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By
Larry Cooper
In the world of sports the role and value of a good coach is
well understood and accepted. Even at the grade school level we understood
why we needed a hockey coach (can’t you tell I’m Canadian?) or a football
coach. It would be unheard of for a top flight athlete to reach the heights
of their success without a good coach.
Coaches have the advantage of being detached from the
individual performance and taking an objective look at the finer points of a
person’s performance and accessing it against criteria they have for the
individual as well as what they know it would take to be the very best. They
can teach about aspects of performance that the athlete does do not know,
and may assist with mental attitude and approach.
When we get into the everyday workforce, we quickly forget
what a good coach or mentor can do for us. We complain that our favorite
sports team would do so much better if they only had the right coach - yet,
we fail to connect what a good coach or mentor could do for us individually
or for our organization when we are doing something new, or we are about to
do something that we have not done quite the same way as the new approach
would suggest.
Couple the above with the fact that for many, trying to
implement IT Service Management is like having to finally learn the actual
rules of play to a game you played all your life – albeit somewhat
incorrectly. You will find it very hard at times to forget the old ways of
doing things.
When I tried to learn the breast-stroke in a swim class at
the age of 30 I realized just how wrongly I had been doing it before – I
never did get the leg movements right. If I had been taught how to do it
correctly before I learned how to do it incorrectly, I probably would have
been able to get it right, but my physical movements had already been
conditioned into me. Fortunately, our grey matter is far more forgiving in
undoing bad habits than our physical self might be.
In this
DITY we would look at the three choices an organization wishing to implement
IT Service Management (ITSM) can make:
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You can
“have IT done to you” – Bring in an experienced ITSM organization to
take responsibility for the delivery of the project;
-
You can
“Do-IT-Yourself” – You do not need any outside help (or need only a
minimal amount) as you can determine how to do ITSM for yourself;
-
You can
“Do-IT-Yourself, with expert coaching and guidance” – selective use of
expert assistance to help determine the best way forward for your
particular organization.
One could argue that each of these approaches is a reflection
of the maturity level of the organization and its understanding of the
relationship of the ITSM processes to the organization – approach 1
representing the least mature organization (assuming they do not have any
previous experience with ITSM) through to approach 3 where it is understood
that the organization does not have sufficient internal expertise or
capability, and requires assistance to move to the next level of maturity.
We will now take each of these approaches and discuss why an
organization may adopt an approach, with the respective advantages and
disadvantages of each.
"Have IT Done to You"
Why would
an organization want to have another organization come in and take all, or
most, of the roles in an ITSM project and be responsible for the outcomes?
Here are a few of the reasons – no doubt there are more:
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They
have no idea what to do or how to approach an ITSM project. They do,
however, understand they have some serious operational issues in running
their IT shop, such as not meeting service level agreements or high
levels of failed changes.
-
This
approach is perceived as a low risk option: “Let’s get experts in to do
this.”
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The
organization has a culture or expertise in outsourcing, and this is seen
as “just another” outsourcing deal.
-
The
demand for ITSM originated with the business, but IT is not convinced
and hence they can blame it on the “experts” if it does not work.
Advantages
-
Faster
implementation – If the ITSM implementation experts are running with the
project, the likelihood is that the project will be implemented faster
than otherwise might be the case.
-
If the
external parties are directed correctly by the engaging parties, they
will be very focused on the delivery of the project benefits.
Disadvantages
-
The
organization could behave as if it had totally “outsourced” the project
and does not need to take any responsibility for the delivery of the
project, or does not need to take part in the project at all. When you
hand over the keys and absolve yourself from taking part in the success
of a project – even an outsourced one – chances are it will fail to meet
its objectives. This is especially so with an IT Service Management
implementation that requires IT to compare itself and its processes
against ITIL best practices. You cannot implement ITSM without both IT
and the business engaged in the project. IT and the business must be
involved in IT Service Management process improvement, as ITSM is all
about the management of IT processes. In fact, IT must be intimately
involved in all aspects of the project. There are decisions to be made
that only IT can make; and when the project is complete, IT will be
responsible for running the new or redesigned processes, not to mention
their on-going improvement.
