Whether or not an organization has formally adopted a framework such as ITIL , IT service management (ITSM) practices are doomed if you fail to recognize the need for continual improvement. Capability assessments  can be used to determine how well your practices are established and improving, and they serve as a diagnostic tool for continual improvement. A capability assessment typically involves a straightforward set of activities. Plan and prepare – define the scope, objectives, and participants of the assessment. Define and organize the supporting elements of the assessment model. Conduct the assessment   – collect input through interviews, workshops, observations, or surveys and validate evidence against the defined criteria. Analyze, interpret, and report out the results   – aggregate the findings to identify the current capability level. Identify gaps, improvement opportunities, and options. Formulate prioritized recommendations for ...

Part 1 of this series explores the activities involved in planning and preparing for practice capability assessments . This blog focuses on conducting assessments.  Organizations typically use three broad types of practice capability assessments, each differing in purpose, depth, and rigor. Self-assessments – internally led, often using surveys or worksheets where practitioners rate their own practices. Helps to raise awareness of strengths and weaknesses and capture a baseline Facilitated assessments – led by a neutral internal facilitator or cross-functional team (e.g., a Certified Process Design Engineer (CPDE), a process improvement team or members of a Service Management Office (SMO)) that guides stakeholders through structured discussions and consensus-based scoring exercises. Provides a shared understanding of capability across stakeholder groups Independent or formal external assessments – conducted by experienced consultants, certified assessors or acc...

Before you can chart a course toward higher capability levels, you need to know your current position. A capability assessment provides that orientation. It is the moment you unfold the map and mark, “You are here.” Capability assessments reveal not only how well individual practices are established, but how deeply they are embedded into the organization’s culture. They are not about chasing a number. They are about obtaining a clear, evidence-based understanding of where your capabilities stand. Well-scoped and well-conducted assessments shine a light on both strengths and weaknesses, and perhaps most importantly, they allow you to determine where targeted improvement will create the greatest value. Assessments transform perception into data and data into direction. Once you have gathered scored criteria, evidence, and data from across the organization, now comes the part of the assessment process where insight begins to take shape. Each of the most widely used asse...

With the introduction of ITIL 4 , some concepts have changed in ways that affect how service management assessments are performed. (1) Focusing on practices vs. processes ITIL 4 has evolved to focus on holistic practices vs. isolated processes. By definition, a practice is a set of organizational resources designed for performing work or accomplishing an objective. In ITIL 4, each practice includes resources based on the four dimensions of service management. One of those dimensions is ‘ value streams and processes ’, and so while processes are still an important component of service management, they are now considered in a much more holistic context. (2) Assessing practice capability vs. maturity In 2021 AXELOS (now a part of PeopleCert) introduced the ITIL Maturity Model . Organizations can use this model to objectively and comprehensively assess their service management capabilities and the maturity of the organization’s service value system (SVS). In this...

There are many challenges to defining and documenting a process for ongoing continual improvement and to ensure process maturity is in alignment with the overall business strategy and outcomes.  One such challenge is to be able to document the “As Is” process. When documenting the “As Is” process caution must be taken not to accept the existing documentation, or flowcharts provided as the true baseline of what is really being done.  What are the current activities and procedures that are being used and what is the step by step workflow that participants and stakeholders are actually performing?  The actual is what really needs to be captured.  The complexity of this challenge is exasperated by the fact that frequently when determining and “As Is” state for immature processes the assessor or process design engineer will discover that there is not one single process that is being followed but in fact many?  What then? Non adherence to process is gen...

In order to manage and control processes and services, they have to be monitored and measured. The design of the measurement methods and metrics used to measure process are critical to success and might even be the most crucial element.  In practice we tend to see Critical Success Factors and Key Performance Indicators defined in the process documentation but is anything being done with those? We not only need to define the metrics for measuring the process but also must ensure that the design and implementation of the process also includes a system for ongoing monitoring, reporting and most important action for continual improvement of the process. Without it the process is destined to fail. Process designers must assert caution and use wisdom when defining the metrics and measurements for the process.  Careful consideration must be given to how these measurements are going to affect and change the behavior of the practitioners and stakeholders that produce or rece...

One of my followers recently asked about approaches to performing an organizational ITSM assessment.   I’ve summarized some of his questions: 1.       While surveys, interviews and workshops are assessment methods, would focused interviews with individuals pertinent to the process being assessed be a good approach?   2.       Should my final assessment score for a process be an average of several people’s maturity level ratings on that process? 3.       Should my assessment only include participants who are directly involved with that process? Assessments should take a well-rounded approach to gathering information, input and feedback.   It’s not a one-size-fits-all.   If you have the ability to conduct one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders, that’s a great way to encourage dialogue through open-ended questions.   While the results may not be as measurable as so...

Designing and documenting a process enables an organization to move from the initial level of the ITIL Process maturity Framework (PMF) through the repeatable level to the defined level.   To undertake this task without adequate resources can be quite daunting especially given the fact that it must I dentify needed changes to job descriptions Develop and document work procedures Identify work requirements Establish the data to be collected and the format to report accomplishments D ocument the necessary vocabulary to be utilized within the process The following ten process design and improvement steps can be used to create an easy to use and repeatable approach to help move your organization from one level to the next.   The ten steps are grouped into four phases.   Each phase will produce a deliverable that serves as an input to the follow phase. Phase: Requirements Definition.    Output: Requirements Definition Document. 1.     Dete...

I was recently asked about how to measure service management maturity when the maturity of individual processes is not equal. Frankly, it’s a bit of chicken and egg. It can be difficult to define where your organization is as a whole compared to each individual process when the processes are at different levels. When we look at a specific process we have to judge it against a specific set of criteria. Each organization will develop this criteria based on the organizational goals and objectives. Each process may have a different set of criteria, different levels of benefit or impact so therefore a different level of need-based maturity. For example, for organizations that are highly dependent on suppliers and outsourcing, the need for a mature Supplier Management process is critical. Other organizations may not focus on Supplier Management but invest their focus and resources on other processes such as Configuration Management. The maturity of individual Service Management process...