The Best of Service Transition, Part 2

Transition Planning and Support

Originally Published on February 28, 2012

I am often asked on how to manage transition. Most organizations find that there are a lot of moving parts. What happens here effects all stake holders and if expectations aren’t set correctly the reputation of the IT organization can often be at risk and that it can be difficult to meet the changing needs of the business in a cost effective and timely manner. In order for us to be able to effectively meet these challenges we should start with the big picture process of Transition Planning and Support:

The purpose and objective of the transition planning and support process is to provide overall planning for service transitions and to coordinate the resources that are required. It does that with the following activities:
Plan and coordinate resources to deliver the requirements of service strategy that have been translated in service design and insure they are effectively delivered in service operation.
Coordinate actions across projects, suppliers, service teams and time constraints.
Establish services within predicted costs, quality and time estimates.
Ensure all teams adopt a common framework of standard, reusable, integrated planning and support practices.
Provide clear and comprehensive plans that align business change projects with IT service transition plans.
Manage and control risks.
Report on issues, risks and any deviations to stakeholders.
Carry out CSI on service transition activities.

The scope should include:

Maintaining standards, policies and models.
Provide guidance for each major change or new service.
Coordinate resources to enable multiple transition projects to bemanaged at the same time
Prioritize conflicting requirements for limited resources.
Plan and budget for future requirements.
Coordinate with program and project management.
Carry out CSI of planning and support activities

By having effective transition planning and support, we can greatly improve the service provider’s ability to handle the ever changing needs of the business. We can increase the effectiveness of being able to deliver high volumes of changes and releases across all projects and programs. There by increasing the value of the service that we are delivering to our customers.

Comments

Four Service Characteristics

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...

What Is A Service Offering?

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. ...

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

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...

Search