The Journey of an ITSM Project

The other day I received an email from a potential client. This CIO wanted to sort out all future projects during the holiday. Of course, this included an ITSM project. So he asked me to write about the general process of an ITSM project.

I also rarely had time to properly sort out the "project" process, because this is not a simple process of "I provide, you use."

During the project process, it is often full of "communication" and "engagement." The more thorough the communication in a project, the higher the quality of the project. What's the opposite? The provider adopts the mindset of "let the customer worry less, we'll take more care" and doesn't let the customer participate.

1. Create a Journey Map

First: Create Roles

To improve the quality of every interaction and the customer experience, we need to know: who are we communicating with? What are their needs? What are their concerns and anxieties? Therefore, the first step is to define roles.

• Sponsor — the party at the client who provides funding, i.e., the investor. Who decides to invest? The person responsible for IT governance.
• Customer — who executes and manages? The IT managers.
• User — technical personnel.
• Provider — the supplier also has several teams.

Then: Define Customer Stages

So at which stages do these "engagements" occur?

From starting to consider purchasing a "product" or "service": when and how was the "product" discovered? How to research the benefits of the "product"? What kind of "product" will be chosen? And finally, what kind of "experience" will be gained? What process does this go through?

Obviously, this process is not the process by which the "provider" creates value. It is the "customer's" journey toward their goals.

Finally: Define Touchpoints

How do customers and providers interact? At which stage, through what form? What is the purpose of the interaction, what is expected to be achieved? What should both parties prepare?

These preparations are the foundation for the success of each "engagement."

So I first need to draw out these touchpoints between both parties, and also reflect the roles participating in the interaction — that is such a "Journey Map."

2. Journey Map of an ITSM Project

Earlier, the IT department learned about ITIL through various explorations and practices.

Step 1: Learn About "Best Practices" from Multiple ITSM Vendors

First, the client learns about "best practices" from multiple ITSM vendors, i.e., communicates with ITSM software companies. During this process, every ITSM software company will surely showcase their best practices, which also lets the client understand what the "best" outcomes look like.

• Through communication, the client can understand current standards and trends in the ITSM industry, and further clarify expectations and goals for the ITSM project.
• Let the client understand each vendor's capabilities and shortlist potential suppliers.
• Let the ITSM software company understand the client's overall purpose and direction for the ITSM project.

Participants: Since the ITSM project involves the management system and specific processes of the IT department, this step should involve IT department managers and key personnel. Only IT department managers can define the overall purpose and direction of the ITSM project.

Duration: Communication with each ITSM software company is typically 1-2 hours.

Step 2: Investigation

Investigation means the ITSM software company comes on-site for face-to-face interviews with key personnel and frontline staff of each team in the IT department. Through interviews, understand the current situation, existing management mechanisms and work methods, and what bottlenecks each team hopes to improve.

Through investigation, we learn:

• The overall process of the IT department;
• The current status of each specific task and the software tools used;
• The bottlenecks each specific task expects to improve;
• Who the main suppliers are and how they provide service and support;

Investigation is the prerequisite for the solution; without investigation there is no targeted solution.

Participants: Find a representative from each team in the IT department, usually the team leader. For example, operations team leader, application system team leader, data team leader, service desk leader.

• Key point: every team needs to be investigated for comprehensive understanding;
• Key point: only specific leaders or frontline personnel can describe the details of the current situation clearly, while overall IT department managers grasp the overall purpose and direction. Therefore, investigation needs to target specific leaders.

Duration: Interviews with each team representative typically take 1 hour; total time is usually 1-2 days.

Step 3: Communicate the Investigation Report

The ITSM software company communicates the "Investigation Report" with IT department managers to verify the accuracy of the investigation. Because a short 1-2 day investigation cannot fully understand the IT department's current situation, and "investigation" is the premise for the "solution," it is necessary to verify the investigation report with IT department managers.

By verifying the investigation report, further clarify the overall purpose and specific expected improvement opportunities.

Note that at this step, not only is the overall purpose clarified, but also the specific "improvement opportunities" and their priorities. These improvement opportunities correspond to what specific "outcomes" the solution should have.

