tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-175612432011-10-03T05:13:44.001-05:00Practical discussions of how basic quality processes such as TQM, ITIL, COBIT, Six Sigma, ISO 20K, and perhaps most importantly, common sense and planning may be leveraged to bring IT and Business into strategic alignment.orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.comBlogger761100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-12456765361060651862011-01-05T12:39:00.003-06:002011-01-05T13:07:43.181-06:00

A Good Idea? Please tell me our education system will improve with this (what I consider 'questionable') investment! Since I am a proud owner of Apple stock I'm all over the idea of more hardware/app sales and thus profit for APPL. But really, does ANYONE really believe the right way to improve education is to buy more stuff? How about investing in good teachers, getting rid of the

Manager Challengenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-65975735831795926882010-12-26T10:54:00.003-06:002010-12-26T14:28:51.973-06:00

You've probably heard the saying that goes something like, if you can trust a man in small matters, you can trust him in greater matters. Though it comes from Luke, it has been re-purposed by a number of well-known figures throughout history. The lesson, regardless of who may state it, is the same. And there is no better example than how major, international companies deal with seemingly minor

Manager Challengenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-70447877631746107692010-12-24T10:17:00.004-06:002010-12-24T10:27:55.715-06:00

Today's IT professional is caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Under constant pressure to reduce costs, they still have to keep up with changing business conditions in support of their customers AND deal with the increasing mobile demands of those same business customers. Is it any wonder they are looking for quick wins, simple paths to automation of basic tasks?I would submit,

Manager Challengenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-79557625228237514502010-08-31T10:35:00.002-05:002010-08-31T10:42:24.248-05:00

priSM was really promoted at last year’s itSMF event and, honestly, looking at the registry (http://www.itsmfusa.org/prism-registry ) suggests priSM is having some problems gaining acceptance. If the registry is current, there are only about 40 folks who have completed the process. This “might” be due to several reasons, all of which I evaluated when I considered completing the application

Manager Challengenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-27271806970594641352010-07-25T09:10:00.002-05:002010-07-25T09:18:29.270-05:00

Today's rapid pace of change has aggravated the challenges of planning. Too many organizations are led by those who don't understand the importance of rolling up your sleeves and doing the hard work necessary to develop a project or product that will be successful. We are seeing it in all industries and, most recently, in education. The influence of technology has fed the illusion that there is

Manager Challengenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-86259264758040444052010-03-06T15:21:00.003-06:002010-03-06T16:14:20.269-06:00

The way organizations look at project initiatives, one would think that no move, no investment decision, ever proceeds without a clear return-on-investment calculation. Such a calculation is then followed by the obligatory sign-off by everyone who might have something to say about how funds are spent, all to ensure alignment with organizational strategy. Is this really what is going on?My guess

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-45674086876306331022010-02-28T22:19:00.003-06:002010-02-28T22:55:50.477-06:00

Attending a concert this afternoon I was struck by the similarity between what it takes to produce a work of art and a successful improvement program, a Service Management program, or an attempt at organizational change. Just think, for a moment, about a musical work. It has a writer, composer, and an arranger. Those who play the musical score have studied their specialties be it the Flute,

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-11513756677438236522010-02-20T15:18:00.014-06:002010-02-20T17:07:03.575-06:00

Recently I was asked a question about a performance metric one might use to measure the performance of a NOC. Before responding I contacted my "personal network” of data center experts. This is a group I worked with in previous worlds all of whom have built data centers from the ground up. In the exchanges that ensued, all of us agreed on one fact: Everything really comes down to how one

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-90018937326687774312010-02-13T13:33:00.000-06:002010-02-13T13:48:01.612-06:00

We often work with clients who have documentation in place. Of course, more often, we work with clients who DON'T! That aside, though, those who may have documentation, procedures documented in support of their processes, often wonder why, after all the investment in documentation, things still don't work. There are a lot of reasons for this but, simply said, just writing down your procedures