-
The
experts may have knowledge in ITSM and the implementation of ITSM
projects, but they are not the experts in your business and how IT
supports it. How will the new or redesigned processes align with the
organization’s strategy? How do you know that the staff will accept the
new processes if they are not engaged in their creation? Who will align
the new processes with the process and staff performance targets?
-
The
initial concept and assumptions behind a project needs to be re-visited
during project execution. Absolution of responsibility will likely lead
to missed opportunities for mid-course project corrections and hence
project failure.
-
This
approach will also mean that it is unlikely that there will have been
much transfer of intellectual property (ITSM knowledge) to the
organization. As the business changes and the processes need
enhancement, the external “experts” would need to be re-engaged to
repeat the project.
-
It can
be very costly as the ITSM consultants will need to keep coming back for
each additional phase of a Continuous Service Improvement Program
(CSIP).
-
Ownership of the resulting processes is never transferred to their
proper owners or the proper owners never accept them because they were
not a part of their creation.
Conclusion
This
approach is not recommended as the involvement of both and the business is
an essential ingredient in the success of any ITSM project. The experts may
solve the wrong problem and not address all the issues associated with the
original operational challenges or the reason for initiating the project in
the first place. And just like the world in sports, someone else cannot
skate for you, or kick the ball for you, or do anything for you that
eventually you will have to do on your own anyway.
"Do IT Yourself"
Why would
an organization adopt this approach? The plethora of reasons one can give is
often superseded only by the paucity of expertise that exists within the
organization to deliver. The reasons could include the following:
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We are
unique. There is no other organization like us and, therefore, bringing
in an external organization to assist would not help because “they just
would not understand our particular situation, environment, or culture.”
This one is my personal favorite and I have heard it used for everything
from why a business unit wanted to run its own e-learning system
separate from the rest of their own organization to why another IT
organization felt the urge to build its own network management software.
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We have
a lot of bright people working in the organization; they are smart
enough to figure this out for themselves. They can learn on the job, as
they go.
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We just
don’t need consultants: all of our key project people have ITIL
Foundation certification.
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Some
organizations have a “not invented here” perspective. They do not
respect or value external knowledge, only the knowledge it has created
or gained itself. This is usually a cultural issue promulgated by the
egos of key members of the staff or management.
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We can
save a lot of money by implementing ITSM ourselves.
Advantages
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A sense
of satisfaction that, once achieved, the organization has done it by
itself. When they are in fact successful this is a very powerful pay
off. The problem is that few organizations can succeed at ITSM on their
own.
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The
lessons learned will be hard won and therefore memorable. This will mean
that the lessons will be remembered by the individuals and, hopefully,
by the organization as a whole.
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The
intellectual property gained will be retained within the organization,
for the reasons mentioned above.
-
The
solution will be specifically tailored to meet the specific
organizational requirements. This is an especially powerful motivator as
a good ITSM implementation must reflect the realities of the
organization – which all too often is forgotten.
Disadvantages
-
Doing
the stretch drive yourself within an organization will mean that
mistakes and dead ends will be encountered. While these may result in
memorable learning, they are also costly to an organization in terms of
time and effort (and therefore money). Things will simply take longer.
Then again, I once was a project management coach for a team that simply
failed to learn, not only from the lessons of others I tried to help
them avoid, but from their own by continually ignoring my advice and
then conducting lessons learned sessions to “discover” what they had
already been told would happen if they did things a certain way!
“Lessons learned” can easily become “lessons lost”.
-
The
risk of project/program failure will increase exponentially because of
the inexperience of the project team members in these types of projects.
One of the key aspects to project management is the management and
minimization of project risk through a sound setting of scope,
understanding of the requirements, and good estimating based on past
experience. “Doing it to yourself” in absence of any of these will not
help minimize this risk.
-
The
above points will most likely lead to a delay in the realization of the
benefits associated with a project. This will have both monetary and
business agility impacts that may be unacceptable to the business – if
they only knew about it.
