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Achieving IT Quality and Audit Compliance with a... Process 

This article explores a process framework that facilitates continuous improvement and can be utilized by a center of excellence approach. In other words, the process framework can be implemented in one area of IT service management, and once it has improved to an acceptable level of quality, the framework can then be applied to another area.

Why do IT service management organizations need a process framework that facilitates continuous improvement? Simply providing satisfactory performance for IT infrastructure and applications is no longer enough in today's competitive business environment. More than ever, IT departments are expected to deliver quality business services to their customers and respond to audit requirements such as for SOX, HIPPA, and ISO 20000/27000/27001. To consistently deliver these expectations, IT organizations need to achieve the level of service management process maturity that embeds continuous improvement into the organization's daily activities.

Read more about ACHIEVING IT QUALITY AND AUDIT COMPLIANCE in the May/June edition of SupportWorld Magazine

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Invitation to Suceess: by Joanne L. Smikle

 Success comes by invitation only. It arrives at the door of companies who have devised systems in which they can flourish. Companies can send more invitations for enduring success when they learn how to party hearty. Beginning with the invitation to success, inviting employees to succeed requires four tricks of the event planning trade. Inviting success is actually very much like preparing for a party or celebration. Using the party planning metaphor, let's explore how to create a triumphant fete.

Trick #1: Party preparation begins with a theme. What is your corporate theme? It is dictated by your mission and values. Are you a company that is driven by the desire to provide exemplary service to customers? Are you revenue-driven? Or, are you a company that is without a guiding mission just floating along? That theme, or mission, determines who should be invited to your party. Mission should define every recruitment effort. It is important to hire people who will be fun at the party. That doesn't mean that you have to hire a homogeneous pool of drones. Rather, you need to seek a diverse pool of potential new hires who can live your mission. There may be a few party crashers. These are the people you let slide in. They may be suitable for the party. Or, they may not. Pay attention to every hire so that you can see how they are behaving at your invitation only event. As party host, you have the right to escort nonconformists to the door.

Read more about Invitation to Success in the May/June edition of SupportWorld Magazine

ITIL is important to providing quality service support and delivery. But it is not a "one-size-fits-all" solution. While it may be the fashion of the day, many organizations find it difficult to implement. The books are quite detailed and the relationships between the various processes can be unclear to some, unless they are related to the specific workflows and requirements of the organization wishing to implement them. Mature IT organizations probably have some of the ITIL processes implemented (perhaps without actually calling it ITIL). As an example, any company that has undergone a Sarbanes-Oxley review likely has variations of the ITIL Change Management process in place. But ITIL can deliver far-reaching benefits. So, a question that organizations should be asking is, "What do I need to do to improve?"

Read more about Assessing IT Operations Based on ITIL Best Practices in the May/June edition of SupportWorld Magazine 

No matter how small or large your support desk, helping your newest team member blend in with the team is very important. If a person does not blend in, chances are that they will either leave or will be unhappy or disgruntled, which may cause team morale issues.

The process of having a new member blend in begins at the interview level. Make sure you ask various team play related questions during your interview. Consider having your candidates go through a peer interview where the supervisor or manager is not present. This is where his/her peers will be able to ask candid questions and will be able to share their expectations in relation to team play. Once you've hired your new analyst, consider assigning a teammate (or having a teammate volunteer) to be the new analyst's mentor for three months.

Read more about Helping Your Newest Analyst Blend In in the May/June edition of SupportWorld Magazine

Yes, the help desk is dead. Well, at least in the sense of simply being a place for people to call for help on technical issues. It has now evolved into an integral part of the way an organization delivers service, whether internally to staff or externally to customers. It has become a service desk with a different way of approaching the provision of 'help' or assistance to whomever asks for it.

IT employees aren't the only ones who need answers. Lori Samolyk redefines customer service and explores the benefits of a multifunctional service desk.

Read more about the benefits of a multifunctional service desk in the May/June edition of SupportWorld Magazine