Measuring the performance of IT service management

Abstract

Despite the appeal and the tremendous potential to realise benefits, the implementation of IT Service Management (ITSM) initiatives is hindered by the difficulty in quantifying benefits and measuring performance. Although a phenomenal adoption of ITSM frameworks, particularly ITIL, is observed, it is not accompanied by standardisation of ITSM performance measurement. A standardised performance measurement framework is required and the research project described in this paper is an important step in addressing that need. The objective of this paper is to provide an analysis of the performance measurement of IT service management. The findings of a recent survey are presented and a preliminary organising framework for ITSM performance measurement is developed. Using Balanced Scorecard perspectives the benefits and challenges of ITSM performance measurement and reporting are analysed and categorised.