Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:
The Launch the Project phase will walk through completing Info-Tech's project charter template. This phase will help build a balanced project team, create a change message and communication plan, and achieve buy-in from key stakeholders.
The Identify and Define Enterprise Services phase will help to target enterprise services offered by the IT team. They are offered to everyone in the organization, and are grouped together in logical categories for users to access them easily.
After completing this phase, all services IT offers to each LOB or functional group should have been identified. Each group should receive different services and display only these services in the catalog.
Completing the Services Definition Chart will help the business pick which information to include in the catalog. This phase also prepares the catalog to be extended into a technical service catalog through the inclusion of IT-facing fields.
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
The purpose of this module is to help engage IT with business decision making.
This module will help build a foundation for the project to begin. The buy-in from key stakeholders is key to having them take onus on the project’s completion.
1.1 Assemble the project team.
1.2 Develop a communication plan.
1.3 Establish metrics for success.
1.4 Complete the project charter.
A list of project members, stakeholders, and a project leader.
A change message, communication strategy, and defined benefits for each user group.
Metrics used to monitor the usefulness of the catalog, both from a performance and monetary perspective.
A completed project charter to engage users in the initiative.
The purpose of this module is to review services which are offered across the entire organization.
A complete list of enterprise services defined from the user’s perspective to help them understand what is available to them.
2.1 Identify enterprise services used by almost everyone across the organization.
2.2 Categorize services into logical groups.
2.3 Define the services from the user’s perspective.
A complete understanding of enterprise services for both IT service providers and business users.
Logical groups for organizing the services in the catalog.
Completed definitions in business language, preferably reviewed by business users.
The purpose of this module is to define the remaining LOB services for business users, and separate them into functional groups.
Business users are not cluttered with LOB definitions that do not pertain to their business activities.
Business users are provided with only relevant IT information.
3.1 Identify the LOBs.
3.2 Determine which one of two methodologies is more suitable.
3.3 Identify LOB services using appropriate methodology.
3.4 Define services from a user perspective.
A structured view of the different functional groups within the business.
An easy to follow process for identifying all services for each LOB.
A list of every service for each LOB.
Completed definitions in business language, preferably reviewed by business users.
The purpose of this module is to guide the client to completing their service record definitions completely.
This module will finalize the deliverable for the client by defining every user-facing service in novice terms.
4.1 Understand the components to each service definition (information fields).
4.2 Pick which information to include in each definition.
4.3 Complete the service definitions.
A selection of information fields to be included in the service catalog.
A selection of information fields to be included in the service catalog.
A completed service record design, ready to be implemented with the right tool.
The catalog defines, documents, and organizes the services that IT delivers to the organization. The catalog also describes the features of the services and how the services are intended to be used.
The user-facing service catalog creates benefits for both the business and IT.
User-friendly, intuitive, and simple overview of the services that IT provides to the business.
The items you would see on the menu at a restaurant are an example of User Facing. The content is relatable and easy to understand.
Series of technical workflows, supporting services, and the technical components that are required to deliver a service.
The recipe book with cooking instructions is an example of Technical Facing. This catalog is intended for the IT teams and is “behind the scene.”
The sum of the people, processes, and technologies required to enable users to achieve a business outcome is a Service.
A service is used directly by the end users and is perceived as a coherent whole.
Business Users →Service = Application & Systems + People & Processes
In other words, put on your user hat and leave behind the technical jargons!
23% of IT is still viewed as a cost center. |
47% of business executives believe that business goals are going unsupported by IT. |
92% of IT leaders see the need to prove the business value of IT’s contribution. |
How a Service Catalog can help: |
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Use the catalog to demonstrate how IT is an integral part of the organization and IT services are essential to achieve business objectives. |
Transform the perception of IT by articulating all the services that are provided through the service catalog in a user-friendly language. Source: Info-Tech Benchmarking and Diagnostic Programs |
Increase IT-business communication and collaboration through the service catalog initiative. Move from technology focused to service-oriented. |
The team must be balanced between representatives from the business and IT.
Communication plan to facilitate input from both sides and gain adoption.
Metrics should reflect the catalog benefits. Look to reduced number of service desk inquiries.
Project charter helps walk you through project preparation.
2.1 Identify the services that are used across the entire organization.
2.2 Users must be able to identify with the service categories.
2.3 Create basic definitions for enterprise services.
3.1 Identify the different lines of business (LOBs) in the organization.
3.2 Understand the differences between our two methodologies for identifying LOB services.
3.3 Use methodology 1 if you have thorough knowledge of the business.
3.4 Use methodology 2 if you only have an IT view of the LOB.
4.1 Understand the different components to each service definition, or the fields in the service record.
4.2 Identify which information to include for each service definition.
4.3 Define each enterprise service according to the information and field properties.
4.3 Define each LOB service according to the information and field properties.
Trying to implement too many services at once can be overwhelming for both IT and the users. You don’t have to define and implement all of your services in one release of the catalog.
Info-Tech recommends implementing services themselves in batches, starting with enterprise, and then grouping LOB services into separate releases. Why? It benefits both IT and business users:
Improve IT’s visibility within the organization by creating a single source of information for all the value creating services IT has to offer. The service catalog helps the business understand the value IT brings to each service, each line of business, and the overall organization.
The service catalog contains information which empowers business users to access IT services and information without the help of IT support staff. The reduction in routine inquiries decreases workload and increases morale within the IT support team, and allows IT to concentrate on providing higher value services.
Service catalog brings more control to your IT environment by reducing shadow IT activities. The service catalog communicates business requests responsively in a language the business users understand, thus eliminating the need for users to seek outside help.
