Page 1
Fall, 2011
In This Issue
Take it from the Top
President's Corner
The Americas Regional priSM
Institute Awards First Two Fellow
Credentials
Managing Your CPD Requirement -
Part 2
Features: Knowledge Management
Building Wisdom in Your Organization
Point / Counterpoint: Knowledge
Management
A 4-Letter Acronym Sending CIOs
Running Scared - BYOD
Improving Customer
Service....through the SKMS
Book Review: Information Lifecycle
Support – Wisdom, knowledge,
information and data management
(WKIDM)
And Another Thing....
Books (and their authors!) at
Fusion11
Opinion: ABCs of ICT at Fusion11
2012 Editorial Calendar - Your
Chance to Make a Contribution
Newsletter Tools
Search Past Issues
Print-Friendly Article
Print-Friendly Issue
Managing Editor
Tess DePalma - Nemours
Contributing Editors
Carlos Casanova - K2 Solutions
Philip Hellerman - IBM
Doug Hymel - Maryville
Michael Yee - CoreLogic
8,000 Pairs of Eyes!
Your ad could be here! For more
information, please email
[email protected] .
Take it from the Top
The Americas Regional priSM Institute Awards First Two Fellow
Credentials
During Fusion11, the President of the Global priSM Institute, Jay Stuart, and the Chair of the Americas Regional
priSM Institute, Cathy Kirch, awarded the first Fellow credentials for the Americas region to Alex Hernandez and
Doug Tedder.
Cathy Kirch (right) and Jay Stuart (left) present
Alex Hernandez with the priSM Fellow Credential.
Doug Tedder recieves the priSM Fellow Credential from
Cathy Kirch (left) and Jay Stuart (right).
The Fellow credential, the priSM Institute's highest level of honorary achievement, is given to those select
Distinguished Professional in Service Management (DPSM) credential holders who have made an outstanding
contribution to the advancement of the field of Service Management by formal contributions to one or more
Service Management-oriented publications, by leadership contribution, by industry expert status as recognized by
their peers, or by their overall contribution to Service Management's related industry standards. Nominations are
reviewed by a committee and selects receipients after a thorough review of the nominee's significant contributions
as a practitioner, educator, author, or advocate based on evidence of accomplishment, opinions of references,
service to other professional organizations, and years in the profession.
Previous Article Next Article
Page 2
itSMF USA
1200 E. Route 66, Suite 202
Glendora, CA 91740
Phone: 626-963-1900
FAX: 626-963-1977
[email protected]
“The Source for IT Service Management” is the bi-monthly newsletter of the IT Service Management Forum USA (itSMF USA). The Editors reserve the sole right to
accept, refuse or modify articles based on itSMF USA policies or other acceptability criteria.
The itSMF USA, its officers, directors, newsletter editors, and contributors offer for this publication no warranties, express or implied, including any implied warranty
of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. Under no circumstances shall the itSMF USA be liable for any special, direct or indirect, incidental or
consequential damages resulting from any actions taken or omissions made, due to reliance on any information from any source contained in, or linked to, this
newsletter.
Publication in The Source for IT Service Management does not constitute an endorsement of any product(s) or service(s) advertised herein by third parties. The
itSMF USA is not responsible for the accuracy (or lack thereof) of any advertisement or article herein contained.
Page 3
Fall, 2011
In This Issue
Take it from the Top
President's Corner
The Americas Regional priSM
Institute Awards First Two Fellow
Credentials
Managing Your CPD Requirement -
Part 2
Features: Knowledge Management
Building Wisdom in Your Organization
Point / Counterpoint: Knowledge
Management
A 4-Letter Acronym Sending CIOs
Running Scared - BYOD
Improving Customer
Service....through the SKMS
Book Review: Information Lifecycle
Support – Wisdom, knowledge,
information and data management
(WKIDM)
And Another Thing....
Books (and their authors!) at
Fusion11
Opinion: ABCs of ICT at Fusion11
2012 Editorial Calendar - Your
Chance to Make a Contribution
Newsletter Tools
Search Past Issues
Print-Friendly Article
Print-Friendly Issue
Managing Editor
Tess DePalma - Nemours
Contributing EditorsCarlos Casanova - K2 Solutions
Philip Hellerman - IBM
Doug Hymel - Maryville
Michael Yee - CoreLogic
Take it from the Top
Managing Your CPD Requirement - Part 2
Dr. Suzanne Van Hove and Patricia Page
Every priSM® credential holder must maintain their credential via ongoing professional
development – either through verifiable practitioner activities, professional contributions or
ongoing education via Service Management-based training. For some, this requirement has
been a roadblock for entering the priSM program; specifically their itSMF Chapter has infrequent
events or their location doesn’t allow consistent participation in professional Service
Management events. There is a solution! Have you heard about BrightTALK™?
The priSM scheme recognizes these common difficulties and is working with BrightTALK, the
online event specialists for professionals. BrightTALK has dedicated channels that cater to the
Service Management professional: the IT Service Management channel (with an upcoming, at
the time of writing this article, all-day summit entitled “Service Catalog Summit”) and the itSMF
USA Channel. There are over 350 45-minute presentations that can be viewed when it suits your
schedule. You can look out for the banner on the ITSM channels to confirm the webinar is CPD
approved.
Page 4
8,000 Pairs of Eyes!
Your ad could be here! For more
information, please email
[email protected] .
Other ITSM summits that have occurred include:
* Problem & Incident Management Summit
* ITIL Version 3 Summit
* Managing Cloud Services Summit
Review all on-demand ITSM events here:
http://www.brighttalk.com/r/GbP
These live and on-demand webinars are each worth one CPD and each is easily verifiable. All
you need to do is capture each webinar – either live or on-demand – by title and date. The
Professional Development committees will verify attendance when you submit your CPD
activities via statistics held by BrightTALK.
BrightTALK requires a one-time online registration with an email address. The webinars are
available at no cost to the viewer.
For another method of gaining CPDs, as an expert you can present on BrightTALK for even more
CPDs! BrightTALK offers regular summits and would be able to review your presentation if you
would like to speak. Do you have Service Management topic that you are passionate about and
a vendor-neutral presentation? Contact Suzanne Van Hove ([email protected] ) for
more information on priSM and Patricia Page ([email protected] ) to be considered as a
presenter for an upcoming BrightTALK™ webinar.
About the Author
Suzanne Van Hove, Ed.D, FSM, FISM is the CEO and founder of SED-IT. She may be reached
at [email protected]
Managing Your CPD Requirement ©2011 The priSM Institute
Previous Article Next Article
itSMF USA
1200 E. Route 66, Suite 202
Glendora, CA 91740
Phone: 626-963-1900
FAX: 626-963-1977
[email protected]
“The Source for IT Service Management” is the bi-monthly newsletter of the IT Service Management Forum USA (itSMF USA). The Editors
reserve the sole right to accept, refuse or modify articles based on itSMF USA policies or other acceptability criteria.
The itSMF USA, its officers, directors, newsletter editors, and contributors offer for this publication no warranties, express or implied, including any
implied warranty of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. Under no circumstances shall the itSMF USA be liable for any special,
direct or indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any actions taken or omissions made, due to reliance on any information
from any source contained in, or linked to, this newsletter.
Page 5
Publication in The Source for IT Service Management does not constitute an endorsement of any product(s) or service(s) advertised herein by
third parties. The itSMF USA is not responsible for the accuracy (or lack thereof) of any advertisement or article herein contained.
Page 6
Fall, 2011
In This Issue
Take it from the Top
President's Corner
The Americas Regional priSM
Institute Awards First Two Fellow
Credentials
Managing Your CPD Requirement -
Part 2
Features: Knowledge Management
Building Wisdom in Your Organization
Point / Counterpoint: Knowledge
Management
A 4-Letter Acronym Sending CIOs
Running Scared - BYOD
Improving Customer
Service....through the SKMS
Book Review: Information Lifecycle
Support – Wisdom, knowledge,
information and data management
(WKIDM)
And Another Thing....
Books (and their authors!) at
Fusion11
Opinion: ABCs of ICT at Fusion11
2012 Editorial Calendar - Your
Chance to Make a Contribution
Newsletter Tools
Search Past Issues
Print-Friendly Article
Print-Friendly Issue
Managing Editor
Tess DePalma - Nemours
Contributing Editors
Carlos Casanova - K2 Solutions
Philip Hellerman - IBM
Doug Hymel - Maryville
Michael Yee - CoreLogic
8,000 Pairs of Eyes!
Your ad could be here! For more
information, please email
[email protected] .
Features: Knowledge Management
Building Wisdom in Your Organization
Phyllis Drucker, Linium
Knowledge Management, considered a critical area by most, has been around and in use for a long time., however, its
concept and available tools have matured considerably since its early days. In its original context Knowledge Management
comprised building solutions the Service Desk could use to speed up incident resolution. Tools played prominently, but
many of them were not yet very sophisticated and were overly time-intensive to implement, particularly if the organization
was looking to build knowledge around proprietary systems. Self-service became one of its goals, as solutions to easy
problems were published to allow customers (users) to fix issues on their own, or log a ticket if the solution failed to provide
resolution.
Knowledge Management had some very simple processes to follow in this context:
Support teams write a knowledge article with step-by-step instructions to resolve an issue
A more technical team reviews the article for accuracy and provides corrections
The article is cleaned up by Knowledge Administrators and published
The article is reviewed periodically for accuracy, updated or retired as needed.
