Five days down at the new place of work and I’m pretty sure it’s where I need to be as an ITSM practitioner.  Incident Management is at a CMMI level 2 (maybe more 1 ½).  Change Management is something almost entirely different, and I would say that’s the most mature of the processes, and that ain’t good.  As I mentioned in a previous post I’m using three books to help guide me on this new ITSM journey, and so far Visible Ops is becoming a much needed reference. To go with this thought, here’s the plan so far:

1. Get to know the ITSM tool – My “official” position is that of administrator, so obviously I do need to know the tool in order to even earn the paycheck.

2. Lock Change Management down to a science – This is a big one, and if you like Visible Ops, you’d agree.  Since 80% of problems come from Changes, this is where the biggest improvements will hit. Since objective #1 will take more time with training, I know it’s going to be hard not to focus on the processes.

That’s all I can really say at this point – I’ve only been there a week, so what do you really expect?  The biggest unknown is the culture – will putting in changes be difficult, or will they be willingly accepted?  OK, I’ll be realistic and say I already know the answer; but I’d rather not do any self-fulling prophecies.  In the words of my former director, “keep calm and carry on.”  (Incidentally, I think he got that from the British WWII propaganda.  I prefer the alternative of “panic, and run around like headless chickens.”  It’s never gotten me anywhere, but sure is fun.)

Update:  Forgot one last key item, and that’s the baseline metrics.  So….before leaping into any project my actual next step will be just finding out where we are so I know what is/is not effective.  I hate forgetting the basics, but as my former director always said (as quoted from Hoosiers) “you’ve gotta learn how to dribble before learning how to shoot.”

avatar

Started working in IT in 1999 as a support desk analyst as a way to help pay for food during college. Studied Electrical Engineering for two years before realizing biochemistry was more fun than differential equations, and so ultimately graduated with a Biology degree in 2006. Having (reluctantly) failed at getting accepted into dental school, embraced working in IT and has gone broke becoming an ITIL Expert. Likes to jog, sing camp songs, quote Mel Brooks movie lines and make dumb jokes and loves working for an Israeli tech company where December 25th is a regular work day.