ITSM Uncovered

This morning I was reading up on Marine Corps Sergeant Dakota Meyer's bravery in being presented America's highest military award The Medal of Honor.  It got me thinking about the word "Service" It is embedded as part of our Industry of IT Service Management.  There are Service Catalogues, Service Delivery, Service Strategy, Service Design and on, and on, and on.  I realized that it is a word that we have completely over used to the point of it losing its core meaning.

In the fall of 1985 I first learned a defininition of the word "Service" in relation to what it means to be a United States Marine like Sergeant Meyer.  Above all else is a Service to God, Country and Corps, in that order.  Everything else falls behind it.  It was a definition that meant something.  Something worth fighting for.  I would now of course, add Family next in line, but at 17, it was simple enough as a foundation to believe, fight and if needed die for.  

Of course this is extreme, but in comparison to the liberal use of the word "Service" in our industry, it highlights the need to take a step back, define and reaffirm our committment to it.  I took a little time today to do just that and I realized that I fight daily in the name of Service.  What I didn't realize is that I fight on as many fronts as I do to defind what I find important.  I hear those in IT profess to understand what they do.  In reality, I see many more who have lost sight of why they do it.  

It is the why which defines my interpretation of Service and that which has put me in the bad graces of some for my stubborn attitude when it comes to doing things right.  A manager I once had, broke it down to me in the most simplistic manner.  He said:

"As long as you do what you feel is the right thing to do in the deepest depths of your being, you have something to defend and no one can question your justification for doing the right thing.  It may not be right, but more often than not it will be, either way no one will question your motives and that you will be able to live with."

Despite the individuals I have pissed off in my career, there have always been those above me who appreciate my passion for doing things the right way.  For not avoiding the hard work.  For not shying away from questioning leadership in defense of what I belive in, and giving 100% when those questions have been answered clearly.  

What I have found, sadly enough is that for many, more time is spent looking for short cuts and quick fixes instead of "Putting in work."  As with anything else, you are only giving anyone a half-assed solution.  If you have a clarity of purpose and a true understanding of the many types of Service you are accountable for, both personally as well as professionally, you can move ahead with a sense of purpose, pride and confidence well positioned to defend any who are looking for the short cuts and easy answers.

So to level set; in a general sense, everything and everyone that touches your life depends on you for some sort of Service delivery.  Whether it is your kids, spouse, pets, familiy members or your business cutomers or peers in all of the technology towers you interact with.  They all want a piece of what it is you have to offer.  That is your Service.  That is the responsiiblity that you have to deliver on.  

More importantly it is your committment to all of those services which will make you successsful.  It takes work and can be overwhelming at times, but understanding your role, what you have to offer with a sense of knowledge and awareness will guide you through making the right decisions, putting in the work necessary and staying focused on what is right, instead of looking for what is easy.

What are the Services you provide in all directions?  Are you aware of them all?  Do you have a sense of committment to each of them with a passion or are you just running on a treadmil for the paycheck?  If not, then you need a gut-check.

Thank you Sergeant Dakota Meyer for winning the Medal of Honor and forcing me back to my basic understanding of Service.

 

Semper Fi!

Sgt., Rik Jones USMC (1985 ~ 1993)

Managing the relationship with customers is still a problem, as Dilbert shows today. The traditional "IT expert" is not the ideal partner for the customer.

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We recently talked about how startups can go about setting up a helpdesk to keep their customers well supported. Customer support is one of those areas of your business where it’s surprisingly easy to differentiate yourself — you’d be surprised to find that very few startups are really putting much of an effort in here.

It got us thinking: what will the helpdesks of the future look like? Everyone loves a good spot of future conjecture, and even if these things never come to pass, it’s fun to consider.

With that in mind, here’s are a few ideas of how the industry can change, as well as the methods by which the changes could happen. Come along. This should be fun.

Minority Tickets

You remember Minority Report, of course. That awesome computer system where Tom Cruise was able to control everything with a pair of gloves that allowed his movement to be tracked had geeks around the world drooling. With Microsoft’s Kinect, we’re a step closer to this but not quite there yet.

What’s interesting is that most helpdesk work isn’t very well suited to the large-screen format upon which a system like this would thrive. However, for a macro view, having the ability to swipe out old tickets and pick them up to move them into a different order would be welcome. Motion tracking such as what we have with the Kinect could allow this in the future, even if we’re still just jumping around in our living rooms for video games right now.

Immersive Displays

This is where the idea of motion control and true immersion could come into play. Put yourself into a position where you walk into a room, sit down at a desk and then have a 120-degree display just slightly above your eye level. It would allow you keep track of everything that’s going on, without having to address it directly. In front of you, you’d have a more traditional two-monitor setup (or perhaps a non-traditional version, something akin to virtual reality glasses).

This immersion, where you could nearly cause the world around you to disappear, would allow for a more centralized workflow. Instead of having to bounce back and forth between screens or computers, you could simply flick your hand to bring down the display of information that was relevant to you at any given time. Since we’re not speaking about physical monitors, but rather about a display that can expand or contract on demand, we’re also not limited to traditional plastic borders.

Intelligent Optimization

This is another area where I think that the entire helpdesk system could benefit. We have already seen smart-learning algorithms for Web-based content. What about one that learns the importance of a ticket by reading the words and data inside of it, effectively turning the entire process into a semantic method instead of simply first-come, first-served.

Undoubtedly there would need to be some serious work in order to make sure that things happen in the order that they should. But with learning algorithms getting “smarter” every moment, it wouldn’t be such a far stretch to imagine one that could re-order your lower-importance tickets for you, saving you time and effort.

Decentralized Process

The beauty of the system, as we’re talking about here, is that it only furthers the current trend of a decentralization. We already have employees of major corporations working from remote locations and that trend doesn’t appear to be slowing. With that remote method, studies have shown time and again that employees are happier, more productive and generally stay with a company longer.

While the technology that I’ve dreamed up here might not even exist yet, much less be affordable today, current iterations in hardware lead me to believe that it won’t take long for that to change. In the next few years, it will be cheaper, easier and continue to be more effective to have a helpdesk a few thousand miles away, staffed by the people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to work for your company.

Call it a dream list if you will, but these are some of the things I’d like to see. Have thoughts of your own? Give us your dream setup in the comments.

As the governance, risk, and compliance market matures, product vendors and potential buyers alike are struggling to make the case for GRC implementations--whether it's being able to point to credible return on investment figures, or building a business case to justify the expense of a software platform. This is certainly not due to a lack of value, but rather a lack of parameters to work with when defining essential elements relating to cost, benefit, flexibility, and risk. When possible, the GRC proposition should be driven by a vision of better governance and performance, but when pressed for more specific justification, the following factors will help provide specific supporting evidence to make the case:

Those who can't lead, manage. Those who can't manage blame others.