Many organizations have been able to demonstrate significant savings from implementing tools that provide these services
and the industry continued to mature, all the way through the release of ITIL v3 and its subsequent refresh. As a result,
implementing a self-service knowledge base is only the tip of the Knowledge Management iceberg. The purpose of
Knowledge Management according to ITIL is far broader than many organizations’ implementation of their self-help
knowledge bases. It concerns a broad and holistic view of knowledge. It is defined in Service Transition to reflect the need
to transition knowledge about new and changed services appropriately in order to ensure the effective and efficient
operation of these services once they go live. Looking at the design of the Service Knowledge Management System
(SKMS) provides a doorway into understanding Knowledge Management as it is viewed by ITIL.
Value for Effort
The value of Knowledge Management in the context of providing solutions for Tier I support and users to implement quickly
and effectively is not in question here. This has been and remains a key, critical component of Knowledge Management.
A simple look at the math involved demonstrates why:
Based on the cost of a call to a Tier I Technician of $25 at a Service
Desk that takes 500 calls per day, a 10% reduction in calls saves
$325,000 per year.
With this in mind, it makes sense that most organizations would start here. But once an effective self-service and Tier I
Knowledge Base is implemented, there is still additional value that can be brought to an organization by looking at what’s
next in this area.
Knowledge Management as a Practice
Knowledge Management as a practice unrelated to IT began in earnest in the early 1990’s and is so important to
businesses seeking to retain the competitive advantage that there are now university Master’s Degree programs that teach
the concepts and methods related to managing knowledge. The reason is very simple: as organizations grow and continue
to become more technical, they rely on the knowledge of individual workers, who could leave the organization at any time
and as a result place the organization at risk. As such, there are several forms of knowledge that organizations are seeking
to capture:
Documentation and operational procedures
Page 7
Historical information that contributes to day to day operations
Information that supports strategy
The practice of Knowledge Management also looks at the needs to extract personal information so that it can be used at the
team level and then further extracting team knowledge so it may be used at the department and enterprise level while
documenting all of it to ensure future availability.
Looking to ITIL and the framework surrounding Knowledge Management, there are several main activities to managing
knowledge and maturing the organization’s Knowledge Management practice:
Knowledge Strategy
Setting a strategy is the first step to moving beyond the simple knowledge base. It becomes necessary since it is
critical to defining a single set of standards for managing knowledge. Some things to consider when developing the
strategy include:
Defining the business requirements: why are you collecting and to what use will it be put
Defining the types of knowledge that will be collected to support these requirements
Documentation
Policies & Procedures
Operating Instructions
Historical and trend information documenting experiences
Information concerning proposed changes
Defining standards for the tools that will be used to house this knowledge
Data bases and knowledge bases
Web tools that provide search capabilities, like wiki’s, SharePoint, blog
Level of involvement of forums, chat rooms, social media style tools
Defining the refresh/review periods, methods of keeping the knowledge current
Defining who should be able to access different types of knowledge
Identifying the critical success factors for the effort and defining the measurements that will be needed to
ensure success
Documenting the strategy
Knowledge strategy is the most critical component of expanding Knowledge Management beyond the knowledge
base. Looking at this from the standpoint of ITIL, this is equivalent to the Service Strategy. Taking a Knowledge
Management practice through the full ITIL life cycle will ensure the appropriate level of planning is performed
enabling the implementation project to be successful.
Knowledge Transfer
Knowledge Transfer is possibly one of the more difficult areas of Knowledge Management to address. It requires a
culture of sharing, or in the absence of one, a set of standards defining what will be documented and where. One
way to accomplish this is to begin with new and changed services. A solid Service Strategy and Service Design
implementation calls for a significant amount of documentation to be created including:
Business Requirements
Technical and functional requirements to support them
Service Level Requirements and Agreements
Hours of operation, patterns of business activity related to the service
Monitoring requirements
Capacity, Availability and Continuity Plans
Financial information concerning the service
More….
First, all of the components of this “service design package” must be stored in a location that is organized,
appropriately secured as well as available, in accordance to the overall strategy.
Page 8
As the service or changes to the service are then built, coded, and then tested, additional documentation will be
developed. All of the technical documentation concerning the build, all of the test scripts and results should again
be stored according to the agreed upon standard procedure.
Finally, all known errors, steps taken to resolve and those being introduced into the production environment need to
be added to the organization’s Known Error Database (where one exists) and made available to the appropriate
personnel. At the very least, in lieu of a database, there needs to be a documented repository to house this
information while a database is constructed along with a plan to migrate data to it accordingly when ready.
As the service is turned over to operations, all policies and procedures concerning its use, operational instructions,
run books, etc. need to be added to the store.
As part of Knowledge Transfer, all training materials should also be collected and housed, and made accessible to
new personnel who will need access in ordr to learn how to use the service.
As the Service is then operated and incidents are logged against it, the Knowledge Management practice needs to
ensure that the appropriate people are contributing resolution information to the Knowledge Base and keeping it
updated with any operational knowledge that is gained over time.
Once teams are accustomed to the practice of creating and storing this information, further effort can be made to
collect the appropriate information on existing services.
Data & Information Management
All of the data collected during Service Design and Transition, records of known errors, incidents, problems,
changes made to the service over time and Knowledge articles will quickly become outdated if there are no
procedures in place to keep them updated. This idea should have already been addressed as part of the strategy
that includes a program of regular refreshes and audits to ensure teams are performing the tasks associated with
maintaining the data.
ITIL processes should be reviewed to determine what tasks should to be added to each of the processes to help
ensure that data is maintained. For example, before a change can be approved for deployment, documentation
must be updated in the appropriate store, any known errors and associated workarounds must be added to the
Known Error Database and any solutions in the Knowledge Base related to the impacted services must be
reviewed and updated.
Periodic audits also need to be performed to ensure these tasks occur as documented.
The SKMS
While left for last, the SKMS (Service Knowledge Management System) is the hub of all of these activities from a
tools perspective. Once the strategy regarding tools and storage of different types of data has been defined, a
collection of databases will be growing to house this data. The SKMS is the virtual repository or collection of data
regarding services currently in use at the organization. It will be comprised of a number of different data stores; all
called out in the various ITIL processes. An example of some of the major data stores includes:
The Service Portfolio, including the Service Catalog and all data maintained within it
Capacity Management Information Systems as well as availability plans, business continuity plans….
Information Security Management Systems and documentation
The Configuration Management System with all federated CMDB’s
The “ticketing system” or product used by IT to manage incidents, problems, changes, service requests,
access requests etc.
The relationships built over time between the ticketing system and the CMS that build the history of each CI
contained in this store
The document stores used to house requirements and technical documentation etc.
More…
The challenge here is that over time, there needs to be one way to find all of the associated information. As part of
the strategy, a “single pane of glass” approach will need to be developed. In other words, a system of record will
need to be defined. From that system of record, links to other stores can provide access to other data concerning
the service. The organization will need to determine if this is performed by the CMS, the Knowledge Base, the
Page 9
Service Catalog or some other tool that drive standards to ensure that all of the appropriate data is available
through that agreed upon system of record.
It’s evident that building a robust practice around Knowledge Management is complex and evolutionary. It will take a
strategic plan to establish the practice with continued improvement and a dedication to maintain the organization’s collection
of knowledge over time. Expecting that this can be done quickly or that it will ever be truly finished will ultimately lead to
failure of the initiative as the data collected becomes outdated.
The need for this practice is clear. IT services have become critical to the day-to-day operation of virtually every business.
As complexity grows and staff turns over, the knowledge lost puts the organization at risk. A good Knowledge Management
practice should therefore be considered as part of the Management of Risk and appropriate resources should be allocated
to ensure continued knowledge growth and maintenance.
About the Author
Phyllis Drucker has been active in the ITSM industry for almost 20 years, both as a practitioner, as the Operations Director
of itSMF USA and now as a Business Process Consultant for Linium. She has been a frequent contributor of knowledge to
the ITSM profession, has provided numerous presentations at HDI and itSMF conferences and webinars for several
organizations. She has also had her articles and white papers published by HDI, itSMF USA and itSMF International.
Finally, she has been active at the International level, speaking at two itSMF Spain conferences and working with the
international ITSM community to offer both webinars and conference content in Spanish.
Previous Article Next Article
itSMF USA
1200 E. Route 66, Suite 202
Glendora, CA 91740
Phone: 626-963-1900
FAX: 626-963-1977
[email protected]
“The Source for IT Service Management” is the bi-monthly newsletter of the IT Service Management Forum USA (itSMF USA). The Editors reserve the sole right to accept,
refuse or modify articles based on itSMF USA policies or other acceptability criteria.
The itSMF USA, its officers, directors, newsletter editors, and contributors offer for this publication no warranties, express or implied, including any implied warranty of
merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. Under no circumstances shall the itSMF USA be liable for any special, direct or indirect, incidental or consequential
damages resulting from any actions taken or omissions made, due to reliance on any information from any source contained in, or linked to, this newsletter.
Publication in The Source for IT Service Management does not constitute an endorsement of any product(s) or service(s) advertised herein by third parties. The itSMF USA
is not responsible for the accuracy (or lack thereof) of any advertisement or article herein contained.
Page 10
Fall, 2011
In This Issue
Take it from the Top
President's Corner
The Americas Regional priSM
Institute Awards First Two FellowCredentials
Managing Your CPD Requirement -
Part 2
Features: Knowledge Management
Building Wisdom in Your Organization
Point / Counterpoint: Knowledge
Management
A 4-Letter Acronym Sending CIOsRunning Scared - BYOD
Improving Customer
Service....through the SKMS
Book Review: Information Lifecycle
Support – Wisdom, knowledge,
information and data management
(WKIDM)
And Another Thing....
