I found an article on line that was in many ways demonstrating a revolutionary approach to Release Management.  That being a truly integrated release management proof-of-concept.  Box.net, the company behind the iPad application and Cloud-based service with the same name, decided to not simply propose a solution to their client, D7 Consulting, but also to demonstrate, hands on, the benefits to their product utilizing state of the art technology by providing not just the application but the hardware to run it on: iPads.  In many ways, absorbing the financial risk from the hardware implementation in the short term.

In many ways this has been my point when I say that as an ITSM Professional, I need to view myself as the subject matter expert when it comes to proposing solutions to solve real-world business problems to my businesses.  That is when the true business value performed by the ITSM Professional comes into play.  If you are in-tune with the business you are supporting, then why not be the technology specialist who is in a unique position to discover technology solutions to real business challenges?

I think the team at Box.net have raised the bar with Application Development and Release concepts.  It is not just the “Wow” factor of a new toy, but more about what can this new device or application do to enhance or enable my business.  Box.net nailed it with this one.

The word of the day boys and girls is “INVESTMENT.”   In the implementation of an ITSM strategy for an organization, it always seems to be that the initial strategy by technology leadership is to look at investment focused on bringing in external resources. I would argue that maybe this is not the single smartest approach. Now, I am not implying that the role of a consultant is without value or merit. What I am saying is that outsourcing the implementation of such a large shift of culture and process is not something that can fairly be dropped on a consultant or two and expect them to wave their wands as if they have an MBA from Hogwarts Institute of Technology. This is usually quite a challenging endeavor to expect someone from outside an organization to come in and change to a culture they don’t necessarily understand or are not willing to embrace that change.

In my own experience I have heard rumblings within an organization of many staffers viewing ITIL as leadership’s attempt at trying out the latest “buzz-word” framework or attempting to force it down the throats of the IT staff who have seen these types of initiatives fail in the past. In these types of environments, the US vs. THEM mentality combined with a lack of understanding by the organization as a whole form a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.

Why is it then, that in other industries, membership into these organizations is accepted if not required. Auditors, CPAs, Lawyers, Doctors and the list could go on. But in Technology there is still the legacy belief in many organizations, more prevalent in the larger ones, that the in-house experience and knowledge pool can achieve anything that will improve the organization as a whole. After all, who knows the organization better, right? Wrong.

The problem is that as with or any organic entity which grows or evolves, it brings with it naturally that which it has learned before. If that base of knowledge is mis-management, inefficiency and disfunction, then it will only become compounded as it grows. I call it my IT Evolutionary Theory. IT spawns out of an immediate need to conduct business, to that which grows quickly as work arounds are put in place to give the appearance of functionality. Then there is the survival mode where you begin to see the failures in technology due to a lack of awareness early on to put in place structured process designed for growth. You have now entered what I affectionately refer to as the “Wild-West.” Any and everything goes in keeping the business up and running.

It is usually at this point where the business tolerance for failure reaches its limits. IT leadership is given the ultimatum to fix it, or be gone. In comes the interest Industry Frameworks! Often viewed as the silver bullet to make everything better again based on white papers, magazines or some presentation seen by senior leadership. However, as previously mentioned the organization at this point is so rooted in a culture of disorganization and inefficiency that finding anyone who actually understands how to begin to dig out of the mess is near to impossible. Leaderships answer? QUEUE THE CONSULTANTS!

Now, rewinding things a bit. What if, early on in the evolutionary chain, IT management encouraged membership in industry organizations like HDI or the ITSMf? Better yet, what if these companies spent the relatively minimal amount of funding to become corporate members, allowing staff to attended regular meetings and annual conferences? The upside is not often analyzed from the top down. What these individuals get from networking while attending monthly meetings, conferences, seminars and training events brings back into the organization a wealth of knowledge BEFORE things get too far gone. Proactive involvement from the ground up begins to take place, the culture itself evolves, far eclipsing anything a consultant can bring to the table during the “zero hour” knee-jerk make-or-break point. This is where a relatively minor investment over time in the very fabric of an organization can save a large investment to un-fluck a cluster.

