How many times have you been on-site and the people who currently have the responsibility for perfomring the task that you are to help automate or streamline resent your presence? Do they look at you like your the newest gunslinger in town? Are your cries of "I am not an animal!" go unheeded? Did you know that this attitude (when pronounced) can have an effect on the way you function? It can make you shy away from recommending a modification to current procedures or processes when you know it is the best thing to do. Many of the tools that are installed now contain a log that captures every move made. This is very true of the old Opsware products, so the end-users feel that "Big Brother" has arrived and it is 1994 all over again. Take the time to explain. Take the time to really listen to the person doing the job. Make sure you explain this is not intended to be the traffic cop who is cathing those who make a mistake and hang them out to dry. I find the best explanation is that it is used to quickly determine how to find and fix the problem. Remember, don't spend time thinking about the problem, think about the solution.

Posted in: Change Management  Tags: hostile, log files, solution, implementation, change management, itil, it process improvement, workflow analysis, failed changes

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It seems an obvious answer doesn't it? The whole idea behind ITIL is best practices in PROCESS improvement- right? But how many times do we see ourselves and our peers looking for a short cut to solutions through technology that automates. As an ITIL consulting firm, over and over we see clients that pay lip service to ITIL process transformation but are often looking for technology alone to solve the problem. IT otpimization and transformation, it seems, at its core, is simply analysis of tasks and workflows that are repititious and can be streamlined and automated (through technology). And yet how can you possibly identify those that are good candidates for automation with analysis of process? And once processes that are good candidates for automation are indeed, changed, that leads to new, improved processes. Right? Please write and give us your opinion on this topic- which comes first, the process chicken or the automation egg? Jill Lander Evergreen Systems

Posted in: Business Value of IT , ITIL Implementation  Tags: it, itil, it process improvement, it automation, it service management, itsm

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