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-13532325826534089402010-01-10T11:06:00.000-06:002010-01-10T11:18:58.543-06:00

Considering the competitive environment today, companies KNOW they must be flexible and responsive, in-touch, and "on the grid" at all times. Yet it seems we have a problem achieving that. Here we are in the century Walter Cronkite hyped while I was a kid. Here in the age of instant communications, connectivity, and streaming video, we have the opportunity to leverage our own creativity to

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-12731619638164440392009-09-26T10:42:00.000-05:002009-09-26T11:11:25.913-05:00

Are we doing all we can to meet the needs and understanding of ITIL for our clients? I have to ask this now, after attending the itSMF Fusion event in Dallas this past week. The presentations were, in my opinion, better than previous years. We're seeing a lot of progress in applying ITIL concepts in the real world. But I am concerned that our training is not keeping pace. The reason? I

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-45724861227599849522009-08-14T11:33:00.000-05:002009-08-14T11:34:39.429-05:00

A friend of mine sent me this link (http://www.bornagainamerican.org/ ). Here's what I wrote to her about it:I saw this guy on a show some time ago. I couldn't agree more. The one line that really sticks with me is, "...I thought I knew the rules of the game..."None of us know the rules of the game any longer. I have a stock portfolio with which I have no idea what to do. The rules are not

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-61870121265419141242009-08-08T14:08:00.000-05:002009-08-08T14:46:56.471-05:00

How about all this quality stuff? I am regularly asked how, or worse, "if" the essential components of quality are applicable to service. In fact, I amazed at how often clients challenge the underlying elements of quality. The usual objections falls into one of these three categories of myth: Myth Number 1: Quality principles were born in manufacturing; they have no relevance to service.

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-81134948409092838392009-02-25T19:25:00.000-06:002009-02-25T20:11:59.736-06:00

What is the cost of quality? Six Sigma asks this question from a different angle. What is the cost of poor quality? If you're in information technology and just need an acronym, that's COPQ!So let's answer that question. What is the COPQ (Cost of Poor Quality)? A major manufacturer which, for the past three years has been outperforming the market, just reported earnings at less than half

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-89766565328642646052009-02-21T10:38:00.000-06:002009-02-21T11:01:10.868-06:00

Given this statement on ethics... "Character — the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life — is the source from which self-respect springs," (Joan Didion, writer)...is it possible to conclude that, if an individual works in an environment or culture that robs them of accountability or responsibility for their life, does that also rob them of self-respect or perhaps the ability to

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-80150665792982796952009-02-19T16:59:00.000-06:002009-02-19T17:03:52.457-06:00

I'm unhappy with what I'm seeing in this industry-the space in which I work- the industry that I CHOSE to serve - because I think it's a reflection of the sense of entitlement we are seeing in our nation. It has me concerned. My job is NOT to do FOR a client, but to show them the way so they may DO FOR THEMSELVES. Yet increasingly we are seeing a detachment from the law of physics: a failure

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-79569722714470116662009-02-13T08:47:00.001-06:002009-02-13T08:56:06.205-06:00

Our economic stimulus package is being justified by those promoting it as a measure we had to put in place because we couldn't stand idly by. Yes, something HAD to be done, but is it the right thing? Many of today's organizations jump on the "program of the day", the favorite campaign of a new administration in organizational governance, with the same intent: "Well, it's as good as anything

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-54960868522776402952009-02-11T15:53:00.000-06:002009-02-11T16:22:22.961-06:00

Many organizations do not believe common and centralized approach to processes will work for them. I find this particularly interesting. The underlying principles of ITIL and the concept of Service Management have been with us for a very long time. Prior to that, the elements expressed by the "good practices" framework were espoused in the principles of quality. The concepts are not new and,

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-54817178285299971932008-07-26T09:56:00.000-05:002008-07-26T10:30:44.276-05:00

