By Donna Knapp It’s interesting to see how members of different communities can view a practice so differently. That is currently the case with problem management, the practice of identifying, removing, or mitigating the cause or contributing factors to service disruptions. For the most part, the IT service management (ITSM) community recognizes the value of problem management. They may admittedly struggle to find the time or resources needed to perform the practice. Or they may find it difficult to justify the actions needed to introduce permanent solutions identified as a result of the practice. But they, for the most part, value the practice. Conversely, some members of the DevOps community view problem management, or more specifically, root cause analysis, as a complete waste of time. We’ve found that there are a few common reasons that on the surface make sense, but that have counterpoints worth considering. One reason for the pushback is that the practice of root cause analysis i

By Donna Knapp Have you ever done business with an organization that liked to brag about all the extras that it provides, but doesn’t get the basics right? To some extent, the accelerated innovation that was sparked by the pandemic fueled this need to focus on the new and shiny. And for some organizations, it is what’s needed to stand out in the crowd, or to compete, or simply to survive. But here is what we know. All the new and shiny in the world can’t make up for a poor customer experience. You cannot sacrifice quality for speed. And a perk here and there can’t overcome the lack of trust that builds up when an organization fails to get the basics right day in and day out. So, what we’ve got to do is strike a balance. A feat that is easier said than done. According to the 2022 State of CIO report, 76% of CIOs say that it’s challenging to find the right balance between business innovation and operational excellence. And yet it is exactly what organizations today need to do… C. All of