Implementing ITIL Configuration Management

CHAPTER 14. Measuring and Improving CMDB Accuracy

We’ve touched on the issue of data accuracy many times already. More than anything else, the accuracy of your data will determine the amount of trust your organization places in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB). A trusted CMDB opens the door to a world of benefits, whereas a mistrusted CMDB will simply become another expensive information technology (IT) effort without significant payback.

But exactly how to do you make sure that the data in the CMDB is accurate? Clearly we begin by defining what we mean by accuracy. It may seem strange, but data accuracy is often misunderstood. Once we’ve established a working definition, we need to measure accuracy in a way that doesn’t negatively ...