IT Service Management is rarely a discussion topic when I am involved in CIO-related activities. Having just returned from the Norwegian IT Service Management Forum I realise this is something of an issue.
Service management is very much focused around the IT function getting its process act together in order to become a more responsive function to the organisation it serves. Customer-service is something that many IT functions are too busy to think about. Consequently when mistakes are made the customer will always take an unsympathetic view; much like the way patients enjoy suing high-handed, arrogant and mistake-making doctors.
Interestingly the UK is the spiritual home of service management. The UK Government presides over a set of sacred texts that detail best practice and are more commonly known as ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library). Despite the IT-inspired moniker its branding is impressive. As an ex-technologist, I can see that ITIL fills a much needed gap in the IT department’s toolbox.
However in traditional IT industry tradition it falls short of going beyond the procedural in respect of the customer experience. It’s strong on process and weak on emotion. In other words it doesn’t really explore how to move from call centre incident management to premier league hotel reception.
It also doesn’t make the connection between IT service and strategic imperatives. Thus it is unlikely to become strategically relevant.
I mention these points in an ‘emperor’s new clothes’ capacity. However ITIL is mature and enjoys its own sustainable ecosystem. Thus I would (and did) suggest that ITIL is extended as suggested. In turn forward-thinking CIOs would then take more of an interest.
My comments were taken in the right spirit. Though finding a first aid kit in my conference pack prior to my presentation did cause me some initial concern. I have thus stumbled upon a pocket of emotionally intelligent IT specialists. This was personally uplifting and gives me hope for the industry’s future. I will observe IT service management with interest as a result of attending this event.
Should you ever get the opportunity to attend the Norwegian IT-SMF Conference, take it. The event is first rate and the atmosphere is fantastic. In fact I would say that the service is first class.
As the IT industry’s centre of gravity moves from the end user IT department to the service provider, we need to give more attention to the professionalism of the outsourcer. This is important from the providers’ perspective if they are to build the trust needed to take charge of core elements of their clients’ business.
It is also important for those that find themselves working on the supply side. Working for a service company can feel directionless. You are simply a resource that needs to shape shift in order to keep off the bench. The Brownian motion chaos associated with a ‘career’ in outsourcing can look quite unattractive.
Those that work on the supply side need to feel more in control of their destiny. I believe that creating a professional structure around this growing market is critical. Academe and industry need to work together to create competency frameworks and qualifications that support and enhance a career in outsourcing.
Beyond the technical competence of working in an end user organisation, ‘outsourcerers’ at every level need to have finely-honed commercial skills. They also need to have strong interpersonal skills, particularly in respect of service management; conflict and expectation management come to mind.
Cultural, political and social sensitivity is similarly critical when one’s career involves engaging with many organisations over time. This is not such an issue for traditional lifer employees who spend significant fractions of their career in the one organisation and thus over time eventually learn the house norms.
Such qualifications must not be company specific. They need to be international. And they need to be high profile and relevant. That way the buyers can base their purchasing decisions around something concrete.
Service is an abstract concept. It comes in many different flavours including poor, premium and luxury. Hidden behind help desks and sandbags, with a physical DMZ (different floor/continent from users), it is plain to see that service isn’t at the top of many CIOs’ agendas.
Can I suggest that service from an IT department is scoped as follows: At one end the role of the IT function is to keep the directors out of prison. There is an inextricable link between IT and corporate governance.
At the other end the IT function needs to directly support the vital signals that business leaders use to monitor business health. Thus CIOs need to spend as much time (if not more) focusing on business KPIs rather as on IT function KPIs.
This means complete alignment of business KPIs and IT function processes. When a technologist addresses an infrastructure incident or an application upgrade, they need to be crystal clear on how their work contributes to the organisation’s strategic imperatives.
If CIOs are to get to the top table, they need to address service first.