Pink Elephant Blog
What’s The First “Thing” You Have To Get Right In ITSM?
We talk a lot about "business/IT alignment" (or "business/IT integration" - whatever!) The reason for this is because it makes sense to assure ourselves that ITSM practices are relevant and valued. As a starting point I'd like to suggest a little thinking exercise (it's a good idea to stop and think from time to time, right?) So think on this, and answer this question ....... what is the first "thing"ITSM must achieve in your business? I've listed 10 possible answers below. Can you chose THE most important objective for YOUR organization? Maybe it isn't even in my list! 1. Is it to resolve incidents and problems quickly? 2. Is it to expedite changes quickly, with a high success rate? 3. Is it to keep the lights on with a high % of availability? 4. Is it to reduce the overall number of outages (reliability)? 5. Is it to be available to support customers at times when they need assistance? 6. Is it to directly help the business generate more revenues? 7. Is it to reduce costs? 8. Is it to secure data? 9. Is it to increase efficiency and productivity out in the business? 10. Is it to help the business grow? I can imagine you're thinking "Yes - it's all of those things!" But which is the most important? Is it possible to identify what's most important? Is it even helpful to do so? I think it is, because no matter how well you do SOME things, there's often an initial objective that must be met before all others become relevant. I'll tell you why I've been pondering this. Elsewhere I've been asking myself the same question - to see if, as a customer, I can identify what's most important to me when choosing (and paying) a service provider. This was all prompted by a book I read just last week written by Christopher Hitchens called "Mortality". It was his last book. In it he described the healthcare he was receiving after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. You may say that the most important criterion would be something like: Being treated by the best doctors. Or, being provided a choice of treatment options. Or, having access to the most effective treatments. Or, the most affordable treatment. Or, a treatment regimen that doesn't impinge too much on your quality of your life. For me, in that situation, it would be have to be speed of access to services. The reason for this is because it doesn't matter how good, or how cheap or how affective the treatments may be - if there's too long of a delay before getting started ....... well, you know ......! Here's a few more examples: Choosing A Restaurant. There's lots of criteria to assess, but for me the #1 is whether I feel safe eating there. Is it clean and no risk to my health? If I look through the window and don't get a good feeling for how clean the place is, then I don't care about the plaudits, or the quality of food, or the value for money, or the ambiance, etc. Choosing An Airline Usually the in-flight announcements say "Safety is our #1 priority ..." and I'm always glad to hear that. But to be honest, I assume that most airlines operate to similar safety standards, so the #1 selection criterion for me is "Do they fly to the place I want to go on the day and time I want to travel?" Some people might make the cost of the ticket the #1 priority, and I can understand that, but often there's not a lot of difference in fares because it's so competitive. So I gravitate to the schedule when making my decision. Sure, I compare one airline against another in areas of seat comfort, food & beverage service, customer service, rewards program, etc. But whoever goes to my destination on days & times closest to what I need usually gets my business. Choosing A Supermarket Being just around the corner is not good enough. Advertising the lowest prices isn't that big a deal either. What does attract my scrutiny is the quality of the non-brand name produce and how well it's prepared, packaged and presented. The store has to have stuff that looks appealing (and safe!) to me. I react positively to fresh, healthy food presented in an attractive way. I'll even pay a little extra for that. I'm glad to see that most of the big supermarket chains are doing better and better in this area, but I still have my favourites! So, what do you think the first "thing" is you have to get right in ITSM?
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Comments
What about the bigger and woolier questions eg. What’s more important to me - stability or responsiveness?
Rob | June 17, 2013 at 10:51am