Maturing your Capacity Management processes - Keeping the momentum going ( 9 of 11 )

As with any implementation, once the initial project has been concluded, all the initial objectives have been met and the quick wins achieved, the difficulty is maintaining the momentum.

Having this momentum is essential for business capacity management and the following techniques are very effective:

Intranet/Newsletters

Most organizations have an Intranet or similar that is used to send out information.  Where possible, try to get capacity staff mentioned or get capacity management successes published.  These can be in the form of selling the benefits and ensuring people are aware of the process and the value it provides.  Where possible, mention successes, achieving targets, reducing expenditure etc.  In short, promote and sell the work being done.

Road shows

An extension of the Intranet option, if there is the time and opportunity, mini presentations on capacity management to key stakeholders, different departments  and locations can be an excellent source of information.

These also serve to raise the profile of capacity management and ensure people are aware of what’s happening.  These can be done on their own or perhaps as part of a wider Service Management initiative.

The content would normally be at a high level (not too many graphs) and focus on the following:

·         Progress so far

·         Successes and failures

·         What’s next and how people can get involved

All of this momentum will help you to demonstrate value and that’s what I’ll be discussing on Monday. 

Check out our on-demand Capacity Management Maturity workshop  

https://www.metron-athene.com/services/online-workshops/capacity-management-workshops.html

Jamie Baker

Principal Consultant

Maturing your Capacity Management process - Situation Appraisal( 2 of 11)

Before you can set about implementing or maturing any ITIL process, the first step is to conduct a process audit or GAP analysis.  

This can obviously be done internally, but it’s unlikely to provide an objective and honest appraisal.  A better option is to use some targeted consultancy that will provide the necessary expertise, knowledge and importantly, objectivity.  Whether it’s delivered internally or via a third party the following approach has always proved successful.

Rather than using a prescriptive approach each time, a combination of the following will yield the relevant (and appropriate) information. 

The roles or groups will alter slightly depending on the organization but the following areas should be engaged to ensure the project is successful.

·         Key business stakeholders

·         Service Managers or Service Owners

·         Technical domain experts

·         Tooling Personnel – Monitoring, alerting etc

·         Existing capacity staff

·         Service Management personnel

Every environment is unique; however there are a number of key questions that should be asked. By thinking these through it will help to ensure you create a Strategy for Capacity Management, and if you need to de-scope elements to start building momentum, you will at least have a clear sight of your end objectives.

     ·         What information channels/interfaces exist currently?               
   ·         What reports are available and the associated delivery mechanism?

         ·         What metrics are captured and how are their thresholds derived?
         ·         What tooling is available?
         ·         What KPIs are being used?
         ·         What capacity deliverables are being provided?
         ·         Is the business suffering from capacity outages?
         ·         Are upgrades performed in a timely fashion?                            

I’ll be looking at questionnaires and their relevance on Friday. Register for our webinar ' Capacity Management Maturity series - Defined to Managed'

https://www.metron-athene.com/services/webinars/capacity-management-webinars.html

Jamie Baker

Principal Consultant