lesson-14-continual-service-improvement.pdf

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Lesson 14 Study Guide ^/

The ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management

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Welcome to the fourteenth chapter of your Study Guide. This document is supplementary to the information available to you online, and should be used in conjunction with the videos, quizzes and exercises.

After your subscription to the course has finished online, you will still have the Study Guide to help you prepare for your exam - if youve not taken the exam by the time your subscription expires.

Youll download a Study Guide at the end of most Lessons as you progress through the course.

This Chapter contains the Study Guide information for Lesson 14 Continual Service Improvement.

Use this Study Guide in conjunction with your own notes that you make as you progress through the course. You may prefer to print the Study Guides out, or use them on-screen.

After each Lesson, you can consolidate what you have learnt whilst watching the videos and taking the quizzes by reading through the chapter of the Study Guide.

If you progress on to the formal exam, your Study Guide will provide you with vital revision information.

Remember, your Study Guide is yours to keep, even after your subscription to the course has finished.

Continual Service Improvement





Study Guide Icons 3

Lesson Contents 4

The CSI Approach 5

Measurement 7

CSFs and KPIs 9

The Deming Cycle 11

The 7 Step Improvement Process 13

The CSI Register 17

Table of Contents





Watch out for these icons as you use your Study Guide. Each icon highlights an important piece of information.

Tip this will remind you of something you need to take note of, or give you some exam guidance.

Definition key concept or term that you need to understand and remember.

Role a job title or responsibility associated with a process or function.

Exercise Solution suggested solution to one of the exercises you will complete throughout the course.

Goal or Objective for a particular process or core volume.

Study Guide Icons





This Lesson focused on the final core volume Continual Service Improvement (CSI).

We studied:

The CSI approach Measurement for improvement The Deming Cycle The 7 Step Improvement Process The CSI Register

Text in "italics and quotation marks" is drawn from the ITIL core volumes Quoted ITIL text is from Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation and Continual Service Improvement Crown copyright 2011 Reproduced under license from OGC.

Lesson Contents





Before improvement starts, it important to know what were trying to achieve. Its important to make sure that any CSI effort is coordinated and managed. If not, tasks might be duplicated or not carried out at all.

The diagram below shows a commonly adopted CSI approach:

CSI fig. 3.1 CSI Approach

Crown copyright 2011. Reproduced under license from OGC

The questions in the diagram can be asked from a business and IT perspective, to get a comprehensive picture of what to improve and how.

Identifying a vision makes sure the long term goal is understood. This then needs to be compared to the current state, to assess how much improvement is needed.

The CSI Approach





Current state is the baseline from which we improve. This helps to answer the question Where do we want to be?

Where do we want to be? breaks the goal down into measurable targets these track our progress towards the vision.

How do we get there? looks at the improvements that need to be made, and Did we get there? measures them.

Finally, we need to keep improvement momentum going. If the vision is delivered, we start again in a new area.





Measurement is crucial for improvement. It can show where to improve, and if improvements are working.

Without measurements in place, improvement can be based on incorrect perceptions of a service.

Metric

Something that needs to be measured and reported to help manage a process, IT service or activity

Defined metrics will drive what needs to be measured, and also what reporting tools need to be in place. Measurement is a very important part of CSI.

If you cant measure a service, then you will not be able to show if its improving or if it delivers value.

Types of Metric

There are three types of metrics of interest to CSI process, service and technology.

Process metrics can be used to show a process is performing well and adding value. Service metrics confirm we have met our targets for end-to-end service performance Technology metrics show the performance of the individual components of our

infrastructure

Measurement





Baseline

A start point must be established for progress to be measured against. This start point is known as a baseline. A baseline is marker or start point that we can compare our progress against at some point in the future.

Baselines need to be accepted by all stakeholders. If the customer doesnt agree with our measure of customer satisfaction, they will not buy into any improvement activities later.

Baselines are required at all levels of the organization strategic, tactical and operational.

Strategic baselines will be in stated in both business and strategic terms. For example, services might be baselined to show their current level of profitability.

Tactically and operationally, baselines will relate to specific services and processes for example showing service failures, or levels of customer satisfaction.





The different types of metrics tracked within Continual Service Improvement are often aligned to Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs.

Using KPIs allows us to assess if we are meeting our targets, and identify where we are improving or getting worse.

KPIs will typically be related to Critical Success Factors, or CSFs.

CSFs will be defined as high level goals and then measured and tracked using a number of KPIs. There will typically be 2 to 3 KPIs defined for each CSF.

CSFs and KPIs Example

A new Critical Success Factor could be defined: To improve service quality

KPIs could be: To improve customer satisfaction by 10% and To reduce downtime by 5%

Metrics needed would be: Initial customer satisfaction and customer satisfaction following improvements AND Initial downtime and level of downtime following improvements

Critical Success Factors and Key Performance Indicators





Qualitative and Quantitative

Organizations need a balance of qualitative and quantitative KPIs.

Qualitative Key Performance Indicators relate to the quality of the service for example, an increase in customer satisfaction.

Quantitative KPIs relate to more tangible measures such as the cost of service provision.

Qualitative KPIs are more intangible because they can be affected by areas outside of the service providers control. For example, customer satisfaction might drop because the organization has announced redundancies. This is nothing to do with the IT service, but overall organizational morale will affect the customer satisfaction score.

