By Donna Knapp 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, certifie...

By Donna Knapp 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 r...

By Donna Knapp 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 w...

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...