I am constantly amazed by the number of organizations that operate with the belief that adopting this or that methodology or complying with a given standard or framework will make all their dreams come true and their problems go. There are a number of reasons not every organization that starts down the ITIL path is going to be successful. And those reasons go back to one of the quality gurus of

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-80963279738571179782008-07-19T16:43:00.001-05:002008-07-19T17:18:59.956-05:00

Woe be to the process owner who might boast about how their process works. If that process works in isolation, it is neither effective nor efficient and one may suggest that process does not work at all. It is the job of the IT Service Manager to make certain the inputs of one process yields outputs that support those dependent processes. And thus the dilemma of organizational process

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-91058110626525156552008-05-24T07:52:00.000-05:002008-05-24T08:06:36.321-05:00

Nothing, if it's not signed.Imagine a project that started before all stakeholders had reviewed and then signed the Statement of Work. Imagine this same project that began incurring expenses before the "i's" were dotted and the "t's" crossed. Imagine a project team that developed deliverables on-the-fly while the delivery organization and the client were still negotiating the SOW. Oh and

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-17358317128689733612008-05-23T12:56:00.000-05:002008-05-23T13:12:24.579-05:00

Our local auto dealership has disappointed us for the last time. On my last trip into the service department they, for the third time, let me down. Fortunately there IS some competition in the metropolitan area so today, when it was time for an oil change, I visited the same brand at another dealership.Before going to the dealership, I physically inspected the vehicle and realized the former

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-9184157114937324852008-04-20T08:47:00.000-05:002008-04-20T09:38:09.801-05:00

As we struggle in the transition to ITIL V3, our industry is still dealing with a pervasive and, yes, unfortunately, very destructive influence left over from previous versions. If not corrected, this will only serve to slow acceptance of V3, but will undermine acceptance and integration of IT Service Management in general. Our clients look to us as experts. If we are hired as consultants,

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-51336204281565402142008-04-18T18:13:00.000-05:002008-04-18T18:41:14.735-05:00

It is not at all uncommon for a process consultant, steeped in the virtues of his or her best practice expertise, to lose sight of the importance of selling their ideas. At times we do live an illusion. Why wouldn't everyone recognize the value of what we bring to the table? It just makes sense, right? Well, there are those with whom we work that are, at best, suspicious and at worst highly

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-24187069798232399752008-04-13T21:15:00.000-05:002008-04-13T21:24:06.294-05:00

Isn't that always the solution? Hey, we're not communicating so, ah, gee, let's have a meeting. I'm here to tell you that rarely, if ever, is a communication problem so easily addressed. Making the assumption that a meeting will fix a communication problem is like assuming that training your staff in ITIL is sufficient to ensure implementation. The first step in any effort to solve a problem

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-23635179775747774562008-04-04T08:19:00.001-05:002008-04-04T08:31:21.884-05:00

One of the most popular terms that has emerged from the ITIL community is "holistic." Wikipedia says it is derived from the Greek word meaning "all," "entire," and "total." It's a term consultants like to throw around a lot. But let's face it, how many consultants actually believe it? Or the converse, how many companies listen to those consultants who do recommend a holistic, strategic, and

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-57029228925149373972008-02-03T08:18:00.001-06:002008-02-03T08:56:53.266-06:00

I'm waking here as the lite fog of the overnight is beginning to dissipate leaving behind a subtle frost on the trees and brown high grasses. Such frosty mornings remind me of the fleeting opportunities I chased to capture the perfect photograph of crystal encrusted forests. Seizing these moments of beauty, one walks a fine line between just the right, contrasting light of the low morning sun

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-16931093154675396632007-12-14T07:21:00.000-06:002007-12-14T07:30:41.503-06:00

Take a look at this article by Thomas Wailgum at CIO.com: "If IT Isn't Aligned with the Business By Now, CIOs Should Quit or Be Fired." The language is a bit harsh but the sentiment is on target. I worked for one of the best who understood this. Today, I am still amazed at the number of organizations that resist talking to their business customers and would prefer to be reactive to requests

