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Process Ain't a Post-It

Some ITIL advocates insist that having a good process is separate from having a good tool. "If the process is right, you can do it on a post-it note. Putting it in the tool will speed things up, but it won't fundamentally change the nature of the process."

This is rubbish. It may be true for small scale processes, but technology automation can open up new process possibilities that just wouldn't be possible without a technology assist. I think that we should plan our processes with a tool in mind that can accomplish the task.

Think of a Service Catalog that gives an executive insight into the costs of the things he orders. He can dynamically scale up or down his order or services to meet his projected needs. He can tweak variables and make decisions because of the power of the tool. It gives him a visualization that simply wouldn't be available in a paper-based process.

The NewScale demonstration (a prominent Service Catalog provider) really drove this point home. I watched them show the services provided to the business (say "messaging") and then the ability to drill down on the supporting services and service levels that might support that service. I hope that we can put together a service catalog at BYU that will provide that much power to decision makers on campus. We're talking our first steps with a new tool right now and I think it is showing a lot of promise.

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