Continual Service Improvement
Models and Processes
Introduction
Models and processes are necessary in order to execute systematic and coordinated improvement activities.
In Continual Service Improvement, several approaches and processes are identified
to support the improvement of services and processes.
Deming Cycle
The Deming Cycle is described as below:
• Also known as Plan-Do-Check-Act
• Basis for quality management and improvement
• Quality management can be successful if management and staff are committed and aim to achieve the same goals.
The Deming Cycle is critical at two points in CSI: implementation of CSIs, and for the application
of CSI
to services and service management processes. At implementation, all four stages of
the Deming Cycle are used. With ongoing improvement, CSI draws on the check and act stages to monitor, measure, review and implement initiatives.
The four key stages of Deming Cycle (Plan, Do, Check and Act) should be performed
for quality improvement of a service.
• Plan
ƒ Scope of CSI
ƒ Objectives and requirements
for CSI
ƒ Process activities to be developed
ƒ Framework of management roles and responsibilities
ƒ Methods and techniques to measure, assess, analyze and report on the quality,
effectiveness and efficiency of
services
and
Service Management processes
• Do (implement)
ƒ Funding and budgets required to support CSI
ƒ Documenting and allocating of roles and responsibilities to work on CSI
initiatives
ƒ Documenting and maintaining CSI policies, plans and procedures
ƒ Ensuring monitoring,
analysis, trend evaluating
and reporting tools are in place
• Check (monitor, measure and review CSI activities)
ƒ Monitoring, measuring and reviewing that the CSI objectives and plans are being achieved
ƒ Reporting against plans
ƒ Documenting review
ƒ Conducting process assessments and audits
ƒ Identifying and recommending CSI process improvement opportunities
• Act
ƒ Implementing the actual CSI enhancements
ƒ Updating CSI policies, procedures, roles and responsibilities
The consolidation phase
enables the organization
to ensure that improvements are embedded and thus prevents the ‘cycle’ from ‘rolling
down the hill’.
CSI Model
The CSI Model can be described as below:
• High-level approach for improving
IT Service Management
• Assess current situation by asking critical questions, where, what and how
• Establish a baseline for all levels for future comparisons
of services carried
out
Improvement projects
should
be
related
to
a vision,
and the related goals
and objectives of the IT organization. These will help to set priorities.
A baseline assessment helps determining the current position of the organization or service.
This
can
be
used
for
later
comparison
to
see
if
the improvement
effort actually brought what was expected.
Improvement projects need realistic and measurable targets, without
these, projects may lose focus and effectiveness. Once the organization
has gained useful insight based on measurements
and targets set, the organization should
plan and execute
service and process
improvements.
Seven Step Improvement Process:
Overview
Fundamental to CSI is the concept of measurement. The seven-step improvement
process is a crucial
part of CSI.
It is obvious that all the activities of the improvement process assist CSI in some way. It is relatively
simple to identify what
takes place but more
difficult to understand exactly how this
will
happen. The improvement
process
spans
not only
the management organization but the entire service lifecycle. This
is a cornerstone of CSI, the main steps of which are as follows:
1. Identify the strategy for improvement
Identify the overall vision, business need,
the strategy and the tactical
and operational goals
2. Define what you will measure
Service strategy and
service
design should have identified
this information early in the lifecycle. CSI can then start its cycle all over again at ‘Where are we now?’ and ‘Where do we want to
be?’ This identifies the ideal situation for both
the business
and IT. CSI can
conduct a gap
analysis to identify the opportunities for improvement as well as answering the question ‘How do we get there?’
3. Gather
the data
In order to properly answer the question ‘Did we get there?’, data must first be gathered (usually through
service
operations). Data can be gathered from many different
sources based on goals and objectives identified. At this point the data is raw and no conclusions are drawn.
4. Process the data
Here the data
is
processed in alignment with
the
critical success
factors (CSFs) and KPIs specified. This means that timeframes are
coordinated, unaligned data is
rationalized and made consistent, and gaps in the data are identified.
The
simple
goal
of
this
step
is to process
data
from
multiple disparate sources to give it context
that can be compared.
Once we have rationalized the data we can begin analysis.
5. Analyze the information and data
As we bring the data more and more into context it evolves from raw data into information where we can start to answer questions about who, what, when, where and how as well as trends and the impact on the business.
It is the analyzing step
that
is most
often
overlooked
or
forgotten in
the rush
to present
data to management.
6. Present and use the information
Here the answer
to ‘Did we get there?’
is formatted and
communicated
in whatever way necessary to present to the various stakeholders an accurate picture of the results of the improvement efforts. Knowledge is presented to the business in a form and manner that reflects their needs and assists them in determining the next steps.
7. Implement improvement
The knowledge gained is used to optimize, improve and correct services and processes. Issues have been identified and now solutions are implemented – wisdom is applied to the knowledge. The improvements that need to be taken to improve
the service or process
are communicated and
explained to the organization. Following this step the organization establishes a new baseline
and the cycle begins anew.
Seven Step Improvement Process:
Purpose and objectives
The purpose of the seven-step
improvement
process is to define
and manage the steps needed to identify,
define, gather, process,
analyze, present and implement improvements.
The objectives of the seven-step improvement process are to:
• Identify opportunities for improving services, processes, tools etc.
• Reduce the cost of providing services
and ensuring that IT services enable the required
business outcomes to be achieved.
• Identify
what needs to be measured,
analyzed and reported to establish improvement opportunities.
• Continually review service achievements to ensure they remain matched
to business requirements; continually align
and re-align service
provision with outcome requirements.
• Understand what
to measure, why it is being measured and carefully
define
the successful outcome.
Improvements in quality should not be implemented if there is a cost associated for the improvement and if
this cost has not been justified. Every potential improvement
opportunity will have to have a business case justification to show that the business will have an overall benefit.
For small initiatives the business case does not have to be a full blown report but could be a simple justification. The seven-step improvement process is not free-standing and will only achieve its desired outcomes when applied to technology, services, processes, organization or partners.
Seven Step Improvement Process (Scope)
The seven-step improvement process includes analysis of the performance and capabilities of services, processes throughout the lifecycle, partners and technology.
It includes the continual alignment
of the portfolio of IT services with the current and future business needs as
well as the maturity of
the enabling IT processes for each
service.
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