The document outlines key strategies for successful self-service IT management, emphasizing the importance of engaging customers, simplifying processes, and integrating user-friendly design. It highlights the necessity of mobile access, continuous improvement, and leveraging customer feedback to guide service evolution. The author, Ian Aitchison, advocates for treating self-service as a business initiative, ensuring that every customer interaction matters and fostering an agile approach to service management.

1. secrets of successful
self service
Ian Aitchison

3. Secrets of Successful Self
Service
Ian Aitchison
ITSM Product Director
LANDesk Software
@IanAitchison

4. Exposing Other Secrets
1. A hook.... To keep you holding on the
end... At the end, I will expose the one
magic thing that the most successful self
service rollouts have done... THE
SECRET
2. Some interaction : to keep your
attention : You need PENCIL and PAPER
Do you have Pen and
to KEEP SCORE of your own Self Paper?
• YES : you can play
Service skill-rating • NO : you can watch (or
count on your fingers)

5. Other secrets...
3. The Unexpected Start...
Start with something unexpected and challenging
5

6. The Surprising Start
WE’RE DOOMED
THE EARTH IS GOING TO CRASH
INTO THE SUN AND ALL LIFE WILL BE
MADE EXTINCT!
WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE
ARGH!!!!!

7. The Surprising Start
LUCKILY THAT WONT BE FOR BILLIONS OF
YEARS
SO WE HAVE SOME TIME TO SPARE
LETS FILL SOME OF THAT TIME BY
TALKING ABOUT ITSM SELF-SERVICE

8. Some Scene Setting
 What is Self Service?
› Publishing information from and access to your ITSM
Service Desk to your Customers
› Your Store-front, your shop window, your web-site
› Where your endusers come to interact with IT
Do you offer a Self
Service interface?
• YES : +1
• NO : +0

9. Why Do It?
Frankly, we should all know this well
 Preaching to the Converted
 Save time and money
 Improve service
 Improve SLAs
 Improve staff and customer satisfaction
AND...

10. The Next
Generation
IT Customer
Increasingly sophisticated
and self-reliant IT-Customer
User Is The Customer
(Tech savvy, platform-agnostic,
user & device management)

11. The Evolution of Expectation
SelfService at
Supermarket
SelfService at
Home
Supermarket SELECT, PAY,
WAIT, RECEIVE
TRAVEL, SELECT, PAY, TRAVEL,
High Street CONSUME
Store - With LESS PEOPLE
TRAVEL, SELECT, PAY, TRAVEL,
CONSUME
TRAVEL, REQUEST, PREPARE, RECEIVE, PAY,
TRAVEL, CONSUME

12. So, What We’ve Learnt
 Some basic approaches and considerations
 From successful (and some unsuccessful) self
service customer projects around the world
 There is a pattern
 Let’s look at what successful

13. UNDERSTAND IT’S BIG
 You are not just rolling out
a new product or service
 Not just clever technology
 You are going PUBLIC
 Failure is PUBLIC
 Success is... just being
used. Being good enough
to be used is success.
Most successful Self Service projects succeed when taken SERIOUSLY

14. Think DIFFERENT
 Think like the owner of a new business
› NOT align IT processes with the business,
 Open a Shop
 IT is your shop
› Products, Customers, and a Web Site
› Every customer matters
› Every contact matters
› Think Marketing and PR
Many Successful Self Service projects have IT staff with Retail experience

15. COUNTER INTUITIVE?
 Popular Shops have More Customers
 Increase in Requests
 Increase in Incidents
 More coming in
 Expect Peak, drop, plateau, then rise
 But phones-inbound SHOULD DROP
Most Successful Self Service Launches INCREASE IT Contact

16. Getting Started
 Start simple
› Just enough, but not too little
› Don’t boil the ocean
› Plan to grow
 Initially Your own project is your greatest
risk
› Manage project scope
 Customer story
 Use customers as validation
Did you prototype and validate
 Communicate your self service design against
your customers?
 Plan little and often • YES : +1
• NO : +0

17. What to Publish
Information
 Noticeboard
 From support activity, not manual update
 Service Performance
 Progress Status
 In Context
Interaction
 Get Help / Ask for Something
 Not “New Incident” Do Major Incident / Notifications
 Use Templates – No Categories / Alerts appear automatically
• YES : +1
 Search knowledge • NO : -1
 Progress Existing

18. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
They Don’t Work in IT
 Incident, Request, Category, Priority, Impact, Urgency, Configuration Item,
Service Catalog.
 These are all ITIL words
 Your customers do not know ITIL
 Don’t show complicated windows, don’t give choices
 Self-Service does not mean doing the job of IT support analyst. Self-Service
means getting the help you need yourself. Note the difference.
Can your customers create new
incidents or requests?
• YES : +1
• NO : 0

19. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Attention to Detail
 SPELLING MATTARS
 GRAMMER MATTERS
 PUNCTUATION MATTER’S
But.... Communication matters most
1. Get it Out
2. Get it Right
If in doubt, Get it Out

20. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Knowledge
 Create knowledge automatically,
internally first
 Publish to selfservice once approved
 Track usage
 GET IT OUT THERE
 Part of the Process!
 Knowledge is not a project
Is there some process behind
› It is a way of life knowledge creation and
› It never is finished publication?
• YES : +1
 Good knowledge needs Self Service • NO : -1

21. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Go mobile
 Self Service without Mobile access is
immediately behind the curve. Any of
the above is good
› Access standard from mobile
› Delivered as web-app in mobile format
› Delivered to local app
Can your customers access self-
service on multiple mobile
 But not platform locked devices
• YES : +1
› Expect more platforms, not less • NO : -1

22. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Service Catalogue
 Yes it IS a “Request Catalog” when published
› But, well, what would your mother call it?
 In ITSM it’s the definition of our Services
 In self service it’s a defined list of ‘things’, to
request, creating ITSM request processes
 If you have selfservice, it’s easy
› Although Service Catalogue is a big subject
Do you offer Self Service
 It’s good because you start to define Requests as well as Incidents?
• YES : +1
› ‘What IT Does’ • NO : 0

23. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Collaboration
 Comments on knowledge : Easy step
› Comment
 Forum/discuss/group - good for many
› Only succeed if used
› Dates are Key
 Chat – to support .... Are you capable?
 Integration to external social...
› Ask your UAT group – any value? From 0% to 100%

24. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Availability
 At any time
 From any place
 Using any device
 If not now, then WHEN?
Can your Customers access
Self Service from their bed?
• YES : +1
• NO : 0

25. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Communication
We love to hate it, but...
 Email is a written record
 Their reference back, their filing
 Essential communcation
 Always link to self-service
Do your emails ALL link to Self
 Actions through self-service Service ?
• YES : +1
• NO : 0

26. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Human Face
 Use a Human Voice
› Stories
› Advice
› Knowledge
 YouTube Videos
 BLOG – why not?
 WebCam
 Cartoon/jokes (careful now...)

27. Now you’re live...
Measurement
 Set and Measure Usage goals over time
 Outcome over Activity
 Satisfaction survey and sensing
› NPS question
 Would you recommend using this self-service portal to other employees
?
 NOT reduction in incidents Do you know how many
 % via selfservice contacts with support come
through Self Service
• YES : +1
• NO : -1

28. It Never Stops
 Agile approach to Service
Management Evolution
 Little and Often – backlog
of incremental
improvements, sprint-cycle
 Publish What’s New,
What’s Next
 Steering group /
responsibility / Ownership

29. Advanced Ideas
The Next Steps... Advanced...
AUTOMATION
 Service Catalog that delivers
AUTOMATICALLY
 SelfService Password Reset
 Event Management that
communicates, by Service, to the
Business AUTOMATICALLY from
alerts.

30. Secrets to Self Service
1. Take it seriously. Invest time and effort
2. Manage scope, start simple
3. Populate content automatically from activity
4. Support multiple platforms inc mobile
5. Be accessible 24/7 anywhere
6. Add a human face and human voice
7. Measure usage, measure growth
8. Evolve : little and often
9. Plan to Innovate – Plan to Automate
10. ...and... The biggest secret...
3

31. OPEN THE BOX!!
TURN
OFF
EMAIL
Have you turned OFF email
logging from end-users?
• YES : +1
• NO : 0

32. Final Scores
Total Up Your Score.
 If you scored : ZERO or LESS THAN ZERO
› Baby Bird, the future looks exciting
 If you scored : 1 – 5
› Started, fun times evolving
 If you scored : 5 – 8
› Cooking on Gas! Mastering your SelfService World
 If you scored : Over 8
› We’re Not Worthy!! God-like SelfService Leaders!
 If you scored : Over 15
› Recheck you work, show your workings.

33.  QUESTIONS?

34.  THANK YOU
Ian Aitchison
ITSM Product Director
LANDesk Software
@LANDesk
www.landesk.com
@IanAitchison
Ian.aitchison@landesk.com

35. WITH THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR
bmc Software
#TFT returns may 2013