itSMF Australia 2008 Conference: summary of ITSM standards and frameworks survey responses

Abstract

[Abstract]: This report provides a summary of responses from surveys related to adoption of Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) frameworks. The surveys were conducted at the itSMF National Conference in Canberra in 2008. Two surveys were conducted: the Corporate survey for organisations and the other for Consultants and Trainers. For the Corporate survey 80 responses were received and 28 for the Consultant and Trainers survey. The responses for the Corporate survey came mainly from large organisations representing both the public and private sectors. The vast majority of organisations who responded to the survey have adopted the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and are making substantial progress in implementing this framework. Priority has been given to implementing the service desk function, incident management and change management processes. Many organisations are also implementing Prince 2, government standards and ISO 9000. The strongest motivating factor to implement IT Service Management is to improve IT/business process integration. The maturity level of ITSM processes was generally rated higher than in previous years with many reporting as repeatable (level 2) and defined (level 3). Most of the respondents had completed ITIL foundation training and many have also achieved intermediate and advanced qualifications. Many organisations have made significant progress in upgrading their ITIL version from V2 to V3. Commitment from senior management is identified as the most critical factor for successful ITSM implementation. Although many stated it is too early to tell if ITSM has delivered benefits, more than one third believes it has met or exceeded their expectations. There was strong consensus that the major benefit of ITSM is improved customer satisfaction. Many further benefits have been realised including improved response and resolution, clarification of roles and responsibilities, and coordinated IT service. The Consultants and Trainers survey was completed by representatives of large and small organisations who were focussed primarily on the Government, Administration and Defence sector, or multiple sectors. Generally, the views expressed by the consultants echoed those of the Corporate respondents and confirmed the strong move towards ITIL V3, as well as growing interest in ISO/IEC 20000 certification. In regards motivation to adopt ITSM, the responses were markedly different. The Consultants believed improving the IT Service focus was the driver for clients, and gave little support for the top factor selected by the Corporate respondents, i.e. improving IT/Business integration. The success factors favoured by the Consultants were similar to those ranked highly by the Corporate respondents except that the Consultants ranked highly the importance of a champion to advocate and promote the ITSM framework. The Consultants saw this as much more important (ranked #3) compared to the Corporate respondents (ranked #7). Another difference was in the client’s perceptions of the effectiveness of ITSM wherein the Consultants gave a much more positive view that ITSM met or exceeded expectations. As far as the benefits from ITSM, there was consensus except for better staff morale and satisfaction ranked #5 by Consultants but #11 by the Corporate respondents.