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!