Because KPIs are so important for measuring improvement, we need to continually assess them to ensure they are still fit for purpose, being measured correctly and are still providing relevant information.





The Deming Cycle is a model which can be used to support effective Continual Service Improvement.

It was popularized by noted statistician W. Edwards Deming, and is a way of achieving higher quality and increased productivity. You can see the cycle in the diagram below, including its four main activities of Plan, Do, Check and Act.

CSI fig. 2.8 Plan Do Check Act Cycle

Crown copyright 2011. Reproduced under license from OGC

The Deming Cycle is critical at two main points during continual service improvement:

The implementation of improvements The application of improvements to service management processes

The Deming Cycle





Improvements need to be planned and implemented before being reviewed and refined within the cycle. Maturity levels and timescales are both part of the cycle as we mature and understand our services; we are able to identify more improvements.

The cycle is underpinned by a process-led approach, and consolidation has to occur when targets are met to make sure the cycle doesnt start to roll backwards.

Remember, Deming is critical for CSI because it provides structure for improvement programmes. This structure means that improvements are embedded and seen as important otherwise there is a risk they will be forgotten when the day job takes over.

Using a structure for improvement makes sure we act in a coordinated, effective way.

The 4 Stages of Deming

Plan identifies objectives and processes required to deliver results and meet business needs

Do implements processes Check monitors and measures against the objectives Act continually improves process performance





The 7 Step Improvement Process is used to identify and collect the information needed to support improvement.

You can see the 7 Step Improvement Process below. Notice how it interacts with the Deming cycle.

CSI fig. 3.4 The 7 Step Improvement Process Crown copyright 2011. Reproduced under license from OGC

The 7 Step Improvement Process also relates to the Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom progression that we studied when we looked at Knowledge Management.

Many organizations collect lots of data. Data needs to be refined and improved to truly support improvement.

The 7 Step Improvement Process





Process Purpose, Objectives and Scope

The purpose of the 7 Step Improvement Process is to define and manage the steps needed to identify, define, gather, process, analyze, present and implement improvements.

All improvements need to be cost justified. If an improvement cannot be cost-justified, it should not be implemented. Improvements need a business case or some form of financial justification.

The 7 Step Improvement Process objectives include:

To identify improvements To reduce the cost of service provision and make sure services meet business

requirements To identify measurements needed to justify improvement To continually review services and service achievement To understand what to measure and why

The scope of the 7 Step Improvement Process includes services, processes, partners and technology right across the lifecycle.

Remember, CSI is not exempt from improvement and may even improve itself.

Improvements make sure that services stay aligned to changing business needs, and remain attractive to customers.

CSI also applies to people. Changes in structure or a training initiative could deliver improvements quickly, leading to better service for customers. If staff are over-worked, or dont have the skills to do their jobs, morale will suffer and staff turnover will increase.

This can decrease the quality of service provision and increase costs.





Step 1: Identify the strategy for improvement

In this step, the vision will be identified. This includes the business need and the strategic, tactical and operational goals.

Step 2: Define what you will measure

Service Strategy and Service Design will identify this early on in the lifecycle. CSI will identify the real situation and conduct a gap analysis to show where improvements need to be made.

Step 3: Gather the data

Data normally comes from Service Operation including processes such as event management. You can only truly measure a service once it is live.

At this point, the data will be raw and unformatted, from many different sources. The data needs to be processed before it can tell us anything meaningful.

Step 4: Process the data

Data is processed in line with the organizational Critical Success Factors and Key Performance Indicators. Raw data can be rationalized and standardized, so that timescales are consistent and any missing data is identified.

Once processing is complete, analysis can begin.

Step 5: Analyze the information and data

Once we have information, we can start to ask questions who, what, when, where and how.

Trends will emerge, and the impact on the business can be gauged. Analysis gives a credible message that can then be presented to management but this step is often rushed or overlooked.

Step 6: present and use the information

In this step, information is formatted and communicated to stakeholders. Different stakeholders will need different perspectives, and different levels of detail.

Careful presentation supports better decision making and helps to clearly identify next steps.





Step 7: Implement improvement

This final step in the process iteration is where services and processes are corrected, optimized or improved.

Wisdom is applied to knowledge to implement the correct solution, and improvements can be communicated and explained to the organization.

After Step 7, a new baseline is taken and the process starts again. The 7 Step Improvement Process follows a cycle.

Every iteration of the cycle adds to the organizational wisdom, making the next cycle more effective than the last one. The name for this is a knowledge spiral. Data is transformed to information, then to knowledge. This helps the organization to make the right decision at the right time.





CSI should generate good ideas to help improve the organization. Some ideas can be implemented now, some may need to wait for investment, and some may never be implemented.

Its important that ideas are recorded, prioritized and managed. This requires the creation of a CSI register.

On the CSI register, improvement opportunities can be categorized into small, medium and large tasks. They also need to be grouped into quick wins, medium term undertakings and long term solutions.

By comparing the work and timescales involved with the benefits, improvements can be prioritized and resources allocated appropriately.

The CSI register will form part of the overall Service Knowledge Management system. It provides structure and visibility, and can be used to link activities to organizational Key Performance Indicators.

It will need to be linked to other service management processes that make improvements for example the availability and capacity plans.

The CSI manager owns the CSI register. A register would typically include a unique identifier, size and timescale, priority, Key Performance Indicators, justification and owner.

Dates and timestamps are used to track progress.

The CSI Register

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