The language of IT is often confusing for the business and the users don’t know what to do when they have a concern. With a user-facing service catalog, business users can access information through a single source of information, and better understand how to request access or receive support for a service through clear, consistent, and business-relevant language.
The service catalog enables users to “self-serve” IT services. Instead of calling the service desk every time an issue occurs, the users can rely on the service catalog for information. This simplified process not only reduces routine service requests, but also provides information in a faster, more efficient manner that increases productivity for both IT and the business.
With every service clearly defined, business users can better understand the current support level, communicate their expectation for IT accountability, and help IT align services with critical business strategies.
A project charter template with a few samples completed. The project charter helps you govern the project progress and responsibilities.
A full list of enterprise definitions with features and descriptions pre-populated. These are meant to get you on your feet defining your own enterprise services, or editing the ones already there.
Similar to the enterprise services deliverable, but with two separate deliverables focusing on different perspectives – functional groups services (e.g. HR and finance) and industry-specific services (e.g. education and government).
Get a taste of a completed service catalog with full service definitions and service record design. This is the final product of the service catalog design once all the steps and activities have been completed.
Need an IT-friendly breakdown of each service?
Keep better record of what technical components are required to deliver a service. The technical service catalog is the IT version of a user-facing catalog.
Want to know how much each IT service is costing you?
Get a better grip on the true cost of IT. Using service-based costing can help justify IT expenses and increase budgetary allotment.
Want to hold each business unit accountable for the IT services they use?
Some business units abuse their IT services because they are thought to be free. Keep them accountable and charge them for what they use.
No matter what size organization you may be, every organization can create a service catalog. Small businesses can benefit from the catalog the same way a large organization can. We have an easy step-by-step methodology to help introduce a catalog to your business.
It is common that users do not know where to go to obtain services from IT… We always end up with a serious time-crunch at the beginning of a new school year. With automated on- and off-boarding services, this could change for the better.
– Dean Obermeyer, Technology Coordinator, Los Alamos Public Schools
As the CIO and the project sponsor, you need to spearhead the development of the service catalog and communicate support to drive engagement and adoption.
The project leader acts on behalf of the CIO and must be a senior level staff member who has extensive knowledge of the organization and experiences marshalling resources.
Developing a service catalog requires dedication from many groups within IT and outside of IT.
The project leader must hold a visible, senior position and can marshal all the necessary resources to ensure the success of the project. Ability to exert impact and influence around both IT and the business is a must.
The user-facing service catalog cannot be successful if business input is not received.
The project leader must leverage his/her existing relationship with the business to test out the service definitions and the service record design.
Creating a service catalog is not an easy job and the project leader must continuously engage the team members to drive results and efficiency.
The highly visible nature of the service catalog means the project leader must produce a high-quality outcome that satisfies the business users.
Municipal Government
The IT department of a large municipal government in the United States provides services to a large number of customers in various government agencies.
Service Catalog Initiative
The municipal government allocated a significant amount of resources to answer routine inquiries that could have been avoided through user self-service. The government also found that they do not organize all the services IT provides, and they could not document and publish them to the customer. The government has already begun the service catalog initiative, but was struggling with how to identify services. Progress was slow because people were arguing amongst themselves – the project team became demoralized and the initiative was on the brink of failure.
Results
With Info-Tech’s onsite support, the government was able to follow a standardized methodology to identify and define services from the user perspective. The government was able to successfully communicate the initiative to the business before the full adoption of the service catalog.
We’re in demos with vendors right now to purchase an ITSM tool, and when the first vendor looked at our finished catalog, they were completely impressed.
- Client Feedback
[We feel] very confident. The group as a whole is pumped up and empowered – they're ready to pounce on it. We plan to stick to the schedule for the next three months, and then review progress/priorities. - Client Feedback
Healthcare Provider
The organization is a healthcare provider in Canada. It treats patients with medical emergencies, standard operations, and manages a faculty of staff ranging from nurses and clerks, to senior doctors. This organization is run across several hospitals, various local clinics, and research centers.
Service Catalog Initiative
Because the organization is publicly funded, it is subject to regular audit requirements – one of which is to have a service catalog in place.
The organization also would like to charge back its clients for IT-related costs. In order to do this, the organization must be able to trace it back to each service. Therefore, the first step would be to create a user-facing service catalog, followed by the technical service catalog, which then allows the organization to do service-based costing and chargeback.
Results
By leveraging Info-Tech’s expertise on the subject, the healthcare provider was able to fast-track its service catalog development and establish the groundwork for chargeback abilities.
"There is always some reticence going in, but none of that was apparent coming out. The group dynamic was very good. [Info-Tech] was able to get that response, and no one around the table was silent.
The [expectation] of the participants was that there was a purpose in doing the workshop. Everybody knew it was for multiple reasons, and everyone had their own accountability/stakes in the development of it. Highly engaged." - Client Feedback
“Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”
“Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.”
“We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.”
“Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”
Launch the Project |
Identify Enterprise Services |
Identify Line of Business Services |
Complete Service Definitions |
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Best-Practice Toolkit |
1.1 Assemble the project team. 1.2 Develop a communication plan. 1.3 Establish metrics for success. 1.4 Complete the project charter. |
2.1 Identify services available organization-wide. 2.2 Categorize services into logical groups. 2.3 Define the services. |
3.1 Identify different LOBs. 3.2 Pick one of two methodologies. 3.3 Use method to identify LOB services. |
4.1 Learn components to each service definition. 4.2 Pick which information to include in each definition. 4.3 Define each service accordingly. |
Guided Implementations | Identify the project leader with the appropriate skills.
