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Showing posts with the label Frameworks

Filling the Process and Framework Skills Gap

By Donna Knapp For many organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed one of two ends of a spectrum: poorly defined processes, or overly-rigorous processes. At either end of the spectrum, these organizations likely struggled to adapt as the pandemic impacted our lives. For those with poorly defined processes, things were probably pretty chaotic. For those with overly-rigorous processes, things were most certainly taking way too long. Even organizations with well-defined processes felt, and continue to feel, pressure to speed up the flow of work, minimize toil, and automate processes where possible. To do this, they must develop a culture of continuous improvement and learning. Continuous improvement is an ongoing effort to improve all aspects of an organization; its people, processes, tools, products, services, and experiences… all of which are tightly integrated. Whether improvements are large or small, what matters most is that they are constant. The highest performing organizations a

How to Move and SHIFT the CULTURE!

There are three core frameworks that can help us to shift the way we think, do work, and ultimately shape the behaviors and values that are the heartbeat of our organizations - CULTURE! Each of these models can be used to identify, analyze, and move an organization to new heights, new ways of collaborating and increasing speed and value for service consumers. Models for learning how to "Shift the Culture!” Erickson Model – Identifies the stages of psychosocial development  The Erickson Model helps as a starting point for “Where are we now?”. Westrum Model – Focus here is on the organizational types :  - Pathological  - Bureaucratic  - Generative  The Westrum Model helps providers get detail on the behaviors within their organization and teams.  Laloux’s Culture Model – Frederic Laloux’s model provides a clear picture of how culture may evolve in an organization. Laloux expands the concepts of the two previous models. The model comes f

ITIL® 4 vs. 'The Source'​

Part of ITIL 4 ’s value proposition is that it embraces newer ways of working, such as Agile, Lean and DevOps. I was recently asked whether there was a compelling argument for individuals to go to ITIL for information about these approaches, vs. going to ‘the source’. Here’s my answer and I’d love to hear yours. 3) What source? Yes. There is a massive amount of information available about these topics. There are many ‘definitive’ sources of knowledge. For lifelong learners such as myself, these sources are a joy. They can also be overwhelming and at times a challenge to apply. A search for information about Lean, for example, may take you down a manufacturing route which then requires translation. Looking to learn more about Agile? Which method? Scrum, SAFe, extreme programming … you get the point. 2) The source is evolving. As an example, DevOps practitioners often pride themselves in the fact that there is no definitive body of knowledge; rather, there is an evolving col

ITSM, ITIL and DevOps – an education process

Originally posted on The AXELOS Blog - by @itsm_Donna In IT service management (ITSM) education is critical: it helps organizations get a shared understanding of terms and concepts and a proven body of knowledge such as ITIL® . The IT industry is rife with buzzwords carrying varied interpretations, so education helps get everyone on the same page. But while ITSM professionals may well understand the “what?” and “why? – for example why to minimize risk or restore services ASAP – today it’s the how that needs to evolve and change. And while there is always value in education, achieving certification creates a different level of engagement: people get involved and – critically – seek to understand. Getting certified allows you to represent your competence and understanding of the concepts you’ve learned. After that, you need to get out there and apply them to benefit your organization and add to your credibility and your baseline of experience. Today’s hiring managers are looking for th

Process Design

I looked up “Process Design” and found: “The activity of determining the workflow , equipment needs and implementation requirements for a particular process . Process design typically uses a number of tools including flowcharting, process simulation software and scale models.”  Hmm… that is good but “So What”?  Why should a service provider care about process?  I have heard some say that process is secondary to automation.  Okay, sounds good, but then we have to consider, “What are we going to automate?” Every Certified Process Design Engineer knows that when it comes to process we are talking about activity.  The key is that we need just enough process and just enough governance to meet requirements.  Process design contributes to our ability to balance speed and agility with stability.   Having good process design allows for a smooth service belt that delivers value to customers and also gives a service provider the ability to meet business and customer demand at a

Continual Service Improvement (CSI) and Survival

The systems, the processes, and the culture that worked for IT service providers 20 years ago will not work in today’s environment.  No big news here!  Most IT support staff will agree. The truth is that the same could be said for systems or methods that service providers used five years ago or even last year.  The dynamic and rapid change of business requirements demands that a service provider be dynamic and continuously adapt to evolving business needs and outcomes. When you get into your car and turn the key or push the start button, most would expect that the car is going to start.  You might also expect that it has wheels, an engine, and all the elements necessary to drive this car, right?   This is the same expectation that a business operation expects.  When a service is provided the business expects that service is going to have all the working elements to ensure that it does what they need. The customer expects that the service is available and secure for day to day oper

Which Service Management Framework is the Best?

