Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Becoming a SharePoint Convert

SharePoint has always been in my peripheral vision, but never a tool that I actually used. We're in the middle of an investigation project to look at putting up an enterprise instance of it. I watched the Lynda.com intro training for SharePoint 2010 and I have to say that I'm quite impressed with how far SharePoint has come since my first introduction to it. It is sporting the ribbon interface from the Office applications that I've come to like very much. The ability to keep calendars, task lists, and even documents synchronized with Outlook is awesome. I wish it was a little more straightforward to save a document from Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel in to your SharePoint work space for the first time. Right now, the interface feels a little broken to me. You click the button to browse for a SharePoint location to save, and word does absolutely nothing. You click the button again, and it still does nothing. It turns out that you have to click the SharePoint button, a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hammers and Nails: Technology Push Design

"We need to refine our requirements first, before we look at tools." This is a common phrase that I hear. While I sympathize with the sentiment, I think it is frequently wasteful. I suspect that we'd get to the right requirements faster by looking at tools already available in a given problem space. Pushing the concept further, is it foolish to find a cool technology and then look for ways that that technology can apply to current problem spaces?  What if you don't even recognize you have a problem space? Without a constant search and openness, we'll miss many serendipitous opportunities. Here is BYU professor Larry Howell discussing this issue. I often enjoy doing something ... that is sometimes controversial. In this approach, rather than starting with a need, you start with a new technology and you search to identify a need that it can fulfill. This second more controversial approach is called "technology push design."   You can imagine t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Broader Process Sharing - Service Request Fulfillment

While at a BMC UserWorld conference a few years ago, I wrote the following. It still applies and I wanted to put it down in a permanent spot where I could find it later. ========== We're perfecting the Service Desk call center. What would it look like if we invited other campus support units to share our processes and tools, if not our Service Desk? My recent experience moving into a new building has sharpened my focus on this issue. I'd like to share a taste of my experience by way of introduction and illustration of my implementation recommendation. In my new office, I need to obtain keys, request door locks to be installed, deal with furniture alterations, move network and power outlets that were obstructed by furniture, request appropriate signage for our department, order new furniture, resolve electrical wiring problems involving and interface with the furniture, request building card swipe access, request thermostat adjustments, and request permanent placement of...
Post a Comment
Read more