Books (and their authors!) at
Fusion11
Opinion: ABCs of ICT at Fusion11
2012 Editorial Calendar - Your
Chance to Make a Contribution
Newsletter Tools
Search Past Issues
Print-Friendly Article
Print-Friendly Issue
Managing EditorTess DePalma - Nemours
Contributing EditorsCarlos Casanova - K2 Solutions
Philip Hellerman - IBM
Doug Hymel - MaryvilleMichael Yee - CoreLogic
8,000 Pairs of Eyes!
Your ad could be here! For moreinformation, please email
[email protected] .
Features: Knowledge Management
Point / Counterpoint: Knowledge Management
Tess DePalma, Nemours and Steve Matthews, DorLind
Today’s technology allows organizations to acquire and store massive amounts of data. And, a business’s desire to have
access to that data with a few clicks of a mouse button has, over time, become the norm. Businesses demand information
at ever increasing rates and need that information in constant changing forms and formats. Ease of data retrieval has
proven to be valuable yet equally challenging in many ways.
Businesses thrive on data. They rely on it more and more as they grow and mature, face tough competition, develop new
products or services, focus on new strategies, and comply with ongoing regulatory requirements. Demands for data can be
challenging, yet at the same time successfully enable businesses to make informed decisions to support their ever
changing needs and strategies. IT Service Management also relies heavily on knowledge to make informed decisions, to
measure performance of processes, and support continual improvement efforts. Just like the Business, IT is a significant
consumer of organizational knowledge. So how do we harness the power of IT organizational knowledge? By managing it
via a measureable and repeatable process of course!
Before we tackle the introduction of a Knowledge Management (KM) process, we need to understand the maturity levels of
our organizational intelligence, documents, materials, facts, and figures. The following diagram shows the progressive
maturity of organizational knowledge:
Source: ITIL® Continual Service Improvement, ©Crown Copyright 2007
As stated previously, we can easily capture data with today’s technology. That’s the simple part. Data, though, is the rawest
form of knowledge. Organizations need to apply formatting and context to data to transform it into usable information.
Information, likewise, matures into reusable knowledge and allows us to solve “how” we do things. When we’ve taken
knowledge to the level of wisdom, we’ve enabled ourselves to properly support quality IT service provision to the Business.
Data that has matured to the Knowledge and Wisdom levels propel the capabilities of IT multifold.
From documents to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to Service Improvement Plans, all knowledge assets created
and maintained by an organization have the potential to enable an efficient and effective culture. Knowledge Management
within ITSM good practices provides guidance for managing these knowledge assets via a measureable and repeatable
process. Standardization of documentation formatting, contextual review, and formal approval procedures are also
significant derivatives from utilizing good practices. Ideally, a knowledgebase is a part of a well-constructed Configuration
Management System (CMS) and most integrated service management tools have KM modules that serve to support all
integrated processes.
Page 11
A very visible example of the use of knowledge assets is the typical measureable increase in Service Desk efficiency and
Tier 1 incident resolution with the increase of “how to” information available during investigation and diagnosis. Of course,
all Service Management processes benefit from the availability of a current and accurate knowledgebase to guide their
process execution and continual improvement efforts.
Knowledge drives Business and IT just as much as Business and IT drive the need for knowledge. They say “knowledge is
power”. In supporting an organization, this can hold very true.
Tess: Hey Steve, Wait up! I just came from the KM session and I wanted to pick your brain…
Steve: What session? What are you talking about…KM?
T: Knowledge Management, silly. I’ve been picking up all the KM topics at Fusion this year. I’m even more convinced we
need to be thinking about a more structured process. What is your favorite repository currently? I know different pockets of
XYZ are using spreadsheets, Access databases, SharePoint, Word docs; we are all over the place! I’d like to settle on a
single format and get everything stored in a single database.
S: Whoa! Hold on! Why? You are talking about adding a whole lot of overhead to the daily workload here.
T: OK, wait. Let me start again. First, tell me how your folks document their troubleshooting steps for future reference.
S: Well, we don’t really.
T: What?!?!??
S: No, we don’t. I have a highly trained staff. I hire people who know how to troubleshoot and resolve issues. They
don’t need step by step instructions to do their work. Besides, who’s supposed to write all those documents? We
don’t have any time to do all of that!
T: Steve, I have to say that may be the most short-sighted and maybe the dumbest thing I’ve heard from you in a long time.
S: Ouch! Getting personal again! But, honestly, what is the point? It’s a lot of extra work and we don’t have time or
quite frankly a need for jotting down a bunch of “how-to” steps in some document.
T: I am almost speechless!
S: Listen; my folks are hired for what they know and their experience applying that. Some of them have absolutely
no talent at writing. For Pete’s sake, these are IT people – they aren’t authors!
T: OK, let me start AGAIN…do your team members have a bunch of sticky notes around their monitors and cubes
reminding them of server names?
S: Yes…
T: Do they ever complain about simple troubleshooting that the Service Desk could do – or better yet, SHOULD HAVE
DONE before assigning a ticket to your group?
S: All the time! The Service Desk doesn’t even seem to try half the time! Just the other day, in a team meeting, they
were complaining about that exact thing.
T: Wow, Steve, don’t you realize we just talked about two of the most important reasons to have a knowledge base? A
centrally located and widely accessible database of all the disparate information that can help with troubleshooting, and a
knowledge transfer mechanism to spare your team from getting unnecessary tickets - which of course can translate to
Page 12
better first contact resolution and, most importantly, happier customers.
S: But, I don’t need a bunch of miserable techs! Listen, they have enough to do. And, I already told you they
majored in computers, not grammar.
T: Well if we do this right, that won’t matter.
S: Huh? Why not?
T: Because it won’t!
S: Come on! Don’t get mad; I’m actually getting interested. You’ve raised my curiosity. I’d at least like to hear your
theory here.
T: Well, it isn’t “my” theory. KM good practices have been around a LONG time and are now an integral part of ITIL® V3i
and even the ISO/IEC 20000 Standard. I just heard in the breakout session that there are even requirements related to KM
in the HDI site certification standard.
S: Really?
T: Look; just think of the possibilities if we had a measureable and repeatable process surrounding the capture, formatting,
acceptance, and maintenance of knowledge within XYZ IT. Do you realize how significant that knowledge would be to our
overall ITSM initiative? Our Teams don’t have to be “authors.” We can develop standard formats that everyone can easily
follow.
S: OK, so you’ve convinced me that this is something we really ought to get working on. And, I get it. There are lots
of benefits like saving us some research time, and possibly some rework due to incorrect troubleshooting... so
where do we start?
T: Well, we need to select that single repository and get it populated.
S: That sounds just like a lot of work and exactly what I was afraid of. I can never sell that to the team.
T: Sure you can if you make them realize all those benefits we just talked about. It’s definitely some work on the front end
but much less going forward if our knowledge assets are easily storable, searchable, and usable. Our teams won’t fight
knowledge capture and sharing if we show them the value! And just think of the benefits for training new staff. It’s a
pre-made instruction manual.
S: I like that – it sometimes takes folks a while just to learn the names of all the applications we support...
T: Which would be a list in the KMDB…
S: …or what they actually do…
T: And those descriptions can be in there too.
S: …what server they’re running on…
T: Check!
S: …who the user groups are…
T: Steve, it’s all in there! Or it could be if we standardized and centralized it all.
S: So tell me again how this isn’t a lot of work after the initial data gets into the KMDB.
T: Well there is some work but if we have a good process managing KM and the KMDB, the maintenance becomes easier.
With procedures laid out for KM articles and submission, our staff can easily submit potential articles and assets.
S: You’re right. Hey! I’ve got an idea!
T: Uh oh, you scare me sometimes when you say that……
S: Uh, give me a break will ya? Look, I know how my folks operate. There has to be some incentive to help drive
them other than “this will help everyone”. Why don’t we consider having some recognition for article submission
every so often? Put KM in a positive spotlight within IT.
T: Tell me more.
Page 13
S: Okay, a smooth process and procedures are great, but to not make this seem like a lot of work, we could
incentivize the staff. Recognition and possibly rewards go a long way. Let’s make this less about “work” and more
about raising the level of KM awareness and its value in supporting what we do. And, we can spotlight where KM
has proven value within the organization in our newsletter or on our intranet. I think you get the idea.
T: Okay, but we’d have to be careful…like not giving credit unless there is real value. For example, no points for adding
commas to an existing document, or creating documents about tying your shoes.
S: Again, she goes into comedian mode….No, you’re right. You get what you measure. I agree and we can work
that into the process. You know it takes me a while to catch on to what you’re talking about sometimes but, when I
get it, I get it!
T: Yep! I think it’s great. We are on the same page and I think you see the benefits I’ve been talking about. So are you
ready to tag-team with me and discuss this with Dawn? We can get her to back us on adding this to our ITSM initiative.
S: You betcha! You know my uncle Steve used to throw out pearls of wisdom once in a while and I remember one
that I think we can use to help us explain the difference between knowledge and wisdom to our Teams:
“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit;
Wisdom is knowing to not put a tomato in a fruit salad.”
T: HA! Funny, but true………………….
S: … I “know!”
About the Authors
Paula “Tess” DePalma is the Senior Director of IT Service Delivery in the Information Systems department at Nemours, one
of the largest pediatric subspecialty group practices in the nation (www.nemours.org). She holds the ITIL v2 Service
Manager and v3 Expert certificates, is a DPSM in the prISM program, and is the author of the Problem Management
chapter in HDI’s "Implementing Service and Support Management Processes." Tess has been part of itSMF USA’s
Communications team for several years and currently serves as the Managing Editor of "The Source for IT Service
Management." She also serves with Steve Matthews on the prISM Credentialling Committee. She may be reached at
[email protected] .
