Don't have an account yet? You can create one. As a registered user you have some advantages like theme manager, comments configuration and post comments with your name.
NOTE: ® ITIL is a registered trademark of OGC. This portal is totally independent and is in no way related to them. See our Feedback Page for more information.
Search
Languages
Select Interface Language:
Advertising
Please contact us via the feedback page to discuss advertising rates.
The Itil Community Forum: Forums
ITIL :: View topic - Communicating unplanned service outage
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 4:46 am Post subject: Communicating unplanned service outage
Should that section be included in an annual review document. most IT folks would probably say no...
but i 'm asking you guys for your opinion...what would be the best business practise?
it would be good to let users know that SharePoint for e.g. became suddenly unavailable due to technical difficulties etc...and would resume shortly..via email
...sort of like that frozen lady with the hat and surrounded by beautiful flowers on tv when there was a stand-by notice when our tv stations became untransmittable...for those of you "old" enough to remember... _________________ Mike
Service Management Coordinator
Joined: Mar 04, 2008 Posts: 1894 Location: Helensburgh
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 4:47 pm Post subject:
Mike,
I can't see how to answer that question except that it all depends on the purpose, flavour and culture behind your annual review document.
Unplanned outages will, of course, figure large in service review meetings with your customers and also in internal performance review and continual improvement activities at the very least. _________________ "Method goes far to prevent trouble in business: for it makes the task easy, hinders confusion, saves abundance of time, and instructs those that have business depending, both what to do and what to hope."
William Penn 1644-1718
Joined: Mar 04, 2008 Posts: 1894 Location: Helensburgh
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 7:49 pm Post subject:
Just picking up the second point. E-mail is not an instant access means of communication like the telephone. People may not see an e-mail message for minutes, hours, days or weeks after it is sent. How long do you expect the outage to last?
Where I used to work, I once received an e-mail announcing a meeting in half an hour. When I came out of my other meeting an hour later it was a bit late even to usefully decline.
If you want to tell someone something and know that they have heard and understood, you need a response. This can be achieved on a telephone if they pick up or face to face if they are at least half awake, both within seconds, or it can be achieved by e-mail, letter, internal memorandum or go-between and you may never find out if the information was received. _________________ "Method goes far to prevent trouble in business: for it makes the task easy, hinders confusion, saves abundance of time, and instructs those that have business depending, both what to do and what to hope."
William Penn 1644-1718
Joined: Sep 16, 2006 Posts: 3589 Location: London, UK
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:55 pm Post subject:
Diarmid,
But of course. Email is not instant
If the Sharepoint application had a holding page when the service was out.. this would be good enough for some
if the general it department had an open incident/ outage page , this will satisfiy some others
if the help desk had an automated message when you rang,
'if you are calling about...., there is an inciden #### about this. Next update is at .....' and update it regularly
this will satisfy others
If you send email... this will satisify some more
if you send some to each office as an outage crier - like the 17th town criers
Third floor - email is down
Fourth floor - email is down still
fifth floor, elevator is down so i aint walking to the 6-10th floor and emai is down
this will satisfy some more people
but no matter what choice you make .. some one will not be happy _________________ John Hardesty
ITSM Manager's Certificate (Red Badge)
Change Management is POWER & CONTROL. /....evil laughter
Joined: Mar 04, 2008 Posts: 1894 Location: Helensburgh
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:41 pm Post subject:
UKVIKING wrote:
but no matter what choice you make .. some one will not be happy
Except, perhaps, on Friday. _________________ "Method goes far to prevent trouble in business: for it makes the task easy, hinders confusion, saves abundance of time, and instructs those that have business depending, both what to do and what to hope."
William Penn 1644-1718
I can't see how to answer that question except that it all depends on the purpose, flavour and culture behind your annual review document.
Unplanned outages will, of course, figure large in service review meetings with your customers and also in internal performance review and continual improvement activities at the very least.
Thanks. This here is a canadian bank (bank culture!!! . the purpose of the annual review basically is to evaluate the services' performance and management. i think that the unplanned service outage should be communicated. but the folks here (i.e. service owners) do not want to stick out their neck and reputation and commit to communicating unplanned outages. they are all saying that unplanned service outagas never actually happens ...we are at 99.9999.......they can happen though.... _________________ Mike
Service Management Coordinator
Joined: Mar 04, 2008 Posts: 1894 Location: Helensburgh
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 12:35 am Post subject:
Mike,
the question occurs: why is the service in a position to determine what it tells the business about the quality of service delivery?
The kind of review you describe is about governance. Top management should determine (dictate?) what performance indicators they wish to keep an eye on.
I would have thought that unexpected loss 9or even reduction) of service would be of primary interest to them.
They would want to know why it happened, how much it cost, whether it has occurred more than once, what has/is/can be done to prevent it in future.
If service is good, it will look good while reporting to these questions because there will be little to report and you will demonstrate your control and confidence by your analysis of, improvement actions for, the odd aberrant situation that has arisen.. _________________ "Method goes far to prevent trouble in business: for it makes the task easy, hinders confusion, saves abundance of time, and instructs those that have business depending, both what to do and what to hope."
William Penn 1644-1718
Joined: Mar 04, 2008 Posts: 1894 Location: Helensburgh
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 12:50 am Post subject:
I guess one good outage would set that back a year or three. _________________ "Method goes far to prevent trouble in business: for it makes the task easy, hinders confusion, saves abundance of time, and instructs those that have business depending, both what to do and what to hope."
William Penn 1644-1718
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum