Comments for ThinkITSM Blog http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog Define Measure Achieve. Repeat Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:46:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 Comment on Service Desk Measurement - Be careful what you wish for! by Maria Ritchie http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=302&cpage=1#comment-413 Maria Ritchie Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:20:26 +0000 http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=302#comment-413 This is actually a more common problem than you may think - sometimes management just doesn't know what's good for them. Truth is they are often bombarded with information (often more like pages of data) that fail to help them make decisions. Somehow your Help Desk reports need to provide the "At-A-Glance" information that is relevant and actionable. I have a couple of thoughts for you to consider.... <strong>Ask Them What They Need! </strong> - If they aren't interested in looking at what you are producing, find out what they would be interesting in looking at. The service desk is the moment of truth for your IT services and organization. It provides an important touch point with your users and in return collects very valuable information that, if presented properly, is a gold mine for actionable improvements and early warning to pending issues and customer dissatisfaction. <strong>Find the Dog to Put the Flea On!</strong> If your not ready to approach senior management to draw out their requirements, then seek out that little itch that you can scratch for them. Use your knowledge of the information available from your service desk and link it to an issue you know is top of mind with your management team. Too often service desk reports speak about incident volumes and FPOC rates, when what management really needs to hear is that there is a spike in outages for a particular application solution that is really impacting the business. When it comes to reporting <strong>Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast!</strong> Find the critical few out of the important many reports that you have available. Before you know it your Service Desk will be recognized as an invaluable source for customer satisfaction and service improvement information. This is actually a more common problem than you may think - sometimes management just doesn’t know what’s good for them. Truth is they are often bombarded with information (often more like pages of data) that fail to help them make decisions. Somehow your Help Desk reports need to provide the “At-A-Glance” information that is relevant and actionable. I have a couple of thoughts for you to consider….

Ask Them What They Need! - If they aren’t interested in looking at what you are producing, find out what they would be interesting in looking at. The service desk is the moment of truth for your IT services and organization. It provides an important touch point with your users and in return collects very valuable information that, if presented properly, is a gold mine for actionable improvements and early warning to pending issues and customer dissatisfaction.

Find the Dog to Put the Flea On! If your not ready to approach senior management to draw out their requirements, then seek out that little itch that you can scratch for them. Use your knowledge of the information available from your service desk and link it to an issue you know is top of mind with your management team. Too often service desk reports speak about incident volumes and FPOC rates, when what management really needs to hear is that there is a spike in outages for a particular application solution that is really impacting the business. When it comes to reporting

Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast! Find the critical few out of the important many reports that you have available. Before you know it your Service Desk will be recognized as an invaluable source for customer satisfaction and service improvement information.

]]> Comment on Service Desk Measurement - Be careful what you wish for! by John Nash http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=302&cpage=1#comment-409 John Nash Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:40:02 +0000 http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=302#comment-409 My help desk spent time and effort learning about what reports we should be generating, provided them to management and then was told after two months to stop producing them as no one was interested in looking at them anyway. To say that this was discouraging to the team was an understatement. Do you have any suggestions about how to re-engage senior IT management as to the value proposition of the reports the help desk provides to end this type of cycle? My help desk spent time and effort learning about what reports we should be generating, provided them to management and then was told after two months to stop producing them as no one was interested in looking at them anyway. To say that this was discouraging to the team was an understatement. Do you have any suggestions about how to re-engage senior IT management as to the value proposition of the reports the help desk provides to end this type of cycle?

]]> Comment on ITIL maturity - where do you want to be and why. by mritchie http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=331&cpage=1#comment-399 mritchie Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:35:34 +0000 http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=331#comment-399 Amen! Too many ITIL journeys in general lack a focus on outcomes and demonstrable benefits. It is a little scary how many organizations have ITIL improvement projects underway but can't actually define what real benefits they expect to achieve and how they will know they achieved them. Reaching a maturity level can be a means to an end, but certainly not the end. Thanks for your insight! Amen! Too many ITIL journeys in general lack a focus on outcomes and demonstrable benefits. It is a little scary how many organizations have ITIL improvement projects underway but can’t actually define what real benefits they expect to achieve and how they will know they achieved them. Reaching a maturity level can be a means to an end, but certainly not the end. Thanks for your insight!

