ITSM Toolset Selection

Planning on Implementing an ITSM Tool Set What you need to take into consideration…

Topics
What comes first, the process or the tool
Sample toolsets
10 lessons learned
Conclusion

Making the decision to implement an ITSM software solution is the first step to ensuring …
IT is aligned with the business
IT delivers efficient and effective services
IT measures and manages the services they deliver
IT is perceived as a proactive and client-centric organization
IT spending is managed / under control
The stage is set for the rapid, incident free implementation of future business initiatives

What comes first … 1. The process or the tool?

So you want to implement an ITSM solution, what comes first… Process / Tool?
Two schools of thought
Process First
How can you buy a tool without knowing what you want it to do?
Tool First
Wouldn’t an ITSM tool have the processes pre-built?
SCOTS
Standards Based Commercial Off-the-Shelf Software

ITIL North American Suites Remedy – IT Service Mgt Suite CA – Service Desk HP – Service Desk HP - Peregrine – Service Centre ITIL Out-of-the-Box Axios - assyst Remedy - ITSP Infra – Infra Enterprise Marval – Marval MSM Here are a few tools out there…. Help Desk Tools FrontRange ICANSP Magic Touchpaper System Management Altiris Troux (Discovery tools with relationship mapping) Software Release Harvest Serena Endeavour (Moving code to a new environment) ERP / CRM PeopleSoft Siebel

Excellent sites to find ITSM capable tools
No official ITIL accreditation
Pink Elephant’s PinkVerify™
www.pinkelephant.com/en-us/PinkVerify
Basic assessments
Viewed as the bible ….
Other list of ITSM toolsets
www.toolselector.com
Querying facility

Incident Management
Problem Management
Change Management
Configuration Management
Release Management
Service Level Management
Availability Management
PinkVerify™ Service Support Enhanced - 7 Processes - Highest level As per Pink Elephant’s in-house evaluation criteria

PinkVerify™ Service Support - 6 Processes -
Incident Management
Problem Management
Change Management
Release Management
Availability Management
- RM AM RM As per Pink Elephant’s in-house evaluation criteria SLM

PinkVerify™ Service Support - 5 Processes -
Incident Management
Problem Management
Change Management
Release Management
RM RM RM SLM As per Pink Elephant’s in-house evaluation criteria

PinkVerify Service Support - 4 Processes -
Incident Management
Problem Management
Change Management
As per Pink Elephant’s in-house evaluation criteria

Now that you know that specialized tools do exists, what are our … 2. Requirements

Before you start, you need to determine exactly what you want to achieve…
Implement only a Service Desk tool?
Which processes do you want to implement
Some tools are sold modularly (by process)
Licensing requirements (Production, Staging, Development, Training, etc.)
Integrate with 3 rd party tools
Migrate existing data to new solution
Customize vs. Configure?
Are you so different that you need your own rendition of an ITSM tool?

Now that you have selected a tool, what’s next?

Implementing an ITSM tool is not just about implementing technology …
It’s about implementing a new culture
It’s about implementing organizational change
It’s about implementing metrics!!!!
It’s about implementing accountability
It’s about implementing standards and a new way to deliver our services
It’s about implementing a Continuous Service Improvement Program
It’s all about implementing a solution!

So now what? 3. Well the next thing we need is Management Commitment!

Management Commitment
Senior Management within IT needs to:
Demonstrate buy-in
Champion the initiative in their area
Understand their role in establishing the culture
Prioritize staff / ITSM team’s daily activities
Project Team
Steering committee with senior management
Project task force consisting of:
Project Managers (internal and external)
Process owners
ITSM Tool administrator

The next most important aspect of a project are … 4. Resources

Resource Availability
Planning and definition phases is the most time consuming phases of the project
Resources need to be dedicated to this initiative
ITSM Tool Administrator especially!
Workgroups need proper representation from all areas
Think about the clients!
Workgroups must include but not be limited to:
Project Managers, Process owners, Process Specialist, Solution Architect
Workgroups will define the CMDB data and ITSM tool data
All must agree on the definitions, workflow, assignment routing, etc.
Do not underestimate the effort required to define your data
Identify the authoritative source for the data
Rationalize / audit the data

Use of External Specialists
Take advantage of specialists – they have done it before!
Specialists should be used as facilitators for workshops, provide direction and coaching for your staff
Ensure the specialists have the necessary level of ITIL certification and process expertise (practical)
Ensure your consulting team is represented with:
PM with ITIL certification
Process specialist
Solution architect
Implementation team members with ITIL certification