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-59684683611632166712007-12-09T11:22:00.000-06:002007-12-09T11:48:32.745-06:00

An article in this morning's press, United Health billing flaws persisted as company grew in Sunday's Star Tribune brings to the forefront a very common problem aggravated by the disconnect between business and information technology. The article points the blame for United Health's bill paying delinquency directly at the rapid growth of the company and information technology's inability to

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-89167530033152992952007-10-27T09:31:00.000-05:002007-10-27T10:28:09.789-05:00

It's really difficult to look at world events passively. Any one who has ever run a project or driven improvement in an organization will see similarities and will have an opinion. As much as I hate to breach the subject of politics, there is a great deal for service managers and executives to learn from current events. The news media this morning is carrying a story about Hillary Clinton who

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-10924608401252101062007-10-21T10:36:00.000-05:002007-10-21T11:44:33.299-05:00

Many years ago we had a unique opportunity to work with the senior management of a communications company as well as their IT management and support staff in the same week. So what, might you ask, was so unique about that? Well, the dynamics of the engagement provided the freedom to relay feedback from support and operations to management and vice versa without damaging relationships or risking

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-32613642614512478462007-10-18T11:05:00.000-05:002007-10-18T12:33:03.721-05:00

A lot of speculation and considerable confusion surrounds the ITIL Refresh. I feel this is good because discussion promotes understanding. A friend of mine sent me a Computer World article discussing some of these changes, "ITIL Starts Making Sense in v3" which provides a very good perspective on the value of the changes to the ITIL framework. The ideas expressed are excellent and right on

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-72675420712960700162007-10-03T16:40:00.001-05:002007-10-18T12:34:18.563-05:00

Two articles from the Bill Gates world of upgrades crossed my screen last week: Giving up on Vista? Here's how to downgrade to XP and Microsoft gives OEMs five more months to install XP. There seems to be an underground forming as a resistance to the Vista upgrade. And even Microsoft realizes they can't force it down the throats of enterprise IT as fast as they might wish. The timing of of

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-53463940381148487292007-09-18T15:17:00.000-05:002007-09-29T19:19:02.670-05:00

Quite simply, you lose. You can invest as much time and effort in process definition and mapping as you wish. You can commit a team to assessments, gap analysis and process mapping exercises. You can define the objectives, KPIs and KGIs and then document and publish your process. But without a process owner you will not be able to:Identify a single "go-to" person to hold accountable for the

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-16926330841347857392007-09-16T09:15:00.000-05:002007-09-17T19:42:09.935-05:00

YES! Customer Service does pay. OK, so if all you want to know is the answer, there you go. I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't believe it. If you're still reading but have a few doubts, bear with me as we explore a lesson from the retail market of, oh, say laptop computers.What is it about an Apple computer that creates such passionate, almost fanatical loyalty among a certain portion

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-20416203977502126142007-09-15T11:17:00.000-05:002007-09-15T11:26:33.995-05:00

The following was forwarded to me from an unknown source by my friend Mark (thanks Mark!). It captures the essence of the dilemma burdening our culture.A Fable for Our TimesA Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (General Motors)decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practicedlong and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.On the big day, the

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-79782886046922436092007-09-11T14:45:00.000-05:002007-09-11T15:24:14.985-05:00

I heard a commentator on CNBC this morning refer to the recent credit crisis as symptomatic of our "microwave" culture. You just have to love that term. It captures the shallowness and immediate gratification that has come to be accepted as the norm for many of our corporations. We see it in everything particularly outsourcing. Indeed, outsourcing can save money. But use of outsourcing as a

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-56968878890481286722007-09-06T12:30:00.000-05:002007-09-06T14:05:56.962-05:00