Assemble a well-rounded project team. Develop a mission statement and change messages. |
Create a comprehensive list of enterprise services that are used across the organization.
Create a categorization scheme that is based on the needs of the business users. |
Walk through the two Info-Tech methodologies and understand which one is applicable. Define LOB services using the appropriate methodology. |
Decide what should be included and what should be kept internal for the service record design. Complete the full service definitions. |
Onsite Workshop | Phase 1 Results: Clear understanding of project objectives and support obtained from the business. |
Phase 2 Results: Enterprise services defined and categorized. |
Phase 3 Results: LOB services defined based on user perspective. |
Phase 4 Results: Service record designed according to how IT wishes to communicate to the business. |
Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.
Workshop Day 1 | Workshop Day 2 | Workshop Day 3 | Workshop Day 4 | |
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Activities | Launch the Project | Identify Enterprise Services | Identify Line of Business Services | Complete Service Definitions |
1.1 Assemble the project team. 1.2 Develop a communication plan. 1.3 Establish metrics for success. 1.4 Complete the project charter. | 2.1 Identify services available organization-wide. 2.2 Categorize services into logical groups. 2.3 Define the services. | 3.1 Identify different LOBs. 3.2 Pick one of two methodologies. 3.3 Use method to identify LOB services. | 4.1 Learn components to each service definition. 4.2 Pick which information to include in each definition. 4.3 Define each service accordingly. | |
Deliverables |
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Design & Build a User-Facing Service Catalog
Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.
Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.
Guided Implementation 1: Launch the project Proposed Time to Completion: 2 weeks |
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Step 1.2: Create change messages |
Step 1.2: Create change messages |
Start with an analyst kick off call:
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Review findings with analyst:
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Then complete these activities… |
Then complete these activities… |
With these tools & templates: Service Catalog Project Charter |
With these tools & templates: Service Catalog Project Charter |
The following section of slides outline how to effectively use Info-Tech’s sample project charter.
The Project Charter is used to govern the initiative throughout the project. IT should provide the foundation for project communication and monitoring.
It has been pre-populated with information appropriate for Service Catalog projects. Please review this sample text and change, add, or delete information as required.
Building the charter as a group will help you to clarify your key messages and help secure buy-in from critical stakeholders upfront.
You may feel like a full charter isn’t necessary, and depending on your organizational size, it might not be. However, the exercise of building the charter is important none-the-less. No matter your current climate, some elements of communicating the value and plans for implementing the catalog will be necessary.
Use Info-Tech’s Service Catalog Project Charter.
Good mission statements are directive, easy to understand, narrow in focus, and favor substance over vagueness.
While building your mission statement, think about what it is intended to do, i.e. keep the project team engaged and engage others to adopt the service catalog. Included in the project charter’s mission statement section is a brief description of the goals and objectives of the service catalog.
Info-Tech’s project charter contains two sample mission statements, along with additional tips to help you create yours.
Project leader will be the main catalyst for the creation of the catalog. This person is responsible for driving the whole initiative.
IT project participants’ input and business input will be pivotal to the creation of the catalog.
The project stakeholders are the senior executives who have a vested interest in the service catalog. IT must produce periodic and targeted communication to these stakeholders.
Your project team will be a major success factor for your service catalog. Involvement from IT management and the business is a must.
IT Service Desk Manager
Senior Manager/Director of Application
Senior Manager/Director of Infrastructure
Business IT Liaison
Business representatives from different LOBs
Input your project team, their roles, and relevant contact information into your project charter, Section 2.
Obtain explicit buy-in from both IT and business stakeholders.
The stakeholders could be your biggest champions for the service catalog initiative, or they could pull you back significantly. Engage the stakeholders at the start of the project and communicate the benefits of the service catalog to them to gain their approval.
Stakeholders |
Benefits |
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CIO |
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Manager of Service Desk |
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Senior Manager/Director of Application & Infrastructure |
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Senior Business Executives from Major LOBs |
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Document a list of stakeholders, their involvement in the process (why they are stakeholders), and their contact information in Section 3.
Spread the word of service catalog implementation. Bring attention to your change message through effective mediums and organizational changes.
The methods of communication (e.g. newsletters, email broadcast, news of the day, automated messages) notify users of implementation.
In addition, it is important to know who will deliver the message (delivery strategy). Talking to the business leaders is very important, and you need IT executives to deliver the message. Work hard on obtaining their support as they are the ones communicating to their staff and could be your project champions.
The communication plan should consist of changes that will affect the way users interact with the catalog. Users should know of any meetings pertinent to the maintenance and improvement of the catalog, and ways to access the catalog (e.g. link on desktop/start menu).
The Qualities of Leadership: Leading Change
Your communication plan should serve as a rough guide. Communication happens in several unpredictable happenstances, but the overall message should be contained within.
One of the top challenges for organizations that are implementing a service catalog is the acceptance and adoption of the change. Effective planning for implementation and communication is pivotal. Ensure you create tailored plans for communication and understand how the change will impact staff.
“Better Service, Better Value.” It is important to have two change messages prepared: one for the IT department and one for business users.
Outline a few of the key benefits each user group will gain from adopting the service catalog (e.g. Faster, ease of use, convenient, consistent…)
Anticipate some resistances of service catalog adoption and prepare responses. These may be the other benefits which were not included in the change message (e.g. IT may be reluctant to think in business language.)
Host lunch & learns to demonstrate the value of the service catalog to both business and IT user groups.
