Establish and Document the Application Manager and Application Management Organization - Application Management Best Practices

Establish and Document the Application Manager and Application Management Organization

(Chapter 23 of Application Management Best Practices)

Executive Summary: Chapter Overview

IF4IT

The Bottom Line

Business Application Owners rarely have time to run each Application day to day, so an Application Manager does it on their behalf, managing operation, changes, and support and answering for the completeness and currency of the Application Documentation. The Application Management Organization to which that manager belongs stays accountable for daily operation even when internal teams or vendors do the work. Delegating the work never delegates the accountability, and both must be formally assigned and recorded.

Core Concepts

Concept	Definition & Strategic Role
Application Manager	The role accountable, on behalf of the Business Application Owner, for the day-to-day management of one or more Applications, including their operation, changes, and support. In this document it is also accountable for documentation completeness and currency, and for alignment with the Application Record.
Application Management Organization	The organization, or organizational unit, to which an Application’s Application Manager belongs, accountable for the Application’s day-to-day operation, including work performed on its behalf by other organizations or vendors. Recording it shows who answers for operation when work is spread across teams.
Accountability Is Not Delegated	The principle that the Application Management Organization remains accountable for an Application’s day-to-day operation even when an infrastructure team, a shared operations group, or a vendor performs much of the work. Such arrangements are recorded but do not transfer accountability.

Quick Q&A

Question: Does a vendor-provided or SaaS Application still need an Application Manager within the enterprise?

Answer: Yes. Assuming the vendor manages such an Application is an antipattern, because the vendor manages its product, not the enterprise’s use of it. The enterprise’s configuration, data, Integrations, users, and documentation still need an accountable Application Manager, assigned and recorded like any other.

Question: Who should formally assign the Application Manager, and what happens when day-to-day management is fragmented?

Answer: The Business Application Owner, or another appropriate authority, formally assigns the person who manages the Application day to day, and the Application Management Organization must confirm that it accepts accountability for daily operation. Where day-to-day management is fragmented across several people with no one accountable, the issue is escalated to the Business Application Owner to resolve.

This chapter addresses the Application Manager, who runs the Application day to day, and the Application Management Organization to which the Application Manager belongs.

Definitions

The Application Manager is the role accountable, on behalf of the Business Application Owner, for the day-to-day management of one or more Applications, including their operation, changes, and support.

The Application Management Organization is the organization, or organizational unit, to which an Application’s Application Manager belongs and which is accountable for the Application’s day-to-day operation, including work performed on its behalf by other organizations or vendors. It may be a sub-organization within the broader business organization the Application serves.

Why the Application Manager Matters

The Business Application Owner holds ultimate accountability for an Application but rarely has the time to manage it day to day, particularly when they own many Applications. The Application Manager fills that gap. For the purposes of this document, the Application Manager is also accountable for the completeness and currency of the Application Documentation and for keeping that documentation aligned with the Application Record.

The Application Management Organization remains accountable for the Application’s day-to-day operation even when much of the work is performed by others, such as an infrastructure team, a shared operations group, or a vendor. Delegating the work does not delegate the accountability.

Establish the Application Manager and Application Management Organization

Identify who manages the Application day to day, and ensure that the Business Application Owner, or another appropriate authority, formally assigns that person as Application Manager. Identify the organization, or organizational unit, to which the Application Manager belongs, and confirm that it accepts accountability for the Application’s day-to-day operation. Where the Application’s day-to-day management is fragmented across several people with no one accountable, escalate to the Business Application Owner to resolve it.

Record the Application Manager by name, with current contact details, and the Application Management Organization by name, in the Application Documentation and the Application Record. Where work on the Application is performed by other organizations or vendors on the Application Management Organization’s behalf, record those arrangements too. Review this information with every Release.

Best Practice: Establish and Document the Application Manager and Application Management Organization

It is a best practice to both establish and document the solution for an Application’s day-to-day management: assign an Application Manager on behalf of the Business Application Owner, identify the Application Management Organization that is accountable for the Application’s day-to-day operation, and record both.

Benefits: A named Application Manager gives everyone who works with the Application, from engineers to auditors, a single person accountable for its daily health and for the completeness of its documentation. Identifying the accountable organization makes clear who answers for the Application’s operation even when the work is spread across internal teams and vendors.

Common Antipatterns

Antipattern	Why It Fails
Assuming the vendor manages a vendor-provided or SaaS Application	The vendor manages its product, not the enterprise’s use of it; the enterprise’s configuration, data, Integrations, users, and documentation still need an accountable Application Manager.
Leaving day-to-day management to whoever happens to be available	Work gets done inconsistently, decisions are made without authority, and no one is accountable for the documentation.

The Applications Inventory and Attributes describes the ownership and stakeholder attributes recorded for each Application. The Vendors Inventory and Attributes describes how vendors that perform work on an Application’s behalf are recorded.

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