Fundamentals of IT Service Management - Know Your Business - Part Two

I’ve put together some basic tips for getting to know your business. In some ways it is easier to go into a new role and implement ITIL as you won’t have any pre-conceived ideas about the business units you don’t work in or have regular contact with. If you have worked in the business for some time you may have plenty of knowledge but you need to try to put this to one side and view the business as an outsider. This isn’t easy and is probably one of the main reasons (apart from lack of manpower) why businesses bring in an external consultant to help implement ITIL.

Getting to know your business is part audit, part awareness campaign. It needs to be planned carefully as it is very easy to spend more time than is really necessary. You need to be thorough but set yourself a series of realistic deadlines and stick to them where possible. A small amount of slippage now in order to gain a full picture may save time later in the project but don’t overdo it as it is very difficult to catch up during implementation.

Once you have completed your project plan you will need to begin to identify the key staff in each business unit. When doing this it is important to get a good cross-section across all staff levels. Talking to the key stakeholders in each business unit is obviously important as they will be able to give you an overview of the business unit activities. However, in order to understand how the business unit really operates, you will also need to interview those at lower levels. This is key to the success of your project and is often missed by the consultants.

To carry out your audit you will need to devise a questionnaire or at least a series of relevant questions to identify the key business requirements of each unit and the services provided to each unit by IT. Don’t fall into the trap of e-mailing the questionnaire to each recipient and expecting them to complete it to your satisfaction but make sure that you work with them, either individually or in groups. By working together on the questionnaire you will significantly improve the quality of data collected.

Finally, when talking to the key stakeholders in the business, don’t just talk to them alone, get them together in the same room or on a tele/web conference. They should meet regularly but it might just be the first time they have all been together in the same meeting. Getting them to communicate can only benefit the business as a whole. Don’t let them forget it was you who suggested it!

Say Hello to Your ITIL Implementation Team… Or is it just you?

The most obvious point about assembling your ITIL Implementation Team is that the size of the team will depend largely upon the size of your business. Large corporations are likely to need large implementation teams but, if you work for a small or medium sized business, you may find that you are expected to deliver the project alone. Don’t worry about this, you may have more people helping than you realise.

With ITIL-based Service Management the one rule that needs to be reiterated more than any other is that of “Communication, Communication, Communication” and, luckily for you, this communication travels in both directions. This means that you actually have a very large team at your disposal because just about everyone you talk to in the business will have a useful contribution.

It might be the Managing Director explaining exactly which elements of the business are of the most strategic importance, allowing you to give them priority when defining SLAs. On the other hand it might be the new graduate appointee complaining that he couldn’t use his PC on day one because he hadn’t been provided with a username, giving a heavy hint that the new starters process (if such a thing exists) isn’t working. Whatever the scenario you will quickly see how much value can be gained from talking to your colleagues in all areas of the business.

So you’re not on you own at all are you?

Fundamentals of IT Service Management – Know Your Business - Part One

“Know your business” might be a phrase that is over-used these days but I cannot stress how important it is when planning an effective Service Management strategy. An in depth knowledge of every part of the business is essential if you are to succeed. So how do you acquire this knowledge?

The most important step is to raise awareness of yourself and your aims to as wide an audience as possible. You should already have sponsorship for your project from a senior business leader so use their influence to set up meetings with as many key stakeholders as possible. When you talk to them make sure that you come out understanding not only how their part of the business operates but also the key issues they think are hampering their ability to deliver. By doing this you can begin to put together your Service Improvement Programme and ensure that it is targeted to real business requirements. You should also have gained their trust and support as someone who is willing to listen to them and act on their behalf.

Of course the above assumes that your ITIL® or other Service Management project has already been agreed by the business. In most large organisations this will certainly be the case but, in smaller companies, you may have decided upon the need yourself and you then need to sell the concept to the business. Once again the obvious person to target is a key business leader such as the Managing Director or Senior Partner. Nowadays it is highly likely that he or she will have heard something about ITIL® but you may still struggle to convince them that it is worthwhile for a small business. Remember that ITIL® will scale up or down to any size of business and don’t give up. One good strategy to use if you find yourself up against stiff resistance is to look for quick, inexpensive wins based on Service Management principles e.g. draw up your own Service Catalogue and define a few SLAs for delivery of key services. Once presented to the management they will almost certainly begin to see that you are onto something that will benefit both them and the business and, if nothing else, it will get them talking about the services you have defined and the Service Levels you are proposing.