The document discusses the problems with a traditional tiered support structure and proposes an alternative called "swarming". Under the traditional structure, issues get bounced between support levels and specialists, leading to delays and individual burnout. The swarming approach uses dynamic, self-organizing teams that collaborate in real-time to resolve issues. It has led to improved customer satisfaction, faster issue resolution times, and knowledge sharing across the organization.

1. The problem of becoming "3rd line support”
(and why Swarming is a better alternative)
Jon Hall
Principal Product Manager, BMC
Configuration Management Camp 2018, Ghent.
@jonhall_

2. @jonhall_
Adoption of new practice in established enterprises
“Startup-like”
teams.
Emergent products
Ad-hoc support.
Established products
Mainstream support.

3. LEVEL 2 SUPPORT LEVEL 2 SUPPORTLEVEL 2 SUPPORT
LEVEL 3 SPECIALISTS LEVEL 3 SPECIALISTS LEVEL 3 SPECIALISTS LEVEL 3 SPECIALISTS
LEVEL 1 SUPPORT
Classic “Tiered” Support Structure
@jonhall_

4. LEVEL 2 SUPPORT LEVEL 2 SUPPORTLEVEL 2 SUPPORT
LEVEL 3 SPECIALISTS LEVEL 3 SPECIALISTS LEVEL 3 SPECIALISTS LEVEL 3 SPECIALISTS
LEVEL 1 SUPPORT
Escalation
Escalation
Classic “Tiered” Support Structure
@jonhall_

5. LEVEL 2 SUPPORT LEVEL 2 SUPPORTLEVEL 2 SUPPORT
LEVEL 3 SPECIALISTS LEVEL 3 SPECIALISTS LEVEL 3 SPECIALISTS LEVEL 3 SPECIALISTS
LEVEL 1 SUPPORT
…when the answer is here… …or here.
Issues may spend time here
@jonhall_

6. LEVEL 1 SUPPORT
LEVEL 2 SUPPORT
LEVEL 3 SPECIALISTS
When tickets
eventually escalate…
…they frequently
bounce back
@jonhall_

7. LEVEL 1 SUPPORT
LEVEL 2 SUPPORT
LEVEL 3 SPECIALISTS
LEVEL 1 SUPPORT
LEVEL 3 SPECIALISTS
LEVEL 2 SUPPORT
SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT
The system encourages “heroes” (not in a good way)
@jonhall_

8. It’s not very agile
• Work-in-progress queues
• Asynchronous communication
• Single role teams
• Individual burnout
• Poor knowledge transfer
@jonhall_

9. Tiered “Funnel”
• Siloes & Hierarchies
• Directed
• Linear, rigid
• Measured on activity
Intelligent Swarming
Dynamic network
Collaborative
Dynamic, loopy
Measured by value
Enter “Swarming”…
@jonhall_

10. Severity 1 Swarm – “Rapid Responders”
Severity 1 Swarm
PrioritiseNew issues
@jonhall_

11. Swarm lead
Communications
Other members
Research, coordinate, test
• 3 agents, 1-week rotation
• Respond immediately
• Fix as soon as possible
Severity 1 Swarm – “Rapid Responders”
@jonhall_

12. Dispatch Swarm - “Cherry Pickers”
Specialist Product Teams
Severity 1 Swarm
Dispatch Swarm
Prioritise
@jonhall_

13. Dispatch Swarm – “Cherry pickers”
• Meet hourly (ChatOps)
• Fix immediately resolvable stuff
• Validate other tickets and assign
Experienced
analyst
Less-experienced
analyst
@jonhall_

14. Backlog Swarms – Global fixers of troublesome issues
Local Specialist Product Teams
Backlog Swarm Backlog Swarm Backlog Swarm
Local Specialist Product Teams
@jonhall_

15. Backlog Swarms – Global fixers of troublesome issues
• Meet Weekly
• ChatOps
• Focus on challenging issues
Experienced analysts Product line specialists (e.g. devs)
@jonhall_

16. • Suggest Swarm participants based on contributions
• Encourage and reward
• Learn from each interaction
• Improve reliance of next interaction
Making it Intelligent
@jonhall_

17. A much better fit for agile and DevOps
• Autonomy (guidelines, not rules)
• Knowledge & skill development
• ChatOps, not email
• Prevents work queue buildup
• Protects individuals from burnout
@jonhall_

18. • 25% median resolution time improvement
• Cust.sat. +8 points
• More issues closed in under 2 days
• Significant backlogs reduction
• 50% faster onboarding
• Freed people to innovate
Results at BMC
@jonhall_

19. “I have probably doubled my knowledge of the
products in a year because of Swarming, and I
have been here a long time”
- Senior Support Analyst at BMC
@jonhall_

20. medium.com/@jonhall_serviceinnovation.org/intelligent-swarming
Some more information
@jonhall_