Getting the Basics Right

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We often forget that not everyone is like us. We live in the world of best/good practice but forget how many organizations struggle with the foundational aspects.

For these companies, I have 2 pieces of advice:

1. When you buy a tool, any of the tools, make sure you invest in the process side. Small things like roles and responsibilities (raci) are huge when getting started.

2. Improve incrementally. With finite resources, prioritize your efforts. It’s better to have two or three moderately-mature processes than 10 bad ones without adoption or resources.

Different View of Metrics

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I remember starting at a large firm, trying to get up to speed.

I ask for metrics and measures to help me understand current state.

I was directed to a peer (same title, “Director”) who was in charge of IT analytics.

I go ask my boss about him and the analytics group. The boss used a lot of (not nice) words to say two things:

1. The analytics were all “in the weeds” and unhelpful for enterprise decision-making.

2. The analytics were focused on what was easy to measure with the BI tool, not what was needed.

So, I go talk to the peer. We didn’t get very far because “that’s the way we always have done it “.

A question for you: how would you proceed from here?

This actual scenario plays out every day across the globe ????.

How can we improve? I think the answer – like with most areas – requires outside->in thinking.

Metrics and Reporting

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The topic of metrics and reporting is interesting in that everyone feels like they are an expert on the topic, but few organizations excel in this area.

We have all the tooling. That is not the issue. Consider how many BI tools every organization has, yet leadership is unhappy with the data/information available for decision-making.

This should tell us that we are measuring the wrong things.

The focus of metrics and reporting MUST be on how the data/information will be consumed.

Accumulating and displaying data/information is of little use if it does not aid decision-making.

So, start with what is needed for those decisions and start working through the other use cases.

Utterly Surprised

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It’s amazing to me how many organizations claim to have an Enterprise Service Management program but either have a poor CMDB or only have IT configuration items in the CMDB.

In order to have a legitimate Enterprise Service Management program, you must have a quality CMDB with enterprise configuration items. Plus, all stakeholders must be represented making it an “Enterprise CMDB”.

It’s that simple.

If your organization needs help becoming a true Enterprise Service Management program, let me know. Service Management Leadership can help.

Culture

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When people talk about the topics of governance, overcoming bureaucracy, continual improvement, etc, there is one key factor rarely discussed …

company culture.

We do not like to admit it, but we can have the best governance initiative and it will fail if the culture is not willing.

Going against the corporate culture will feel like running up the down escalator.

One important note: many times, there’s a disconnect between how leadership views culture and the actual culture.

As leaders, we must ensure all initiatives include addressing culture, in addition to the normal Organizational Change Management activities.

Outside-In

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If we are truly seeking “Enterprise Service Management”, we will need to take an “outside-in” approach where all stakeholders are engaged and support the initiative.

With every organization now a technology-focused organization, an enterprise view of service management is needed.

Do not let a tool define what is – and is not – Enterprise Service Management.

It should be defined by your stakeholders.

Governance

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Everyone wants technology innovation but few desire governance.

Consider the broad stakeholders represented in every Service Management and Asset Management program.

Each one requires specific data from the tools.

This data is why you have ITSM and ITAM tools.

The data is leveraged to solve business problems.

The data needs to be current and accurate.

The answer is governance.

This is one main reason stakeholders are unhappy with the ITSM and ITAM tools.

Types of Outcomes

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Have you noticed how our society has turned every perspective into binary outcomes, “it’s great” or “it stinks”?

In reality, everything is on a spectrum.

This is true for our Service Management & Asset Management programs. With an iterative approach – filled with continual improvement – we should always be getting better.

This is why metrics are so important. They tell us how we are doing and illustrate the improvement opportunities.

As we move toward an enterprise-wide view of technology, the focus should be on improvements and outcomes, not the current state.

Blindspots

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I freely admit it, I have blindspots.

We all do.

The solution is to have people in your life to see what you don’t AND to listen.

Sure, it takes trust. We’ve all listened to people we shouldn’t have, but those should be seen as learning opportunities.

As we start the week, try to find your blindspots and people who excel in those areas.

Reducing Outages

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We are in – or entering – the most important time of the year for most companies.

IT outages are painful.

Two things to reduce outages if your organization needs maximum uptime:

1. Implement a “Change Frost” where changes are discouraged but there’s an escalation path for approval that includes senior leaders.

2. Spend extra time looking at Incident metrics for Proactive Problem Management.

Almost every organization has a time of the year where outages are extremely costly.