-
The
increased risk will potentially lead to project failures. The challenge
with this is that the failure may be perceived as a failure of ITSM
itself to deliver the benefits promised, thus leading to the
cancellation of an entire ITSM program.
-
A full
CSIP is likely never to be done as it is easy to lose momentum in the
face of even the slightest perception of failure of the implementation
on the part of the IT executive or the business.
Conclusion
This
approach can create a sense of false economy unless the organization is ITSM
experienced with multiple similar projects completed successfully. The
inevitable delays in time and benefits realization, mistakes and higher risk
factors will be expensive to the organization and place the project at a
higher risk status. Some organizations try to overcome these issues by
employing one or more contractors who claim to be ITSM experts or have ITSM
experience. It is not “only some ITSM knowledge” that is required. There is
also a need for a structured approach, together with deep and experienced
ITSM implementation knowledge and ITSM coaching skills.
"Do IT Yourself, with Expert Coaching and
Guidance"
The organizations that adopt this controlled
approach are usually more mature in their culture, leadership, and ITSM or
process driven knowledge. They understand that:
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Selective use of ITSM experts to assist
the organization can significantly help in the successful implementation
of ITSM. The organization understands that it “doesn’t know what it
doesn’t know,” and realizes that experts can assist them.
-
Risk minimization strategies are critical
to any IT or business program of work to enhance the prospect of success
and avoiding failure. Use of expert coaches is a great way to minimize
risk due to a lack of prior experience with all aspects of ITSM.
-
They care for their staff and recognize
where and when they will need assistance and support to help make the
project successful.
-
They respect their staff enough to support
them in areas they are not strong in or do not understand well. They do
not see this as a weakness in their staff, just that they require some
training or coaching to overcome the lack of experience and to provide
increased skills and knowledge.
Advantages
-
The
potential exists to implement ITSM faster than through other approaches.
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Risk is
minimized in comparison to other approaches.
-
The
likelihood that business benefits will be realized faster. These
benefits are not the only reasons for the project (examples are serious
operational issues in running their IT shop, such as not meeting service
level agreements or high levels of failed changes); benefits will also
increase the agility of IT such as its ability to be more responsive to
the business and its ability to recognize and take advantage of
opportunities for improvement.
-
The
transfer of intellectual property to the organization staff will be much
greater. In fact, projects should be conducted so that the ITSM coaches
support the organization’s staff. The staff should take the lead in the
ITSM projects, while being supported by the coach.
-
The
CSIP will stand a much greater chance of success as the transition from
the coaches to the “players” is a transition than can work at the speed
of reality. This recognizes that different organizations and different
people will absorb things different and at a slightly different pace.
Reality is a good thing – ignoring reality is not.
-
The
cost of the ITSM project, is likely to be much less than without the
specialist ITSM coaching – when all these considerations have been taken
into account.
Disadvantages
-
The
initial cost of the external coaching may appear, or actually be, more
expensive for the first one or two ITSM projects that are undertaken as
part of CSIP and will obviously be reduced significantly with additional
projects as the organization staff gains knowledge and experience.
-
There
may be a fear of “outsiders” coming in to the organization and
embarrassing staff.
Conclusion
The use of
this approach shows that an organization has a clear understanding of the
difference between their capacity to implement ITSM and their capability of
doing so successfully. They understand that they may have the resource
numbers to complete the ITSM CSIP, but do not have the sufficient skills,
knowledge, or experience to do so in the desired timeframes, ensuring the
realization of the needed IT and business benefits. You have to
Do-IT-Yourself at some point anyway, so why start out that way, but with
some expert advice to get you started off on the right foot.
It could be
argued that ITSM is but the latest buzzword in IT. It looks simple enough to
apply – after all we are supposed to be doing most of it already. But we all
know that in reality we neither do it consistently nor sometimes even well.
Whether you
have just heard of ITSM, have been following it for sometime, or even if you
or some of your staff already have some ITIL training, implementing it is
never easy, and there is no silver bullet. IT managers need to look
critically at their organization and apply ITIL to their organization in a
manner that is suitable to their business.