Like any knowledge base, there is wealth in the sheer numbers of individuals who contribute content to it. These Industry forums are a gold-mine of information, experience and reassurance to any organization looking to improve or enhance their overall IT operation. So, note to Technology leadership… continue to provide relevant training, but more importantly, encourage and support organizational membership in external industry organizations and events. The return on THAT investment goes much farther than believing that you can manage evolution in a bubble. In most cases you already employ those “consultants” you need as you evolve. Give them the opportunity to champion growth and stability through supporting them. Who knows, they may just surprise you and save you a lot of pain and revenue in the long run.

Implementing IT Service Management is like baking a cake. There is a basic recipe, but can be whipped up in any manner the pastry chef decides. Like a recipe, baking up a good batch of ITSM cupcakes requires a list of ingredients which is where frameworks like ITIL come into play.

I’m getting hungry so enough with the cupcakes… To deliver effective Service Management requires many things, but there are two that most people I have run across forget about: People and Process. The two are, to me, the fundamental basis for which any framework is based. ITIL is no exception.

The problem with ITIL is that as a framework, there are so many individual focus areas, that it becomes too easy to lose sight of the big picture or how these ‘pieces’ fit together in such a way that the value begins to emerge. Like a jigsaw, you don’t really see this picture until the pieces begin to fall into place.

What you will find in this journey are organizations who have reached a level of self-proclaimed “ITSM nirvana” are always preaching about how great it is to be efficient and operating at a level that allows true streamlined IT Operations. Don’t believe the hype. No organization that has a relatively effective ITSM instance arrived there as effortlessly as many make it sound. That is part of the problem. Like snake oil, or the miracle diet, successful implementations of ITIL components are always verbally sold as the elixir that cures whatever ails you instantly. In reality, there is much in the way of pain that needs to be endured before you find that light and enter into it.

There are no silver bullets or road maps highlighting shortcuts; just a view of what life could be like with the right process, people and tools in place. How you get there is controlled by factors that you may never have considered prior to starting your journey to enlightenment. You should never forget that there will be pain, there will be work, there will be a level of commitment that is required to make the inevitable leap of faith that is required as you begin to move in a direction that will eventually begin to add value to your organization.

Many technology departments are under fiscal pressure never seen in the industry before. This is driving the need to focus on doing more with less while sustaining a level of service to the business. HA! GOTCHA! I wanted to throw that in to raise a bit of a panic. The way to look at the whole “More with Less” phrase should not be viewed in the historical sense, meaning people are expendable. I present it as people providing MORE value with LESS noise or distractions.

Again, at the root of everything is the IT professional who is often under-utilized and under-valued because they are burdened with inefficient processes, time consuming tasks or trying to keep their heads above the water, all in an effort just to keep the plant running. This is where the true financial loss to business occurs. Why hire top tier computer science graduate, just to have them spend their days updating spreadsheets, sending email and running scripts? It is time to look to become more efficient, work smarter, not harder and challenge our technologists to drive initiative and opportunities to present to the business.

I’m getting hungry so enough with the cupcakes… To deliver effective Service Management requires many things, but there are two that most people I have run across forget about: People and Process. The two are, to me, the fundamental basis for which any framework is based. ITIL is no exception.

The problem with ITIL is that as a framework, there are so many individual focus areas, that it becomes too easy to lose sight of the big picture or how these ‘pieces’ fit together in such a way that the value begins to emerge. Like a jigsaw, you don’t really see this picture until the pieces begin to fall into place.

What you will find in this journey are organizations who have reached a level of self-proclaimed “ITSM nirvana” are always preaching about how great it is to be efficient and operating at a level that allows true streamlined IT Operations. Don’t believe the hype. No organization that has a relatively effective ITSM instance arrived there as effortlessly as many make it sound. That is part of the problem. Like snake oil, or the miracle diet, successful implementations of ITIL components are always verbally sold as the elixir that cures whatever ails you instantly. In reality, there is much in the way of pain that needs to be endured before you find that light and enter into it.

There are no silver bullets or road maps highlighting shortcuts; just a view of what life could be like with the right process, people and tools in place. How you get there is controlled by factors that you may never have considered prior to starting your journey to enlightenment. You should never forget that there will be pain, there will be work, there will be a level of commitment that is required to make the inevitable leap of faith that is required as you begin to move in a direction that will eventually begin to add value to your organization.