Participants: This step should involve IT department managers and key personnel.

Duration: Typically 1 hour.

Step 4: Establish the Initial Project Team

Because this stage belongs to the ITSM design phase, not the specific "project implementation" phase. To make ITSM design comprehensive, to obtain collaboration from all parties during the ITSM implementation phase, and to ensure strong execution during the ITSM operation phase.

The project team during the ITSM design phase should include the main leaders of each team in the IT department. Including: application system management, operations management, data team, service desk.

Step 5: Design the Management System

Designing the management system is a balance of three aspects: "ITIL best practices," "current situation," and "experience":

• International best practice ITIL — refers to the original ITIL guidelines. Not to copy ITIL completely, but to understand what differences exist between the "solution" and ITIL, why these differences exist — whether they are unreasonable or necessary transitions. If the "solution" barely touches on ITIL at all, is it that the referenced management system is wrong (for example, should reference the SAFe system instead of ITIL), or is it that the "solution" simply didn't reference any management system and just stuck an ITIL label on it.
• Current situation — only the IT department people best understand the current situation. The "Solution" should not be one-step completion; it should balance between ITIL and the current situation.
• Experience — the implementation experience of the software company.

ITSM design is a joint design between the software company and the IT department: reference the differences between international best practice ITIL and the current situation, draw on the experience of the ITSM software company, and choose expected and transitional solutions.

Participants: The project team during the ITSM design phase should include main leaders of each team in the IT department. Including: application system management, operations management, data team, service desk.

Duration: Typically several months. Because multiple ITSM software companies or consultants provide multiple solutions at this point, and solution design sometimes requires repeated revisions.

Step 6: Select the Solution

Because multiple ITSM software companies or consultants provide multiple solutions at this point, the client needs to select the solution that best meets expectations with the highest cost-effectiveness.

• Management system selection: Some software companies provide solutions close to ITIL V2, e.g., one center (service desk) and ten processes. Others provide "construction-management integration" solutions, e.g., project management + ticket management. There are also SAFe agile systems. And full lifecycle and value stream solutions. In terms of scope, this also includes province-city integration, group-company integration solutions. Meanwhile, in terms of technical deployment, there are also different solutions of centralized deployment or distributed deployment.
• Scope selection: Because IT management involves many contents, it is not recommended to build all management mechanisms at once. Therefore, scope needs to be defined. Adopt the approach of overall planning and phased implementation.
• Entry point selection: Need to select the most urgently needed improvement, maximum value, and highest certainty content as the entry point.
• Implementation path and transition plan selection: The solution should not overly pursue one-step completion; first establish management mechanisms, then software support. And building many management mechanisms requires new resources, so transition plans are needed.

Step 7: Sort Out Detailed Requirements

This is a critical step. Need to sort out the specific, scenario-based "requirements" that the ITSM project can bring. The more formal term should be "Outcomes."

The description format of "Outcome" is: To achieve what purpose, what role needs to do what.

All "requirements" or "features" are to achieve "Outcomes."

Each time a "requirement" is raised, it is saying whether an "Outcome" was newly added or revised, or whether a previously designed "Outcome" was not achieved.

The ITSM software company develops a specific series of "Outcomes" based on the earlier investigation and solution, and verifies them one by one with key personnel of the IT department.

Participants: This step should involve key personnel of the IT department.

Duration: Typically one week to develop specific "Outcomes," and 1 hour to verify "Outcomes," but "Outcomes" may need repeated revisions.

Step 8: Test the Solution or Site Visit

"Outcomes" should all be tangible and visible. Therefore, to ensure "Outcomes" are achievable, a testing process is needed.

Participants: This step recommends technical personnel related to the subsequent ITSM project and system to conduct testing, i.e., the "Super Users" of the ITSM system.

Duration: Testing typically takes one week.

Steps 9-10-11: Bidding & Procurement

After confirming the degree of achievement of "Outcomes," conduct bidding and procurement work.

