The IT Experience Podcast

In this episode of the HappySignals IT Experience podcast, host Sakari Kyrö speaks with service management and leadership consultant Sophie Hussey. They discuss the importance of future-proofing service management, the need for better education on service management in schools, and the visibility of career pathways in the field. Sophie emphasizes the significance of understanding the user experience, the role of service management in delivering services, and the challenges organizations face. They also explore the balance between data analysis and human insight, the role of mediation in service management, and how to recognize when external support is needed to improve organizational effectiveness.

In this episode of the HappySignals IT Experience podcast, host Sakari Kyrö speaks with Alex Vallette, a seasoned professional in the publishing industry, about the current state of AI technology. They discuss the hype surrounding AI, the challenges small companies face in adopting it, and the importance of internal training and experimentation. Alex emphasizes that AI should be viewed as a support tool rather than a replacement for human jobs, and he shares insights on how to effectively implement AI in organizations while overcoming cultural barriers.

In this enlightening conversation, Dave Snowden discusses the principles of complexity science and its application in organizational change. He emphasizes the importance of understanding human interactions over attempting to change behavior directly. The discussion covers the evolution of ideas, the coherence of theories, and the role of culture in decision-making. Dave also highlights the significance of storytelling in mapping organizational culture and the need for real-time pattern detection through micro scenarios. The conversation concludes with insights on balancing human agency with AI in organizations and the necessity of creating spaces for innovation.

If your decisions or work impact the way IT support tickets are managed in your workplace, then this episode is for you.

In this episode, David Stewart goes into depths of what his experience in IT has taught him about weaknesses in the current way of dealing with support tickets.

He addresses the constraints of ticket queue silos, the challenges of prioritization, and the need for an improved approach to support ticket management.

David introduces the concept of activity prioritization, which emphasizes the activity and progress of tickets rather than merely the number of tickets closed.

He also explains the significance of meaningful statuses and progression thresholds in guiding ticket management. The conversation underscores the benefits of this approach for both support teams and end users.

Takeaways

• Ticket queue silos are a major constraint in IT support, as tickets are usually assigned to individual team members, creating silos of responsibility.
• Activity prioritization, which focuses on the activity and progress of tickets, rather than just the number of tickets closed, can improve support team efficiency and effectiveness.
• Meaningful statuses and progression thresholds provide guidance for ticket management and help prioritize tickets based on urgency and importance.
• Implementing a structured and consistent approach to support ticket management can improve the end user experience and ensure timely resolution of support needs.

To get in touch with David Stewart:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davestew/

David's company Opimise: https://www.opimise.com/

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In this episode of ITXM Monthly, the Sakari, Sami, and Pasi discuss the watermelon effect and how to address it. They share their experiences from the SITS Expo in London and highlight the increasing interest in experience management. They also discuss the importance of focusing on the end-user experience and productivity, rather than just traditional SLA metrics. They provide practical examples of how to use experience data to identify and address watermelons in IT services. They also share customer case studies from Alhstrom, Campari Group, and Cargotec, who have successfully tackled the watermelon effect. The episode concludes with a reminder to measure the human-centric side of IT and to watch the Human-Centric IT webinar for more insights.

Takeaways

• The watermelon effect refers to the discrepancy between the outward appearance of IT services (green on the surface) and the actual user experience (red on the inside). Traditional SLA metrics may not capture the true user satisfaction and productivity.
• To address the watermelon effect, it is important to focus on the end user experience and productivity. This can be achieved by measuring and analyzing experience data, identifying areas of lost time and frustration, and taking proactive steps to improve those areas.
• Customer case studies from Ahlstrom, Campari Group, and Cargotec demonstrate the successful implementation of human-centric IT practices to tackle the watermelon effect. These companies have incorporated experience level targets, regular data analysis, and continuous improvement processes.
• Measuring and addressing the watermelon effect requires a step-by-step approach, starting with measuring the human-centric side of IT and gradually cracking the watermelon piece by piece.
• The Human-Centric IT webinar provides further insights and practical tips for addressing the watermelon effect and improving the end user experience in IT services.

