A process is doomed if you ever consider it done! Unlike an audit that examines evidence to
determine compliance, a process assessment is conducted to evaluate and
organizations strengths and weaknesses.
The assessor will ensure that this baseline is utilized to identify
process improvement opportunities that ensure business outcomes.
The ITIL Process
Maturity Framework (PMF) was defined specifically for ITSM processes and
consists of five levels of maturity.
·
Level
One – Initial
At this level
there is not a defined process, there are some procedures and few results are
retained.
·
Level
Two – Repeatable
At this level of
maturity there is a recognized process but the objectives are not clear and
targets are not formalized.
·
Level
Three – Defined
It is at this
level of maturity that the process is defined and documented and there are
agreed upon targets.
·
Level
Four – Managed
A managed
process at this level is well defined, interfaces and integrates with other
processes and objectives for measurement are based upon business goals.
·
Level
Five – Optimized
Very few processes reach this level
of maturity where the process in institutionalized within the organization,
strategic goals are aligned with business goals and the process is optimized to
dynamically improve as the demand and business needs shift.
These are brief descriptions for each level and in and of
themselves do not ensure that your process has reached that level of maturity.
In order to assess fully that your process has reached a specific level the
assessor must utilize the checklist of characteristics or criteria to determine
the true level of maturity within your organization. Assessments are generally comprised of
interviews with key stakeholders in the process including the customer, the
practitioners, the business representatives and more to determine if the criteria
in the assessment checklist is met for each level.
This is a
great book for information on designing and reengineering processes for IT
Service Management and has a lot of information and guidance for ongoing
process improvement.
If you are trying to establish your process maturity,
information and sample reports along with additional frameworks such as CMMI
and IPAF for performing self-assessments are offered via ITSMF International: http://itsmfi.org/files/ITIL%20Process%20Assessment%20Framework%20-%20MacDonald.pdf
The assessor could be an internal staff member but caution
is needed to ensure skillset, knowledge and objectivity. You will have to agree the scope of --
process only -- people and process -- people, process and technology/tools --
or perhaps a comprehensive assessment including people, process, technology,
culture and organizational structure is in order. The time allocated to the project will be
determined by the scope.
If you are interested in developing this skill set, training
and certification for Certified Process Design Engineers can be found at: http://www.itsmacademy.com/-strse-111/ITIL-process-training/Detail.bok
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