ITSM Professor

Every organization that delivers products or services will need to shift their ideas for how they plan, build, test and deploy a service that is resilient and for one that truly delivers value for both customers and the internal business.  Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery and Continuous deployment are all supported by Continuous testing.    Continuous anything will not be assured of success without Continuous Testing.   Continuous testing is the process of executing automated tests as part of the software delivery pipeline to obtain immediate feedback on the business risks associated with a software release candidate. Shifting left ensures that the test takes place early, up front in the pipeline of delivery, NOT after the development.  Testing after development is too late because then we do not have the time, money or resources available to re-engineer, re-design or to re-develop appropriately.   When we test after the development of an application the best we can do wit…

The purpose of the (IT) Service Provider is to serve the needs of the business.  This is carried out by providing services to the business which are then engaged to provide some form of value to both the business and the Service Provider. Often the value delivered is less than optimal because the Service Provider and the business have different perspectives, culture goals, objectives and incentives.
The Business-Provider Alignment Model (BPAM) provides a framework for being able to analyze and understand these differences between the provider and its business partners. By engaging the BPAM we can begin to surface dialog about the relationship between the provider and the business and begin constructive discussions about the partnership that needs to be created. It does this by allowing each party to exam the four key elements of alignment – business environment within which the business operates, strategic context for the business, provider strategy and the provider portfolio of invest…

Today every business is an internet business.  The performance of any business is directly related to the capability and performance of IT.  Therefore, we must all take cyber security seriously.  
Let’s start with a botnet by breaking down the word itself.  The first syllable, “bot” is short for robot. The second syllable “net” is from the word network.  A botnet is formed when a hacker writes a computer program that will breach security on a single computer.  It does not stop there.  This computer program called a virus has the capability to take over that computer that it just hacked into. It does not stop there either because this is not good enough for the cybercriminal.  With a botnet, the virus will move from one computer to another, take control of each and then connect all of the disparate computers into a powerful system or network of control.  This is known as a botnet.
Cyber criminals are control freaks.  They will sometimes create a virus that controls thousands or even mil…

In today’s business climate it is imperative that the IT Service Provider not only understand what the business strategy is, but be able to initiate and deliver services that not only support it, but help to shape it.  This can be successfully accomplished by ensuring that the service portfolio remain aligned to the business needs.  Over time these requirements and demand for services change and mature.  The Business / Provider Relationship is integral in keeping the demand and supply of these services and capabilities appropriately and continuously aligned.  One of the tools engaged for this task is the “Business-Provider Maturity Model”.
The Business-Provider Maturity Model is a way to help surface and understand the growth in maturity of business demand for Provider services and capabilities, and a Provider organization’s maturity of supply capabilities needed to both satisfy and shape that demand. Many maturity assessments are very IT centric assessing the ability of the Service Pr…

ITIL Practitioner focuses on nine guiding service management principles that distil the core message to facilitate improvement and success at all levels.   The principles not only guide providers who want to adopt a good approach for successful products and services but can also be applied to ensure our day to day success.  Yes, that’s right!  These principles could be applied to buying a car, ordering food and more.    
Example:  I want to purchase a car.
Guiding Principles
1) Focus on VALUE-  I need a car but I don’t want to exceed my budget for this.  Value for me means awesome performance and that this car looks amazing. It must be a good fit and be cost effective. Good luck, right?   Value is determined by price but also by performance and perception.
2) Design for Experience –  Here I would be looking for something that is durable, has lots of techno gadgets built into the dash and if it is luxurious  when I get into it… even better.   If it just looks good but is not functional th…

The Business Relationship Maturity Model (BRMM) is a way to help surface and understand the maturity of the relationship between a Provider (internal IT organization) and their Business Partner. This is not about the maturity of the BRM role or process.  This is about the maturity of the Provider/Business Partner relationship and therefore must take into account the perspectives of each party. The BRMM is made up of 5 levels, each with a descriptive tag, and represents a relationship maturity continuum. Level 5 is the highest and described as strategic partnering, Level 4 is trusted advisor, Level 3 is service provider, Level 2 is order taker and Level 1 being the lowest or ad hoc.
Level 1 Ad Hoc: From the Business Perspective (BP) it’s, can’t even get my providers attention, results cost too much, delivers too little and takes too long.   From the Provider’s Perspective (PP) it’s: I’m too busy to think about anything other than I’m too busy.   Characteristics of relationship (COR) ar…