Links

In this episode, Pasi and Sakari discuss the future of IT support. They start by talking about the recently released Global IT Benchmark Report, which highlights the importance of understanding the experience of end users. They then explore various themes related to the future of IT support, including the importance of experiences and productivity, increased people centricity, proactivity, technical competency, increased reliance on ITSM tools, and new technologies. They emphasize the need to use AI as a tool and to combine the strengths of machines and humans to improve IT support services.

Takeaways

• Understanding the experience of end users is crucial for organizations
• The future of IT support involves combining the strengths of machines and humans
• Increased people centricity and proactivity are important trends
• Technical competency and reliance on ITSM tools are key for improving support
• New technologies, such as AI, can enhance IT support services

Links

Claire Agutter, founder of Scopism, discusses the evolution of service management and the role of Service Integration and Management (SIAM). SIAM emerged from the outsourcing practices in the UK public sector and has become increasingly important as organizations work with multiple service providers. The focus of SIAM has shifted from managing large outsourcing contracts to developing a strategic approach to sourcing and managing services. The key to successful SIAM implementation is building a culture of communication and collaboration across all levels of the organization. The conversation discussed the options of setting up a service integration and management (SIAM) model internally or outsourcing it. It emphasized the importance of independence for the service integrator and the need for open communication between service providers and the customer organization. The option to outsource SIAM to large service providers was also mentioned, highlighting the benefits of their experience and guaranteed independence. The conversation highlighted the challenges of building relationships and trust in a SIAM model, especially in a remote working environment. It emphasized the need for cultural alignment, clear contracts, and a focus on results rather than blame.

• Claire Agutter has spent her career in the service management arena and founded Scopism to support service management professionals.
• SIAM evolved from the outsourcing practices in the UK public sector and has become increasingly important as organizations work with multiple service providers.
• The focus of SIAM has shifted from managing large outsourcing contracts to developing a strategic approach to sourcing and managing services.
• Building a culture of communication and collaboration is crucial for successful SIAM implementation. The decision to set up a SIAM model can be made internally or outsourced to a service provider. Independence for the service integrator is crucial in both cases.
• Cultural alignment, clear contracts, and a focus on results are important foundations for a successful SIAM model.
• Building relationships and trust is a continuous process in a SIAM model, and regular communication is essential.
• Skills required for a service integrator role include communication, relationship-building, and the ability to have difficult conversations.
• A background in customer service or hospitality can provide valuable skills for a service integrator role.
• Transparency, psychological safety, and a blame-free culture are key elements of a successful SIAM model.
• Senior management commitment and ongoing attention are necessary for the success of a SIAM transformation.
• Resources and assessments are available for organizations interested in implementing a SIAM model.

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In this episode, Darren Rose, a service management consultant, discusses enterprise service management (ESM) and its practical implementation. He emphasizes the importance of collaboration and cultural readiness within organizations to successfully implement ESM. Darren also highlights the significance of measuring and reporting to understand the current state and progress of ESM. He suggests using behavioral markers and personas to tailor ESM practices to different user profiles. Additionally, Darren addresses common challenges in implementing ESM and the need for strong leadership support. He concludes by discussing the benefits of starting with small, interconnected initiatives to demonstrate the value of ESM. In this conversation, Darren Rose discusses the importance of multi-service collaboration, the power of purpose, success stories and personal change, trial and error, defining success and measuring progress, over-engineering and the need for flexibility, building resilience in uncertain times, and creating a resilient culture.

