1. Continual Service Improvement Methods & Techniques

2. Methods & Techniques An effective choice of methods and techniques for the analysis, presentation and use of the measurement information is highly dependent on the particular circumstances in which these tasks are performed and can generally not be documented in advance. A goal oriented attitude and professional expertise and education of the individuals are required.

3. Effort Cost CSI improvement activities can require a considerable amount of effort and money for larger-scale improvement projects versus minimal time and effort for some more incremental improvements. It is up to the business and IT to decide if the costs and effort is worth it. Costs associated with implementing and operating a measurement framework would include: Labour costs Tooling costs Training costs Expertise costs

4. Implementation review and evaluation Implementation review and evaluation is key to determining the effectiveness of a CSI improvement program. Some common areas for review include: Did we correctly assess the current situation and define the problem statement? Did we commit to the right goals? Did we make the right decisions when developing the strategy for improving IT services? Did we implement the strategy correctly? Have we improved the IT service provision? What lessons did we learn, where are we now?

5. Assessments Formal mechanisms for comparing the operational process environment to the performance standards for the purpose of measuring improved process capability and/or identify potential shortcomings that could be addressed. The benefit of assessments is that they provide the opportunity To sample specific elements of a process which impacts the efficiency and effectiveness of the process.

6. When to assess Assessments can be conducted at any time. A way to think about assessment timing is in line with the improvement lifecycle: Plan – Assess the targeted processes at the interception of process introduction to form the basis for a process improvement project. Plan – A check during process implementation or improvement activities serves as validation that process project objectives are being met and provide tangible evidence that benefits are being achieved from the investment of time, talent and resources to process initiatives. Do/Check – During conclusion of the process project, it is important to validate the maturation of the process though the efforts of the project team. In addition, scheduling periodic reassessments can support the overall organization integration and quality efforts.

7. What to assess and how The assessment’s scope is one of they key decisions. Scope should be based on the assessments' objective and the expected future use of process assessments and assessment reports. There are 3 potential scope levels: Process only People, process and technology Full assessment All these factors are compared to the maturity attributes of the selected maturity model.

8. Advantages & Disadvantages Advantages: Provide objective perspective Compare to standard maturity model and process framework Accurate determination of process gaps Recommend actions and plan solutions Repeatable process Disadvantages: Only provides a snapshot Does not reflect current business or cultural dynamics and process operational issues If the assessment process is outsourced can be vendor or framework dependent If this is the case, it is difficult to compare to industry standards Subject to the opinion of assessors

9. Value of processes vs. maturity of processes © Crown Copyright 2007 Reproduced under license from OGC

10. Gap Analysis Example: Service Gap Model © Crown Copyright 2007 Reproduced under license from OGC

11. Challenges Each organization will have its own challenges, as with initiating any type of change one of the major challenges will be managing the behavioral changes that are required. In addition, CSI will require adequate tools for managing the data, resources will need to be allocated and understand their roles and responsibilities as well as having the correct skills to execute the CSI activities.

12. CSF’s Appointment of a CSI Manager Adoption of CSI within the organization Management commitment Defining clear criteria for prioritizing improvement projects Adoption of the service lifecycle approach Sufficient and ongoing funding for CSI activities Resource allocation Technology to support the CSI activities Adoption of processes

13. Risks Being over ambitious and unrealistic Not discussing improvement opportunities with the business Not focusing on improving both services and service management processes Not prioritizing improvement projects Implementing CSI with little or no technology Implementing a CSI initiative with no resources Implementing CSI without knowledge transfer and training Not performing all steps of the 7 Step Improvement Process Lack of management taking action Lack of communication/ awareness campaign Removing testing (or only partially testing) before implementation

14. Summary Implementing CSI is a challenge, it requires a change in management and staff attitudes and values to ensure that all parties recognize CSI needs to be proactive and not reactive. It is critical to identifying risks and challenges before implementing CSI. Knowing the CSF’s before undertaking the implementation of CSI helps to manage the risks and challenges. One step at a time…..