There are some misconceptions about ITIL® 4 and its use of the term
‘practice’ vs. ‘process’ as a component of its recently introduced service
value system.
To learn more about ITSM Academy's ITIL 4 Courses please visit our website.
One misconception is that processes aren’t important
anymore. Another is that organizations think they must completely redesign
their tools in order to accommodate this change. Neither is true.
Let’s begin by taking a look at how ITIL 4 defines these terms.
Process: a set of interrelated or interacting
activities that transform inputs into outputs [to accomplish an objective]. Processes define the sequence of
actions and their dependencies.
Practice: a set of organizational resources designed
for performing work or accomplishing an objective. Practices include resources
based on the four dimensions of service management which include: organizations and
people, information and technology, partners and suppliers, and value streams
and – wait for it – processes.
Both processes and practices focus on achieving an objective.
Processes define specifically how to achieve that objective using
well-defined, standardized procedures. Practices look more holistically at the
capabilities needed to achieve that objective.
With processes, the goal is to continually improve
efficiency and effectiveness by defining specifically how work gets done. A
good thing…sometimes.
With practices, the goal is to create a learning
organization where people are continually refining their capabilities in areas
such as analysis and observation, decision making and leveraging all available
sources of information. A good thing…always.
You can think about this as a continuum. On one end you have
clearly defined processes, supported by structured information, that spell out
– step-by-step – how to perform a set of activities. On the other end, you have a
more loosely defined approach to work that leaves the specifics up to the
people who have the knowledge and skills to do that work.
There are times when processes are appropriate. But they can
also get in the way. Let’s walk through an example. If a user contacts the
service desk to report an incident, it is absolutely critical to have a process
that defines how the contact is handled and how the incident gets recorded.
This process enables the contact to be handled efficiently (thus putting the
user at ease) and ensures the structured information needed to handle the incident is captured (thus preventing a bunch of rework downstream).
Where we go from there, however, may vary. Sometimes it’s
clear how to handle the incident, whether at the service desk or by escalating
it to the appropriate support team. With complex systems, however, it’s not always
that easy. If the failing component is unclear, using a traditional tiered
escalation approach (and possibly having the incident bounce around for a while
until it lands in the right team) will only elongate the process. Here’s where
an approach such as swarming comes in to play. Swarming involves many different
stakeholders working together until it becomes clear how to proceed. It’s an
approach that is more loosely defined and that relies on skilled professionals using
their knowledge and experience to make judgment calls about what to do and who
should do it.
If the notion of ‘loosely defined’ scares you, rest assured
it doesn’t mean there aren’t ground rules for how work is handled. Here’s where
principles-based thinking comes into play. But principles-based thinking is a
conversation for another day. Back to practices and processes.
Processes will always be important and when used
appropriately, free humans up for activities that require experience and
judgment. They are effectively supported by tools and can often even be
automated. It’s when we start to think an existing process, or some ‘best
practice’ view of a process, is the only way to do something that we run into
trouble. Or when we think that all types of work can be well-defined and
standardized. That rigidity will inevitably stifle innovation and bind
organizations to old, and perhaps inefficient, ways of working.
ITIL 4 is encouraging us to use processes where they are
appropriate, and to continually evolve and improve those processes to ensure that
they at all times meet our organization’s circumstances, needs and goals. And
to also understand that in today’s complex and dynamic workplace, there are
some types of work where emergent practices and experimentation are more
appropriate.
ITIL® is a registered trade mark of AXELOS Limited.
To learn more about ITSM Academy's ITIL 4 Courses please visit our website.
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