• Collaboration and cultural readiness are crucial for successful implementation of enterprise service management (ESM). Organizations should foster a collaborative environment and prioritize user-centric decision-making.
• Measuring and reporting are essential to understand the current state and progress of ESM. Organizations should focus on measuring employee experience and satisfaction, rather than just ticket resolution metrics.
• Behavioral markers and personas can help tailor ESM practices to different user profiles. Understanding user preferences and support needs is key to providing a personalized and effective service experience.
• Implementing ESM can face challenges, such as resistance to change and lack of accountability. It is important to address these challenges and ensure that the motivation for ESM is driven by enhancing service offerings, rather than just cost-saving.
• Driving the momentum for ESM requires support from various stakeholders, including suppliers, senior leaders, and enthusiastic advocates within the organization.
• Getting started with ESM can be done by implementing small initiatives across different lines of service, focusing on interconnected activities to demonstrate the value of ESM. Multi-service collaboration is essential for organizations to benefit from a unified approach across different lines of service.
• Purpose is a strong motivator for individuals and teams, and it helps create a shared collective purpose and goal.
• Success stories and personal change can drive the adoption of new ways of working and collaboration.
• Trial and error is a natural part of the process, and patience and flexibility are key in finding what works.
• Defining success and measuring progress are important for staying motivated and making improvements.
• Over-engineering can be counterproductive, and flexibility is needed to adapt and find simpler solutions.
• Building resilience in uncertain times requires a strong organizational culture that is embedded in values and supported by leadership.
• Creating a resilient culture involves recruiting the right people, aligning objectives with culture, and holding people accountable to cultural expectations.

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In this episode, we're joined by Simone Jo Moore, an expert in enterprise IT Service management. Simone delves into the considerations surrounding AI in IT Service Management, emphasizing the importance of ethics and maintaining a human-centric approach. Tune in as she sheds light on the delicate balance of AI as a tool, not a crutch, in the ever-evolving landscape of IT services.

Ps. This description was written by AI, using it as a tool, not a crutch. :)

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While experience level agreements (XLAs) continue to be a hot topic, IT service leaders need more practical guidance on how to include them in their outsourcing agreements.

Join Sami Kallio from HappySignals and Neil Keating from Bright Horse as they share expert advice and best practices on integrating Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) into contracts between IT suppliers and customers. Hear about real customer examples and gain practical advice and valuable learnings to transform your outsourcing strategy. The webinar is hosted by John Noctor from SDI. You'll learn: - What a contracted XLA looks like - What are the contractual governance differences between XLAs and traditional metrics - What are the options for contracting XLAs alongside the recommended approach - How best to manage penalties/rewards

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This is the 100th of The IT Experience Podcast and we look into the 4 years of running the podcast, how the market has developed, and talk about the two main themes we have identified:

1. Employee Experience's Development into IT Experience Management
2. Experience Level Agreements (XLAs)

We'll also give an excellent summer playlist from the old episodes, ones that are still relevant, and remind us of how exciting the whole experience management topic is!

Our Summer Playlist for you:

Weston Morris is the Senior Director for Global Strategy for Digital Workplace Solutions at Unisys, and the podcast host of the Digital Workplace Deep Dive. The conversation dives into the quickly evolving world of Experience Level Agreements (XLA) are changing the way we look at IT services, focusing on actual business impact and employee productivity. Find out how Unisys research found out that the typical employee loses between 1-5 hours of productive work time per week and what that could mean in monetary terms in different business contexts. 

Key Takeaways 

• Experience management recognizes that the end-user expectations of experience changes over time.
• The new view and desired view of IT is an enabler of productive work, closely linked to the bigger company goals. 
• The new conversation between IT and business uses experience management as a tool to understand the end-users in new ways. 
• XLA 1.0 was mostly about measuring technical data, the DEX scores
• XLA 2.0 collects data from multiple sources, are persona based XLAs and linked to business goals.

Links

Our guest, Dr Selena Fisk, the author of "I'm not a numbers person", helps organizations make better sense of the data that they have access to. She believes that everyone today ought to be a numbers person, being able to understand data in order to make evidence-based decisions at work. In this episode, she shares her insights with us about what her research has shown to be important when organizations aspire to be more data-informed.

