Story Highlights:

• Problem: The client needed a way to encourage their Service Desk Analysts to suggest and operationalize Continual Service Improvement (“CSI”) initiatives before the end of the year. They also needed to train them on ITIL v3 best practices relevant to the Desk’s 18-month plan.
• Modular ITIL v3 education: Instead of having them attend 2-3 day Foundation courses, or even have them go through an entire eLearning course, we work with the Team Lead to choose the relevant ITIL v3 function/process modules.
• Instructional Design: Instead of throwing the training at the Analysts, we devise a detailed, practical strategy to get them actively involved in the training, in a timely manner, and promote active thinking around CSI initiatives.

 
SITUATION

• 5 service desk agents taking 20-25 incidents per day.
• 1,200 end users at the corporate office
• All of the analysts have been working on the desk for over 1 year.
• None of the analysts have a background with ITIL best practices.
• They are short-staffed, and so taking time away from the desk is next to impossible.

TASK

Each staff member in the company must come up with one continuous improvement initiative by the end of the calendar year. Therefore, we needed to encourage the analysts to identify and implement CSI initiatives by providing them with training relevant to:

1. Their role.
2. The 18-month Service Desk Plan as set by management.

Notice that the task is not, ‘Get them ITIL Foundation certified’ or ‘Have them take a 2-3 day course.’

The goal, now and forever, is to improve the service that the service desk provides to the end user community. All activities that the desk engages in must be aligned with this goal in mind.

ACTION

A. Initial Assessment

I met with the Service Desk Team Lead on Thursday, July 9^th 2009 thinking that, at the very least, the analysts should go through our Service Desk, Incident, Problem, and Change Management eLearning modules given that they were so busy. I felt the analysts would be more engaged in learning that related to processes that they carried out every day (as opposed to learning about the intricacies of other processes like Demand Management).

B. Additional training priorities

After discussing the Team Leader’s goals, we realized that Configuration Management, Access Management, Service Catalog Management (and therefore Service Level Management), were other relevant eLearning modules given their 18-month Service Desk Improvement Plan.

C. Instructional Design

Now that we decided which ITIL v3 process training would encourage the analysts to come up with CSI initiatives, we had to design the delivery of the learning to ensure that CSI initiatives were suggested and operationalized before year’s end.

We came up with the following strategy:

• We created a briefing session for the analysts, which included a(n):
  • Overview of the ITIL v3 modules they’d be specifically focusing on.
  • Emphasis on the ultimate goal: to provide them the training they needed to suggest and implement CSI initiatives.
• We instituted dated milestones for each module (i.e. finish Service Desk and Incident Management in the first 15 days). To simply tell the analysts that they had X number of days to complete the course was out of the question. We couldn’t afford the training to take more than 45 days because the CSI initiatives had to be suggested and implemented before the end of the year. Keep in mind that they Analysts would be doing the training on their own time.
• We created a simple document with two columns to encourage the analysts to actively think about how to apply the knowledge. On the left-hand side of the page, we had the name of the process/function. On the right side, the analyst had space to jot down CSI initiatives/ideas that popped into their mind based on what they learned in the module. I cannot stress this enough: this training would prove ineffective if the analysts didn’t operationalize these best practices by changing the way they did their job AND suggest ways to improve the service desk as a whole.
• Agreed to have multiple staff meetings after the training to consolidate the list of suggestions, prioritize/schedule the ensuing tasks/projects, and get a feel for the ITIL v3 ROI.

RESULT

To be determined (this meeting occurred on Thursday, July 10th 2009 and I wrote this on the Friday!)

REVIEW & ANALYSIS

Applied Science – one of the theories behind this approach

Applied Science states that learning occurs when behavioral change is realized. The steps to realizing behavioral change are as follows:

1. Teach the Learner the material.
2. Ensure Learner comprehension.
3. Let the Learner test out the material/ideas in the real world to see if they work or not.
4. Have Learners participate in a Community of Practice where they share what worked, what didn’t, and what they would modify.
5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 until the desired result is smooth and frothy ;-) .

When we talk Education, ROI is realized via Behavioral Change

ITIL education is not about getting certified. It’s not about going to a 3-day course. It’s about changing the way we deliver service to the business in a way that supports their initiatives.

Folks, let’s get back to training 101.

