Why e-mail when you can wiki?

Whenever we have an ITAM conversation these days, it’s in the context of ITIL… and since ITIL is primarily a service framework, it leads into the integration of asset, service and change disciplines.

Just last week a customer, service desk manager, quizzed us about whether and how to use a knowledge base product that they own but haven’t implemented.

Here’s my take on traditional KM products for ITSM - meaning, the kinds of tools that come with or are sold with help desk tools, so you can track common problems and build a reference knowledgebase.

1. They’re pretty mature, and there are plenty of good tools available
2. The “out of the box” datasets that are available will cover a lot of common problems
3. The really hard (expensive/laborious/tedious/unrealistic) part for most customers comes when they realize that it’s their custom apps and unique problems that most need a KB, and someone has to manually create and review that info.
4. That’s where the discipline breaks down and you get a “half-done” implementation.

Now, here comes a new idea - Wiki’s. If you haven’t heard of it, check out www.wikipedia.com. The basic idea is a web-based, user editable encyclopedia.

So let’s apply this to an IT shop:

1. You can open the content to everyone from end users to developers.
2. It’s a true collaborative model: everybody gets to comment, even _edit_ the entries. Of course for sensitive info you’ll want some controls.
3. The Service Desk agents have a quick, keyword-based way to look up common problems that are specific to their environment.
4. 2nd, 3rd level and management can share info like code comments, even change information - the structure of a wiki is so open that you can take it almost any direction. A wiki could be a faster/easier/more effective way to track this info.
5. In general, you could use a wiki to be the catch-all respository of unstructured info that would otherwise stay locked in the various silo’s of help desk, change, app dev, user communications, etc.

Here’s a great quote from the article:
“You’re fostering greater transparency and a culture of working openly,” said Ross Mayfield, CEO of Socialtext. “It helps break down false silos and provide more shared knowledge that people can build on. With a wiki, you’re sharing control over a resource that anyone can edit. That shared control over time actually fosters trust. That’s one of the intangibles of value inside the enterprise. But imagine what it might mean between trading partners.”

Now, the downsides:

1. It’s open source. You may have policy roadblocks for that. You may also need new skills and of course you’ll need labor time to set up the technical implementation.
2. You’ll need an evangelist, maybe several - maybe one for each major silo in your IT shop, plus one or more for your customers. And of course like any project / application rollout, you might want a full project / change / adoption plan.
3. It’s not as structured as some of your silo tools (a help desk KB or a code library for example). Your pilot testing might end up telling you that you’re needlessly duplicating data or effort.
4. It’s not as mature as the silo tools - security and controls for example might not be where you need them.

My advice? Start small and simple, do it as a pilot test with a defined user group, learn some lessons and gradually scale up.

Scott Braden

Technorati Tags: asset management software asset manager software license fixed asset manage configuration management itil asset software audit standardinternal audit project management

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Here is what has happened on Evergreen’s Blog for this Week:

• IT Change Management - Start with a Request not the Implementation Phase
• “Buyer Beware” + other ITIL tidbits…
• Envisioning the “walls” early on is always fun
• IT Change Management Software
• Change and Configuration Management – ITIL’s “special sauce”

The Top 10 Post on Evergreen’s Blogs:

1. “Buyer Beware” + other ITIL tidbits…
2. Envisioning the “walls” early on is always fun
3. IT Change Management Software
4. Change and Configuration Management – ITIL’s “special sauce”
5. IT Change Management - Start with a Request not the Implementation Phase
6. CMDB Assessment
7. Service Oriented Architectures and Effective IT
8. Looking outside ITSM for ideas
9. HOW TO FIND BEST PRACTICES RIGHT AT HOME
10. How to build a CMDB - Step 1?

Technorati Tags: itil configuration management management compliance audit sarbanes oxley internal control compliant business process management asset management internal audit software risk management audit new tool business process project management implementation business process model soa business continuity

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We all know that getting an ITIL project off the ground is difficult to say the least. Key to making anything happen is, of course, senior management sponsorship and support (in terms of time and dollars). A significant trend we feel worth noting is that we see an ITIL approach where the primary focus is on an integrated Change and Configuration Management (CCM) Solution is the most successful in terms of securing support and funding. Why? Well, a number of factors play in but it basically comes down to the fact that the value proposition associated with an integrated CCM approach is believable and easy to understand.