ComputerWorld's September 3 issue carried an opinion piece that demonstrates, so vividly, just how backward many organizations can be when it comes to process. The article describes a bank, which was determined to be "customer focused." Apparently they turned to technology to "make it happen" by implementing a CRM system. The design was to ensure that the branch bankers could offer, "the

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-74301344779394136172007-09-03T15:34:00.000-05:002007-09-03T15:56:07.207-05:00

Simply amazing! The airlines, to no one's surprise, are a mess and will only getting worse according to an article in Business Week (Fear & Loathing at the Airport). And the solution is not simple so the FAA commissioner will now, after five years in the role, admit defeat in her efforts to fix the system. Is it really so complex? It seems that our flights are delayed because too many flights

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-83408735161027531892007-04-02T14:11:00.000-05:002007-04-02T14:12:31.936-05:00

Just the other day a friend of mine was struggling to disengage a read/write CD from the CD drive of the personal computer. It was obvious that a writing action had begun and never completed. The CD drive would not open automatically since the software was still trying to complete its task but couldn’t, for some unknown reason, complete the write-to task. It wouldn’t open with the eject button

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-79064297799524306402007-03-17T14:37:00.000-05:002007-03-17T15:05:48.249-05:00

Cycle of DestructivenessIT can get caught in a vicious cycle of reactive behavior. Like the involuntary reaction of an organism to painful stimuli, IT organizations react to "stimuli" or incidents in their environments. Such stimuli response behavior feeds on itself and, without structured intervention, subjects IT to a wide range of destructive behaviors:Accidental architecture Server

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-59386148467831160022007-01-10T07:28:00.000-06:002007-01-10T07:29:07.468-06:00

Unprompted, I recently bought my daughter a very modest and less than spectacular gift: A simple fountain pen. To you and I, in this age of word processing, instantaneous electronic communications, wireless and IP voice, such a gift is probably of minimal significance - hardly worth registering on our consciousness. However, to her, this was a real gem. She’s a writer and as a writer, she

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-33578212677858577492006-12-10T12:30:00.000-06:002006-12-10T12:33:23.285-06:00

Everyone is looking for a magic bullet. It doesn’t matter how hard we try, or how persuasive we are, or for that matter how successful we may be in driving improvement in information technology processes, there is always an inordinate amount of time I know I must commit to convincing management that they HAVE to take responsibility for the work we are doing. We consistently work during seminars,

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-23156418337342883592006-11-26T16:38:00.000-06:002006-11-26T17:04:41.015-06:00

I learned a long, long time ago while decorating the exterior of my home for the holidays that you should test the strands of lights BEFORE you put them on the house. Well, geeze, you don’t want to be looking for the broken bulb outside, on a ladder, on your roof in November in any climate but especially not in Minnesota. While you’ll probably agree that testing the strand before you put it up is

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-55822664349417314662006-11-22T14:48:00.000-06:002006-11-22T14:51:02.383-06:00

Growing up I came to expect certain things as “normal.” These were events or conditions that were routinely part of my life. I didn’t know anything different and besides, I figured they were out of my control anyway. Well, now that I’ve “grown up” - and I use that term cautiously since I’m not all that sure I ever really grew up - I no longer want my pork chops broiled to shoe leather

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1162490725068213192006-11-02T12:01:00.000-06:002006-11-02T12:05:25.086-06:00

Don’t try to “google” this phrase. You’ll end up with all kinds of returns. Google will find everything from a German language dictionary and Israeli web sites to a listing of United States stock codes. How do I know? OK. I “googled” it. But only to see what would happen. FOB-AIP-SEPR is an acronym created by a friend and colleague as a memory peg for the steps involved in an ITIL

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1162142424479368912006-10-29T11:05:00.000-06:002006-10-29T11:52:11.333-06:00

As much as the IT director, manager or even senior executive might wish, there are no ITSM implementations that can be considered “typical”. In fact, I would advise you run at right a sharp right angle (as if from an oncoming tornado) from those consultants who might tell you how to develop anything that might be considered “typical”. Just this past week I discussed this very point with a