Michael Jagdeo (HDI SCM, ITIL v2/v3, cool guy) has an extensive background as an ITSM/ITIL enthusiast.  He has worked on placements in Singapore, Dubai, London, and across North America.  As Director at B Wyze Solutions, he manages relationships with clients like Johnson & Johnson, Toyota, Maple Leaf Foods, and the Government of Ontario. Follow him on Twitter!

Related posts:

1. Implementing ITIL - Insight from Head of ITSM (Part 1: Education)
2. Implementing ITIL - Insight from Head of ITSM (Part 3: Tool Implementation & ITIL Adoption)
3. Implementing ITIL - Insight from Head of ITSM (Part 2: Outsourcing)

This week’s topic is about the use of process models in ITIL and how to maximize their effectiveness. The ITIL exam often has questions about a specific process area and use of a process model. It’s not a matter of memorizing or studying all of the ITIL process models. Rather, understand the basic idea of a process model and know that all ITIL processes will make use its process models to help drive efficiency and effectiveness.

ITIL publications describe a process model as a way of predefining the steps that should be taken to handle a process in an agreed way. This will ensure that “what is managed by the process” is handled with optimal efficiency and effectiveness in a predefined path and to predefined timescales.

The ITIL publications illustrate generic process models for ALL of its processes. The concept being that all processes benefit from the use of its specific “process model”, such as the Incident Model and the Request model. However, the adoption of ITIL process models does not end there. These generic process models work in most cases, but there are always exceptions to the rule. Where exceptions have been thought of in advance, or learned from practice, it’s most effective to create a specific process model for that situation. As a result, an organization adopting and optimizing ITIL will have a range of process models for each process. For example, in addition to the generic change model there can be range of different change models matched to different types of changes.

This bring us to the next point; that categorization plays such an important role in ITIL and creating process models. The way in which an organization categorizes Changes, Incidents, Problems, etc will help to define efficiencies for items in those categories.

To read more tips about the ITIL® examination, visit my blog page.

Related posts:

1. June 23, 2009: ITIL ® Version 3 Foundation Exam Study Nugget: Functions and Processes
2. Taking the ITIL ® Version 3 Foundation Bridge Course: What’s the difference between v2 and v3
3. Continual Service Improvement in Action: Adapting our Approach to the May 2009 Update ITIL ® Version 3 Foundation Exam

Story Highlights:

• I’m the Head of Service Management – Now What?
• Let’s Begin!  Kind of… – I still have my old job
• ITSM Education – The decision to get ITIL v2 Manager certified
• ITIL V2 vs. V3 Education – Starting off with what ITIL does best
• Educating Staff on ITIL Best Practices – Not everyone needs ITIL foundation training, let alone certification
• Profound Support from Senior Management

I’m the Head of Service Management – Now What?

After a reorganization at the Bank I found myself labeled the new, ‘Head of Service Management’ for one of the three business divisions.  Pretty cool, eh!?  Now the fun would start!  Or so I thought…

You see, nobody really knew – or agreed to – what this role would entail. 

Senior Management came up with a blueprint for the IT organization and were rolling it out across the organization.  So here I was, ITIL Foundations v2 certified, 15+ years of experience in Service Delivery, with a passion for service.

This is how the journey began for me.  The following is the part one in a series that will describe how we achieved a cultural shift in the way that we supported the business.

Overview

Broadly speaking, my journey involved the following:

1. Part 1:  ITSM Education
2. Part 2:  Outsourcing 
3. Part 3:  Tool Deployment
   • ITIL Implementation/Adoption
   • Metrics and the Ensuing Behavioral Change

Let’s Begin!  Kind of…

For the first few months, I was still dealing with legacy responsibilities.  Nothing really changed and everyone was still doing the same job as they did before.   Sure, they may have had a new job title, a new department name, or even a new line manager.  But they were still doing the same activities day in, day out.

In fact, the only difference was that I moved to a new department (the one I used to provide services to).  And hey, Pete?  By the way, your old role doesn’t exist anymore, but the work still needs to be done, so you get to do your old job and the new one.  And hey, Pete?  Another thing:  if a project or activity even so much as alludes to the idea of ‘service’ you’re taking the lead.

ITSM Education

So I made a decision – I wanted to do the ITIL Manager’s Certificate training and get my Red Badge.  That way, at least one person would know what the role should entail.  Luckily, I had an understanding manager who approved the training without hesitation.

MJ:  Can you flesh out why you thought it was necessary to get ITIL certified?

Peter:  I was passionate about service delivery and got excited when providing customer delight.  ITIL struck a chord with me because it seemed to align with these interests.