These training sessions also serve as a great way to gather feedback from users regarding style and usability.
Pick your communication medium, and then identify your target audience. You should have a change message for each: the IT department and the business users. Pay careful consideration to wording and phrasing with regard for each.
In order to measure the success of your service catalog, you must establish baseline metrics to determine how much value the catalog is creating for your business.
The number of service catalog requests should be carefully monitored so that it does not fluctuate too greatly. In general, the number of requests via the service catalog should increase, which indicates a higher level of self-serve.
The number of inquiry calls should decrease because customers are able to self-serve routine IT inquiries that would otherwise have gone through the service desk.
The organization could adopt the following sample survey questions:
From 0-5: How satisfied are you with the functionality of the service catalog? How often do you turn to the service catalog first to solve IT problems?
The number of non-standard requests should decrease because a majority of services should eventually be covered in the service catalog. Users should be able to solve nearly any IT related problem through navigating the service catalog.
Metric Description | Current Metric | Future Goal |
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Number of service requests via the Service Catalog | ||
Number of inquiry calls to the service desk | ||
Customer Satisfaction – specific question | ||
Number of non-standard requests |
When measuring against your baseline, you should expect to see the following two monetary improvements:
(# of routine inquiry calls reduced) x (average time for a call) x (average service desk wage)
Routine inquiries often take up a significant portion of the service desk’s effort, and the majority of them can be answered via the service catalog, thus reducing the amount of time required for a service desk employee to engage in routine solutions. The reduction in routine inquiries allows IT to allocate resources to high-value services and provide higher quality of support.
Originally, the service desk of an organization answers 850 inquiries per month, and around 540 of them are routine inquiries requesting information on when a service is available, who they can contact if they want to receive a service, and what they need to do if they want access to a service, etc.
IT successfully communicated the introduction of the service catalog to the business and 3 months after the service catalog was implemented, the number of routine inquiries dropped to 60 per month. Given that the average time for IT to answer the inquiry is 10 minutes (0.167 hour) and the hourly wage of a service desk technician is $25, the monthly monetary cost saving of the service catalog is:
(540 – 60) x 0.167 x 25 = $2004.00
(Average additional cost of non-standard request) x (Reduction of non-standard request)
+
(Extra time IT spends on non-standard request fulfilment) x (Average wage)
Non-standard requests require a lot of time, and often a lot of money. IT frequently incurs additional cost because the business is not aware of how to properly request service or support. Not only can the service catalog standardize and streamline the service request process, it can also help IT define its job boundary and say no to the business if needed.
The IT department of an organization often finds itself dealing with last-minute, frustrating service requests from the business. For example, although equipment requests should be placed a week in advance, the business often requests equipment to be delivered the next day, leaving IT to pay for additional expedited shipping costs and/or working fanatically to allocate the equipment. Typically, these requests happen 4 times a month, with an additional cost of $200.00. IT staff work an extra 6 hours per each non-standard request at an hourly wage of $30.00.
With the service catalog, the users are now aware of the rules that are in place and can submit their request with more ease. IT can also refer the users to the service catalog when a non-standard request occurs, which helps IT to charge the cost to the department or not meet the terms of the business.
The monthly cost saving in this case is:
$200.00 x 4 + 6 hours x 30 = $980.00
The project charter is an important document to govern your project process. Support from the project sponsors is important and must be documented. Complete the following steps working with Info-Tech’s sample Project Charter.
The nature of government IT is quite complex: there are several different agencies located in a number of different areas. It is extremely important to communicate the idea of the service catalog to all the users, no matter the agency or location.
The IT department had yet to let business leaders of the various agencies know about the initiative and garner their support for the project. This has proven to be prohibitive for gaining adoption from all users.
The IT leaders met and identified all the opportunities to communicate the service catalog to the business leaders and end users.
To meet with the business leaders, IT leaders hosted a service level meeting with the business directors and managers. They adopted a steering committee for the continuation of the project.
To communicate with business users, IT leaders published announcements on the intranet website before releasing the catalog there as well.
Because IT communicated the initiative, support from business stakeholders was obtained early and business leaders were on board shortly after.
IT also managed to convince key business stakeholders to become project champions, and leveraged their network to communicate the initiative to their employees.
With this level of adoption, it meant that it was easier for IT to garner business participation in the project and to obtain feedback throughout.
The project received buy-in from the CIO and director of infrastructure. Together they assembled a team and project leader.
The two struggled to get buy-in from the rest of the team, however. They didn’t understand the catalog or its benefits and objectives. They were reluctant to change their old ways. They didn’t know how much work was required from them to accomplish the project.
With the Info-Tech analyst on site, the client was able to discuss the benefits within their team as well as the project team responsibilities.
The Info-Tech analyst convinced the group to move towards focusing on a business- and service-oriented mindset.
The workshop discussion was intended to get the entire team on board and engaged with meeting project objectives.
The project team had experienced full buy-in after the workshop. The CIO and director relived their struggles of getting project members on-board through proper communication and engagement.
Engaging the members of the project team with the discussion was key to having them take ownership in accomplishing the project.
The business users understood that the service catalog was to benefit their long-term IT service development.