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1161096146138941802006-10-17T09:41:00.000-05:002006-10-17T09:42:26.153-05:00

Whether explicit or implicit, rules exist for a reason. Rules exist to govern activities. Some rules are understood by the parties doing business. Others have to be learned and often, over time, transition from the explicit to implicit: it's no longer necessary to state the rule. These rules apply as “rules of engagement” between organizations. They also apply for sales, marketing,

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1159203445899343222006-09-25T11:55:00.000-05:002006-09-25T11:59:11.696-05:00

Watching professional sports this past weekend, I found myself thinking about insanity. And it’s not the insanity of sports or the fervor of the face-painted fan. It’s the insanity of business practices!You’ve heard the classic definition of insanity, right? It asserts that insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Our sports teams seem to

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1158435831401286682006-09-16T14:40:00.000-05:002007-10-13T10:10:00.229-05:00

Two thoughts (only two, that’s all I can handle on a Saturday) came to mind this afternoon. First, an experience I had with the advanced program that granted me my master’s degree. A couple of months ago I was delighted to share my experiences using Six Sigma for information technology with a class that was soon to graduate into the real world of technology. During the audio presentation which

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1158085390262672052006-09-12T13:17:00.000-05:002006-09-12T13:31:55.696-05:00

One of the more challenging issues with which I deal is the people component of the People-Process-Technology trilogy. Any consultant that impacts the culture of an organization will admit the people component is the most difficult. So, it will come as no surprise that one of my greatest challenges in dealing with IT is the experience some IT people may have had with “QUALITY”. I often hear

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1157593560253924932006-09-06T20:28:00.000-05:002006-09-06T20:46:00.266-05:00

If you’ve ever stepped into the middle of a project (see Stepping into the Middle of a Configuration Management Project: Watch Where You Put Your Feet) you’ll appreciate this post. You know you need to avoid stepping in poo with one or both feet. Unfortunately, often you can’t see the poo regardless of how experienced you may be. Somehow, you need to find out if there are any legacy issues

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1157211373599779522006-09-02T10:21:00.000-05:002006-09-02T10:36:13.613-05:00

Tell me if this scenario sounds familiar. You have grounded a great opportunity to build a fully integrated roadmap to implement IT Service Management. You have at your disposal all kinds of preliminary assessment and planning data. You have an internal team that is committed to making this work. Everyone is trained, motivated and there’s even an initial budget that should carry you through

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1156896824389063002006-08-29T19:12:00.000-05:002006-08-29T19:13:44.406-05:00

So what is everyone doing in Configuration Management? I can only speak to what I’ve seen. Lots of clients think of the Configuration Management Data Base (CMDB) as the Holy Grail of IT Service Management. And no doubt, the vendors serving this space aren’t going to do anything to dissuade any potential customer from thinking that to be a true statement. But you just have to understand what

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1156703475948234782006-08-27T13:29:00.000-05:002006-08-27T13:35:16.300-05:00

Lest anyone think I am a PIG (Process Improvement biGot), let me say right now that I do not believe process improvement and efficient production are enough to sustain competitive advantage. We need only look as far as Dell. Here’s a company, one of my favorites at one time, that ruthlessly drove costs out of its production and delivery system. A volume operations company, Dell took the

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1156607665002056592006-08-26T10:52:00.000-05:002006-08-26T10:54:25.023-05:00

This past spring we attended a talent show at my daughter’s high school. Her dad was confronted with a shocking realization of just how much our society has changed. Do any of you recall, not all that long ago, lifting lighters in support of your favorite band or performer? Lighters are not permitted in the school auditorium for obvious reasons but technology still provides an outlet for the

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1156554607675715882006-08-25T20:05:00.000-05:002006-08-25T20:10:07.693-05:00