Throughout my IT career, I was aware that the IT Department’s customer satisfaction ratings were consistently low.  Colleagues would refer to customers as ‘clots’ or ‘dummies’.  It was as if they expected business users to be as proficient as they were at IT.

They didn’t seem to understand that the customer just wanted something that worked when it was supposed to and an explanation when it didn’t.  When they submitted a Service Request they wanted to know how long it would take, how much it would cost, and who had to approve it.  They also wanted to know how the request was progressing, who was dealing with it, and who they could contact if the SLA was breached.  IT departments seemed to be largely populated with techies who sometimes treated the customer as an annoying interruption, interfering with their quest to develop more and more gadgets using bleeding edge technology.

After taking the V2 Foundation training, I was converted.  I worked in an organization with 10,000 people in the IT department plus 3^rd party service providers.  ITIL made so much sense in this kind of highly complex, globally distributed computing environment.  If nothing else, ITIL provided a common language and terminology.

Obviously, I recognized that ITIL would do more than that.  It provided a framework to measure and manage IT.  I’m not saying that I thought ITIL was a panacea for all evils, but it was the best we had given our challenges.  Furthermore, it was being adopted and providing beneficial results to organizations we respected.  This widespread adoption only added to the allure/value of ITIL.  It made no sense to go down another route while the rest of the world was ITILizing.

Getting back to your question, I wanted to improve my knowledge and get qualified.  I was proud of the position that I had, I enjoyed the challenge of evangelizing ITIL and I felt it could only enhance my credibility if I completed the Manager’s Certificate training.

ITIL V2 vs. V3 Education

MJ:  If you had to do it all again, would you have gone down the ITIL v2 Manager path?  Would you have pursued training other than ITIL certification?

Peter:  Yes, I would have gone down the same route.  I have no regrets about the ITIL training that I took.  In fact, I would thoroughly recommend it.

When I took my training, V3 wasn’t available.  However, I think V2 is a good starting point for most organizations and a challenge in itself to implement.  I believe V3 is a definite improvement and provides a more refined view of IT services but I think it is appropriate to deploy the mature aspects of V3 in mature organizations.  I wouldn’t recommend ‘leapfrogging’ over what ITIL does best, namely Incident, Problem, Change, and Service Level Management. 

MJ:  FYI, for those who would like a better understanding of the differences between ITIL V2 and V3, click here.  The focus of V2 was on Incident, Problem, Change, Service Level, Capacity and Availability Management.  V3 wraps all processes/functions into a Service Lifecycle, which consists of Service Strategy, Design, Transition, Operation, and Continual Service Improvement.

Educating Staff on ITIL Best Practices

MJ:  Now the thousand-dollar question:  did you educate your staff on ITIL best practices?  If so, how did you do it?

Peter:  When I joined the Asset Management division as Head of ITSM, the training department asked me for my training requirements.  I made sure that ITIL education was a priority for those individuals delivering services to end users.  That said, I certainly did not believe everyone needed to be ‘certified’.

To ensure that my staff was adequately trained on ITIL best practices to help them provide better service, broke up the training as follows:

1. Half-day ITIL awareness sessions for everyone.
2. Two-day condensed ITIL Foundation classes for those that needed it.
3. One-day ‘practitioner’ level training for Incident, Problem, and Change Management given to those individuals that required more advanced education.

If a staff member wanted to get certified, it was up to his/her line manager to get the certification exam approved and funded.

Profound Support from Senior Management

MJ:  Was the ITIL education program supported by senior management?

Peter:  Absolutely – so much so that the Global Head of Infrastructure produced an introductory video seen by every staff member taking the training.  In the video, he personally talked about the importance of ITIL training and the adoption of ITIL best practices in the organization.

Click here for Part 2:  Outsourcing

Click here for Part 3:  Tool Deployment & ITIL Adoption

Pete Wilder is a certified ITIL V2 Manager (Red Badge) ITSM professional with extensive cross industry experience covering Financial Services, Construction, Utilities and the Public Sector.

Results oriented and client focused with a long proven track record of service delivery and client satisfaction.  He is currently seeking a challenging opportunity to demonstrate his passion for providing service excellence and customer delight.

Michael Jagdeo (SCM, ITIL v2/v3) has an extensive background as an ITSM/ITIL enthusiast.  He has worked on placements in Singapore, Dubai, London, and across North America.  As Director at B Wyze Solutions, he manages relationships with clients like Johnson & Johnson, Toyota, Maple Leaf Foods, and the Government of Ontario.  Follow him on Twitter!

