XLA – ANOTHER SHINY NEW THING THAT REALLY HELPS?

1. 11/30/2023
Belgian XLA Party
Hosted by itSMF Belgium, Nov. 30th, 2023
Introduction and highlights – Mark Smalley
Expert commentary – reviewers and supporters
Questions and comments – all attendees
“It’s chips that interest people. Not IT.” – Roger Smalley
Reflections on XLA
Another ‘shiny new thing that really helps’ or a call to action?
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2. 11/30/2023
Reflections on XLA
IT service experience and its management as part of ITSM
Preface
Prologue
Introduction and
summary
1. XLA
2. Service
3. Service
experience
4. IT service
5. IT service
management
6. IT service
experience
7 IT service
experience
management
Epilogue
Appendices
Acknowledge-
ments
2. Service
3.
Service
experience
4. IT service
5. IT service
management
1. XLA
6. IT service
experience
7. IT service
experience
management
6. IT service
experience
XLA improves how IT services
affect people and their business
1. XLA
Why
People deserve
better IT service
What
Better human experience
More business impact
How
Better agreements, metrics, and service interactions
Outcome-oriented values, skills, processes, and technology
Contrition, conviction and commitment
Documentation of the
desired IT service
experience
(“An XLA”)
Concept of agreeing and
facilitating the desired
IT service experience
(“XLA”, “XM”, “ITXM”)

3. 11/30/2023
Service is a form of economic exchange
2. Service
2.1 Service
2.2 Service
ontology
2.3 Service-
dominant logic
• Where two or more parties use their resources with
• intent to co-create value
• a focus on relationship-building
• consideration of the emergent nature of service
• Affordance of access to resources
• Performance of acts with resources
• Contrasts with tangible goods, transfer of
ownership, and production/consumption
Service experience is important
yet hard to know and manage
3. Service
experience
3.1 Importance
of experience
3.2 Service
interactions
3.3 Value from
service and its
measurement
3.4 Empathy,
compassion and
expectations
• People are affected by their experience with services, so service
design and execution should consider this
• Value from service is experienced subjectively and is therefore
difficult to know with certainty
• Empathy, compassion and expectation management are key
competences
Unconscious Conscious

4. 11/30/2023
IT services enable value
to be derived from IT systems
4. IT service
4.1 IT services
4.2 Portfolios
and catalogues
4.3 Service level
agreements
• IT services comprise the affordance of access to IT systems,
and the performance of actions that support their use
• Value = utility x warranty (not +)
Information
Work
Results
Information
technology
Operational
technology
Analog sources
IT services enable value
to be derived from IT systems
4. IT service
4.1 IT services
4.2 Portfolios
and catalogues
4.3 Service level
agreements
• IT services comprise the affordance of access to IT systems,
and the performance of actions that support their use
• Value = utility x warranty (not +)
Dev
IT systems
Use
Information
Work
Results
ITSM
Eng
Ops

5. 11/30/2023
IT service management deals more with
people and information than with IT systems
5. IT service
management
5.1 IT service
management
5.2 Positioning
5.3 A generic
ITSM framework
• IT service management ensures that
• the right IT services are agreed
• all involved parties are aligned
with the agreed services
• the parties collaborate effectively
Groovy ITSM Framework
ITSM is starting to acknowledge ‘IT service suffering’
and feels morally obliged to act
6. IT service
experience
6.1 IT service
suffering
6.2 Failed IT
state
6.3 IT’s reputa-
tion paradox
6.4 Both sides
matter
ITSM has a reputation paradox
• When things go well, users are usually not particularly happy,
so IT service providers aim for the zone of tolerance
• But providers can shine when the occasional disruption is dealt
with care and consideration

6. 11/30/2023
XLA is integrated into
regular ITSM practices and processes
7 IT service
experience
management
7.1 Engagement
7.2 Preparation
7.3 Co-creation
7.4 Evolution
Discuss and agree
the desired
experience and
impact
Hypothesize
plausible measures
Interact with care
and consideration
Measure the effect
on experience and
impact
Define metrics and
measurement
Set up processes
and technology
for measurement
Test and refine hypotheses
Improve engagement,
preparation, or co-creation;
or evolution
Groovy ITSM Framework
Practical examples
7 IT service
experience
management
7.1 Engagement
7.2 Preparation
7.3 Co-creation
7.4 Evolution
Engagement
• Discuss and agree principles
and process-related aspects
of IT service experience
management, even if
quantifiable measurement and
specific targets are not yet
feasible
Experience and impact commitment clause
1. Feedback integration:
• Provider solicits Customer’s feedback and provides a
communication channel for unsolicited feedback.
2. Regular assessment:
• Provider periodically reviews and assesses the impact of the services
on Customer’s employees and their work.
3. Proactive improvement:
• Provider continually seeks ways to enhance the user experience
and minimize any disruptions to Customer’s business processes
resulting from the services, based on feedback from Customer and
their own observations.
• Provider maintains open and transparent communication about their
improvement efforts.
4. Future target setting:
• As the partnership evolves and Provider gains a deeper
understanding of Customer’s specific needs, Provider will explore
setting measurable targets for user experience and business
impact, with Customer’s input and agreement.

7. 11/30/2023
Practical examples
7 IT service
experience
management
7.1 Engagement
7.2 Preparation
7.3 Co-creation
7.4 Evolution
Preparation
• Define experience-related objectives and hypothesize plausible
indicators for realization of the objectives; establish which
metrics, data, and targets represent the indicators
• Objective: “quick, easy and considerate service interactions”:
Preface
Prologue
Introduction and
summary
1. XLA
2. Service
3. Service
experience
4. IT service
5. IT service
management
6. IT service
experience
7 IT service
experience
management
Epilogue
Appendices
Acknowledge-
ments
Party time!
Summary
1. XLA improves how IT services affect
people and their business
2. Service is a form of economic exchange
3. Service experience is important yet
hard to know and manage
4. IT services enable value to be derived
from IT systems
5. ITSM deals more with people and
information than with IT systems
6. ITSM is starting to acknowledge ‘IT
service suffering’ and feels morally
obliged to act
7. XLA is integrated into regular ITSM
practices and processes
Agenda
 Introduction and highlights
by Mark Smalley
• Expert commentary by
reviewers and supporters
• Questions and comments
for all attendees
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