Chances are that your organization yearns for dazzling ITSM dashboards with sparkling graphics. Of course you would, who wouldn’t? Truth is however that if your organization does not have a solid foundation of operational ITSM reporting that strategic level dashboarding and scorecards are really nothing more than pie in the sky graphics.
To be fair, operational ITSM reports can be about as interesting as watching a plank warp. Apologies to the wood aficionados. But operational ITSM reports do provide something of great value; they are the foundation upon which to build the management and communication of your ITSM efforts.
Over the years I’ve seen my fair share of ITSM reporting environments and the disparity in quality and maturity is stunning.
On a positive note, quite a few companies have embraced the discipline of managing by fact. These companies are using ITSM reporting as a vital communication tool and a key part in their continuous ITSM process improvement. Interestingly enough, when asked about the state of ITSM reporting these companies will be the first to explain that ITSM reporting is an ongoing initiative and that there is much work ahead.
There are however many a company out there where, let me put this nicely, reporting is not a mature discipline. Typically such companies are running ITSM reports on the basis of “we run these reports as these are the reports that have always been run”. No business validation, no defined audience and often not even an understanding as to what the purpose of the reports is. Suggesting that it would be useful to sit down with the customer community to define customer reporting needs, will likely lead to a rapid exit from the room and a bee-line back to the ivory tower of IT. “There is no way we can provide the customer with the info they would ask for, therefore we won’t ask them”. A clear lose-lose situation that does nothing to improve the standing of IT department and its desire to better serve the business customer. When asked about the state of ITSM reporting, these companies will likely respond defensively “yes, we have ITSM reporting”.
There are very few shortcuts in life. Attempting strategic level ITSM dashboarding or scorecards without proper supporting operational ITSM reporting is like trying to run before you can walk.
David