Ok, now that you have the people in place, the next step is … 5. Processes

Don’t Try to Do Everything all at Once
Learn to walk before you run
Start with your pain points, usually:
Service Desk
Incident Management / Request Management
These are quick and measurable wins
Ensure you communicate your successes
Proceed with the other processes

Process Definition
Use the approach that best fits your organization
Processes need to stand on their own irrespective of the tool selected
Processes will out-live the tool
Ensure your processes are mature
Define what you intend the process to do
Perform a Gap Analysis
Identify and prioritize your gaps, then implement
Changing a process in the latter stages of its lifecycle is not trivial
Document your processes and procedures once the tool has been configured
Very time consuming but if not done, you will provide a reason for staff to not follow the process

So know you know how your processes will work but what about the … 6. End-State of the Service Desk

Service Desk (Function)
The most affected area in an IT organization
The hub for the capture of ITSM data
Define your structure (centralized, distributed, virtual)
Define your support group structures (Tier 1, 2, 3, etc.)
Create and implement a service delivery culture
Ensure your Service Desk is properly staffed by client focused resources
Compensate or provide incentives to high performers
Define your service metrics
Address the service desk agent vs. roaming technician perceptions

In order for your initiative to succeed you need to ensure timely and effective … 7. Communication

Communication Plan
One of the most important aspect of the initiative
Build a formal Management of Change program
Establish a communication plan that will keep all parties abreast of the initiative as it progresses
You have a good story to tell; get the people excited

Communication Objectives
Promote IT as a service provider
Improve employee morale
Enhance client awareness and satisfaction
Align IT with the business
Communicate the positives of ITSM
Improved efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of services
Proactive service delivery culture
Cost savings for technology and people
Sets the stage for rapid implementation of future initiatives

We keep talking about an ITSM tool so what do we need to take into consideration when dealing with …. 8. Technology

Customization vs. Personalization
Customization
Performing code changes within the tool
Personalization / Configuration
Changing the flow of the process through organization specific data
Customization may be required, but the organization should try to minimize the customization effort
Customization may cause issues when performing upgrades to the tool
Each upgrade may (will) require a re-customization
Vendor support might be jeopardized

Architecture
Do not accept everything a vendor tells you. Test! Test! Test!
Perform performance benchmarks within the building, the city and the country
Identify performance issues before going live
If required, adapt your infrastructure to support the performance requirements
Dedicated servers
Increase bandwidth
Implement thin client access (if required) such as Citrix Metaframe
Ensure you have in-house specialists for the database (i.e. Oracle, SQL, etc.)
Will be required to optimize or fine tune the database
Licensing
Ensure you have the required number and type of licenses

Technology Integration
Majority of ITSM tools have built-in integration with 3 rd party tools (telephony, monitoring, etc.)
Discovery tools
Configuring the integration requires a good attention to detail
Need to develop tool specific scenarios (events, alarms, etc.)
Need to configure the technology to pass only acceptable data to the tool
Integrating 3 rd party technology to the tool is not seamless
Significant effort may be required for the definition, loading and the upkeep of the data

The most time consuming exercise is to define your …. 9. Data

Base Data Definition
Should be developed with the involvement of parties using the data
Not unlike other tools; tables / templates / data will need to be created:
Organization, Location, People
Process templates / macros to automate the creation of records
Assignment routing, escalation, etc.
Generic Service Level targets (as a start)
Service Catalogue (all the services delivered by IT)
Product Catalogue (Configuration Items)
Bilingual??
Must be completed in order to populate the tool with your base information

You could have the best solution in place but you will not achieve your goals unless you pay particular attention to the last step before going live … 10. Customized training

Training
Training programs must address more than just the tool
Training should be customized for your environment and with your data
Training should include:
The processes
The operational procedures
New service delivery model
How to use the tool
Do not assume staff will figure it out on their own
Half day or one day high-level training will not make experts
Majority of IT will be required to use the tool, majority of IT should be trained
Ensure training is provided “Just-in-Time”
Do not give anyone a reason not to use or buy-into the solution

Conclusion
Recommended high-level approach to implement an ITSM tool
Get management buy-in and assign a Champion
Assign the proper level of dedicated resources
Define and organize your Service Delivery model / structure
Define your data (could take months)
Document and publish your processes and procedures
Develop training program for your processes and procedures
Address your First Priority Processes, but in a piecemeal fashion
Minimize your requirements for tool customization
Build a Continuous Service Improvement Program

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ITSM Toolset Selection

by rajanam on Oct 27, 2009

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ITSM Toolset Selection Presentation Transcript