]]> Comment on ITIL maturity - where do you want to be and why. by Dave http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=331&cpage=1#comment-389 Dave Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:29:05 +0000 http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=331#comment-389 While I agree with your premise, I see too many organizations pursuing a level of maturity for the sake of the number, with little regard for the business value derived. While reaching a Level 3 or 4 does, in itself, imply some connection with business goals, too many times I see this connection being lost. I've worked with many organizations that have found that the most valuable part of their quest for ITSM maturity is actually the journey, and not the achievement of a particular maturity level. While I agree with your premise, I see too many organizations pursuing a level of maturity for the sake of the number, with little regard for the business value derived. While reaching a Level 3 or 4 does, in itself, imply some connection with business goals, too many times I see this connection being lost. I’ve worked with many organizations that have found that the most valuable part of their quest for ITSM maturity is actually the journey, and not the achievement of a particular maturity level.

]]> Comment on ITIL – Not a Cure for the Common Cold! by ThinkITSM Blog » ITIL Case Study – If you want to Loose Weight, Get on the Scale http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=119&cpage=1#comment-174 ThinkITSM Blog » ITIL Case Study – If you want to Loose Weight, Get on the Scale Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:05:58 +0000 http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=119#comment-174 [...] blog is a follow on to the “ITIL – Not a Cure for the Common Cold!” blog where I provided an overview of a large government’s service management journey and outlined [...] [...] blog is a follow on to the “ITIL – Not a Cure for the Common Cold!” blog where I provided an overview of a large government’s service management journey and outlined [...]

]]> Comment on ITIL – Not a Cure for the Common Cold! by Shelley Woods http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=119&cpage=1#comment-11 Shelley Woods Wed, 27 May 2009 18:44:52 +0000 http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=119#comment-11 Awesome work....this work was years ahead of its time Awesome work….this work was years ahead of its time

]]> Comment on ‘KISSing’ ITIL by Charles Cyna http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=21&cpage=1#comment-9 Charles Cyna Tue, 19 May 2009 15:27:58 +0000 http://marketingtest_.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=21#comment-9 BSM has evolved from ITSM as a term to apply many of the practices IT use to manage workflow and process to other areas within the organization. For example, an Incident Management workflow to solve an IT question can be easily applied to an HR department who is answering questions regarding benefits or pay issues. BSM has evolved from ITSM as a term to apply many of the practices IT use to manage workflow and process to other areas within the organization. For example, an Incident Management workflow to solve an IT question can be easily applied to an HR department who is answering questions regarding benefits or pay issues.

]]> Comment on ‘KISSing’ ITIL by David G http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=21&cpage=1#comment-3 David G Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:04:08 +0000 http://marketingtest_.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=21#comment-3 <a href="#comment-1" rel="nofollow">@Bob Oswald</a> What about BSM (i.e. Business Service Management)? How does that relate to ITSM? @Bob Oswald
What about BSM (i.e. Business Service Management)? How does that relate to ITSM?

]]> Comment on ‘KISSing’ ITIL by David Brighton http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=21&cpage=1#comment-2 David Brighton Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:43:40 +0000 http://marketingtest_.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=21#comment-2 One of the main issues with ITSM gaining popularity is IT Management, who seem to be happy to keep the business in the dark about what it truly takes to keep the IT 'lights on'. This is short sighted in a world where IT departments are in more danger of being outsourced with an abundance of outsourced operations infringing on the IT departments traditional domain. One of the main issues with ITSM gaining popularity is IT Management, who seem to be happy to keep the business in the dark about what it truly takes to keep the IT ‘lights on’. This is short sighted in a world where IT departments are in more danger of being outsourced with an abundance of outsourced operations infringing on the IT departments traditional domain.

]]> Comment on ‘KISSing’ ITIL by Bob Oswald http://www.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=21&cpage=1#comment-1 Bob Oswald Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:30:07 +0000 http://marketingtest_.thinkitsm.com/blog/?p=21#comment-1 As a manager of IT, I find that the term ITSM has become confusing as many of the help desk tool makers call their ITIL products ITSM. This is probably a shame because the concept is quite powerful when it is focused on how IT interacts with its customers. As a manager of IT, I find that the term ITSM has become confusing as many of the help desk tool makers call their ITIL products ITSM. This is probably a shame because the concept is quite powerful when it is focused on how IT interacts with its customers.

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