Steve Matthews is the Principal Consultant and Owner of DorLind, LLC, a provider of IT Service Management Consulting
and Training Services. Steve has consulted in the public sector in both municipal and Federal government spaces as well
as with Fortune 500 companies in the private sector. He holds ITIL v2 Service Manager and v3 Expert certificates and is a
member of an elite group of only ten individuals worldwide who hold the ISO/IEC 20000 Executive Consultant/Manager
certificate. He currently serves as the Chair of the prISM Credentialling Committee. Backing Steve’s ITSM experience is
over 26 years in the IT industry. He may be reached at [email protected] .
Previous Article Next Article
itSMF USA1200 E. Route 66, Suite 202
Glendora, CA 91740
Phone: 626-963-1900
FAX: 626-963-1977
[email protected]
“The Source for IT Service Management” is the bi-monthly newsletter of the IT Service Management Forum USA (itSMF USA). The Editors reserve the sole right to accept,
refuse or modify articles based on itSMF USA policies or other acceptability criteria.
The itSMF USA, its officers, directors, newsletter editors, and contributors offer for this publication no warranties, express or implied, including any implied warranty of
merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. Under no circumstances shall the itSMF USA be liable for any special, direct or indirect, incidental or consequential
damages resulting from any actions taken or omissions made, due to reliance on any information from any source contained in, or linked to, this newsletter.
Publication in The Source for IT Service Management does not constitute an endorsement of any product(s) or service(s) advertised herein by third parties. The itSMF USA
is not responsible for the accuracy (or lack thereof) of any advertisement or article herein contained.
Page 14
Fall, 2011
In This Issue
Take it from the Top
President's Corner
The Americas Regional priSM
Institute Awards First Two Fellow
Credentials
Managing Your CPD Requirement -
Part 2
Features: Knowledge Management
Building Wisdom in Your Organization
Point / Counterpoint: Knowledge
Management
A 4-Letter Acronym Sending CIOs
Running Scared - BYOD
Improving Customer
Service....through the SKMS
Book Review: Information Lifecycle
Support – Wisdom, knowledge,
information and data management
(WKIDM)
And Another Thing....
Books (and their authors!) at
Fusion11
Opinion: ABCs of ICT at Fusion11
2012 Editorial Calendar - Your
Chance to Make a Contribution
Newsletter Tools
Search Past Issues
Print-Friendly Article
Print-Friendly Issue
Managing Editor
Tess DePalma - Nemours
Contributing EditorsCarlos Casanova - K2 Solutions
Philip Hellerman - IBM
Doug Hymel - Maryville
Michael Yee - CoreLogic
Features: Knowledge Management
A 4-Letter Acronym Sending CIOs Running Scared - BYOD
Karen Ferris
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is a trend on the rise and is not going to go away.
Organisations have to face up to the fact that employees want to use and will use their own
devices in the workplace. They are already doing it and have been doing it for some time.
Forward thinking organisations are embracing BYOD as a way of attracting and retaining
talent. Students leaving school and university where they have been able to plug in their own
devices – smartphone, tablet, laptop etc. – are not going to be satisfied when told by a
potential employer that they have to use equipment provided by the employer and are not
allowed to connect their own devices. This will be seen as archaic, restrictive and
unsatisfactory. The likelihood is that the equipment being provided by the employer is inferior
to the leading edge technology owned by the employee.
On 26/07/11, Citrix Systems announced the results of the Citrix
Bring-Your-Own (BYO) Index revealing that 92 percent of IT
organizations are aware that employees are using their own
devices in the workplace and 94 percent intend to have a
formal BYO policy in place by mid-2013, up from 44 percent
today. The research found that attracting and retaining the
highest quality talent, increased worker productivity and
mobility and greater employee satisfaction, as well as reducing
IT costs, are the primary drivers of BYO adoption.
“There are two reasons that BYO is being embraced within
organizations,” stated Mick Hollison, vice president, Desktop
Marketing & Strategy, for Citrix. “There are those that are using
BYO to keep up with the rapid consumerization of enterprise IT
and then there are forward-thinking CIOs who have embraced
BYO as a way to attract the best talent, encourage a flexible
working environment and raise productivity levels.”1
The biggest fear of CIOs is security including access to sensitive information and the chance
of that information leaving the organisation. Neither of these should be new concerns raised
by BYOD. Employees have had access to sensitive information for decades and the
availability of CDs, USBs, email forwarding, phone cameras, photocopiers, pen and paper
Page 15
8,000 Pairs of Eyes!
Your ad could be here! For more
information, please email
[email protected] .
etc., has allowed this information to leave the organisation.
So it is time to calm down and embrace the future.
In April 2011, iPass issued the Global Mobile Workforce Report2 . iPass surveyed more than
3700 employees at 1100 organisations worldwide. The survey found that only 27% or workers
with tablets received them from their organisation. 73% were using their own tablets for
work-related purposes. 94% of workers have a smartphone and the smartphone and tablet
users are doing more than just email.
The top five business applications beyond email are:
* Note taking applications (47%)
* Contract or contact management (39%)
* Office suites (33%)
* Social media for work (30%)
* Web conferencing (25%)
I do not intend to discuss in detail how organisations can overcome the security concerns that
BYOD poses. There is a myriad of information already available that covers that. It is suffice to
say that virtualisation, security control such as “wipe and lock”, GPS tracking and fencing,
anti-malware and firewalls, device encryption, device fingerprinting solutions etc., and a good
BYOD policy should resolve any issues.
I also recommend that reference be made to organisations such as Suncorp Metway, Citrix
Systems, and Curtin University, who have embraced a BYOD approach.
Having established that BYOD is the here and now as well as the future, I want to discuss
what this means for IT Service Management (ITSM).
The following are some of the key areas of ITSM that I believe have a part to play in the BYOD
environment. They are not in any particular order nor do they imply that BYOD is not subject to
the entire ITSM service lifecycle. BYOD should be treated like any other service but it does
have some distinctive considerations.
Service Strategy
Service Strategy needs to consider the adoption of BYOD in the organisation. It may not be
appropriate to every organisation and it may not be appropriate to every employee within the
organisation.
Page 16
Careful consideration needs to be given to the ramifications of a BYOD strategy including
legal, financial, HR and the need to maintain productivity and meet service level agreements.
The Service Portfolio approach of “define, analyse, approve and charter” needs to be applied
to BYOD as it does to any other service under consideration as a potential service offering by
the organisation.
Demand Management needs to understand the demand for BYOD within the organisation and
Financial Management needs to understand the financial impact of adoption (see below).
Once the decision to adopt a BYOD strategy has been made, this will drive corporate policies
and procedures in relation to use of personal devices which will also vary from country to
country due to differences in privacy laws, taxation, working practices etc.
Financial Management
Investigation into the cost of a BYOD approach including Return on Investment (ROI) and
Return on Value (ROV) needs to take place. Whilst organisations may realise cost savings
through reduced hardware purchases and support costs there may be increased costs in
additional security and administrative systems and infrastructure investment.
Organisations may have to provide equipment allowances such as employee interest-free
loans for new computers, stipends, etc. and allowances for applications purchased for
work-related purposes. These additional costs need to be weighed up against the inherent
purchase and support cost savings of BYOD along with the ROV of employee -engagement,
-satisfaction, -productivity and -retention.
Policy
As mentioned above the adoption of a BYOD strategy will drive the establishment of corporate
policies and procedures.
Gartner recommends that these policies include, at the very minimum3:
* Language to explain the employee's responsibility to have a suitable machine available for
company use at all times
* Minimum specifications for hardware and OS
* Who will pay — and how much — for hardware, software and third-party support
* What is and isn't supported by IT organisation
* Remote-access policies security policies
* Levels of permissible data access
* Safe storage of company data
* What to do if the system is lost or stolen
* What to do at termination of employment
* Financial liabilities of enterprise and user
* Data cleansing from notebook hard drive
In addition to the security considerations that were listed earlier, the Information Security
Management (ISM) policy needs to clearly state what happens if an employee loses a mobile
device or leaves the organisation. For example, the organisation may retain the right to wipe
any mobile device of corporate data or all data in given circumstances.
Page 17
In conjunction with Access Management, ISM may generate one-off, time-limited access
codes. ISM also needs to prescribe what is expected of the employee in regards to their
mobile devices. For example, employees may be expected to have a certain level of anti-virus
protection installed onto any device they bring into the organisation.
The organisation may decree a minimum specification for employee-owned devices including
a specified warranty period from the device supplier / manufacturer.
According to Lia Tim writing in IT News4, the following is a quick checklist in relation to
security for BYO devices:
* Apply to BYO computers the same security settings as an outsider connecting to the
network.
* Only allow BYO computers onto the network after administrators have cleared the machine
for use.
* Consider use of virtualisation to lock down a virtual machine for work use.
* Ban the storage of corporate data on the device and offer secured cloud services as an
alternative.
* Ban jailbroken devices.
* Insist on encryption.
* Lock sensitive documents to devices and/or time-limits.
Service Design Package
As mentioned earlier, the provision of BYOD as a service should be no different to that of any
other service and should be subject to the same service design considerations. Some of the
considerations specific to BYOD are mentioned throughout this article.
