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ITIL :: View topic - Starting a new job as a Service Manager
Joined: Mar 04, 2008 Posts: 1883 Location: Newcastle-under-Lyme
Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 10:39 pm Post subject:
It depends. _________________ "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: 1883 Location: Newcastle-under-Lyme
Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 11:38 pm Post subject:
Make sure your bonus is secured against any outcome?
Read the quality manual and draw up a plan to verify it.
If no documented management system, then obtain the three contradictory pictures of what the service is (and does and how well) from customers, user management and IT management; work out what to measure from what the customers tell you; measure it and draw up a state of the nation description and an improvement plan.
Or you could just audit the whole thing against ISO20000 and ISO27000. Since they have been unable to define your role, you will probably be able to use the audit as a chasm analysis.
Business objectives and policies whether clear or not will govern service objectives and policies. So start on the outside.
Is this an interview question? _________________ "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 10, 2008 Posts: 402 Location: Sunderland
Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 5:39 pm Post subject:
Diarmid wrote:
Make sure your bonus is secured against any outcome?
Read the quality manual and draw up a plan to verify it.
If no documented management system, then obtain the three contradictory pictures of what the service is (and does and how well) from customers, user management and IT management; work out what to measure from what the customers tell you; measure it and draw up a state of the nation description and an improvement plan.
Or you could just audit the whole thing against ISO20000 and ISO27000. Since they have been unable to define your role, you will probably be able to use the audit as a chasm analysis.
Business objectives and policies whether clear or not will govern service objectives and policies. So start on the outside.
Is this an interview question?
Ha ha - no.
It just strikes me that a lot of service managers take a mechanistic, ITIL/Process approach to the role predicated on there being some service management basis already in place.
I was pleased to see you mention getting the customers perspective, but here's another one for you......what about when the customer isn't sure what they want and rely on some leadership from you (a scenario I'm facing where I'm coming to the table with lots of things to see what resonates with my customer)?
Joined: Mar 04, 2008 Posts: 1883 Location: Newcastle-under-Lyme
Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 9:09 pm Post subject:
BorisBear wrote:
......what about when the customer isn't sure what they want and rely on some leadership from you
That is too wide a question because most of what you have to do is going to be individual to that customer in those circumstances. Are we dealing with transactional systems or communications systems; processing or information? probably all that, but where is the emphasis?
There are elements of business analysis involved and identifying needs (and 'good things') as distinct from the perceived "wants" of the customer.
Your customer may just have no idea what IT can do and you need a deep understanding of the business to offer a list of choices with sufficient explanation of what they will do for the business. And what the side-effects/implications are.
More likely you have to get the customer to articulate their business and where it might be going. You ask questions like "what would be good (goals/directions/improvements/activities/etc. for you in the next [time frame]?" and don't let them answer in terms of IT because that is where their assumptions will lead them astray.
The other point, of course, is to not let them rely on your leadership for their strategies and objectives. Make it clear what is a business decision and what is an IT decision.
Where are you blue sky thinkers? They need to be savvy about the business and about technologies. And then they need to be roped in by the down to earth business and IT management.
I'll stick to my first answer and play it by ear. The maturity of the business management impacts on how far and how fast you can drive towards better business alignment. _________________ "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
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