Related posts:

1. Implementing ITIL - Insight from Head of ITSM (Part 2: Outsourcing)
2. Implementing ITIL - Insight from Head of ITSM (Part 3: Tool Implementation & ITIL Adoption)
3. Maintaining Momentum for Your ITIL Program vs. The Service Catalog

Story Highlights:

• The Set Up:  An audit shows that the Service Desk isn’t up to par.  The decision is made to outsource.
• Initial Turmoil:  End Users are frustrated that they can no longer pay a visit to Joe Helpdesk to get what they want.
• How I addressed these Issues: SLM and an Incident Management Portal.
• CSI:  Via the creation of an End User Forum.
• Lessons Learned:  Pay close attention to how the outsourcer is encouraged to act via the chargeback model!

The Set Up

The IT department was fairly proactive in terms of how it managed itself.  They knew that from time to time, the business would ask, “Why does IT cost so much?”  As a global investment bank, the IT budget was in excess of two billion dollars per annum. 

So we did an exercise internally and compared ourselves to market.  Broadly speaking, we were efficient based on our size and quality provided.    That said, it was decided that we could be more efficient when it came to End User Platforms (end user computing; desktop, desk side support, service desk, email, etc.). 

The investment banking division was already being serviced by an outsourcer.  They went down that path because they felt we were behind in the remote access arena.  There were new technologies available that would decrease the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for desktops.  Now it was our turn to outsource.

Important Considerations:

·         We originally had regional helpdesks in Zurich, Singapore, New York, and London.  They handled desk side support, small projects, and some 2^nd level support, in addition to typical level 1 incident management activities.  Therefore, we had to split out these various activities to different parts of the outsourcing organization.

·         I reduced the desk side support staff by 50% and transferred the remainder to the 3^rd party’s organization.

·         The personnel employed by the 3rd party weren’t familiar with the organization and English wasn’t their native tongue.  

Initial Turmoil

While the IT organization officially told the business heads that we were moving into an offshore, outsourced Service Desk, the message didn’t trickle down to the end users abroad.  In theory, it should have, but it didn’t.

So the end users quickly found out that the Service Desk no longer existed in the way that they were used to.  Next, they realized that they didn’t like the new Service Desk.  They were used to walking a few yards, tapping Joe Helpdesk on the shoulder, and getting immediate service restoration. Now, they had to call the offshore Service Desk, log a ticket, and let the Service Desk Analyst try to resolve the incident remotely.  Typically, after 20 minutes or so, the Service Desk Analyst would say he needed to transfer the ticket to his colleague on-site who would be along shortly to assist.

In addition, certain services were breaking down.  For example, there was a new Access Management portal that allowed end users to gain rights to certain documents, application functionalities, etc.  However, due to various complications, the Asset Management division wasn’t able to gain entry to the portal.

How I Addressed These Issues

Tactically, I had to make sure that our services were restored.  I recognized which services were having the most issues and impact on the business and brought these to the attention of the outsourcer.  In response, additional training was provided to the Service Desk Agents.  In addition, I had to work with the end user community to define/rationalize the SLA’s around the various services that they were complaining about.

Over time, we developed a long list of  SLA’s for typical service requests.  I also created a portal where end users could go to track the status of their incident/service request.

Driving Outsourcing Excellence via Continual Service Improvement (CSI)

I set up a customer survey program, where a certain portion of end users would receive a customer satisfaction survey after their ticket was closed.  This information along with the Incident Management data served as the basis for CSI initiatives.

Tactically, I looked at the comments and worked with the outsourcer to address problematic trends via additional training and process improvements.  After awhile, the outsourcer became proactive about addressing these trends because they knew I would hold their feet to the fire at the end of the month!

Strategically, I worked with the IT governance team to develop a list of services that we were continuing to underperform on.  This list was built, in part, by the institution of an End User Forum whereby members of the business community could voice their concerns and ask questions.  The governance team would then create a formal report clarifying service improvement priorities and I’d work on that list with the outsourcer.  This did wonders for us when it came to improving communication/alignment with the business.

Lessons Learned

1.    We should have managed end user expectations more closely.  In fact, I think that the End User Forum should have been created prior to the outsourcing arrangement so that they could have their concerns voiced and become properly informed of how services were going to change.  This would have gone a long way in improving customer satisfaction post-implementation.