We had storms move through our little piece of paradise yesterday. About the time the storms started doing their damage, my outgoing email service failed…and hasn’t worked well since. As a good customer of technology who understands the importance of recording each and every “incident”, I submitted a repair ticket. The first response from the service desk agent said there was no indication

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1156212071066694842006-08-21T20:58:00.000-05:002006-08-21T21:01:11.086-05:00

Boy wouldn’t I like to come out and say I have a favorite tool for ITSM. Wouldn’t I love to say that there’s a tool out there that will meet a company’s current needs and is scalable for future needs. But you know what I’m going to say. I will always defer a tool discussion until I understand what the client really needs - there are just too many variables to do otherwise. I had an engagement

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1155832004004880922006-08-17T11:26:00.000-05:002007-09-03T15:58:27.154-05:00

A number of years ago I had rescued a friend stranded at the Ft. Wayne, Indiana bus station. During the course of the trip, a butterfly got entangled, literally wrapped around, the radio antenna of my car. It struck me, much later, just how fragile that formerly beautiful creature was. At the time, I was too busy driving, moving forward, to pay any, or much, attention to the butterfly

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1155740982981861422006-08-16T10:08:00.000-05:002006-08-16T10:09:42.996-05:00

As an independent, one of the vehicles I use to secure leads is the Web-based job search facilities. Though they always generate interest, none, so far, have generated any real business. The reason, I believe, is the recruiter element. Recruiters routinely search the web in search of warm bodies to fill a contract. With only one or two exceptions, no recruiter has really taken the time to

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1155477168031348092006-08-13T08:51:00.000-05:002006-08-13T09:06:40.860-05:00

An acquaintance of mine just bought one of those heavy-duty slide rules in a leather case. I've not seen it but it sounds like the slide rules I always wanted when I was in high school. The TI 30 had just come out about that time and had fast, accurate calculations for addition, subtraction, multiplication AND division! But I still wanted a really good slide rule in a leather case. Really.

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1155401104086087292006-08-12T11:28:00.000-05:002006-08-12T17:04:10.543-05:00

We've got a turf war going on in the ITIL certification space. At least, lacking any more specific information, that's what it appears to be. EXIN, ISEB and the itSMF look like they're about to be left out in the cold.The OGC has signed an ITIL contract with the APMG. That indicates that the APMG will be "the" certification authority for ITIL. Up to this point EXIN and the ISEB have, shall I say,

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1153526335539153182006-07-21T18:57:00.000-05:002006-08-13T10:01:15.076-05:00

One of the questions I routinely ask my clients, mostly infrastructure managers, is where they would cut their expenses if called upon by their management to reduce costs. I am never surprised and always disappointed at the answer. One well-meaning director responded that his people understood how to reduce costs and would know where to cut. No, with all due respect, they will not. First of

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1153067290825750072006-07-16T11:18:00.000-05:002006-07-16T11:28:10.836-05:00

There is an incredible amount of confusion around Configuration Management. And, for good reason. It’s critical to IT process. It’s essential for efficient incident, problem, change and release management. Capacity and Availability have essential interdependencies with Configuration Management. And how about Financial Management? How do you implement Configuration Management when ITIL does

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1152627993892857432006-07-11T09:24:00.000-05:002006-07-11T09:26:33.910-05:00

The ongoing treasure hunt in this industry is the quest for the shortcut to operational excellence. Sorry to disappoint you treasure hunters out there but there is no shortcut. There IS a right way to do it but it will take lots of hard work of all levels of the organization. Structure, guidance and expertise are available to those organizations willing to make a commitment. There is nothing

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1152371901913849192006-07-08T10:14:00.000-05:002006-07-08T10:18:21.926-05:00

The simple answer to the questions:· Start because you need to meet a customer objective· Start at the level that will help you meet the customer need.This is why the ITIL Executive Overview is so critical. This is also why we feel very strongly about a kick-off workshop approach that precedes program implementation and design. Further, this is why a current client is having difficulty

