact the threat would have, if it occurred.
Role
(FitSM-0) Set of responsibilities and connected behaviours or actions collected into a logical unit that can be assigned to an individual or group
Note: An individual may take over multiple roles.
RoP
Rules of Participation. The rights, obligations governing EOSC transactions between EOSC users, providers and operators.
SCI
Security for Collaboration among Infrastructure. A collaborative activity of security representatives from large-scale distributed academic computing infrastructures managing cross-infrastructure operational security risks and building trust and developing policy standards
SDTP
Service Design and Transition Package. Plans for the design and transition of a specific new or changed service.
Service
(FitSM-0) Way to provide value to customers through bringing about results that they want to achieve
Note: In the context of the FitSM standard series, when referring to services, usually IT services are meant.
Service Availability and Continuity Management (SACM)
SMS process which ensures sufficient capacities are provided to meet agreed service capacity and performance requirements
Service acceptance criteria (SAC)
(FitSM-0) Criteria that must be fulfilled by the time a new or changed service is deployed and made available to customers / users
Note: SAC are defined when a new or changed service is designed, and they may be updated or refined during the development or transition phase. They may cover functional and non-functional aspects of the specific service to be deployed. SAC are part of the service design and transition package (SDTP).
Service catalogue
(FitSM-0) Customer-facing list of all live services offered along with relevant information about these services
Note: The service catalogue can be regarded as a filtered version of and customers’ view on the service portfolio.
Service component
(FitSM-0) Logical part of a service that provides a function enabling or enhancing a service
Note 1: A service is usually composed of several service components.
Note 2: A service component is usually built from one or more configuration items (CIs).
Note 3: Although a service component underlies one or more services, it usually does not create value for a customer alone and is therefore not a service by itself.
Service design and transition package (SDTP)
(FitSM-0) Entirety of plans for the design and transition of a specific new or changed service
Note: An SDTP should be produced for every new or changed service. It may consist of a number of documented plans and other relevant information, available in different formats, including a list of requirements and service acceptance criteria (SAC), a project plan, communication and training plans, technical plans and specifications, resource plans, development and deployment schedules / timetables, etc.
Service level agreement (SLA)
(FitSM-0) Documented agreement between a customer and service provider that specifies the service to be provided and the service targets that define how it will be provided
Service Level Management (SLM)
SMS process which maintains the service catalogue, defines agrees and monitors SLAs, OLAs and UAs with suppliers
Service management
(FitSM-0) Entirety of activities performed by a service provider to plan, deliver, operate and control services offered to customers
Note 1: The activities carried out in the service management context should be directed by policies and structured and organised by processes and supporting procedures.
Note 2: In the context of the FitSM standard series, when referring to service management, usually IT service management is meant.
Service management plan
(FitSM-0) Overall plan for implementing and operating a service management system (SMS)
Service management system (SMS)
(FitSM-0) Overall management system that controls and supports management of services within an organisation or federation
Note: The SMS can be regarded as the entirety of interconnected policies, processes, procedures, roles, agreements, plans, related resources and other elements needed and used by a service provider to effectively manage the delivery of services to customers.
Service portfolio
(FitSM-0) Internal list that details all the services offered by a service provider, including those in preparation, live and discontinued
Note: For each service, the service portfolio may include information such as its value proposition, target customer base, service description, relevant technical specifications, cost and price, risks to the service provider, service level packages offered, etc.
Service Portfolio Management (SPM)
SMS process which defines and maintains the service portfolio
Service provider
(FitSM-0) Organisation or federation (or part of an organisation or federation) that manages and delivers a service or services to customers
Service report
(FitSM-0) Report that details the performance of a service versus the service targets defined in service level agreements (SLAs) – often based on key performance indicators (KPIs).
Service Reporting Management (SRM)
SMS process which specifies all service reports and ensures they are produced according to specifications in a timely manner to support decision-making
Service request
(FitSM-0) User request for information, advice, access to a service or a pre-approved change
Note: Service requests are often handled by the same process and tools as incidents.
Service review
(FitSM-0) Periodic evaluation of the quality and performance of a service together with the customer or under consideration of customer feedback, from which opportunities for improvement are identified, follow-up actions to increase the value of the service are determined
Service target
(FitSM-0) Reference / target values for a parameter used to measure the performance of a service, listed in a service level agreement (SLA) related to this service
Note: Typical service targets might include availability or resolution time for incidents.
Sirfti
Security Incident Response Trust framework for Federated Identity. REFEDS working group which enables the coordination of incident response across federated organisations.
SQA
Software Quality Assurance. A process which works in parallel with software development to ensure that the software meets the required quality.
SQAaaS
SQA as a Service. The provision of services which provide SQA.
Supplier
(FitSM-0) External organisation that provides a (supporting) service or service component(s) to the service provider, which they need to provide services to their customers / users
Supplier and Federation member Relationship Management (SFRM)
SMS process which establishes and maintains a healthy relationship with suppliers and federation members supporting the service provider in delivering services to customers, and monitor their performance
TCB
Technical Coordination Board of the EOSC-Future project. Entity which oversees the technical direction of the project, represents technical stakeholders and ensures technical alignment with other initiatives.
Thematic services
Scientific services (incl. data) that provide discipline-specific capabilities for researchers. (e.g. browsing and download data and apps, workflow development, execution, online analytics, result visualisation, sharing of result data, publications, applications)
Top management
(FitSM-0) Senior management within an organisation who has authority to set policies and exercise overall control of the organisation
Underpinning agreement (UA)
(FitSM-0) Documented agreement between a service provider and an external supplier that specifies the underpinning service(s) or service component(s) to be provided by the supplier, together with the related service targets
Note 1: A UA can be seen as a service level agreement (SLA) with an external supplier where the service provider is in the customer role.
Note 2: A UA may also be referred to as an underpinning contract (UC).
Underpinning contract (UC)
(FitSM-0) See: Underpinning agreement (UA)
User
(FitSM-0) Individual that primarily benefits from and uses a service
Value
(FitSM-0) Benefit to a customer and their users delivered by a service
Note: Value should be considered as a composition of the utility (fitness for purpose) and warranty (fitness for use, covering sufficient availability / continuity, capacity / performance and information security) connected to a service.
WISE
Wise Information Security for E-infrastructures. Community which enhances best practice in information security for IT infrastructures for research.
Workaround
(FitSM-0) Means of circumventing or mitigating the symptoms of a known error that helps to resolve incidents caused by this known error, while the underlying root cause is not permanently eliminated
Note 1: Workarounds are often applied in a situation, when the actual root cause of (recurring) incidents cannot be resolved due to lack of resources or ability.
Note 2: A workaround may consist of a set of actions to be carried out by either the provider or the user of the service.