2.    We should have done more work when it came to verifying the effectiveness of the outsourcers tools/systems, like the Access Management portal.

3.    I learned a lot from monitoring the outsourcer.  In the future, I’m going to spend more time defining how the outsourcer will be paid.  For example, the outsourcer was paid for every request ticket closed.  We should have created the chargeback model to address only ‘successful’ transactions.

Click here for Part 1:  Introduction & ITSM Education

Click here for Part 3:  Tool Deployment & ITIL Adoption

Pete Wilder is a certified ITIL V2 Manager (Red Badge) ITSM professional with extensive cross industry experience covering Financial Services, Construction, Utilities and the Public Sector.

Results oriented and client focused with a long proven track record of service delivery and client satisfaction.  He is currently seeking a challenging opportunity to demonstrate his passion for providing service excellence and customer delight.

Michael Jagdeo (SCM, ITIL v2/v3) has an extensive background as an ITSM/ITIL enthusiast.  He has worked on placements in Singapore, Dubai, London, and across North America.  As Director at B Wyze Solutions, he manages relationships with clients like Johnson & Johnson, Toyota, Maple Leaf Foods, and the Government of Ontario.  Follow him on Twitter!

Related posts:

1. Implementing ITIL - Insight from Head of ITSM (Part 3: Tool Implementation & ITIL Adoption)
2. Implementing ITIL - Insight from Head of ITSM (Part 1: Education)
3. Maintaining Momentum for Your ITIL Program vs. The Service Catalog

Story Highlights:

·         Implementing ITIL Best Practices – where to start?  Reporting on Incident Management was harder than I thought.

·         The Town Hall – My opportunity to personally promote the ITSM tool implementation globally.

·         The Turning Point:  Our KPI Scorecard – Behavioral change!  Divisions positively battle it out for KPI supremacy.

·         Refining Metrics into Meaningful Key Performance Indicators – Aligning metrics with business need.

·         It’s More Than Just the Tool

·         A Note About Implementing ITIL – Momentum matters.

·         Culture, Culture, Culture!

·         Lessons Learned – How agile and user-friendly is your tool?

Implementing ITIL Best Practices – where to start?

I decided to implement ITIL.  Uhmm, where to start?  How do you go about evangelizing ITIL in a major organization?  Well, this is how it unfolded for me…

Senior Management wanted to know how we were doing from an Incident Management point of view.  Simple enough, right?

Yeah, right.  It was only when I started trying to produce Incident Management reports that I discovered problems like:

·         Analysts weren’t always logging incidents.

·         We had old-style Help Desks in Singapore, Zurich, London, and New York, and Sydney all with different ticketing systems.  Aggregating Incident Management data was a nightmare.

Without a single Incident Management tool, it was very difficult for us to measure, manage, and improve our performance.  Fortunately, the bank in its wisdom decided to implement an ITSM tool  across all divisions for Incident.

The Town Hall

I led the tool implementation for Incident & Change Management, in parallel, to 200 IT staff globally.  With parallel deployments, there was plenty of room for confusion.  To add another layer of complexity, the Change Management and Incident Management processes selected resided in different version of the tool!

I was asked to make a presentation about the tool implementation in a ‘Town Hall’ meeting, a global live video conference for the entire IT organization for the major hubs in London, New York, Zurich, Singapore and Sydney.  This was my chance to address everybody and give them a ‘heads up’ of what was coming down the line in the near future.  I had time to prepare my material and give a succinct presentation.  A couple of team members came up to me afterwards and congratulated me, which was nice!  It’s not often you get a pat on the back in IT.

The Turning Point:  Our KPI Scorecard

Again, senior management was looking for Incident Management reports.  Once the tool had been deployed to all locations, I was now in a position to start generating those reports from a single tool.  In hindsight, this was the turning point for us.  We started off with simple indicators like no. of incidents resolved/unresolved, no. of successful/unsuccessful changes by team, etc.

I aggregated the data to develop a 12-week rolling trend.   Picture a simple table with metrics on it, ranking each IT department against each other like sports teams on a leaderboard.  When I published the data, it got quite a bit of attention from the Team Leaders! 

The initial reaction from the TL’s was hostile and they resisted the data being published.  However, two things helped to ensure the initiative had staying power. 

1.    The initiative had the support of senior management. 

2.    Their performance on the scorecard would be included in their performance reviews!  

Instead of updating the ticketing system when it was convenient, the Team Leaders now had a meaningful reason to make sure that their staff was updating incident records every single time.  This is when the tool implementation and ITIL adoption resulted in an organization-wide behavioral change.