A Service Design Package (SDP) should be created with particular emphasis on the security
implications of the service, the technology standards associated with the service, service
dynamics, support requirements and service level requirements. It is not the intent of this
article to list all the aspects of the SDP in detail, but suffice to say that it should cover at a
minimum:
* Requirements: Business requirements; how and where the service is to be used; contact
details;
* Service Design: Functional requirements; service level requirements; operational
management requirements; service design requirements; expected outcomes and deliverables
including financial outcomes;
* Organisational readiness assessment; and
* Lifecycle plan: overall service programme; service transition plan (including all testing
requirements); operational acceptance plan with acceptance criteria.
Service design requirements should include a service model that describes the structure of the
service – i.e. how all the various components fit together and interact. This is where
consideration will have to be given to which devices are to be supported for which business
services as not all devices will be applicable for all business services e.g. smartphone may be
used for some business services and not other others; tablets may be used for some business
services and not others etc. The service dynamics need to be captured and may form part of
the Configuration Management System (CMS).
Page 18
Service Catalogue Management
BYOD should be included as a “service” in the Service Catalogue. The Service Catalogue
should describe the BYOD service including (but not limited to) the following:
* what the BYOD service entails;
* standard service details and options;
* any exclusions pertaining to the service;
* who is entitled to the service (if the service view is not limited to those entitled to receive it);
* the level of authorisation and approval required in order for the service to be granted;
* the obligations of the employee (including linkage to the associated policies);
* costs such as support costs that may have to be incurred by the employee); reimbursements
available such as an allowance for using a personal device and purchase of applications for
work-related purposes;
* information to assist employees in making an informed decision of whether to opt-in to the
service e.g. pros and cons;
* how to obtain the service;
* service level targets associated with the initial service provision and ongoing support;
* hours of provision and hours of support; and
* contact details for more information regarding the service (including avenue for complaints
and compliments).
Service Level Management
Service Level Management will have to consider the service level targets for the various
device types that the BYOD environment encompasses, both for initial connectivity to the
network as well as ongoing support and maintenance. The obligations of both the employee
and the organisation should be specified in the Service Level Agreement (SLA). For example,
initial support for connectivity issues will only be provided by the organisation if the employee
has accepted the conditions of service that include stated security protection on the device
and three year manufacturer warranty for the device. If the organisation provides no additional
support for BYOD other than initial connectivity, this should be clearly specified. See “Service
and Support” below.
The SLA should clearly reflect the BYOD policy, levels and conditions of support, costs etc.
either by links to the relevant information or specifically within the agreement (avoiding
repetition of detail).
Release and Deployment Management
A phased approach to deployment would be recommended in order to test, validate and
evaluate the outcome of allowing each type of device access to the organisation’s network.
Once network connectivity is established, testing will need to incorporate the use of each
device type to access each business service to which connectivity is being permitted.
Testing should incorporate as many security scenarios as possible to provide assurance that
the biggest concern for this service has been given appropriate focus. As with any security
breach, it is not just the potential cost of the incident that is of concern but also the reputation
Page 19
of the organisation that is at stake.
Change Management
If your employee onboarding is managed via the Change Management process, ensure that
there is a child Request for Change (RFC) that drives the acceptance of a BYOD policy by
each employee. This should provide a check that the employee has read and signed the
BYOD policy before IT is allowed to grant access to that person.
This should also apply to employees as they opt-in to the BYOD scheme. The Configuration
Item (CI) relating to the employee should indicate that they are a BYOD subscriber. See
SACM below.
Service Asset and Configuration Management (SACM)
If you are recording employees as Configuration Items (CIs), include an attribute that indicates
whether they are users of organisation owned computing (and if so what items) or using their
own computing. This will allow reporting on the percentage of employees adopting BYOD over
time. The trend analysis will allow forecasting to take place on predicted uptake and therefore
provide insight into how much computing equipment the organisation will have (or not have) to
provide in the future. This feeds into Capacity Management and the management of spare
computing resource in the event of failure of employee owned equipment.
It will also be necessary for a check to be made on current software licences to ensure that the
organisation is allowed to grant employees access to any licensed software that they will need
to use when using personal computing devices over the network.
Capacity Management and Demand Management
Research should take place to try and predict the uptake of BYOD within the organisation.
This is going to vary from organisation to organisation. Factors that will influence the uptake
include the age demographic within the organisation (e.g. Gen Y are more likely to adopt
BYOD than the Baby Boomers) and the nature of the work undertaken by employees (e.g.
those using IT intermittently are less likely to adopt BYOD than those using it for the majority
of their work).
The degree of employee mobility may also have an influence where a highly mobile workforce
may be more suited to a BYOD approach than a static one where the fixed desktop is more
than adequate for most employee needs.
The level of employee computer literacy within the organisation will also have an influencing
factor. A highly computer literate workforce is more likely to embrace a BYOD approach as
they will be more confident in the management and maintenance and connectivity of their own
devices including provision of initial fault investigation and diagnosis.
When planning the introduction of BYOD all these factors need to be taken into consideration
to determine the capacity levels of computing devices that the organisation will need to
provide for both normal operation and backup in the event that the employees equipment fails
to work. The BYOD policy should state that in the event that the employee cannot conduct
their expected duties with their own equipment that they will be provided with
organisation-owned equipment until the time that their own equipment can be used. Not being
Page 20
able to connect your own equipment to the organisations network is not an excuse not to work!
Therefore the organisation needs to predict demand and ensure sufficient capacity of
computing capability for normal and contingency situations.
There also has to be consideration of balancing demand for a BYOD approach with the
complexity for the Service Desk and support teams in supporting many varied and unfamiliar
devices. See below.
Service Desk and Support
There needs to be clear communication from the Service Desk to employees in regards to
what is supported in a BYOD environment. This should defined in the BYOD policy.
Liz Tay writing in IT News5
outlined the combination of tactics that organisations are adopting
in regards to the support of BYOD according to the Gartner analysts.
These included:
* timeboxed support, where support staff committed a maximum of 30 or 60 minutes to
supporting any BYO devices;
* “best effort” support, where support staff made “reasonable attempts” to fix problems, with
the understanding that BYO problems were ultimately the user’s responsibility;
* technically bounded support, where corporate IT supported some technologies and not
others;
* loan device pools, from which users could temporarily replace lost or broken devices;
* community support, so employees could share information and experiences through mailing
lists, corporate social networks, wikis, or microblogging tools;
* defining or providing support arrangements with third-party providers;
* outsourcing support completely to an external organisation;
* education and training programs to make users aware of common problems and solutions,
BYO policies and their responsibilities; and
* policy administration and enforcement, including wiping devices or deauthorising users when
necessary.
It was also suggested in the article that support staff should be prepared to provide training,
education and policy auditing to prepare for situations in which a personal device may be
required for e-discovery as a result of litigation.
The key is for the boundaries to be clearly stated and understood. Communicate the level of
support and maintenance that will be provided to employees who bring their own devices and
what minimum standards are to be met before an employee is allowed to connect their device
to the network.
The Service Desk and support staff should have clear cut criteria to determine what is
supported by IT, what is supported by a third party and what is the responsibility of the
employee in relation to BYOD.
Ensure that employees understand the level of access the organisation has to the employee’s
personal devices and the content held on it. This has to be defined in conjunction with HR and
incorporated into policy. For example, is the organisation enabled to investigate breaches of
codes of conduct on an employee’s device e.g. the presence of pornography on a device used
for work purposes? If a device is lost or a security breach detected, can the organisation wipe
Page 21
all the data on the device or will the wipe exclude “personal” data?
As with any support requirement, the Service Desk and support team should be equipped with
enabling knowledge and tools.
Supplier Management
In regards to support, the organisation may wish to consider third party support for the
employees participating in the BYOD scheme.
In the paper, “Checklist for an Employee-Owned Notebook or PC Program”, 6 Gartner
provides some advice on the third party support and maintenance considerations.
One of the great benefits of an employee-owned PC program is relieving IT support staff from
dealing with PC break/fix and nonstandard software application issues.
However, one of the primary tenets of the program is the employee’s responsibility to have a
suitable machine available for company use at all times. If that system breaks, then the
employee will need to get the support from somewhere. Requiring a hardware maintenance
contract is not enough, since there will always be “how to” questions, as well as inquiries
about OS and software problems. While many younger workers who grew up with PCs, as
well as many technically astute workers, are self-sufficient, a significant percentage of
knowledge workers will still require an organized, predictable form of support.
A best practice is to organize suitable third-party support options for the plan’s participants.
The support can be provided by value- added resellers, dedicated support organizations or PC
hardware OEMs. In addition to hardware, the support plan has to cover OSs and application
software, as well as home networking and printer issues.
Potential options are that:
* During the plan pilot and in early stages, the enterprise can choose to pay part or all the
support expense as an employee benefit. Employees can, of course, opt out.
* Enterprises can also choose to provide “loaner” systems loaded with the corporate image.
This strategy serves to keep users productive during a personal system repair period.
Note that there is a separate, in-house concierge-level support program for executives who
require faster and more-personalized service. To ensure adequate funding, executives should
be charged for the concierge service.
Supplier Management should investigate the various support options available to the
organisation for the BYOD environment and choose the most suitable for the requirements of
the organisation.
Knowledge Management
In an environment where support for many varied devices is required (to some degree or
other), Knowledge Management will be key. At a minimum, support will be required for
connectivity to the network and therefore the knowledge base should include instructions on
how to connect a particular device to the network.
The knowledge base should also include details of the BYOD policy and the requirements of
the employee as discussed in this article e.g. minimum specification for devices, mandatory
Page 22
warranty periods etc.
As new device types enter the workplace, the knowledge base should be updated with the
connectivity details for that device.
Collaboration tools also allow employees access to the knowledge and experience of other
employees so a degree of self-help can be undertaken where employees are experiencing
difficulties. Good collaboration tools and a comprehensive, up-to-date and accurate knowledge
base can drastically reduce the demand on the Service Desk and support teams in BYOD
environment.
