$$$$$ 7 steps to a smarter IT Front End $$$$$$ We often praise a particular front end as compared to another. The world of Graphical user interfaces has transcended from PCs to Macs to smartphones. But quite often the IT department ignores the Front End that the modern user expects from IT. Most are fixated on the Service Desk as that all empowering front end. Even ITIL has prescriptive definitions. One can argue that this is not at all the case especially from an end user perspective. We often hear the complaints of IT being slow, ineffective or behind on support commitments. Though there may be some truth to this, theres much to do with ignoring perceptions that have built up over time in users minds. So what is that Front end- I would define that as a cohesive combination of Resources, Service Desk response times, average speed of resolution, automated Service Catalog and a comprehensive Knowledge base. So how does an organization build up that smart IT front end? Here are 7 steps to get going- 1) Handle all actionable Service Requests through a single service catalog- Basically 100% of Service Requests should go centrally into one service catalog. Insist that the service should not exist if it does not exist on the Service Catalog! Obviously this requires a major change to sunset all kinds of tools and manual services, but the effort to consolidate on one clean interface is worth the time and effort. 2) Support the Service Catalog through an automated back end - All actionable Service Requests should flow through an automated back end working their way through approvals, procurement, provisioning and fulfillment. Of course automating all of this is ideal and the holy grail! But make the move towards that goal and measure progress. Again shoot for 100% of backend processes; you will reach a high mark. E.g.-new user accounts, requesting a development environment, licenses, adding application access etc. 3) Enable Problem to Incident (P2I) conversions- Resolving a problem is not the end of the day. Confirming that Level 1 teams understand what to do if the incident rears up again is a must. Consistently enforcing this policy of P2I connection and conversions will work wonders over a defined duration resulting in more incidents resolved faster and efficiently at Level 1 itself. 4) 100% self service for user induced incidents- Setup a Self Service gateway to manage all such common incidents. This will dramatically reduce time to improve speed of response. Examples include Account Lock Out, Password changes and resets, information /document upload, profile changes etc. 5) Setup and maintain a corporate Wiki- Information discovery and ease of information consumption should play a key role in the roadmap of the IT Front end. Too often we see lack of information on how-tos, problems with finding the right document and obsolescence. An annual check on all key docs, along with the users ability to edit and update docs will foster a sense of shared ownership within the user community. Enable access through all devices, especially smartphones. Experts will bubble up to the top and become allies of IT. 6) 100% of software installs via End users- through the self-service capability and service catalog automation, enable users to receive a temporary download link to software that they are allowed to install. In the long run, diminish the need for this install capability through adoption of Software as a Service and/or internal web applications. E.g. - Office 365, Sharepoint Online and Lync 7) Periodic user engagement- IT often gets flak for not being there when it matters or simply not being around. Enabling user feedback, technology awareness sessions and formal internal training periodically can go to a great extent in bringing IT closer to the business community. The organization of tomorrow requires a smart technology front end. Transforming from now to then requires investment of time, effort and resources. These steps can get you started. And there may be more. Do you have a take on additional steps- then do write in.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 13:14:31 +0000
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