Refining Metrics into Meaningful Key Performance Indicators

Over time, I started to refine the data and produce meaningful KPI’s which helped us align with the business.  For example, instead of just keeping track of incident volumes, we started categorizing incidents based on Severity 1-3.  Therefore, we were able to show the business how well we were fixing their most important issues.  In addition, this data helped us deploy our continual service improvement forces more strategically.

For example, if the business was dissatisfied with the time in which we resolved Severity 1 incidents, they didn’t really care if we were meeting the formal SLA.  We would renegotiate the SLA and inject funding to meet their demands.

I was now able to measure our performance against the targets set by the Department Head.  Within a few weeks, IT colleagues were approaching me to find out more about how to improve their KPI’s.  What was this ITIL training all about?  Where could they get it?  Imagine the smile on my face!

It’s More Than Just the Tool

Did the tool deployment help us track incidents in a refined manner?  Yes.  Did it promote standardization in terms of how we provided IT services?  Yes.  But it ended up doing more than that. 

The KPI scoreboard created healthy competition by pitting department against department.  Furthermore, the tool drove our process development and maturity.  When configuring the tool we had the chance to define/redefine our processes.  In this way, the tool helped to drive optimal processes as well as the ethos and culture of our people.

Finally, People Knew Who I Was

When I started out, I was just a pest bothering infrastructure about best practices for Incident and Change Management.  The Team Leaders were busy guys with production issues to attend to.  But after the metrics leaderboard was produced, I became the go-to guy for ideas on how to improve their metrics, the hub for discussions around service improvement initiatives.

A Note About Implementing ITIL

When deploying ITIL, I think it’s important to deliver quick wins to demonstrate value.  With V3 there are more processes and boxes to fill with obvious headcount implications.  It’s a harder sell if you’re trying to get ITIL adopted from scratch.  With more mature organizations, there’s a good chance that many of the V3 processes already exist, just by different names.  What tends to be missing is a cohesive and overarching strategy to integrate the people, processes and tools into a seamless service, all while ensuring that there’s enough momentum created to convince the business to keep funding the initiative.

MJ:  Did you consult other methodologies/best practice frameworks in your role as Head of ITSM?

Pete:  As I’ve mentioned in Part 1, ITIL is not a panacea.  I believe that project management training such as Prince2/PMBOK and business process improvement training like Lean IT/Six Sigma/BPM have their part to play in providing IT services that are fit for purpose and fit for use. Having said all that, I cannot stress enough the importance of culture.

Culture, Culture, Culture!

The IT department’s people and their attitude towards customers are paramount to providing a quality IT service.  It’s perfectly possible to provide a quality IT service without formal IT processes in place provided the culture is right.  It might not be possible to measure it but the customer satisfaction would definitely be there.  On the other hand, if the culture isn’t customer-oriented, you can have world class processes and tools with metrics and KPIs coming out of your ears,  but the customer satisfaction ratings will still be low.

Lessons Learned

1.    When an end user makes a request and it has to be escalated, he/she will want to know the status of the request.  When you have an informal, internal, old-style Helpdesk, the need to stay informed is fulfilled when the end user walks over to Joe Helpdesk and gets a status update.  However, this need was not addressed when we moved to the outsourced, global service desk.  Next time, I’ll make sure that I implement the SharePoint solution that I created sooner, which helped end users peek into our ITSM tool and find out the status of their request.

2.    I wish that we had a SAAS tool with a great GUI when we were selecting our tool.  The tool we selected  was expensive and cumbersome to update, especially when it came to defining/changing processes.  With SAAS-type ITSM tools, I don’t have to wait for a centralized IT engineer to update the tool; I can configure it myself.  The benefit of a good GUI means you can roll it out to end users and give them the option to create and track incidents/service requests (thereby promoting self-service).

3.    Without a doubt, in the future I’m going to take a bottom-up approach to the ITIL Adoption by involving the line teams/managers from the outset.  The Team Leaders were initially upset when I rolled out the KPI Scoreboard.  To avoid this, I will announce in advance the intention to gather metrics and publish reports alluding to their performance.  I want to ensure that I keep the same competitive but fun edge to the initiative.  Perhaps I’ll offer a monthly bottle of champagne to the best performing team.