Do you assume that all IT service management programs must adhere to the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL)?    In truth, there are several other frameworks available and efforts underway.     Most are variations of or are rooted in ITIL but may apply to a specific environment or context.   Some are very comprehensive, while others advocate a “lighter” approach.    A service lifecycle is an ongoing theme.    None are meant to be highly prescriptive. Which is right for you?   Of course the answer is “it depends” on your goals, resources and business models.   To meet the needs of organizations that were overwhelmed by the enormity of the 2000+ pages of the IT Infrastructure Library, renowned ITSM expert Malcolm Fry published “ITIL Lite”.   This approach  makes service management more realistic for organizations with fewer resources by focusing on the essentials.        ITIL Lite is an official ITIL publication.   ( http://www.theitillitebook.com ). For years, Microsoft has  also

Dr. Deming's Cycle

Many of you have probably heard of Dr. William Edwards Deming. But how many of you really know who he was and why he is so important to IT Service Management and ITIL? I mean going beyond the contribution of the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle to Continual Service Improvement? What was the most important contribution of Dr Deming and why should we care so much about his other efforts? According to Wikipedia, Dr. Deming (1900-1993) was a statistician, professor and consultant by trade, hailing originally from Iowa. He went on to earn degrees from the Universities of Wyoming and Colorado, and a Ph.D. from Yale University. One interesting fact of which most people are not aware was his relationship to Walter Shewhart, the originator of the ideas of statistical process control. In fact the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle was originally an idea generated by Shewhart (and is sometimes referred to as the Shewhart Cycle, rather than the Deming Cycle). We must remember though, Dr. Deming’s contributions go m

Evolution of the Balanced Scorecard

The balanced scorecard (BSC) has evolved from simple metrics and performance reporting into a strategic planning and management system. It is no longer a passive reporting document which shows pretty pictures. It has transformed into a framework that not only provides performance measurements but helps analysts identify gaps and continual service improvement programs. It enables our senior staff to truly execute their strategic goals and objectives. Dr. R. Kaplan & David Norton did extensive research and documentation on this framework in the early 1990’s. In Kaplan & Norton’s writing, the four steps required to design a BSC are as follows: Translating the vision into operational goals; Communicating the vision and link it to individual performance; Business planning; index setting Feedback and learning, and adjusting the strategy accordingly. In the late 1990’s an updated version on the traditional balanced scorecard was introduced called the Third Generation Balanced S

eTOM and ITIL

Throughout the ITIL classes that I teach many students have asked about other frame works and how they differ from and work in conjunction with   the ITIL framework.   The framework that I will be comparing with ITIL today is eTOM (Enhanced Telecom Operations Map)   The Enhanced Telecom Operations Map is a business process model framework intended to define a common language and a complete activity mapping and classification for use by service providers within the telecommunications industry.   eTOM provides the enterprise processes required to properly run the business of a telecom service provider and break them down to different levels of detail. eTOM is intended to be more formal when compared to IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) since it specifies a process framework composed by processes typically necessary for service providers to plan, deploy and operate their services. The eTOM Business Process Framework has been widely accepted by the telecommunication industry as a stand

CPDE and Six Sigma

I was asked recently how Certified Process Design Engineer® (CPDE) and Six Sigma might work together. I was also asked to clarify the value of holding a Certified Process Design Engineer® certification. To deal with these questions we must first clarify the difference between CPDE® and Six Sigma. First CPDE® is a role and a set of methods and approaches for that role to use in defining, designing and implementing strong IT Service Management processes. Six Sigma is a quality framework based on the work of men like W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran and Philip Crosby (the Big Three of the quality movement) and developed out of Motorola’s efforts to improve quality. The two are not at odds, rather they complement each other. A CPDE has the skills to look at an organization, understand its culture, its approach to process and quality and its need for improvement. Once this assessment is done (using tools like the ITIL Process Maturity Framework, or CMMI) the CPDE would identify which el