Many technology departments are under fiscal pressure never seen in the industry before. This is driving the need to focus on doing more with less while sustaining a level of service to the business. HA! GOTCHA! I wanted to throw that in to raise a bit of a panic. The way to look at the whole “More with Less” phrase should not be viewed in the historical sense, meaning people are expendable. I present it as people providing MORE value with LESS noise or distractions.

Again, at the root of everything is the IT professional who is often under-utilized and under-valued because they are burdened with inefficient processes, time consuming tasks or trying to keep their heads above the water, all in an effort just to keep the plant running. This is where the true financial loss to business occurs. Why hire top tier computer science graduate, just to have them spend their days updating spreadsheets, sending email and running scripts? It is time to look to become more efficient, work smarter, not harder and challenge our technologists to drive initiative and opportunities to present to the business.

There seems to be some confusion with these three words as concepts of ITIL and in some cases everyday life.  This is more about how they apply when things go south in Technology.  Often Event, Incident and Problem are used in place of one another when talking about something that breaks.  It can get confusing so I thought I would take a moment to help put my spin on how these three words break down.

Event – The Big Bang

An even is just that, an event.  O.k., that didn’t work very well, let me try that again.  Think of an event as a point in time when something occurs. Power fails, a car crashes, a tornado touches down or an earthquake strikes.  Each one of these is an example of an Event, that moment when something occurs.  It can be confusing because in Technology, something can crash or fail and classified as an event, but often, that is a symptom of the event, which occurred.  Take a Blue Screen for example.  You might think that the Blue Screen of Death is the machine just giving up and quitting.  The reality is that in most cases the Blue Screen is a symptom of the event, which occurred.  This could be a rogue application, bad memory or something that made the Operating System crash.  So determining the Event in Technology can be at times somewhat subjective.

Event Management is the practice of trying to detect a potential event by putting some process in place that can detect an event as soon as it occurs.  In most cases that is done through monitoring tools or automation.  The goal is to get on top of these things well before they cause impact or loss of service to the customer.  Take the Blue Screen example above.  If it was an issue with an application taking up too much memory due to bad code, monitoring could detect that ahead of time and trigger an alarm to have someone respond to the memory issue before resulting in the operating system Blue Screen. If not, then you could have monitoring on the machine itself that could detect when the box becomes unresponsive and trigger an alert.  So an Event, and Event Management is all about living life for the moment something could or does go wrong.

Incident – Whatever it takes

So, an Event occurs and things break.  This is where you have to start thinking about life as the user.  Someone somewhere was doing something that is now impacted and not working anymore.  Everything that person was depending on is referred to as the Service being provided.  It has been my experience that the user or consumer of that service does not give two shakes what makes things go, but that they cannot go any more.

For the most part, this applies to almost everything in our lives.  If my TV channels go out, do I really care what it took Verizon to get it to me?  Do I care about their cables, switches, fiber, blah blah…?  NO, I just want my damn TV back on! So what do you do?  You call their support desk just to ask one simple question:  ”When will it be back on?”  That is all you care about as the customer.  Not what broke, who is fixing it or how it broke, but “How long will it take to fix it!”  That is the core point of an Incident.  Everything that happens during that time, when what you as the customer wants is not available, and when it actually is back up and running.

That whole process falls under the world of Incident Management.  The ability to manage all of the moving parts that are needed to get service restored to the customer.  It is the very human element of life in Technology.  The one that is responsible for command and control, providing updates to management and the customers while coordinating all of the groups working on the problem.  So an Incident could be summed up as the actual lifecycle of a failure.  Whatever it takes, just get the service back up and we will figure out the rest later.

Problem – Workarounds are not forever

Where it could be said that an Incident is the reactive response to an event, Problems are generally proactive, identifying issues that are known to exist, have the potential to wrong, but are managed through known workarounds.

An easy analogy of a Problem would be following a recipe that calls for sugar, knowing you don’t have any and using honey instead.  The dish may come out o.k., but is not the correct way it is done.  That is your workaround.  The dish still comes out, and the customers may be satisfied, but it is not as good as it should be with sugar.  Problem Management is about realizing that you have made several dishes without sugar using honey and making plans to go to the store to buy some sugar.  When you buy it, the problem goes away.

For the most part, Incidents feed Problems.  If the goal of Incident Management is to restore service as fast as possible and by any means necessary, including workarounds, then Problem Management is responsible for reviewing those workarounds and replacing them with permanent solutions so that the incident never occurs again.