Click here for Part 1:  Introduction & ITSM Education

Click here for Part 2:  Outsourcing

Pete Wilder is a certified ITIL V2 Manager (Red Badge) ITSM professional with extensive cross industry experience covering Financial Services, Construction, Utilities and the Public Sector.

Results oriented and client focused with a long proven track record of service delivery and client satisfaction.  He is currently seeking a challenging opportunity to demonstrate his passion for providing service excellence and customer delight.

Michael Jagdeo (SCM, ITIL v2/v3) has an extensive background as an ITSM/ITIL enthusiast.  He has worked on placements in Singapore, Dubai, London, and across North America.  As Director at B Wyze Solutions, he manages relationships with clients like Johnson & Johnson, Toyota, Maple Leaf Foods, and the Government of Ontario.  Follow him on Twitter!

Related posts:

1. Implementing ITIL - Insight from Head of ITSM (Part 1: Education)
2. Implementing ITIL - Insight from Head of ITSM (Part 2: Outsourcing)
3. Maintaining Momentum for Your ITIL Program vs. The Service Catalog

The message ITIL is promoting around Functions and Processes is that YOU NEED BOTH for successful implementation of ITIIL.

•    You need the STABILITY of solid Functional areas so that people can specialize and work together in teams. The negative side effect is the formation of organizational “silos” where people don’t know or care what is happening in other areas.

•    You need the FLEXIBILITY of Processes to coordinate and control across multiple teams and departments so that people know and care about what is happening in other areas. The side affect is to bridge the “silos” formed by specialized functional areas.

For a complete listing of ITIL functions and processes, link to my earlier blog: Taking the ITIL ® Version 3 Foundation Bridge Course: What’s the difference between v2 and v3?

Related posts:

1. ITIL ® Version 3 Foundation Exam Study Nugget: Process Models
2. Taking the ITIL ® Version 3 Foundation Bridge Course: What’s the difference between v2 and v3
3. Continual Service Improvement in Action: Adapting our Approach to the May 2009 Update ITIL ® Version 3 Foundation Exam

1. Improved Business Alignment.  ITIL v2 was heavily focused on improving processes.  In contrast, ITIL v3 is centered on a service lifecycle approach to help IT departments focus on providing business value.
2. Consolidation of Lifecycle Books. The ITIL v2 library was presented in seven core books: Service Support, Service Delivery, ICT Infrastructure Management, Planning to Implement Service Management, Application Management, The Business Perspective and Security Management. The ITIL v3 library is now presented in five core books: Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation and Continual Service Improvement.
3. Focus on Continual Improvement. ITIL v2 introduced a best practice improvement process called the Service Improvement Plan.  ITIL v3  expands this best practice method and introduces a new book which structures a seven-step improvement process as follows:

a) Define what you should measure
b) Define what you can measure;
c) Gather the data;
d) Process the data;
e) Analyze the data;
f) Presenting and using the data
g) Implement the corrective action.

For those who are currently implementing v2 you don’t have to start over.  Keep on going and just be aware of what’s new and what processes are applicable to your organization.

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About Judi Paré

Judi Paré has over 20 years of experience in the Customer Service and IT Sales Industry. She also possesses technical credentials as a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and Novell & Citrix Certified Sales Person, as well as an ITIL Service Manager. Furthermore, she was part of a team that created, organized, managed and delivered national- and international-level ITSM conferences and major events across North America and around the world.

Her accomplishments include the development, building, implementation and management of a Service Desk for a field operations infrastructure, consisting of 700 employees across North America. She has also managed teams of up to 30 help desk staff and sales consultants. In addition she has worked in the banking, energy and airline industries among others. She was recently re-elected as the Director of Events for itSMF Canada, where she manages more than 70 regional events each year, including the upcoming National Road Show. She has also been on the Board of Directors of itSMF Canada since early 2008.

In addition to these impressive professional accomplishments, she is also on the Fundraising Management Team for the Sound of Music Festival in Burlington, Ontario.

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Judi Paré

Ms. Paré brings with her over 20 years of experience in the Customer Service and IT Sales Industry, and possesses an excellent combination of communication and analytical skills, along with rich experience in the vendor community. But in addition to technical know-how, she’s a great “people person,” making her a stellar all-round addition to the B Wyze team.

Ms. Paré’s presence will further establish B Wyze as an industry leader in IT training and eLearning by expanding the firm’s global outreach to the wider IT community. She will also lead the design, build and management of a new innovative global IT community to be launched in September 2009.