The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team: | ||
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1.1 | Begin your project with a mission statement A strong mission statement that outlines the benefits of the project is needed to communicate the purpose of the project. The onsite Info-Tech analysts will help you customize the message and establish the foundation of the project charter. |
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1.2 |
Identify project team members Our onsite analysts will help you identify high-value team members to contribute to this project. |
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1.3 |
Identify important business and IT stakeholders Buy-in from senior IT and business management is a must. Info-Tech will help you identify the stakeholders and determine their level of influence and impact. |
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1.4 |
Create a change message for the business and IT It is important to communicate changes early and the message must be tailored for each target audience. Our analysts will help you create an effective message by articulating the benefits of the service catalog to the business and to IT. |
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1.5 |
Determine service project metrics To demonstrate the value of the service catalog, IT must come up with tangible metrics. Info-Tech’s analysts will provide some sample metrics as well as facilitate a discussion around which metrics should be tracked and monitored. |
Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.
Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.
Guided Implementation 2: Define Enterprise Services Proposed Time to Completion: 4 weeks | |
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Step 2.1: Identify enterprise services | Step 2.2: Create service categories |
Start with an analyst kick off call:
| Review findings with analyst:
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Then complete these activities…
| Then complete these activities…
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With these tools & templates: Service Sample Enterprise Services | With these tools & templates: Sample Enterprise Services |
Documentation of all business-facing IT services is an intimidating task, and a lack of parameters around this process often leads to longer project times and unsatisfactory outcomes.
To streamline this process, separating enterprise services from line of business services allows IT to effectively and efficiently organize these services. This method increases the visibility of the service catalog through user-oriented communication plans.
If you are unsure whether a service is enterprise wide, ask yourself these two questions:
Included with this blueprint is Info-Tech’s Sample Enterprise Services definitions.
The sample contains dozens of services common across most organizations; however, as a whole, they are not complete for every organization. They must be modified according to the business’ needs. Phase two will serve as a guide to identifying an enterprise service as well as how to fill out the necessary fields.
Keep track of which services you either modify or delete. You will have to change the same services in the final Info-Tech deliverable.
The next slide will introduce you to the information for each service record that can be edited.
Below is an example of a service record and its necessary fields of information. This is information that can be kept, deleted, or expanded upon.
Name the service unambiguously and from the user’s perspective. |
Brief description of how the service allows users to perform tasks. |
Describe the functionality of the service and how it helps users to achieve their business objectives. |
Cluster the services into logical groups. |
Service Name | Description | Features | Category |
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Email communication to connect with other employees, suppliers, and customers |
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Communications |
Web Conferencing has already been defined as a service. Is Audio Conferencing its own service or a feature of Web Conferencing?
Info-Tech Tip: Is Audio Conferencing run by the same application as the Web Conferencing? Does it use the same equipment? If not, Audio Conferencing is probably its own service.
Web Conferencing has already been defined as a service. Is “Screen Sharing” its own service or a feature of Web Conferencing?
Info-Tech Tip: It depends on how the user interacts with Screen Sharing. Do they only screen share when engaged in a Web Conference? If so, Screen Sharing is a feature and not a service itself.
VoIP is a popular alternative to landline telephone nowadays, but should it be part of the telephony service or a separate service?
Info-Tech Tip: It depends on how the VoIP phone is set up.
If the user uses the VoIP phone the same way they would use a landline phone – because the catalog is user facing – consider the VoIP as part of the telephone service.
If the user uses their computer application to call and receive calls, consider this a separate service on its own.
While there are some best practices for coming up with service definitions, it is not an exact science and you cannot accommodate everyone. When in doubt, think how most users would perceive the service.
You need to be as comprehensive as possible and try to capture the entire breadth of services IT provides to the business.
To achieve this, a three-step process is recommended.
IT Focus Group:
Have your user hat on when documenting service features and descriptions. Try to imagine how the users interact with each service.
Similar to the services and their features, there is no right or wrong way to categorize. The best approach is to do what makes sense for your organization and understand what your users think.
Categories organize services into logical groups that the users can identify with. Services with similar functions are grouped together in a common category.
Enterprise Service Categories |
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Accounts and Access |
Collaboration |
Communication |
Connectivity |
Consulting |
Desktop, Equipment, & Software |
Employee Services |
Files and Documents |
Help & Support |
Training |
Sample categories
There is no right or wrong way to categorize services; it is subjective to how they are provided by IT and how they are used by the business. Use the aforementioned categories to group the following services. Sample solutions are provided on the following slide.
Service Name |
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Telephone |
Remote access |
Internet |
BYOD (wireless access) |
Instant Messaging |
Video Conferencing |
Audio Conferencing |
Guest Wi-Fi |
Document Sharing |
Example 1 | Example 2 | ||
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Desktop, Equipment, & Software Services |
Connectivity |
Mobile Devices |
Communications |
Internet |
Telephone |
BYOD (wireless access) |
Telephone |
Guest Wi-Fi |
Internet |
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Remote Access |
Instant Messaging |
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Video Conferencing |
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Audio Conferencing |
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Communications |
Collaboration |
Storage and Retrieval |
Accounts and Access |
Telephone |
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Document Sharing |
Remote access |
Instant Messaging |
Connectivity |
||
Mobile Devices |
Video Conferencing |
Internet | |
BYOD (wireless access) |
Audio Conferencing |
Guest Wi-Fi |
|
Guest Wi-Fi |
Document Sharing |
Services can have multiple categories only if it means the users will be better off. Try to limit this as much as possible.
Neither of these two examples are the correct answer, and no such thing exists. The answers you came up with may well be better suited for the users in your business.
Before you start, you must have a modified list of all defined enterprise services and a modified list of categories.
Because of the breadth of services IT provides across several agencies, it was challenging to identify what was considered enterprise beyond just the basic ones (email, internet, etc.)
IT recognized that although the specific tasks of service could be different, there are many services that are offered universally across the organization and streamlining the service request and delivery process would reduce the burden on IT.