Below is a
discussion of how an ITSM coach might be able to help your organization.
ITSM
Coaching
Implementing ITSM can be a daunting prospect for even the most seasoned IT
folks. But just as in learning a new sport as a child (or as an adult for
some of us), if we take things a step at a time, listen to our coach,
practice what we are shown or told, and subject ourselves to critical review
after each step, we can eventually do IT ourselves.
ITSM
coaches can help you in areas such as:
-
Establishing the ITSM CSIP - Does the organization require an
approach that is “strategy- driven” (part of the implementation of the
organizational strategic plan or vision) or “operationally driven”
(needed as part of addressing an existing operational problem)? The
business drivers will impact the approach to the initial stages of the
project. Are the drivers obvious or hidden? Is the project scope clear?
Are all the stakeholders in agreement with it? Has it been written down
and agreed upon? The coach can help the ITSM project sponsor (and
manager) to better understand why the project is being done and
obtaining agreement before proceeding.
-
Implementing specific ITSM processes – IT staff can take various
ITSM training courses, and, even if the training is specifically
designed for the organization, there will always be a need for follow-up
– often one-on-one coaching. No training course, in absence of extensive
prior experience in the process area, can deliver enough information to
enable staff involved in ITSM projects to be able implement the ITSM
processes well without further support. They will need someone to bounce
ideas off, someone to review their progress, and someone to tell them if
they are straying from the “best road forward.” The coach can also
maintain a consistency with all stakeholders and project staff.
-
Conducting reviews of implemented processes – once staff have
implemented an ITSM process or set of related processes such as change,
configuration, and release management, it is always a good idea for a
third party review to see how well it has gone. The purpose of a CSIP is
continuous improvement – so what better way to access success than to
have someone independently review if it delivered, but in a coaching as
opposed to a judgmental fashion. Auditors judge your flaws whereas
coaches point out your flaws and help you with techniques and sound
advise that help you get past them.
Summary
“The
test of a good coach is that when they leave, others will carry on
successfully.”
- Author Unknown
Ultimately
every IT organization must choose what ITSM CSIP implementation approach
will work best for them. Obviously, based on my experience, I am inclined
towards the use of coaching.
Just like
finally learning the actual rules to a sport you have played your whole
life, ITSM CSIP implementations can make even the most experienced IT staffs
look as if they are doing some of it for the first time. But with good
coaching it need not be that way. Neither need they be done for you by
someone else. If you do that, when you finally have to do it for yourself
you will not be that much further ahead than before you started.
IT
organizations are continually striving for better performance and cost
containment. They are forced to look for new and improved ways of delivering
IT to vital business functions, which often means looking at the latest
management trends and fads. Some purchase an IT Service Management tool and
think it will solve all their problems. They hand it over to their staff to
implement and are surprised when it is not successful or not as successful
as it should be.
The role of
an experienced ITSM expert who has been there before and is able to coach
both management and staff in all the aspects of a complex ITSM CSIP, can
save money, and improve the speed of implementations and benefits
realization. The “fear of the outsider” must be overcome and replaced by the
realization that a good ITSM coach can have the same effect on your ITSM
CSIP as a good football coach can have on the success of the football team
he coaches – no poorly coached team ever won a Super Bowl.
The real
goal of an ITSM coach is not to be with you forever nor to do IT for you,
but rather to help you carry on successfully on your own once they have gone
on to help the next IT organization. You can Do IT Yourself!
--
About Larry Cooper
Mr. Cooper is
co-founder of ISM Canada, an Authorized itSM Solutions provider and a VAR
for Touchpaper’s ITBM Suite of products. Mr. Cooper has spent more than 28
years in IT in the public and private sectors where he has held roles such
as a Software Developer/Programmer Analyst, Manager of Operations, Lead for
Business Process Re-engineering, various Project Manger roles on projects
upwards to $100M, and A/Director, Business Technology. He has written and
been published in books and industry articles on variety of topics. He holds
three project management certifications including a PMP, an IT Service
Manager certification, and is an EXIN accredited Master’s level trainer.
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