Skip to main content

The Best of Service Strategy, Part 4

Image
By
Cycles
Originally Published December 4, 2012


As we move into the waning of the year in the northern hemisphere and the waxing of the year in the southern hemisphere, it becomes time to reflect on the meaning and understanding of the idea of cycles. The yearly cycle of seasons was long ago recognized by early mankind as playing a significant role in culture and society. Planting, growth, maturity and harvesting each set the day to day activities of peoples around the globe throughout a given year. This is no less true when it comes to the lifecycle of services and the lifecycle of Service Management. Both play a significant part in the culture and functioning of an organization.

A cycle is defined as “any complete round or series of occurrences that repeats or is repeated.” This definition holds true for service management and IT services. When it comes to providing value through IT services and governing, controlling and managing those services, we do not exist in a “once and done” or “set and forget” world. We live in what I call a“rinse and repeat” world based on ongoing cycles. The key principle of a cycle is that it is repeated (often over and over again into the future with no planned end). For IT organizations this calls for us to look at things in the long term (cyclical) in addition to the short term (deliverables and results).
As part of Service Strategy an IT organization should incorporate long term cyclical perspectives into the vision, mission, goals and objectives of providing value to the business and end customers. There are daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and even decade long cycles that should be incorporated into the planning for the future. The most straightforward approach to cyclical planning is the Deming Cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act). Incorporating the PDCA cycle into planning, an organization can set the tone and approach for all cyclical activities throughout the lifecycle of a service. Yes we are talking about using cycles inside of other cycles! The idea is that the effort of providing value to customers and the business through a service lifecycle is never done. It simply revolves back to the beginning of the cycle.
As a result, the phrase “we want to be evolutionary, not revolutionary” is really a misconception. A revolution is a cycle (one complete rotation of the cyclical activities). Evolution is the long term effects of a series of repeated revolutions (cycles). So to be evolutionary, an organization must be revolutionary (or cyclical) first! This is one of the main concepts from Continual Service Improvement—gradual change over time (revolutions and cycles), lead to more significant results in the long run (evolution).
By seeing that ITSM and the best practices frameworks promote a cyclical view in both short term and long term thinking, an organization can replace ad hoc, on-the-fly work and results with repeatable, standardized and consistent results for the business and the customer.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Four Service Characteristics

By
Recently I came across several articles by researchers and experts that laid out definitions and characteristics of services. ITIL provides us with a definition that can help drive the creation of value-laden services: A means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks. An area that ITIL is not so clear is in terms of service characteristics. Several researchers and experts put forth that services have four basic characteristics (IHIP): Intangibility—Services are the results of actions not things. They have no physical presence and represent a logical set of elements. One way to think of service is “work done for others.”  Heterogeneity—Also known as “variability”; services are unique items because of the mechanisms used to deliver services, which is people. Because the people element adds variability, the service is variable. This holds true, especially for the value proposition—not eve...
Post a Comment
Read more

What Is A Service Offering?

By
The ITIL 4 Best Practice Guidance defines a “Service Offering” as a description of one or more services designed to address the needs of a target customer or group.   As a service provider, we can’t stop there!   We must know what the contracts of our service offering are and be able to put them into context as required by the customer.     Let’s explore the three elements that comprise a Service Offering. A “Service Offering” may include:     Goods, Access to Resources, and Service Actions 1. Goods – When we think of “Goods” within a service offering these are the items where ownership is transferred to the consumer and the consumer takes responsibility for the future use of these goods.   Example of goods that are being provided in the offering – If this is a hotel service then toiletries or chocolates are yours to take with you.   You the consumer own these and they are yours to take with you.      ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is the difference between Process Owner, Process Manager and Process Practitioner?

By
This article was originally published in 2015. With the Introduction of ITIL 4, some of this best practice has changed. See  ITIL 4 and the Evolving Role of Roles . Updated Definitions in ITIL 4: Process Owner: In ITIL 4, the concept of 'processes' has expanded into broader 'practices.' Consequently, the Process Owner is now often referred to as the 'Practice Owner.' This individual is accountable for the overall design, performance, integration, and improvement of a specific practice within the organization. They ensure that the practice achieves its intended outcomes and aligns with the organization's objectives. Process Manager: Now commonly known as the 'Practice Manager' in ITIL 4, this role is responsible for the day-to-day management of the practice. The Practice Manager ensures that activities are carried out as intended, manages resources assigned to the practice, and oversees the practitioners performing the work. Process Practit...
Post a Comment
Read more