For Senior Management to support (thus attaching their name to) a project, the value must be easy for them to understand and easy for them to explain to their peers and executives. In addition, the project must make good business sense and hopefully appeal (provide value) to a wide audience. What we are seeing is that Change and Configuration Management, more than any of the other ITIL processes, meets these objectives and is being recognized by Senior Management as being a worthy endeavor.

In short, the value of an integrated Change and Configuration Management (CCM) system lies in understanding the value of knowing and effectively controlling key components of your IT environment. If you can manage your IT environment better through a CMM approach, you can achieve benefits such as:

• Improve your planning and budgeting effectiveness
• Better management of corporate and organization risk
• Ensure security requirements are followed/enforced
• Meet audit and compliance requirements
• Reduce the number of self-inflicted problems
• Reduce waste and redundancy
• Identify trends and patterns to improve service
• Improve services through more consistent, reliable outcomes

the list goes on??..

What?s more important is that it is a relatively straightforward discussion to explain how better CCM processes can achieve these benefits. It is logical, it makes sense, it?s easy to explain, and most important of all, it seems like something the organization should do. The same can not be said of several other of the ITIL processes because they are either poorly understood or the benefits are more difficult to articulate.

Speaking of benefits?who benefits from an effective CCM solution? Well? pretty much everyone inside and outside of IT. From a support and sponsorship perspective, a CCM approach appeals to a wide base of IT constituents because it provides value to a number of different IT departments, including:

• Architecture and Engineering
• Data Center Operations
• Business Continuity and DR
• Applications
• Infrastructure
• Asset Management
• Network Operations
• Client Services

The bottom line here is if you want to get your ITIL project off the ground, you have to focus and sell it in a way that Senior Management can buy in. Give them an approach that makes sense, gives them confidence in a successful outcome, and is something they can easily articulate to the rest of the organization, and you will have a funded project! Chances are, if you focus on Change and Configuration Management as your end, you will find the support you are looking for.

Part 2 - Who’s the boss?

Also, don’t forget to register for Evergreen’s change management webinar and learn how to Take Change Management from Firefighting to Fire Prevention

Technorati Tags: configuration management itil

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Howdy-

I recently had the opportunity to brief the IT Compliance Committee for a large company in the financial services space. My topic was “IT Governance Frameworks–Overhead or Strategic Weapon?”

A mentor told me once, “After we begin to understand what a brick is, a number of us begin to envision walls.” These guys are beginning to see walls!

They are no longer satisfied reacting to a wide variety of compliance actions.
They are tired of compliance fire drills.
They are fed up with the duplication.

They see compliance demand continuing to rise.
They are tired of the regulators not knowing what they want, and making contradictory demands.
They want to shape what happens, not just be shaped by it.
They see the chance to drive compliance AND improve IT execution.

They see the need to create a proactive compliance management approach, leveraging process standards like ITIL and CMMI, and compliance standards like ISO 17799(Security), SOX, FFIEC & GLB under an umbrella of COBIT. They see the potential to eliminate duplication of controls, and unify them into a more manageable set.

We presented a simple, direct approach for going from reactive to proactive, from inefficient to efficient. In essence–

Define Policy for IT Governance Working Group

Identify and agree on critical framework components ? key standards
-Process & compliance
-Internal & external

Create a logical controls framework
-Built on top business needs first
-Reduce controls though combination

Build policy compliance into IT work when its created?leverage enterprise change management
-Drive efficiency through a risk calculator–determining the risk level,
and then applying the right amount of “compliance”

Audit for exceptions

Be proactive with auditors and oversight committees - giving them what they need so they don’t have to look for it.

Of course, the devil is in the details. Everyone there understood this would not be easy, and it would take some time. But they also believe it’s worth it.

It was great, because envisioning the “walls” early on is always fun. If you have an interest in a copy of the general presentation, just drop me a line.

Cheers,

Don

Technorati Tags: compliance audit blog internal control compliance itil audit

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