The 7 Steps To A Successful ITSM Tool Implementation
The 7-step strategy to implement an IT Service Management (ITSM) tool
By this point, you have identified your organization’s overall goals, researched the ITSM tool options available, and are ready to choose and implement one. You are aware of the risks involved and prepared with recovery strategies if initiatives fall through the cracks.
What causes organizations to update or change their ITSM tools sooner than expected? Mistakes during the initial implementation process, a failure to provide the metrics tracking capabilities needed for IT departments to thrive, or poor implementation.
This blog will guide a successful deployment, including tips on leveraging your solution to add value to your business and demonstrating that IT is a contributor to the bottom line rather than a cost centre by tracking useful metrics.
Let’s Define ITSM
IT Service Management (ITSM) is the practice or discipline of designing, implementing, delivering, and supporting IT services offered to customers in a business environment. The activities associated with ITSM are directed by company policies and organized into discrete processes that achieve desired goals.
What is an ITSM tool, and why is it essential for your organization?
ITSM tools are workflow management systems with extremely beneficial features to IT teams. ITSM solutions and tools have evolved to help organizations streamline service delivery, transparency, and communication. To help you understand why ITSM tools are essential for your business, we found the Information Age article helpful.
Sometimes also referred to as ITSM suites, these commonly include the following features:
Help desk/service desk tools
Centralized ticket management
Incident and problem management
IT asset management
Self-help portals and knowledge centres for end-users
License management
Analytics and metrics
Below are seven steps to follow for a smooth ITSM tool implementation that will benefit your organization now and in the future.
7 Steps to a Successful ITSM Tool Implementation
Keep your end goals linked to greater customer satisfaction, increased productivity, and the enablement of business outcomes at the forefront of your project to ensure that your ITSM tool remains efficient and does not need to be changed.
Step 1: Engage and Listen to Your Users
The individuals with the most influence on your project’s success will spend the most time with your ITSM tool. Aim to develop a comprehensive understanding of what users expect from the tool. While a like-for-like with your new tool isn’t always possible, you can convey preferences to your vendor implementation team.
Step 2: Build a Service Structure Based on Business Outcomes
IT support is the first line of defence in the battle for broken productivity. Your ITSM tool and implementation project should help you understand a service-based view of the IT environment. That is, strong internal service is deeply connected to positive business outcomes. One issue with a print server may seem like a low priority, but what if that single user is the CFO at the end of the financial year?
Step 3: Invest in the Service Desk
IT service desk analysts need to have a full understanding of the services that the IT department provides. It’s critical to invest to ensure they have the tools necessary to perform this service on a large scale. These activities will result in high-performing IT service desks that are more efficient and capable of providing more support. Customer satisfaction and user productivity will increase.
Step 4: Solve the Problem with Problem Management
Problem Management is also an afterthought in ITSM implementations, primarily because the people resources are not in place and the processes are not established. Use this time while you wait for the tool to be fully implemented to begin understanding the fundamentals of problem management, which will reduce recurring incidents and improve change success rates. You need not be an expert to get started with a pilot of a problem advisory board, and having the means to identify workarounds is a solid set of first steps you can build on to minimize the impact of problems later.
Step 5: Develop Meaningful Metrics
Your previous ITSM solution has a good amount of valuable data about how the IT department worked before. All you need to do is focus on data that can be measured. You can start by reporting on the metrics that matter rather than just extracting data to serve as a baseline to improve your efforts.
Step 6: Get All of IT Working Together
Your ITSM tool is primarily for your service desk analysts, but you’ll need everyone on your team responsible for IT service delivery and support to buy into the ITSM concept and tool. Tier 2 and 3 groups must engage with the system to support processes, even if they aren’t heavy users. Make sure they’re included in the rollout, especially the team leaders. An ITSM tool will not succeed unless it has buy-in from all levels of your IT team.
Step 7: Change and Sell the Pitch
An ITSM tool helps solve business issues on a day-to-day basis. As you speak to stakeholders, modify your pitch about the ITSM project to target each stakeholder’s priority. You must promote the value of ITSM. When implemented and used correctly, the tool can automate the activities required to deliver quality IT service at a low cost.
Why Does Your Company Need an ITSM Tool?
IT Service Management (ITSM) is a proven way to manage and deliver IT services that keep organizations running smoothly and efficiently. While management is possible without ITSM, it is difficult to deliver consistently and effectively. IT now plays a larger role in organizations than ever before, and this footprint is expanding. If IT departments are not properly managed, issues can have a major negative impact on businesses. We found the Entrepreneur article helpful in learning why ITSM is essential.
How do you measure success with the ITSM tool?
You must identify the key metrics, track your project, and share your results using your ITSM tool. The best solutions will help you uplift your various departments by showing how they are essential and provide business value. This is where Adaptive, in partnership with Ivanti, makes it easy for you to create flexible dashboards and reports that make behind-the-scenes work visible and easy to share. Dashboards provide real-time results; you can create new ones in moments. Once you’ve identified the KPIs that matter most to your organization, you can easily track them and distribute the results. Ultimately, we deliver value for your investment and provide exceptional service and support.
Click here to learn more about how our agile business software can be configured to meet your needs for contract management, IT service management, customer support, and more.
[…] management, customer support, and more. To provide you with additional resources here is our ITSM article on how you can implement the ITSM tool easily in just 7 […]