The client began with services that users interact with on a daily basis; this includes email, wireless, telephone, internet, printing, etc.
Then, they focused on common service requests from the users, such as software and hardware provisioning, as well as remote access.
Lastly, they began to think of other IT services that are provided across the organization, such as RFP/RFI support, project management analysis, employee onboarding/off-boarding, etc.
By going through the lists and enterprise categories, the government was able to come up with a comprehensive list of all services IT provides to the business.
Classifying services such as onboarding meant that IT could now standardize IT services for new recruits and employee termination.
By capturing all enterprise services offered to the organization, IT centralized its management of services instead of having scattered request processes.
For some services, the project team had difficulty deciding on what was a service and what was a feature. They found it hard to distinguish between a service with features or multiple services.
For example, the client struggled to define the Wi-Fi services because they had many different user groups and different processes to obtain the service. Patients, visitors, doctors, researchers, and corporate employees all use Wi-Fi, but the service features for each user group were different.
The Info-Tech analyst came on-site and engaged the project team in a discussion around how the users would view the services.
The analyst also provided tips and techniques on identifying services and their features.
Because patients and visitors do not access Wi-Fi or receive support for the service in the same way as clinical or corporate employees, Wi-Fi was separated into two services (one for each user group).
Using the tips and techniques that were provided during the onsite engagement, the project team was able to have a high degree of clarity on how to define the services by articulating who the authorized users are, and how to access the process.
This allowed the group to focus on the users’ perspective and create clear, unambiguous service features so that users could clearly understand eligibility requirements for the service and how to request them.
The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team: | ||
---|---|---|
2.1 |
Understand what enterprise services are The project team must have a clear understanding of what qualifies as an enterprise service. The onsite analysts will also promote a user-oriented mindset so the catalog focuses on business needs. |
|
2.2 |
Identify enterprise services The Info-Tech analysts will provide a list of ready-to-use services and will work with the project team to change, add, and delete service definitions and to customize the service features. |
|
2.3 |
Identify categories for enterprise services The Info-Tech analyst will again emphasize the importance of being service-oriented rather than IT-oriented. This will allow the group to come up with categories that are intuitive to the users. |
Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.
Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.
Guided Implementation 3: Define LOB Services Proposed Time to Completion: 4 weeks | |
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Step 3.1: Identify LOB services | Step 3.2: Define LOB services |
Start with an analyst kick off call:
| Review findings with analyst:
|
Then complete these activities…
| Then complete these activities…
|
With these tools & templates: Service LOB Services – Functional Group | With these tools & templates: LOB Services – Functional Group |
Within a business unit, there are user groups that use unique applications and IT services to perform business activities. IT must understand which group is consuming each service to document to their needs and requirements. Only then is it logical to group services into lines of business.
Covering every LOB service is a difficult task. Info-Tech offers two approaches to identifying LOB services, though we recommend working alongside business user groups to have input on how each service is used directly from the users. Doing so makes the job of completing the service catalog easier, and the product more detailed and user friendly.
Some helpful questions to keep in mind when characterizing user groups:
With business user input, you can answer questions as specific as “What requirements are necessary for IT to deliver value to each line of business?” and “What does each LOB need in order to run their operation?”
Business View is the preferred method for IT departments with a better understanding of business operations. This is because they can begin with input from the user, enabling them to more successfully define every service for each user group and LOB.
In addition, IT will also have a chance to work together with the business and this will improve the level of collaboration and communication. However, in order to follow this methodology, IT needs to have a pre-established relationship with the business and can demonstrate their knowledge of business applications.
The IT view begins with considering each business application used within the organization’s lines of business. Start with a broad view, following with a process of narrowing down, and then iterate for each business application.
This process leads to each unique service performed by every application within the business’ LOBs.
The IT view does not necessarily require a substantial amount of information about the business procedures. IT staff are capable of deducing what business users often require to maintain their applications’ functionality.
If you do have knowledge of business operations, using the business view is the better option and the service definition will be more relatable to the users.
For organizations that don’t have established relationships with the business or detailed knowledge of business activities, IT can decompose the application into services. They have more familiarity and comfort with the business applications than with business activities.
It is important to continue after the service is identified because it helps confirm and solidify the names and features. Determining the business activity and the user groups can help you become more user-oriented.
We will illustrate the two methodologies with the same example.
If you have established an ongoing relationship with the business and you are familiar with their business operations, starting with the LOB and user groups will ensure you cover all the services IT provides to the business and create more relatable service names.
If you want to understand what services IT provides to the Sales functional group, and you don’t have comprehensive knowledge of the department, you need to start with the IT perspective.
If you are concerned about the fact that people always associate a service with an application, you can include the application in the service name or description so users can find the service through a search function.
Like categories for enterprise services in Phase Two, LOB services are grouped into functional groups. Functional groups are the components of an organizational chart (HR, Finance, etc.) that are found in a company’s structure.
Functional groups enable a clear view for business users of what services they need, while omitting services that do not apply to them. This does not overwhelm them, and provides them with only relevant information.
To be clear, industry services can be put into functional groups.
Info-Tech provides a few sample industry services (without their functional group) to give an idea of what LOB service is specific to these industries. Try to extrapolate from these examples to create LOB services for your business.
Use Info-Tech’s Sample LOB Services – Functional Group and Sample LOB Services – Industry Specific documents.
Keep track of which services you either modify or delete. You will have to change the same services in the final Info-Tech deliverable.
Only perform this activity if you have a relationship with the business that can enable you to generate business input on service identifications and definitions.
In a group of your project participants, repeat the sequence for each LOB.
