Organizations can use Business Process Management to improve all of their business processes. A business process begins with the customer’s needs and ends with the customer’s fulfillment.
Business Process Management (BPM) is a method of efficiently aligning an organization with the wants and needs of the clients. It is a holistic management approach that promotes business effectiveness and efficiency while striving for innovation, flexibility and integration with technology.
As organizations strive for attainment of their objectives, BPM attempts to continuously improve processes - the process to define, measure and improve your processes – a ‘process optimization’ process.
At its core, BPM is about creating and improving business processes. There are a multitude of disciplines and activities that can be considered as BPM. Total Quality Management (TQM), Six Sigma, and Lean Principles all contain elements of process improvement.
Whatever method is chosen, perhaps even a hybrid of many there should be a defined roadmap to follow. It is like a trip to a place you have never been before. You know where you are now and where you want to go. To get there you must have a roadmap with stops and signs along the way to keep you on the right road. Creating a framework or roadmap for BPM is essential for it to be successful.
ITGL and OGC have released a 131 page management briefing Aligning COBIT 4.1, ITIL V3 and ISO/IEC 27002 for Business Benefit.
This project was developed with the Office for Government Commerce (OGC) to update the very popular management briefing first produced in 2005. The briefing applies generally to all IT best practices but focuses on three specific practices and standards that are becoming widely adopted around the world. It has been updated to reflect the latest versions:
- ITIL V3—Published by the UK government to provide a best practice framework for IT service management
- COBIT 4.1—Published by ITGI and positioned as a high-level governance and control framework over IT processes
- ISO/IEC 27002:2005—Published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) ato provide a framework of a standard for information security management
Executive Summary
Every enterprise needs to tailor the use of standards and practices to suit its individual requirements. All three standards/practices covered in this guide can play a very useful part—COBIT and ISO/IEC 27002 helping to define what should be done and ITIL providing the how for service management aspects.
A new ITIL maturity reports is a guide to anyone looking to adopt or extend their ITIL implementation. Any organization looking to implement ITIL3 will have lots of questions. What are the challenges and pitfalls to expect? What is the real cost? The report offers some key pointers and practical realities, based on the experience of 350 leaders of IT.
Sunrise Software, a leading independent provider of IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions today announced the availability of its ITIL Adoption and Maturity Report 2008, which is available for free download at http://www.sunrisesoftware.co.uk/.
The report draws from the experience of 350 IT leaders spanning both public and private sector organizations with more than 200 employees. It offers a unique opportunity to view a snapshot of ITIL maturity in 2008 and shows a strong drive to extend ITIL, with as many as 46% of respondents stating that they were planning to take steps over the next few months to incorporate ITIL3 into their processes.
ITIL is currently the undisputed champion of best practice in service management but when so many consultancies describe the benefits of ITIL in vague, intangible terms it can be difficult to obtain concrete evidence of just what it can do for your business.
Survey findings from the Service Desk Institute indicate that the IT service management industry has reached a new level of maturity in the last four years with the average first level resolution rate increasing from just 21 percent to 60 percent in that time.
This dramatic improvement is primarily due to the fact that the industry has received significant investment around the adoption of best practice standards during this time, with the number of organizations currently without any standards in place half that of 2004.
Following customer feedback and the obvious need for multiple numbers of staff within an organization having unrestricted access to the ITIL® Lifecycle Publication Suite, IT Governance, who are official OGC & TSO distributors, are now able to offer the ITIL® Lifecycle Publication Suite Multi-User Licence.
The ITIL® Lifecycle Publication Suite Multi-User Licence is available as online access over a 1-or 3-year licence period. As all users of ITIL® material within an organization do not necessarily need to access it simultaneously, multi-user licence’s can be a very cost-effective option.
The five new core ITIL® titles in the ITIL® Lifecycle Publication Suite have been commissioned and structured to be read as a five title series, each building on the work of the other. As the five core titles reflect the lifecycle of services, their appeal encompasses the entire spectrum of people involved at any stage of the framework. So, without being the prime audience, everyone involved will benefit from access to the entire library.
There are two approaches that can be used to improve Information Technology Service Management (ITSM): the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and Six Sigma.
