Starting The ITIL Journey With An ITSM Assessment
Once the decision to embark on the ITIL journey is made, the first question organizations often wrestle with is where to start. While there are various schools of thought on specific processes to tackle initially, I suggest taking a more holistic view and begin with an ITSM assessment. This exercise will pinpoint areas of strength and those in need of improvement as well as give a good indication of some potential ‘quick wins’, which will help establish credibility and build momentum early on for the IT Service Management initiative.
Basically, an ITSM assessment is the benchmarking of an organization’s processes and service delivery capabilities against industry ‘best practices’. An assessment helps with identifying gaps between your current IT services and your customer’s expectations and evaluates your current operational effectiveness. It also assists with prioritizing operational tactics and strategies, identifying barriers to success and provides specific recommendations to meet objectives and plan for next steps.
There are many reasons for performing an ITSM assessment, such as beginning to transform the IT organization from a traditional focus on technology to more of a process-driven, service-based organization. An assessment can also be the launch pad to begin to shift the mode of operation from isolated organizational silos to a more proactive, integrated, enterprise approach to service delivery with more attention on prevention rather than reactive fire fighting.
As well, the ITSM assessment will often see one off, informal, sometimes ad hoc processes evolve to more consistent, repeatable, formal ‘best practice’ processes with clear ownership and accountability. It is extremely important to understand that the venture down the ITIL path is not to be taken lightly as it is a significant investment and a journey that takes considerable time and effort.
There are many benefits in performing an ITSM assessment, including:
- Quick analysis of current IT practices and development of a practical ITSM plan
- Participation of key IT and business personnel in understanding IT’s stake in the business and how to develop valued IT services
- Educates participants in ITSM best practices
- Addresses services from a people, process and enabling technology perspective
- Provides a common language for ITSM that enhances communication
- Establishes a common vision across the organization
- Development of a road map toward improved service management and a plan of action
Our company, in conjunction with iET Solutions and Avante Solutions, recently hosted a 3-part webinar series where we stepped participants through the end-to-end ITSM journey, which covered the ITSM assessment, process design and verification, technology selection, application build and test, release to production and program transition.
While this blog introduces the ITSM assessment, the next several blogs over the coming weeks and months will touch on key points at the various stages of the ITSM journey outlined above. Next up, we will provide an overview of our assessment approach and the areas typically explored, the various assessment types, deliverables and more, Stay tuned.