Only perform this activity if you cannot generate business input through your relationships, and must begin service definitions with business applications.
In a group of your project participants, repeat the sequence for each application.
→ Optional
Coming up with LOB service definitions is challenging for IT because it requires comprehension of all lines of business within the organization as well as direct interaction with the business users.
After completing the LOB service definitions, IT must talk to the business to ensure all the user groups and business activities are covered and all the features are accurate.
Here are some tips to reviewing your LOB Service Catalog generated content:
Go through the service in batches. Present 5-10 related services to the business first. Start with the service name and then focus on the features.
In the meeting, discuss whether the service features accurately sum up the business activities, or if there are missing key activities. Also discuss whether certain services should be split up into multiple services or combined into one.
There were many users from different LOBs, and IT provided multiple services to all of them. Tracking them and who had access to what was difficult.
IT didn’t understand who provided the services (service owner) and who the customers were (business owner) for some of the services.
After identifying the different Lines of Business, they followed the first approach (Business View) for those that IT had sufficient knowledge of in terms of business operations:
For the LOBs they weren’t familiar with, they used the IT view method, beginning with the application:
Through these two methodologies, IT was able to define services according to how the users both perceive and utilize them.
IT was able to capture all the services it provides to each line of business effectively without too much help from the business representatives.
By capturing all enterprise services offered to the organization, IT centralized its management of services instead of having scattered request processes.
Challenge
The organization uses a major application containing several modules used by different users for various business activities.
The challenge was to break down the application into multiple services in a way that makes sense to the business users. Users should be able to find services specific to them easily.
Therefore, the project team must understand how to map the modules to different services and user groups.
Solution
The project team identified the major lines of business and took various user groups such as nurses and doctors, figured out their daily tasks that require IT services, and mapped each user-facing service to the functionality of the application.
The project team then went back to the application to ensure all the modules and functionalities within the application were accounted for. This helped to ensure that services for all user groups were covered and prepared to be released in the catalog.
Results
Once the project team had come up with a comprehensive list of services for each line of business, they were able to sit with the business and review the services.
IT was also able to use this opportunity to demonstrate all the services it provides. Having all the LOB services demonstrates IT has done its preparation and can show the value they help create for the business in a language the users can understand. The end result was a strengthened relationship between the business and the IT department.
The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team: | ||
---|---|---|
3.1 |
Understand what Line of Business services are The onsite analysts will provide a clear distinction between enterprise services and LOB services. The analysts will also articulate the importance of validating LOB services with the business. |
|
3.2 |
Identify LOB services using the business’ view There are two methods for coming up with LOB services. If IT has comprehensive knowledge of the business, they can identify the services by outlining the user groups and their business activities. |
|
3.3 |
Identify LOB services using IT’s view If IT does not understand the business and cannot obtain business input, Info-Tech’s analysts will present the second method, which allows IT to identify services with more comfortability through business applications/systems. |
|
3.4 |
Categorize the LOB services into functional groups The analysts will help the project team categorize the LOB services based on user groups or functional departments. |
Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.
Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.
Guided Implementation 4: Complete service definitions | |
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Step 4.1: Design service record | Step 4.2: Complete service definitions |
Start with an analyst kick off call:
| Review findings with analyst:
|
Then complete these activities…
| Then complete these activities…
|
With these tools & templates: Service Services Definition Chart | With these tools & templates: Services Definition Chart |
Info-Tech has provided a sample Services Definition Chart with standard service definitions and pre-populated fields. It is up to you throughout this step to decide which fields are necessary to your business users, as well as how much detail you wish to include in each of them.
Keep track of which services you either modify or delete. You will have to change the same services in the final Info-Tech deliverable.
The majority of the fields in the service catalog are user facing, which means they must be written in business language that the users can understand.
If there is any confusion or disagreement in filling out the fields, a facilitator is required to lead the working groups in coming up with a definitive answer. If a decision is still not reached, it should be escalated to the decision maker (usually the service owner).
There are IT facing fields that should not be published to the business users – they are for the benefit of IT. For example, you may want to keep Performance Metrics internal to IT until you are ready to discuss it with the business.
If the organization is interested in creating a Technical Service Catalog following this initiative, these fields will provide a helpful starting place for IT to identify the people, process, and technology required to support user-facing services.
It is important for IT-facing fields to be kept internal. If business users are having trouble with a service and the service owner’s name is available to them, they will phone them for support even if they are not the support owner.
When completing the service record, adopt the principle that “Less is More.” Keep it simple and write the service description from the user’s perspective, without IT language. From the list below, pick which fields of information are important to your business users.
What do the users need to access the service quickly and with minimal assistance?
Description: Delivers electronic messages to and from employees.
Features:
Category: Communications
Who is responsible for the delivery of the service and what are their roles?
Service owner → the IT member who is responsible and accountable for the delivery of the service.
Business owner → the business partner of the service owner who ensures the provided service meets business needs.
Service Owner: Manager of Business Solutions
Business Owner: VP of Human Resources
For enterprise services that are used by almost everyone in the organization, the business owner is the CIO.
“Who is authorized to access this service? How do they access it?”
Authorized users → who can access the service.
Request process → how to request access to the service.
Approval requirement/process → what the user needs to have in place before accessing the service.
Authorized Users: All people on site not working for the company
Request Process: Self-Service through website for external visitors
Approval Requirement/Process: N/A
Clearly defining how to access a service saves time and money by decreasing calls to the service desk and getting users up and running faster. The result is higher user productivity.
“Who is authorized to access this service? How do they access it?”
Requirements & pre-requisites → details of what must happen before a service can be provided.