The proactive nature of Problem Management does not exist solely for Incidents; it can also apply to Event Management.  Think of all of the alarms or alerts that may be occurring in a single day.  Problem Management could also collect and analyze that data looking for trends where there is a risk of failure.  A single alarm may seem innocent enough; ten or twenty in a week may point to a larger ‘problem’.  HA!  That is why it is Problem Management.

So there you have it, my interpretation of Event, Incident and Problem and why they need to be understood and applied as each being their own individual process.  The beauty is, this is as it is applied in IT, but can also be applied in many different areas in life.

The concept of IT Service Management accompanied with the ITIL Framework elicits many different responses from all levels of the organization. From the Management side, the general focus question is “What will it cost me?” From Middle Management it is; “How will I allocate resources?” and to the man or woman on the front lines it is “What are you thinking!?” The latter is always the voice that is often missed in communicating the benefits to the organization.

There is plenty of talk targeting the implementation of ITSM or ITIL revolving around defining business requirement to drive IT Services. Processes and steps to providing these services in the most efficient and cost effective manner is not always addressed. Even with the best intention of proactive management of IT environments to predict and support future business growth or potential weak points, communicating that is often an uphill battle day one.

These are all very valid points in delivering a true Service Management environment to any business. In order to achieve this, one area is consistently overlooked; the role of the individual. This can be attributed to the fact that unlike processes or tools, it is extremely difficult to discover, identify and document. It is the intangible element.

Processes can be defined, people can’t.  Many implementers, whether internal to an organization or brought in from the outside to consult on what needs to occur to improve IT Service to the Business are very versed in the tactics needed to implement any of the areas of IT Service Management. The challenge is convincing the individual that what is being proposed can inevitably make their lives easier.

Communication needs to be tailored to the hands-on audience, much in the same light as you would with Management or even Middle-Management. There is a benefit that needs to be explained to gain buy-in. Explaining the monetary benefits and ROI to senior Management is only one piece of the puzzle.  Determining the most effective methods of resource management and reporting to Middle Management is also part of the critical path. Understanding and communicating the true benefit to the individuals who are tied up with daily projects, firefighting or disgruntled users must not be approached as an afterthought.
The term “Grass-Roots” is often thrown around in various seminars and case studies but there are living, breathing people who comprise this Grass-Roots element that are vital to the success in moving forward with any attempt to become a high performance organization.  True leaders realize this; successful programs are ones that focus on all levels of the organization.

So what is the key? Some believe that a complete buy-in and enforcement from Senior Management by default, forces the organization to comply. This is not to say that Senior Management buy-in and commitment is not important, but to get to the goal faster, having a motivated, mobilized workforce behind the effort will accomplish tasks and milestones more effectively if  the troops are made to feel as if they are part of the solution on delivering the end product.

The truth of the matter is, everyone has their processes. Some good, some bad and some definitely ugly.  Nevertheless, they are processes that people put time and effort into developing to make their own contribution to the organization better. Discounting these efforts by pushing new unfamiliar process framework from the top down is not necessarily the right approach.  The fact is, that people take pride in their work and are resistent to anything new or mis-branded to make their job seem inefficient.

Then there is the concern about Job security. Many only see a program on Process Improvement, standardization and enhancements, coupled with terms like improved resource management as buzz words to cut head-count. If you are in the position of deploying an IT Service Management Agenda across your organization you have to take into account the human side of the deployment and recognize what is not always being spoken.

It is critical that you provide comfort in the new processes as much as you do selling the need to enhance them. Ignoring the on-the-ground concerns in any implementation of process improvement will only result delays and push back as walls are put up in sub-conscious efforts to protect the domain of the individual.  Then you have a nasty mutany to deal with.

When defining the roles of those charged with driving these new process initiatives, give some thought to the soft-skills side of the communication process. Simply being good at translating the ITIL Framework or Service Management process in general terms is not good enough.
Being able to “dumb-down” ITIL-Speak in a way that can convey benefit and value to be digested by the organization is critical. It takes time and understanding of who you are dealing with, but this is time well spent in terms of moving the program ahead. It is always easier to form an alliance up front than to tear down walls later.

by Rik Jones