With solid technical credentials as a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and Novell & Citrix Certified Sales Person, as well as an ITIL Service Manager, Ms. Paré’s most recent work experience was as the Vendor Relationship Manager at an IT Service Management firm, Pink Elephant. While there, she was part of a team that created, organized, managed and delivered national- and international-level ITSM conferences and major events across North America and around the world.

Her work with vendors has enriched her already considerable understanding of the industry. She also has deep experience in eLearning and instructional design for adult learners, having provided eLearning solutions ranging from stand-alone CBT-WBT through distance learning and hybrid courses all the way to full-scale virtual universities.

Her accomplishments include the development, building, implementation and management of a Service Desk for a field operations infrastructure, consisting of 700 employees across North America. She has also managed teams of up to 30 help desk staff and sales consultants. In addition she has worked in the banking, energy and airline industries among others. She was recently re-elected as the Director of Events for itSMF Canada, where she manages more than 70 regional events each year, including the upcoming National Road Show. She has also been on the Board of Directors of itSMF Canada since early 2008.

In addition to these impressive professional accomplishments, she is also on the Fundraising Management Team for the Sound of Music Festival in Burlington, Ontario.

“I feel this is a really exciting place to be right now,” said Paré. “I will be able to use all of my skills: customer service, technical and creative, along with my ability to build relationships. B Wyze is going to radically change the way that IT professionals relate to each other and build a community unlike that of any other industry.”

Rick Beaudry, co-CEO of B Wyze, is very pleased with her presence on the team. “Judi is going to be a leader in an exciting business transformation initiative at B Wyze … we are excited to see where it goes!”

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Given the fact that these three business functions are primarily people driven we can safely say that IT is more aggressive as a business unit to outsource than the rest of a company. Actually, let me restate that for those of us in the IT business: The Help Desk is two times less strategic and valuable than those other functions!

Why should companies view the Help Desk as more important and strategic than Human Resources, or Sales & Marketing? What has IT done in the last 5-10 years to put strategic value on the Help Desk? Training? Not so much; as ask any Help Desk Manager if they are spending more today than five years ago on training their support staff.

Ah, it must be technology that IT is spending money on for support. Don’t think so, just look at the overall IT spend over the last 3 years, as the downward trend continues. I know, it is more resources! Again, ask any Help Desk Manager if they have increased their staff to meet the business demand?

Yet in all of this most Help Desk Managers will tell you that work has increased, and volumes are up. With the exception of this “little recession” we are in, year over year volume increases exist in most support organizations. Ask any Help Desk Manager how the last upgrade went or configuration change in the network over the weekend…

I often ask, will it ever get better for the Help Desk? Here are a few reasons why it doesn’t look good;

1. At a macro level we are shifting to a contractor based workforce. By 2016 it is estimated that over 40% of the workforce will be contactors. All commodity based positions will be outsourced or eliminated (If you didn’t figure this out, most Help Desk work is considered commodity based by the business) and only Knowledge Workers with specific skill sets will work within companies. Don’t believe me? Ask where your receptionist is. Most mid-sized and small companies have eliminated that position already.

2. Gartner estimates that over 40% of IT budgets will be controlled by the business in the next couple of years. Hmmm, if I am a business unit leader am I going to spend money on Help Desk that even IT hasn’t invested in (see my points above), or am I going to find someone else that can do it better and cheaper so I can use my time and money better? Take a guess!

3. The Help Desk value to a company has remained finite for over a decade. Ask a Help Desk Manager what their service level agreements were 5 years ago, and what they are today. Chances are they are same. While the metrics may have increased and the Help Desk answers the phone faster the reality is that most Help Desks have not updated their service level commitments to match what the business needs. Case in point: why doesn’t the Help Desk answer 80% of their emails within 30 seconds? They do this for their phone calls, and even chats.

Whether you are for or against outsourcing you have to be objective and look at other factors affecting companies today. The reality is that in most companies the Help Desk continues to drift further from the center of the organization.  There really is no Single Point of Blame (SPOB) as this is really the evolution of business more than the Help Desk having a target on its back. Don’t worry Help Desk managers; the CIO right now has a bigger target on their back, as most analysts have them extinct within companies within five years.

Hey, look at the bright side… Airline companies today outsource 67% of significant maintenance work of their aircraft. Hey Help Desk, you are over two times more strategic in value than those useless Ten ton tin cans in the sky! Enjoy your next flight, and for some comedic relief on outsourcing, click on this video.

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