Turnaround time → how much time it will take to grant access to the service.
User responsibility → What the user is expected to do to acquire the service.
Requirements & Pre-requisites: Disclaimer of non-liability and acceptance
Turnaround time: Immediate
User Responsibility: Adhering to policies outlined in the disclaimer
Clearly defining how to access a service saves time and money by decreasing calls to the service desk and getting users up and running faster. The result is higher user productivity.
“When is this service available to users? What service levels can the user expect?”
Support hours → what days/times is this service available to users?
Hours of availability/planned downtime → is there scheduled downtime for maintenance?
Performance metrics → what level of performance can the user expect for this service?
Support Hours: Standard business hours
Hours of Availability/Planned Downtime: Standard business hours; can be agreed to work beyond operating hours either earlier or later
Performance Metrics: N/A
Manage user expectations by clearly documenting and communicating service levels.
“How do I obtain support for this service?”
Support process → what is the process for obtaining support for this service?
Support owner → who can users contact for escalations regarding this service?
Support documentation → where can users find support documentation for this service?
Support Process: Contact help desk or submit a ticket via portal
Support Owner: Manager, client support
Support Documentation: .pdf of how-to guide
Clearly documenting support procedures enables users to get the help they need faster and more efficiently.
“Is there a cost for this service? If so, how much and who is expensing it?”
Internal Cost → do we know the total cost of the service?
Customer Cost → a lot of services are provided without charge to the business; however, certain service requests will be charged to a department’s budget.
Internal Cost: For purposes of audit, new laptops will be expensed to IT.
Customer Cost: Cost to rush order 10 new laptops with retina displays for the graphics team. Charged for extra shipment cost, not for cost of laptop.
Set user expectations by clearly documenting costs associated with a service and how to obtain approval for these costs if required.
This is the final activity to completing the service record design. It has been a long journey to make it here; now, all that is left is completing the fields and transferring information from previous activities.
Don’t forget to delete or bring over the edited LOB and Enterprise services from the phase 2 and 3 deliverables.
Now that you have completed the first run of service definitions, you can go back and complete the rest of the identified services in batches. You should observe increased efficiency and effectiveness in filling out the service definitions.
This blueprint’s purpose is to help you design a service catalog. There are a number of different platforms to build the catalog offered by application vendors. The sophistication of the catalog depends on the size of your business. It may be as simple as an Excel book, or something as complex as a website integrated with your service desk.
There are various levels of maturity to consider when you are thinking about how to deploy your service catalog.
1. Website/User Portal | 2. Catalog Module Within ITSM Tool |
3. Homegrown Solution |
|
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Prerequisite |
An internet website, or a user portal |
An existing ITSM tool with a built-in service catalog module |
Database development capabilities Website development capabilities |
Pros |
Low cost Low effort |
Easy to deploy |
Customized solution tailored for the organization High flexibility regarding how the service catalog is published |
Cons |
Not aesthetically appealing Lacking sophistication |
Difficult to customize to organization’s needs Limitation on how the service catalog info is published |
High effort High cost |
→ |
→ Maturity Level → |
→ |
The client had collected a lot of good information, but they were not sure about what to include to ensure the users could understand the service clearly.
They were also not sure what to keep internal so the service catalog did not increase IT’s workload. They want to help the business, but not appear as if they are capable of solving everything for everyone immediately. There was a fear of over-commitment.
The government created a Customer Responsibility field for each service, so it was not just IT who was providing solutions. Business users needed to understand what they had to do to receive some services.
The Service Owner and Business Owner fields were also kept internal so users would go through the proper request channel instead of calling Service Owners directly.
Lastly, the Performance Metrics field was kept internal until IT was ready to present service metrics to the business.
The business was provided clarity on their responsibility and what was duly owed to them by IT staff. This established clear boundaries on what was to be expected of IT services projected into the future.
The business users knew what to do and how to obtain the services provided to them. In the meantime, they didn’t feel overwhelmed by the amount of information provided by the service catalog.
There is a lack of clarity and a lack of agreement between the client’s team members regarding the request/approval processes for certain services. This was an indication that there is a level of ambiguity around process. Members were not sure what was the proper way to access a service and could not come up with what to include in the catalog.
Different people from different teams had different ways of accessing services. This could be true for both enterprise and LOB services.
The Info-Tech analyst facilitated a discussion about workflows and business processes.
In particular, the discussion focused around the approval/authorization process, and IT’s workflows required to deliver the service. The Info-Tech analyst on site walked the client through their different processes to determine which one should be included in the catalog.
The discussion brought clarity to the project team around both IT and business process. Using this new information, IT was able to communicate to the business better, and create consistency for IT and the users of the catalog.
The catalog design was a shared space where IT and business users could confer what the due process and responsibilities were from both sides. This increased accountability for both parties.
The following are sample activities that will be conducted by Info-Tech analysts with your team: | ||
---|---|---|
4.1 |
Determine which fields should be included in the record design The analysts will present the sample service definitions record and facilitate a discussion to customize the service record so unique business needs are captured. |
|
4.2 |
Determine which fields should be kept internal The onsite analysts will explain why certain fields are used but not published. The analysts will help the team determine which fields should be kept internal. |
|
4.3 |
Complete the service definitions The Info-Tech analysts will help the group complete the full service definitions. This exercise will also provide the organization with a clear understanding of IT workflows and business processes. |
Client Project: Design and Build a User-Facing Service Catalog
This project has the ability to fit the following formats:
Establish a Service-Based Costing Model
Develop the right level of service-based costing capability by applying our methodology.