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1152191012594694072006-07-06T07:52:00.000-05:002006-07-06T08:08:07.560-05:00

This is a real question. As was pointed out to me, companies don't just all of a sudden decide they need to save money and then recognize that ITIL can help them do it. To answer this question, let me go back to my first experience in this space. In a previous engagment, we needed to do something differently. Our processes were out of control, we didn't have a handle on our service levels or the

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1135288975500257002005-12-22T15:54:00.000-06:002005-12-22T16:02:55.513-06:00

We believe that these questions only touch the surface of the rigor that an organization must pursue in evaluating its competence (and commitment) to drive internal improvement. Our “Programmed Solution” deals with each stage of the intervention in detail. But, before we examine the solution, let’s make certain the organization is ready for our approach.In our experience we have boiled the

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1134513008466445892005-12-13T16:28:00.000-06:002005-12-13T16:30:08.480-06:00

We've taken this journey through ITSM objectives to highlight a critical element necessary to successful ITSM implementations. There is no substitute for an enlightened project or program manager who truly understands the objectives of ITSM, its tactical and strategic value to the organization and its contribution to the technical operations architecture. We have seen far too many initiatives

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1134246774916124662005-12-10T14:27:00.000-06:002005-12-10T14:32:54.930-06:00

Objectives 7-8"Hiddent Factories" are those countless, debilitating cycles of waste that exist in all processes. IT Service Management best practices, by clearly defining roles and responsibilities within an appropriately architected process strucuture, eliminates this waste. ITSM also looks at technology and automation from a systems, holistic view to be certain that: a.) the appropriate

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1133571868693650192005-12-02T19:02:00.000-06:002005-12-10T14:36:08.383-06:00

Objectives 4-6Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) principles give the IT manager the guidanceto define and ultimately control the processes that underly IT functions. Processes, though, require people to exectute and technology or tools to automate. Process without people trained and responsiblefor the processes will be ineffective and will eventually fail. People executing processes

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1132540301670067022005-11-20T20:27:00.000-06:002005-11-20T20:31:41.683-06:00

Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) has, as its primary objectives, ten key deliverables for information technology. For the next several installments, we'll look at each of these.Objectives 1-3First of all, ITSM seeks to provide the framework, the guidance and the controls for industry to manage IT as a business. Too often, IT management forgets that IT is there to help the

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1130905703889981072005-11-05T22:21:00.000-06:002005-11-06T19:48:05.146-06:00

What good can possibly come of an initiative to relocate over 200 people from over 100 different offices around the country into one central office with no intention to refine the processes they use? The intent is to reduce costs. The initiative is some misguided manager's idea of a consolidation. The relocation costs are astronomical. The assumption is there will be cost savings realized from

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1130286987894201392005-10-25T19:17:00.000-05:002005-10-25T19:37:23.840-05:00

Not likely. Just look through the "findings". All seven have one primary element in common: they lack a process centric discipline. Management would obviously prefer to throw money and personnel and resources (and who knows what else) at the problem when, if the word "plan" was in their vocabulary, they could gain control over the infrastructure, eliminate waste and begin to reverse the

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1129516090450038802005-10-16T23:30:00.000-05:002005-10-16T21:28:10.456-05:00

Do you think ITIL will work for a client like this?>While on the client site you open a closet to find three shelves of Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) software sitting there in the original shrink wrap...>The client has a major web site go down for over three days, costs the organization in excess of $4 million and there's no effort to problem solve a root cause...>The client's

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561243.post-1128649702495079042005-10-06T23:27:00.000-05:002005-10-09T21:23:44.470-05:00

Yesterday it was a fire drill to problem solve one of the web pages. The site was obviously down and an SA and supervisor were negotiating the level of problem solving necessary to get the system back up. As this chaos carried on a customer of the IT support group called a technician for support. One individual stated, rather bluntly, "It's not my job to fix your html code." The person on the

orbitingmonkeyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994990802974606770noreply@blogger.com0