Summary
As organisations start to embrace BYOD, ITSM also has to step up to the new challenges that
this brings, not only in terms of security but also support.
Treat BYOD as you would with any other service and subject it to the aspects of service
strategy, and service design that it warrants.
The key is to clearly define the policies around BYOD and ensure that it is communicated
across the organisation in a language that can be understood by all employees. Make sure
that the requirements of employees are clearly laid out and the responsibilities of the
organisation in relation to employee owned devices clearly specified.
Make this information easily accessible e.g. in knowledge systems and on the intranet. Keep it
forefront of mind by regularly checking understanding through audits or surveys and making it
a requirement for employees to sign a letter of understanding on an annual basis.
Manage the demand and ensure sufficient capacity of computing for those employees not
adopting BYOD and for the instances where employee owned devices are not able to operate.
Equip the Service Desk and support teams with the skills, tools and knowledge to support the
myriad of devices entering the organisation. Make it clear to the Service Desk and support
staff, as well as employees, the scope and boundaries of support provision for employee
owned devices.
Ensure that HR and the legal department are fully engaged before the introduction of BYOD
as the legal and employment ramifications are not to be underestimated.
Finally, embrace it, love it, and cherish it. BYOD is all about happy, empowered, enabled and
productive employees. BYOD is about the ability to attract, engage and retain our talent. Don’t
we all want that?
Acknowledgement – Thanks to John Custy (@ITSMNinja) for his feedback on the initial
release of this article and suggested improvements.
About the Author
Karen Ferris is a Director of Macanta Consulting Pty Ltd and can be contacted at
[email protected] .
Page 23
1 http://www.citrixaccessessentials.com/English/ne/news/news.asp?newsID=2314341
2 http://www3.ipass.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/iPass_MWR_Q2_2011.pdf
3
https://www.citrixmarketingconcierge.com/FileExplorer/Partners/XenDesktop
/BYO/Gartner_Report_BYO_checklist.pdf
4 http://www.itnews.com.au/Tools/Print.aspx?CIID=256857
5 http://www.itnews.com.au/News/265821,byo-computing-needs-contingency-
plan-gartner.aspx
6 https://www.citrixmarketingconcierge.com/FileExplorer/Partners/XenDesktop
/BYO/Gartner_Report_BYO_checklist.pdf
This article first appeared in the July 2011 issue of "At Your Service," the official magazine of
itSMF International, and is reprinted with permission. "At Your Service" is available for
download at www.itsmf-whitepapers.org.
Previous Article Next Article
itSMF USA
1200 E. Route 66, Suite 202
Glendora, CA 91740
Phone: 626-963-1900
FAX: 626-963-1977
[email protected]
“The Source for IT Service Management” is the bi-monthly newsletter of the IT Service Management Forum USA (itSMF USA). The Editors
reserve the sole right to accept, refuse or modify articles based on itSMF USA policies or other acceptability criteria.
The itSMF USA, its officers, directors, newsletter editors, and contributors offer for this publication no warranties, express or implied, including
any implied warranty of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. Under no circumstances shall the itSMF USA be liable for any
special, direct or indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any actions taken or omissions made, due to reliance on any
information from any source contained in, or linked to, this newsletter.
Publication in The Source for IT Service Management does not constitute an endorsement of any product(s) or service(s) advertised herein by
third parties. The itSMF USA is not responsible for the accuracy (or lack thereof) of any advertisement or article herein contained.
Page 24
Fall, 2011
In This Issue
Take it from the Top
President's Corner
The Americas Regional priSM
Institute Awards First Two Fellow
Credentials
Managing Your CPD Requirement -
Part 2
Features: Knowledge Management
Building Wisdom in Your Organization
Point / Counterpoint: Knowledge
Management
A 4-Letter Acronym Sending CIOs
Running Scared - BYOD
Improving Customer
Service....through the SKMS
Book Review: Information Lifecycle
Support – Wisdom, knowledge,
information and data management
(WKIDM)
And Another Thing....
Books (and their authors!) at
Fusion11
Opinion: ABCs of ICT at Fusion11
2012 Editorial Calendar - Your
Chance to Make a Contribution
Newsletter Tools
Search Past Issues
Print-Friendly Article
Print-Friendly Issue
Managing Editor
Tess DePalma - Nemours
Contributing EditorsCarlos Casanova - K2 Solutions
Philip Hellerman - IBM
Doug Hymel - Maryville
Michael Yee - CoreLogic
Features: Knowledge Management
Improving Customer Service....through the SKMS
Joe Hurley, CA
The Service Knowledge Management System (SKMS) provides great value to those
organizations who are mature in their ITIL processes. By providing an intersection point for all
service-focused knowledge, the SKMS enables IT to address questions that were previously
difficult, if not impossible to consider. Some examples include:
What is the true cost of providing a service?
What is the value of that service to the business?
What might the value of a proposed service be?
How effective are my internal processes for building, delivering, and supporting
services?
While the data intersections modeled in your SKMS focus largely on addressing questions that
tend to be strategic in nature, they can also help provide support when addressing more
tactical concerns related to improvements in customer service. One of the most valuable
tactical sources in the SKMS are the discovery sources that flow in from the Configuration
Management System (CMS) and the Performance Management Database (PMDB) These
data sources can, if properly utilized, drastically improve overall service quality.
Discovery Data in the SKMB
Data flowing from the PMDB provides the early warning system necessary to detect and
prevent service impacts before they occur. Data flowing into the CMS help establish and
maintain the process controls that allow effective Service Management. Together, these data
align at a high level to one of two sets; either the current state (what is), or the control state
(what should be). Both are equally important in understanding how to maintain high levels of
service quality.
Current State - PMDB
Data from monitoring solutions are usually focused on the current state. Aside from the
benefit of understanding when components are online, the mature PMDB can help to identify
trends and conditions that at some point could lead to a service outage or degraded levels of
service. While simple examples of this like the detection of processor load or disk utilization
exceeding a predefined threshold are common in the PMDB, only the most mature PMDB is
actually able to take a "preemptive strike" support approach. The most advanced PMDB
systems are able to determine whether spikes in performance or consumption exceed
baseline trends for equivalent windows in time. The ability, for example, to determine that the
load on a server is high given the anticipated load from the previous day/week/month/quarter
/calendar year of sample data, or worse yet, the load is unusually low given these same
expectations, gives us substantially better information against which we can automatically
Page 25
8,000 Pairs of Eyes!
Your ad could be here! For more
information, please email
[email protected] .
determine whether an issue actually exists. Where one might point to a pending system
failure, the other could point to a breakdown of the service superstructure that delivers load to
a given system.
Each of these event types provides a unique challenge, but the ability to address them each in
an effective manner is supported equally by a mature PMDB. Of course to truly consider a
PMDB mature, it must possess the ability to integrate seamlessly with the CMS. Only by
enabling your PMDB and CMS to share a single definition of a service can you begin to
establish the basis of your SKMS discovery layer. Without this integration, you are likely to
replicate the siloed approaches of the past in which the worlds of Service Development and
Service Operations never intersect. In this environment, it is difficult to enable any processes
that effectively extend your Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) rates.
Control State - CMS
The CMS acts in much the same way in the service operation world as a source-code
management system would in the development world. By providing a repository to map and
manage configurations of services, as well as version the operational state of each of these
services, CMS acts as a control against which the data in the PMDB can be measured.
Discovery data in the CMS can help to support a positive customer experience .
By establishing the baseline for a configuration, it becomes possible to respond to outages
with much greater efficiency. Often times, when problems occur in an environment a support
team can quickly become befuddled trying to understand what happened, focusing their
attentions and energies on assigning blame. These exercises in accusation and redirection
often cost support teams valuable time in their attempts to restore service to customers.
Given that the vast majority of outages in most IT environments are related to a change,
having a basis against which to identify whether a change has occurred and understanding the
precise nature of that change eliminates what can often times turn into a prolonged and painful
debate. Now the question shifts from "what changed and who changed it?" to "why has
element X changed from Y to Z and will reverting that change resolve the outage?" Clearly,
the second conversation is the more productive of the two. By understanding the environment
relative to a control state (or baseline) we can dramatically reduce Mean Time to Repair
(MTTR) and improve overall service levels.
Another way that the CMS discovery data directly affects the customer experience is by
detecting the dependency hierarchy across all the intersecting systems in a service
environment. Armed with this information, it is substantially easier to understand the true
impact of a problem and successfully prioritize those issues that are having the greatest
negative effect. Take, for example, the operator working to restore service based on the
blinking red light on their monitoring console. In most environments, addressing the red light
would be a clear priority over addressing the yellow light blinking next to it. Imagine though
the red light representing a disk failure on a backup server while the yellow light represents
extreme network latency on the primary load balancer on the charge processing system. With
that additional context, it seems relatively clear that the yellow light is actually the more urgent
of the two alarms.
The nature of Service Operation work often makes it difficult to understand impact and
respond appropriately. This situation is often exacerbated by the inability of our
Page 26
instrumentation toolsets to effectively understand context and therefore understand business
risk. With CMS dependency discovery, we create the ability to automatically calculate and
prioritize risk by service impact and therefore greatly improve the quality of the service we
deliver by drastically reducing MTTR.
Improve Service Quality
Certainly, there is great strategic value added by an effective SKMS. Additionally there are
tactical benefits to establishing a level of maturity, particularly when it comes to reconciling
data from the various discovery mechanisms which feed the SKMS and its sub-repositories or
federated sources. By giving context to our overall support processes, we can achieve
maximum efficiency and generally improve the overall quality of service we offer.