1. Step 9: Bidding;
2. Step 10: Negotiate expectations and costs;
3. Step 11: Authorize procurement;

These steps are not necessarily linear, so they will not be elaborated here.

Step 12: Jointly Design Specific Processes

This step is also called joint design, but unlike the earlier joint design of the management system, this step is to design specific processes.

My experience at this step is that the ITSM software company should first provide a "classic process" as a template. This classic process should be a best practice that has been repeatedly validated through the design and use of many other clients. Then the client's managers or key personnel discuss and revise the "classic process."

Participants: Depends on the scale of the IT department. If it is a relatively large IT department, specific process design should be developed together with the leaders of relevant departments. If it is a medium-sized IT department, it can be developed directly with the IT department managers.

Duration: Joint design typically takes 1 hour, on the one hand to avoid over-design, and on the other hand, process design is a process of continuous optimization and revision.

Step 13: Joint Implementation

ITSM projects typically have an ITSM software system for support. Software implementation should avoid "turnkey projects" as much as possible. In many ITSM projects, software configuration and implementation were completed by the client's personnel, or jointly by the software company and the IT department. Only in this way can the ITSM system truly be implemented.

Participants: This step recommends technical personnel related to the subsequent ITSM project and system to conduct testing, i.e., the "Super Users" of the ITSM system.

Duration: Joint implementation typically takes three weeks to one month.

Steps 14-15: Training

Training is a key step for ITIL implementation. Only when everyone understands and reaches a consensus can it be sustained.

• Process training;
• ITSM system usage training;

Participants: This step recommends IT department managers and all personnel to participate.

Duration: Training typically takes 1-2 hours. Training is usually not a one-time event; different training may be conducted at different stages, including system concept training, process and operation training.

Steps 16-19: Usage & Data Analysis

Whether ITIL can truly play a role ultimately depends on the execution of processes. At the same time, it is very important to quantify and find new improvement opportunities through data analysis.

Let us quote two classic quotes:

"The vitality of processes lies in execution"

"Data goes in, so it can come out"

We often periodically analyze data together with many IT departments. Through data analysis, we discover which processes have not achieved closed loop, which systems have hidden risks, which aspects or systems business departments are dissatisfied with, including which aspects of the ITSM software need improvement and what new data analysis is needed.

Data analysis takes the form of meetings, with managers, technical personnel, and outsourced company personnel all participating. Each meeting takes about 3 hours. The interval for data analysis is roughly once a quarter.

3. Project Summary

Project Name	Specific Actions	Completion Time / Key Milestones	Completion Criteria
Ops System Construction	Investigation: organize domestic and international companies to communicate ops system construction plans (1) Understand domestic and international ops system standards and trends; (2) Sort out the overall purpose, benefits, and opportunities for improving bottlenecks in the current situation of the organization's ops system construction; (3) Discover potential suppliers; (4) Identify project risks; (5) Further understand project costs; (6) Project justification;	Submit Investigation Report Submit Project Approval Report	—
Design	Design targeted solutions based on the organization's needs and project purpose, referencing industry standards (7) Establish initial project team; (8) Assist potential suppliers in detailed investigation; (9) Design and revise the management system; (10) Select solution; (11) Sort out detailed requirements; (12) Test or review corresponding functions of the solution;	Solution Test Report	—
Negotiation	Negotiate expectations and costs with potential suppliers (13) Organize bidding; (14) Negotiate expected goals and costs with the winning company, and sign contract;	Bidding Document Contract	—
Implementation	Implementation and training (15) Organize project kickoff meeting; (16) Client collects various data, configures monitoring protocols for various devices; (17) Organize suppliers to jointly design specific processes in the management system; (18) Implement unified monitoring system; (19) Organize training;	Specific Management Process Documents Training Documents	—
Usage	ITSM implemented through software, quantifies work and system performance through data, holds regular data analysis meetings (20) Go-live and usage; (21) Hold monthly Data Analysis Report;	Several Data Analysis Reports	—
Achievement	Track satisfaction, assess effects and gaps (22) Understand satisfaction and gaps, as well as new potential opportunities; (23) Final acceptance and payment;	Acceptance Documents Requirements	—