Evolution of a Service Management Framework: Spotlight at Stanford as a Use Case

Service management—the entirety of activities undertaken by an organization to design, plan, deliver, operate, and control information technology (IT) services offered to stakeholders—has long been applied successfully by the government and commercial sectors. In this article, service management is discussed in the context of open-source software developed in an academic library setting, by exploring the creation and growth of the Spotlight at Stanford service framework. First, service management is briefly introduced as a guiding principle and philosophy, within the Stanford Libraries context. Second, the Spotlight at Stanford software is described. Third, people who are key players in both the delivery and use of the software are discussed. Fourth, processes including goals and activities of the Spotlight at Stanford service team are reviewed. Fifth, various accomplishments are listed, including how the service team has contributed to the successful adoption and development of the web application at Stanford University. Finally, lessons learned are discussed and directions are shared for the future development of the Spotlight at Stanford service framework.