About the Author
Joseph Hurley has over 15 years experience in IT. He has spent the last 10 years focused
primarily on the areas of Service Management and Asset Management. A software developer
by training, he has worked closely with a wide variety of companies ranging from small
startups to the Fortune 500. He operates ITBPL.org, a website devoted to expanding industry
exposure to IT Best Practices. He has authored several whitepapers, presented at itSMF
events, holds certifications in ITIL and ITAM, and is currently a Sr. Principal Consultant for CA,
Inc.
NOTE: This article originally appeared in itSMF USA Forum in October 2009 under the title "Improving
Customer Service through Effective Use of Discovery Data in the Service Knowledge Management
System (SKMS)"
Previous Article Next Article
itSMF USA
1200 E. Route 66, Suite 202
Glendora, CA 91740
Phone: 626-963-1900
FAX: 626-963-1977
[email protected]
“The Source for IT Service Management” is the bi-monthly newsletter of the IT Service Management Forum USA (itSMF USA). The Editors
reserve the sole right to accept, refuse or modify articles based on itSMF USA policies or other acceptability criteria.
The itSMF USA, its officers, directors, newsletter editors, and contributors offer for this publication no warranties, express or implied, including
any implied warranty of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. Under no circumstances shall the itSMF USA be liable for any
special, direct or indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any actions taken or omissions made, due to reliance on any
Page 27
information from any source contained in, or linked to, this newsletter.
Publication in The Source for IT Service Management does not constitute an endorsement of any product(s) or service(s) advertised herein by
third parties. The itSMF USA is not responsible for the accuracy (or lack thereof) of any advertisement or article herein contained.
Page 28
Fall, 2011
In This Issue
Take it from the Top
President's Corner
The Americas Regional priSM
Institute Awards First Two Fellow
Credentials
Managing Your CPD Requirement -
Part 2
Features: Knowledge Management
Building Wisdom in Your Organization
Point / Counterpoint: Knowledge
Management
A 4-Letter Acronym Sending CIOs
Running Scared - BYOD
Improving Customer
Service....through the SKMS
Book Review: Information Lifecycle
Support – Wisdom, knowledge,
information and data management
(WKIDM)
And Another Thing....
Books (and their authors!) at
Fusion11
Opinion: ABCs of ICT at Fusion11
2012 Editorial Calendar - Your
Chance to Make a Contribution
Newsletter Tools
Search Past Issues
Print-Friendly Article
Print-Friendly Issue
Managing Editor
Tess DePalma - Nemours
Contributing EditorsCarlos Casanova - K2 Solutions
Philip Hellerman - IBM
Doug Hymel - Maryville
Michael Yee - CoreLogic
Features: Knowledge Management
Book Review: Information Lifecycle Support – Wisdom,
knowledge, information and data management (WKIDM)
Reginald Best
The book Information Lifecycle Support is focused on the value of creating a corporate
organization which specializes in wisdom, knowledge, information and data management
(WKIDM). The authors do a great job of conveying the value of WKIDM when it is integrated
into the corporate strategy, roles, processes, technology and governance of an organization.
They’ve created an easy reading, entry level book. This book is neither a strategic or
methodical document but rather a structured white paper which establishes the foundation for
discussing Information Management (IM) concepts.
The authors recognize the challenges of implementing WKIDM within a corporation. For
example, they discuss the lack of business interest; the resistance of IT organization to new
techniques; the incompatibility of tools/packages for data interchange; and the conflicts
between the short-term business imperatives versus the long-term benefits of WKIDM. Yet,
they fail to present a structured approach to offset these challenges. While this book won’t
sway the reader on the value of creating a WKIDM organization, it will give the reader enough
information to intelligently discuss the subject of WKIDM. The authors close the book with a
“wisdom chapter” and a health check (to determine if an organization needs a WKIDM
program) – without presenting a strong conclusion in either direction.
You should read this book, if you are (1) looking for an entry level book on the concepts of
information management, (2) trying to understand the ideal role for WKIDM in a corporation
and/or (3) trying to grasp the acronyms or jargon used by IM professionals. A few times in the
book the authors refer to the concepts of Service Management used in the IT Information
Library (ITIL). The reader is expected to know and understand the concepts of ITIL before
reading this book. The book could be part of additional reading curriculum for MIS students or
business leaders without an MIS degree. In the end, the book levels the playing field (between
MIS and non-MIS leaders) and portrays the ideal approach for managing wisdom, knowledge,
information and data.
Book: Information Lifecycle Support – Wisdom, knowledge, information and data management
(WKIDM)
Author: Brian Johnson and John Higgins
ISBN: 9780 1 13312627
Page 29
8,000 Pairs of Eyes!
Your ad could be here! For more
information, please email
[email protected] .
Previous Article Next Article
itSMF USA
1200 E. Route 66, Suite 202
Glendora, CA 91740
Phone: 626-963-1900
FAX: 626-963-1977
[email protected]
“The Source for IT Service Management” is the bi-monthly newsletter of the IT Service Management Forum USA (itSMF USA). The Editors
reserve the sole right to accept, refuse or modify articles based on itSMF USA policies or other acceptability criteria.
The itSMF USA, its officers, directors, newsletter editors, and contributors offer for this publication no warranties, express or implied, including
any implied warranty of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. Under no circumstances shall the itSMF USA be liable for any
special, direct or indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any actions taken or omissions made, due to reliance on any
information from any source contained in, or linked to, this newsletter.
Publication in The Source for IT Service Management does not constitute an endorsement of any product(s) or service(s) advertised herein by
third parties. The itSMF USA is not responsible for the accuracy (or lack thereof) of any advertisement or article herein contained.
Page 30
Fall, 2011
In This Issue
Take it from the Top
President's Corner
The Americas Regional priSM
Institute Awards First Two Fellow
Credentials
Managing Your CPD Requirement -
Part 2
Features: Knowledge Management
Building Wisdom in Your Organization
Point / Counterpoint: Knowledge
Management
A 4-Letter Acronym Sending CIOs
Running Scared - BYOD
Improving Customer
Service....through the SKMS
Book Review: Information Lifecycle
Support – Wisdom, knowledge,
information and data management
(WKIDM)
And Another Thing....
Books (and their authors!) at
Fusion11
Opinion: ABCs of ICT at Fusion11
2012 Editorial Calendar - Your
Chance to Make a Contribution
Newsletter Tools
Search Past Issues
Print-Friendly Article
Print-Friendly Issue
Managing Editor
Tess DePalma - Nemours
Contributing EditorsCarlos Casanova - K2 Solutions
Philip Hellerman - IBM
Doug Hymel - Maryville
Michael Yee - CoreLogic
And Another Thing....
Books (and their authors!) at Fusion11
Angelica King, Cargill
"I am Artist" by Erik Wahl
“We are all born artists. We are trained out of it.” Wow – what a powerful statement!
Erik Wahl’s book I am Artist is a workbook designed to help you to find the artist – the creative
focus – inside of you. He believes that we are all inherently creative; spending time exploring
the exercises in this book will help you to reignite your creative energy and think in a different
way. Better yet, the exercises can be used to explore the artistic side of our daily activities.
Spend some time thinking of the benefits of working every day in a more creative way.
The kit for I am Artist includes a 10 minute inspirational video. This is a great way to catch the
essence of Wahl’s message and see a bit of his creativity at work.
When is the last time you wrote in a book? How do you explore your inner desires? What
causes you to think in a new way? By picking up I am Artist you are opening yourself to the
opportunity to unleash the artist in you.
"Nice Bike, Making Meaningful Connections on the Road of Life" by Mark
Scharenbroich
One of the most important ingredients to individual happiness is feeling connected to others. In
his book, Nice Bike, Making Meaningful Connections on the Road of Life, Mark Scharenbroich
explores the concept of connectivity by using the power of stories to explain three “powerful
actions.”
Nice Bike are two simple words that, within the Harley Davidson community, create a
connection the moment they are spoken. Two simple works that embrace the three “powerful
actions”:
To acknowledge is to be respectful of others and truly recognize the gifts that people
bring to the world. Acknowledgement can be as simple as asking a sincere question,
greeting people at the beginning of the day or contributing to others each day.
To honor is to validate another through what is important to that individual. This starts
with sincerely listening to others and identifying what is important to those individuals.
Honoring also includes recognizing your weaknesses and opportunities to learn from
others.
To connect is to create a bond and build lasting relationships with others. Connecting
includes being loyal to others and grateful for what people bring to your life.
We all have an opportunity to use these three powerful actions, acknowledging, honoring and
connecting, to grow as individuals and in our relationships with others.
Page 31
8,000 Pairs of Eyes!
Your ad could be here! For more
information, please email
[email protected] .
Nice Bike, reader! Thanks for taking the time to connect, learn and grow!
About the Author
Angelica King is currently working on defining and maturing services at Cargill. She is ITIL v2
Managers and ITIL v3 Expert certified. In addition, she is recognized as a Distinguished
Professional in Service Management from the priSM Institute.
Previous Article Next Article
itSMF USA
1200 E. Route 66, Suite 202
Glendora, CA 91740
Phone: 626-963-1900
FAX: 626-963-1977
[email protected]
“The Source for IT Service Management” is the bi-monthly newsletter of the IT Service Management Forum USA (itSMF USA). The Editors
reserve the sole right to accept, refuse or modify articles based on itSMF USA policies or other acceptability criteria.
The itSMF USA, its officers, directors, newsletter editors, and contributors offer for this publication no warranties, express or implied, including
any implied warranty of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. Under no circumstances shall the itSMF USA be liable for any
special, direct or indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any actions taken or omissions made, due to reliance on any
information from any source contained in, or linked to, this newsletter.
