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I have been posting about how we’ve misplaced Service Management and pushed it down to SLA enforcement.

I have also frequently posted about how we need to begin seeing Service Management from the consumer’s perspective.

Oddly, these are the same issue:

We have failed to “implement” Service Management correctly and have instead focused on IT metrics and measures, including those to keep external partners in check, all while forgetting that we should be focused on providing services consumers and customers see as valuable, including metrics to measure how well we’re doing.

Ever since ITILV3 came out in 2008, the goal of Service Management has been to offer “Value” as determined by the consumers.

Service Management has not changed.

We have.

No wonder business leaders are unhappy with their IT groups.

The time is now to start doing things correctly.

One of the themes central to Service Management, Agile, Lean, and many more is an iterative approach.

When we think of our personal lives, we need to take the same thought process. We will not immediately get better at anything.

For example, if you need to lose weight for a special day, you skip a meal or two. When you “need” to lose weight, you introduce structure to help you eat better and exercise.

When you want long-term improvement, you put a structure in place to iteratively improve. Even though you may not see immediate results, it is ok since you are committed for the long term.

This brings me back to the Warren Buffett quote of why he got into finance. He said it was after he understood the concept of compound interest.

This same compounding works in all areas of life.

In the Deloitte Global ITAM Survey 2021, there are several points of interest, including:

– A vast majority (84%) of respondents believe that they lack a truly effective ITAM initiative in place in their organizations. 

– More than half the respondents believe that cost efficiencies can be achieved by reducing overheads from IT asset inventory management, software deployment, issue tracking, patch management, etc. Fifty percent of respondents also believe that timely and reliable utilization of technology by personnel is a realistic expectation from a focus and investment in ITAM. 

– Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) aspire to transform the primary role of ITAM in their organizations to a broader decision-making role with regard to controlling and automating procurement, usage, and deployment of IT assets

There’s a major disconnect afoot. Every aspect of IT service delivery is becoming increasingly complex while organizations are reducing in-house staff in favor of managed services partners who want to deliver the minimum as per the contract.

For example, without in-house expertise, how are you solving:

1. The increased demands of business stakeholders?
2. The sprawl of technology as every organization becomes a technology organization?
3. The increased complexity of software licensing?
4. The need for improved Experiences?
5. The desire for faster speed-to-delivery while understanding risk?

and so much more.

Service Management Leadership was founded to help organizations prepare for and excel in these types of situations.

The topic of Critical Success Factors is not discussed enough. We need to understand the criteria for success before embarking on the initiative.

Below is another excerpt from my book, ITIL4: The New Frontier.

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In every part of our lives, we have Critical Success Factors (CSFs). A CSF is a leadership term for an element that is necessary for an organization or project to achieve its mission. As the name might suggest, CSFs are things that must happen for the initiative to be successful. When considering whether an ITIL4 initiative is successful, there are a few CSFs relevant to every organization and a few more that are organization-specific. If we think of ITIL4 from a business standpoint, what got us this far (in terms of processes and metrics) will not get us to where we want to be. ITIL4 enables new and different capabilities. We then must find a way to measure the new capabilities and outcomes.

Here are a few broad CSFs to consider. There are many more we could include, but these are the ones that are consistent across most organizations.

·        Is there organizational and leadership support?
·        Does leadership understand the value gained by adopting ITIL4?
·        Are goals in place for the initiative?
·        Are the goals measurable?
·        What other measures are in place?

·        Are viable metrics and measures in place to measure improvement?
·        Are adequate resources (personnel, monetary, and technology) available throughout the life of the ITIL4 initiative?
·        Is there a good balance of people, process, and tools?
·        Is the culture receptive to the change?
·        Is there enough in-house expertise to be successful long-term?
·        Are you able to identify and assess the current state as a starting point and measure growth against it?
·        Is there a “front door” to IT services (e.g., Service Desk, ITSM tool, etc.)?
·        With the focus on iterative improvement, is there a culture for improvement?
·        Is scope defined (e.g., practices, CMBD configuration items, and future scope placed on a roadmap)?
·        Are all stakeholders identified and engaged?
·        Is there a mechanism for stakeholders to provide feedback? Is it accepted and considered?
·        Is Customer Experience and Satisfaction measured or will it be in the near future?
·        Will training be developed for all stakeholders?
·        Does the Service Management organization have the appropriate level of Governance?

·        Do all service providers – internal and external – use the same processes and practices?
·        Is the organization able to pivot and alter course as business objectives change?