Manufacturing is a sector ripe for the picking, where growth is vital to the survival and success of a business. When an organisation grows through acquisition, it can result in complex ecosystems of IT infrastructure, clashing processes and fierce individualism from teams retained before merging. Include a managed service provider (MSP) with a legacy relationship in the mix, and the complexity of the situation grows.
Lean Tree was engaged by an established manufacturing brand with a focus on supplier wholesale who had grown and developed the business through acquisition and organic growth. The leadership team decided that it was the right time for the introduction of a standardised IT Service Management (ITSM) across the organisation, bringing uniformity of service, and reducing complexity. While engaging on this toolset requirements exercise, the team identified an opportunity outside of the original scope, that would realise the value of the exercise on a deeper level across the business.
To explore the world of ITSM further, and why it plays a pivotal role in the success of organisations worldwide, read our insight article, Introduction to ITSM.
The Challenge: Making ITSM digestible to the business, enabling visibility of business benefit realisation.
Lean Tree was engaged by the client to build a set of minimum viable product (MVP) ITSM toolset requirements. We quickly recognised that there was an opportunity beyond this, to not only optimise our clients’ requirements, but also to nurture a business wide behaviour that would lay the foundations for a successful ITSM transformation once the product had been selected.
Following initial conversations with the business, it was clear that the transparency that ITSM typically offers was lacking, driven by the fact that this was owned by a managed service provider. The usual transparency that would be offered by an in-house ITSM tool and service could not be matched due to legal constraints.
Previous business engagement also appeared lacklustre, driven by complex technical language use and detailed explanations that were not related to business processes. The perception of ITSM in the organisation was not a positive one, especially when it came to the toolset and first line support. The toolset, on its own, was at risk of breaking business confidence and trust in ITSM.
This negative perception was compounded by the service desk offering being a jumble of contract addendums, to the point where both the client and the MSP struggled to identify who is responsible for what. The lack of clarity posed both a risk and an opportunity within the toolset requirement scope.
Our Approach: Business-inclusive ITSM toolset MVP Requirements
We identified that the crux of the issue at hand was not in the choice of ITSM tool selection, but rather the nurturing of the business behaviour towards whichever tool was selected. An IT function in any organisation can sometimes receive unjust criticism. We have seen that providing factual communication, presenting the importance of working a certain way and improved service measures, results in public relations between the IT function and wider team vastly improving.
To ensure this was the case within the ITSM toolset requirements, we took the following steps:
We identified a stakeholder map to instigate early, specific and detailed engagement with the wider business teams to enable understanding of their involvement, what this looked like, and the timeline expectations.
The expected benefits to the business were articulated, documented and shared to foster a joint business, IT and MSP effort towards common goals.
ITSM language, acronyms and terms were translated to enable clear business understanding.
Processes were clarified to align with relatable business activities.
We documented and explained the drivers for configuration and processes that were being considered for the ITSM transformation and held the door open for questions, feedback and ideas.
Workshops were held to establish the business pain-points and challenges with the current ITSM provision, enabling full transparency between the business, IT and their MSP.
The Result: Business alignment, engagement and enthusiasm for ITSM transformation
The business, IT and the MSP appreciated the effort that was put in to ensuring business understanding of ITSM and this enabled high engagement within the requirements gathering exercise. The business requirements were comprehensive and thoughtful responses were received. We were then able to complement these business requirements with extrapolated ITIL requirements to ensure that best practice was captured. This meant there was enthusiasm from the business, IT and the MSP for the next steps on the client’s transformation journey.
At Lean Tree, our Delivery Practice goes beyond handing over a tool for the business to use. We are proud to ensure successful company-wide strategic outcomes. An initiative, such as transforming an ITSM function, is no different and the business want to ensure that revenue and customer satisfaction is, at the very least, protected.
ITSM is a critical element of a functioning and protected business and offers the security the business is seeking. Ensuring that the transformation project is perceived by the business as ITSM supporting the maximisation of the unique value the company offers enables a smoother transition with the transformation, less resistance to change and a quicker realisation of the benefits that the tooling transformation can bring to the business.
Can Lean Tree help you?
If your business is preparing to embark on a transformation journey, let’s explore how we can help you achieve success. Together, we’ll turn challenges into opportunities and deliver success that lasts. Click here to find out how to get in touch.
