The cloud has changed everything. The way we build, deliver, and manage services looks nothing like it did when ITIL first emerged.  Traditional frameworks were designed for centralized, relatively static infrastructures. Today, most organizations live in the dynamic, distributed reality of cloud computing - where scalability, automation, and speed rule the day. ITIL 4 bridges that gap beautifully. Its Service Value System (SVS) connects governance, Agile, Lean , DevOps , Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) , and continual improvement into one integrated approach. I often describe ITIL 4 as moving from rigid processes to flexible, value-driven practices . Nowhere is that shift more evident than in the cloud. New Realities in Cloud Environments Cloud computing gives us extraordinary power: elastic scalability, self-service provisioning, and global reach. But it also introduces new challenges. Resources appear and disappear in seconds. Ownership lines blur between custome...

IT Service Management (ITSM) is far more than a set of processes for managing IT services. It’s a strategic tool that can help organizations achieve their broader goals, from driving digital transformation to enhancing customer satisfaction. However, realizing this potential requires a deliberate effort to align ITSM with organizational objectives. In this guide, we’ll walk you through a step-by-step process to ensure your ITSM initiatives directly support and amplify your organization’s goals. Step 1: Understand Your Organization’s Goals Before aligning ITSM with organizational objectives, you need a clear understanding of what those objectives are. Engage with leadership and business units to identify key priorities, such as: Improving customer experience. Enhancing operational efficiency. Driving innovation or digital transformation. Increasing profitability or cost control. 💡Pro Tip: Translate high-level goals into actionable metrics. For example, “improve customer exper...

For 21 years, ITSM Academy has been at the forefront of IT Service Management education, equipping professionals to navigate the complexities of ITIL, DevOps, and more. Along this journey, we’ve gathered invaluable insights from our learners, instructors, and partners. Lessons that transcend the classroom and resonate throughout the ITSM profession. As we celebrate our 21st anniversary, we’re excited to share 21 key lessons we’ve learned.  Whether you’re new to ITSM or a seasoned professional, these insights hopefully inspire your journey. 1. ITSM Is About People First Processes and tools matter, but people drive success. Focusing on collaboration, communication, and culture is essential for any ITSM initiative. 2. Continuous Improvement Is Non-Negotiable The IT landscape evolves rapidly, and staying stagnant is not an option. Always seek opportunities to improve services, processes, and skills. 3. Start with the "Why" Successful ITSM projects begin with a clear under...

Originally posted on devclass.com, June 22, 2021 and written by Joseph Martins. Sponsored Experience is everything when it comes to delivering IT-enabled products and services. But it’s no longer about how many deadlines your team smashed, how often you’d exceeded service-level agreements (SLAs), or how many lines of code you’ve spat out. Rather it’s about how the services and products you deliver impact the rest of the organisation’s ability to do their jobs, increase productivity, deliver customer satisfaction and co-create value. “Experience” may be seen as subjective, even ephemeral, compared to the traditional IT metrics, deadlines and SLAs. But if you want proof of its importance, consider how ITIL® 4, the latest revision of the best practice framework for service management from AXELOS, focuses on improving user experience of digital services and how this enhances productivity right across the organisation. Ian Aitchison, VP Product Management at Nexthink, the leader in digital...

As leaders, we need to understand the people that we are leading.   It is critical to understand that this is a new world and if we are to lead the global enterprise into a successful future, we need to understand the strategic, tactical, and operational objectives of our organization and also that we must have a passion for learning. “A Dash of Neuroscience“ is one of many topics introduced by the DevOps Institute for the newly updated DevOpsLeader course .   This information is taken from that course and is just a smattering of what you will learn as you prepare for your certification. Learn how to optimize speed to value as a DevOps Leader.   Live in a perpetual world of learning Many people feel their brains limit their potential and prevent them from learning.   However, learning can change our brains in terms of function, connectivity, and structure.   Our brain shapes our learning but learning shapes our brain, and research has shown that simply...

There are three main principles that will help to optimize your DevOps initiative.  You may have heard them referred to as The Three Ways . All three of the principles will have a role to play but for the purpose of Time vs. Cost, I would like to focus on the first way which is “The Flow of Work from Left to Right”.  When considering this flow of work think of the value stream from left to right as being from the time the request is made until the time that value is realized. Using LEAN methods and applying techniques like the Theory of Constraints we can increase velocity to apply just the right cadence to meet the evolving business demand.  These practices along with our DevOps integration, Continuous Delivery Pipelines and automation will radically increase the time to value for products and services.  Time is a key metric.  DevOps organizations use “time” as the primary measurement tool.   Why time is a better metric than cost: Ti...

I was recently asked to elaborate on a previous blog that discussed reducing metrics and reporting on those that matter to customers. In terms of any metrics, especially those that are important to customers, you should always think about or add the phrase “with quality”. Remember that the term “quality” is defined as “conformance to customer requirements”. So all metrics and measurements should ensure the work or actions you perform remains focused on the customer and their needs. Also in terms of how you phrase a metric it can often be more beneficial to measure in terms of increases and decreases rather than specific quantities. Given that, here some metrics that you might think about using: Increased Customer Quality Satisfaction %--perhaps the most important of all metrics Increase First Line Call Resolution [with quality] %--helps reduce costs but also builds perception of preparedness and knowledge in the eyes of the customer Decreased Mean Time to Restore Serv...

IT managers gather and distribute metrics that reflect their group’s performance on a regular and timely basis.  But outside of their immediate organizations do these metrics have any real meaning or impact? Do these measurements really define the value that IT is delivering?  Business executives shouldn’t have to work to see the positive impact of IT performance.  It should be made readily visible, in language they can grasp quickly and easily.  In many IT organizations there is a continued focus of their reporting towards the performance of the technology and not the value being delivered to the business.  This emphasis continues to create a gap between IT and the rest of the organization. (1) What metrics do you employ?  Service metrics, measuring the end to end performance of your services, based on your technology metrics.   Technology metrics, performance of your components and applications. Are they available when needed? Do you have t...

By Donna Knapp In parts 1, 2, and 3 of this blog series we explored how to assess practice capability from planning and preparation , through conducting self-assessments , to analyzing, interpreting and reporting out the results . While it might be tempting to call the assessment ‘done’, it is important to understand that a capability assessment is not a destination. It is the moment when evidence-based insight starts you on a journey towards meaningful change. As with any journey, you need to understand where you are, where you want to be, and then figure out how to get there. In other words, you need a roadmap. An ITSM roadmap is a strategic plan that outlines how an organization will evolve its IT service management (ITSM) capabilities over time. It connects the current state of ITSM practices to a desired future state, showing the sequence of initiatives needed to improve service quality, efficiency, and alignment with business goals. The major components typically inclu...

In a previous blog I wrote about the need for a high performance Service Desk with the value proposition being reduced re-work, less down time, better utilization of higher cost resources (knowledge management), increased stability and predictable levels of IT services.  In order to deliver this value, we must effectively communicate goals and business benefits in a language that the business finds relevant and meaningful.   Consequently, metrics and reporting should reflect business outcomes and business needs. IT Support Metrics Average speed of answer. First Call Resolution. Average Escalation Duration. Total # of incidents recorded by: Service, CI, Assignment team. IT Goal Less down time, lower abandon rate, quicker speed of answer. Less down time, lower abandon rate, greater use of knowledge bases. Less Down time, predefined escalation paths, greater cooperation between technical resources. Precise picture of which services and Ci...