Publication in The Source for IT Service Management does not constitute an endorsement of any product(s) or service(s) advertised herein by
third parties. The itSMF USA is not responsible for the accuracy (or lack thereof) of any advertisement or article herein contained.
Page 32
Fall, 2011
In This Issue
Take it from the Top
President's Corner
The Americas Regional priSM
Institute Awards First Two Fellow
Credentials
Managing Your CPD Requirement -
Part 2
Features: Knowledge Management
Building Wisdom in Your Organization
Point / Counterpoint: Knowledge
Management
A 4-Letter Acronym Sending CIOs
Running Scared - BYOD
Improving Customer
Service....through the SKMS
Book Review: Information Lifecycle
Support – Wisdom, knowledge,
information and data management
(WKIDM)
And Another Thing....
Books (and their authors!) at
Fusion11
Opinion: ABCs of ICT at Fusion11
2012 Editorial Calendar - Your
Chance to Make a Contribution
Newsletter Tools
Search Past Issues
Print-Friendly Article
Print-Friendly Issue
Managing Editor
Tess DePalma - Nemours
Contributing EditorsCarlos Casanova - K2 Solutions
Philip Hellerman - IBM
Doug Hymel - Maryville
Michael Yee - CoreLogic
8,000 Pairs of Eyes!
Your ad could be here! For more
information, please email
[email protected] .
And Another Thing....
Opinion: ABCs of ICT at Fusion11
Paul Wilkinson, GamingWorks
GamingWorks presented the ABC of IT (Attitude, Behavior & Culture) at the itSMF Fusion11 conference in Washington
this year. Despite the fact that the itSMF LIGs have been rolling out ABC (Attitude, Behavior and Culture) workshops for
almost two years, and the ABC of IT has been a key session at many international itSMF events for the last 5 years, we
have never been accepted to present this subject before at Fusion. Why is this I thought? 'Obviously the North American
market doesn't suffer from the ABC worst practices that the rest of the world experiences when attempting to adopt and
deploy ITIL or ITSM improvement initiatives.............or do they?'.
In my presentation I congratulated everybody on becoming a Strategic Asset, because after all ITIL 2011 (as the latest
manifestation of ITIL appears to be called) quite rightly says ITSM is a Strategic Asset. That means that each person in
the audience of some 150 people was a Strategic Asset for their company. Congratulations! You walk in as an IT
professional and walk out as a strategic business asset.
I then played the role of a Business manager or Customer of IT, I wanted to explore with the audience how true is this? I
started by showing them the shocking results of the ABC Workshops held in the North America, representing some 500+
IT organizations. These are the top 10 ABC worst practice cards we think the business would choose if asked, cards that
display worst practice behavior of the IT organization.
Page 33
Whenever I ask people after the exercise 'Do you KNOW that these are the cards the business wants fixing or is this what
you THINK’? In more than 90% of the cases people say 'this is what we THINK, because we've never asked them'! As a
Business manager I would expect a strategic asset to KNOW the potential risks they are creating for my business? I
would expect their focus to be outside-in (knowing) rather than inside-out (thinking and assuming).
I then asked the two questions that I ask whenever and wherever I present ABC. 'How many of you are 'doing' ITIL'?,
about 80% of the hands went up. 'Now put your hands up if you can tell me the definition of a Service according to ITIL?'
3 hands went up - all trainers I believe. I then said as a business manager 'How dare you sit here and tell me you have
spent MY IT budget on ITIL training and not one of you can tell me the basic, fundamental concept of ITIL, and in fact
YOUR right to get paid and not be outsourced!' I went on to add 'I would expect a strategic asset to KNOW that a Service
is all about delivering Value and Outcomes to my business whilst helping me reduce Costs and Risks'. I now recommend
you ALL go back and ask every IT person in YOUR organization for the definition of a Service and then tell them, in the
context of YOUR business needs EXACTLY what that means and how you can demonstrate your are delivering on this
Service expectation.
I then confronted them with the fact that 70% to 80% of IT organizations are failing to get the Value from an ITSM
improvement initiative, more than 50% fail because of resistance. I showed them 'Planning to Implement Service
Management' - The V3 version and asked them 'How many of you have read THIS book or the V2 version?' - once again
about 5 hands went up. I then said 'So, as a business manager you are telling me, not only do you NOT know the
fundamental concept of what ITIL is all about, but you also haven't read the single most import book and guidance for
making sure it really does deliver value and manage my risks?......Is this the behavior I would expect from a Strategic
Asset?'
I gave them my interpretation on this. 'The reason you haven't read this book is because you don't need to in order to get
your ITIL Expert certificate!! you only read the books YOU need, in order to pass your EXAM rather than the books I
NEED YOU TO READ to deliver VALUE to my business. If this is what we as ITSM professionals and we as an ITSM
Industry perceive as being the attitude, and behavior that defines a Strategic Asset then I now know why the business
Says this.
I wanted to make a T-shirt for Fusion11 which says 'I am a Strategic Asset', so that we could all walk around continually
reminding ourselves of this fact. But something went wrong with the font. It came out looking like the image below? how
fitting perhaps.
Page 34
I concluded by showing that this hidden Iceberg of ABC worst practice, coupled with the way in which we chase after the
theory and ITIL certificate as the end goal, rather than developing the capabilities to use the theory to realize results, is
why the majority of organizations fail with their ITSM improvement initiatives, why still 80% in a survey say they do not
have business and IT alignment under control and why 'customer and service' attitude still scores so low. The types of
Attitude, Behavior and this industry wide internally focused Culture. It is time for change! I’d like to say ‘Yes we can!’, but
considering I have been presenting EXACTLY the same results for the last 10 years I’m afraid I have to conclude ‘No we
can’t!’ Unless……
Recommendations:
Here are my recommendations for change.
* Ensure that somebody reads Planning to implement Service management and follows appropriate training.
* Identify what the ABC Iceberg looks like in YOUR organization.
* Either try and develop the skills in-house to deal with ABC and resistance or if you are going to employee training,
consulting or tool providers to help you, then implement DEMAND MANAGEMENT! I don’t mean the demand
management as defined in ITIL. I mean this:
a. Before you hire any Training, Consulting or Tool provider DEMAND that they show you in their training offerings
which course covers ‘Planning to implement’ and which courses show how to deal with ABC issues. Before you hire ANY
consultant ask them if THEY have read ‘Planning to implement’, if so ask them to tell you the biggest reasons for failure?
(failing to address Attitude, Behavior and Cultural issues), then ask them to tell you how they dealt with these and give
ONE reference customer who will confirm this. Before you hire any tool provider ask them how they deal with gaining
buy-in and overcoming resistance to ensure the tool is embedded in behavior and used properly.
b. If they cannot demonstrate these then DON’t HIRE THEM!!
c. The ability to change, the ability to say ‘Yes we can!’ lies in the hands of the user organizations DEMANDING that
the provider organizations change the way we currently develop and deploy our capabilities to demonstrate we really are
Strategic assets.
Page 35
* If you are going to tackle the issues yourself, then as I promised in my presentation here is a link to the top 10 critical
success factors for dealing with ABC as identified in the more than 35 cases in the publication ‘ABC of ICT – An
introduction’. Cases from industry experts such as Sharon Taylor, Ken Wendel, Ivor MacFarlane, Robert Stroud, Gary
Case, George Spalding, Brian Johnson……the list goes on, my apologies to the authors I failed to name here.
* Here is also a link to the itSMF International magazine which contains a case study of how one organization tackled
ABC head on.
* Good luck.
At the end of the presentation several people came up to me afterwards saying 'that was a reality shock, it wasn't a
motivational session but this has now inspired me to go out and change this is my organization, I recognize we still have a
way to go'. This to me was the greatest success of the session. People wanting to take the ownership and responsibility
to make the dream of becoming strategic assets a reality.
I was told afterwards by one of my business partners that they heard somebody go up to one of the stands and ask ‘How
do your offerings help address ABC of ICT’? The answer was ‘What is ABC? No we don’t do any of that, why?’, ‘The
presenter of my last session told me not to use your services…..’ YES! Let the changes begin!
Page 36
About the Author
Paul Wilkinson has been involved in the IT industry for more than 25 years and has a broad background in IT operations,
IT management and product innovation and development. He was an ITIL V2 author and member of the ITIL V3 advisory
Page 37
group. He is co-owner of GamingWorks and co-developer of a range of business simulations focusing on IT Service
management, Project management, Business Process management, Business and IT alignment, Alliance management
and co-author and developer of the ABC of ICT products and publications.
Previous Article Next Article
itSMF USA
1200 E. Route 66, Suite 202
Glendora, CA 91740
Phone: 626-963-1900
FAX: 626-963-1977
[email protected]
“The Source for IT Service Management” is the bi-monthly newsletter of the IT Service Management Forum USA (itSMF USA). The Editors reserve the sole right to accept,
refuse or modify articles based on itSMF USA policies or other acceptability criteria.
The itSMF USA, its officers, directors, newsletter editors, and contributors offer for this publication no warranties, express or implied, including any implied warranty of
merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. Under no circumstances shall the itSMF USA be liable for any special, direct or indirect, incidental or consequential
damages resulting from any actions taken or omissions made, due to reliance on any information from any source contained in, or linked to, this newsletter.
Publication in The Source for IT Service Management does not constitute an endorsement of any product(s) or service(s) advertised herein by third parties. The itSMF
USA is not responsible for the accuracy (or lack thereof) of any advertisement or article herein contained.