Many followers of these seemingly mutually exclusive approaches exhibit a nearly religious zeal in defending their way as being the only way to go. Rather than being opposing approaches, however, Six Sigma and ITIL are complementary.
ITIL Framework
ITIL defines a framework for IT Service Management. It consists of a set of guidelines that specify what an IT organization should do based on industry best practices. It does not, however, define how to do it. For example, ITIL specifies that IT should allocate a priority for each incident that comes into the service desk, but it does not specify how to allocate those priorities. With ITIL, it’s up to the IT staff to flesh out the details of process flow and create detailed work instructions, all in away that makes sense for their organization.
With the release of IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) version 3 (ITIL V3), it’s clear that your goal as an IT professional has changed. You’re no longer tasked with aligning IT with the business. Now your goal is to integrate IT with the business. The distinction between IT and the business has blurred, and the language of IT has been replaced with the language of the business.
So what does ITIL V3 have to do with BSM?
BSM is now an ITIL best practice. ITIL V3 defines it as “the ongoing practice of governing, monitoring, and reporting on IT and the business service it impacts.” It’s an approach that leverages processes and technology to make the goals of IT and the goals of the business one and the same.
BSM solutions and ITIL practices work together to help you manage IT from a business perspective. Solution developers are working closely with ITIL architects to ensure that ITI L processes and service management solutions continue to converge. Their solutions can put you ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing ITIL best practices.
Integrating IT with the Business
Successful IT organizations should consider IT ’s contribution to business value in every decision they make and every project they undertake. ITIL best practices support this approach to managing the IT infrastructure.
Numara Software, an ITIL based solutions company has released a new white paper on ITIL. The “ITIL Without Handcuffs” guide offers readers a practical and concise summary on ITIL, with examples of how organizations are adopting best practices.
In today’s competitive environment, companies want processes that enable them to take control of their IT infrastructure in a pragmatic way. They want technology, policies and procedures that empower them, rather than be handcuffed to rigid systems which take years to implement or change.
The Relevance and Irrelevance of ITIL
Key Points For The Reader
- ITIL is a collection of best practices that address IT service management and business-focused discipline
- ITIL is more applicable to larger companies, though small companies can benefit
- ITIL brings IT into closer alignment with the business
- ITIL awareness and adoption is low within the mainstream market
- ITIL is a long-term commitment, not a short-term fix
The fifth and final step in a 5S System is Sustain. In this step you will instill the self-discipline and culture that will sustain the program. Over time a 5S System may become less effective due to complacency. To sustain a 5S System you must change the culture of employees and sometimes the company.
Self-Discipline
To instill the self-discipline needed to sustain a 5S System is to get everyone to understand that 5S is here to stay. By nature people are resistant to change. After a while they may fall out of the habits of 5S. Consider 5S to be part of the required work. If needed use disciplinary actions to make sure it is done.
Reinforce the 5S System by holding regular meetings and keeping employees updated on improvements. Solicit their involvement for suggestions or ideas to improve the 5S System. Many employees will appreciate a cleaner and safer work environment and will be willing to make the extra effort.
Evaluate the 5S System
As part of the continuous improvement of your 5S System you should regularly evaluate it. When you started the program you had a goal. Has that goal been reached? Are you getting all of the benefits of a 5S System? If not you need to examine why and put changes in place to achieve the desired results.
Kaizen is a philosophy of which continuous improvement is a major part. You should look at Kaizen methods to improve your 5S System. Use Plan, Do, Check, and Act (PDCA) cycles to make sure improvements are properly added to the 5S System. Examine each step in the process and determine if the step is needed, can it be improved upon or should it be removed.
The fourth step in a 5S System is to Standardize. In this step you will set in place the rules and policies that support the first three steps, Sort, Straighten and Shine. A 5S System will only work if it is followed.
To carry out the first three steps you should already have a support system in place. Such as designated areas, proper marking of areas, a log of what goes where and other parts of a support structure mentioned in the first three steps. These should all be standardized so that it is clear to everyone what the support system is.
Schedule 5S Activities
By scheduling regular 5S activities you will make it part of the work routine. The goal is to make 5S a habit for your employees. It may take a few reminders, but before long employees will be starting their 5S steps without supervision. You should always participate and follow-up to make sure everyone is doing their part.