Key Takeaways 

• The are very human-centric aspects to consider when thinking about how data in organizations can drive the desired impact. 
• The challenge is that we have so many metrics, but organizations and teams often have not had the chance to zoom out to think about what actually matters.
• Until an organization collectively decides, on different levels, what data is most important, it will not be possible to lead change - this requires conversations to identify common ground.
• Organizations ought to consider which data is aligned to their purpose, to drive the right actions for impact.
• There are 6 levels of data literacy; Unconscious, conscious, casual, aware, active and reflective with the highest level being very responsive to new data coming in and adapting their decisions based on that data.

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Matt Beran, Host of Ticket Volume podcast and InvGate Product Specialist joins us to speak about the state of IT Service Management in the US, what the Americans do well and where they struggle. In this conversation, we come across interesting differences and similarities between regional ways of doing ITSM and generally applicable principles that help IT teams provide better services and experiences to the end-users. 

Key Takeaways 

• The most difficult part of ITSM is dealing with people
• Getting the basics right matters… a lot!
• Unless IT is willing to really listen to the end-users, it is unlikely that improvements will have real world impact on end-users experience of IT.  
• Involving end-users in the creation of support articles leads to articles that real end-users understand and can use.

Why are some organisations insisting employees return to the office, asks Karen Ferris. Remote work was probably the reason organisations were able to be resilient during the pandemic. Despite the evident success of remote work, there is a push by organisations to bring people back to the office. According to Karen Ferris, this might not be a good idea.  According to a study by Flexjobs, 97% of respondents said that they want some level of remote work going forward. 57% said they would leave their job if they were not given options to work remotely. Find out what Karen thinks about the excuses companies are using, and what are the 5 reasons that actually make sense for employees to go back to the office. 

Key Takeaways 

• Remote work works, this was proven by how people worked during the pandemic.
• There are many bad reasons to call people back. 
• These are Karen’s 5Ps, reasons for going back to the office. (don’t forget to ask your employees for their input, if they feel these reasons are filled) 
1. Preference
2. Purpose 
3. Participation
4. Productivity
5. Party  

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In This Episode Pasi is talking with Katie Bates, VP of Global Partnerships at HappySignals on How Customers and MSPs Benefit from IT Experience Management?

Learn about the topic, the whitepaper available at Happysignals.com, and the upcoming webinar with ISG on 3st January 2023.

In this episode, I'm joined by Roy Atkinson from Clifton Butterfield LLC to discuss his predictions for the CIO agenda in 2023. Listen to this episode to learn in 15 minutes the most important things for the world of IT in the year ahead. Plus, take a sneaky look back at Roy's 2022 predictions to determine whether he was right (or wrong) when we did this same episode a year ago. This episode was recorded in November at the HDI Service Management World event in Orlando, sorry for the audio quality as we did the recording outside and there are some background noises audible.

Key Takeaways

• Discover which areas of business and IT are of critical focus to CIOs (and other senior managers within service management) in the year ahead

Links:

In this episode, I’m joined by Neil Keating from Bright Horse to talk about Experience Management Office (XMO). So if you have or haven’t heard about them, listen to this episode to learn in 15 minutes the most important things about XMOs.

Key Takeaways

• What is an XMO?
• Why do you need one?
• Who are in it?
• What do they do?

Links:

How Data Quality in ServiceNow impacts Experience

Many times operational data in ServiceNow is missing or is bad quality and it's difficult to use all the tools available to make decisions when you cannot trust the data. If you don't know everything about your end-users it difficult to create amazing service experiences, automate services or allow agents to solve issues quickly. In this episode we go through these common challenges with Mikko Juola from Data Content Manager, an application for ServiceNow to automate and streamline your data quality and management.

Data Quality affects Experiences:

1. End-user Experience
2. Agents Experience
3. IT Management Team Decision Making
4. Automation Ability

Mark Smalley is a well-known person in the ITSM industry, a contributor to the ITIL4 body of knowledge and by his own definition, his mission is “to help people understand Service.

His latest thinking is around “Experience Dominant Logic”.

The concept is linked to understanding how value is perceived in a provider/consumer context. He lays the foundation for his thinking by looking at the evolution from “Goods Dominant Logic”, depicting value creation in industrial production of goods/products - followed by the provision of services at scale that follows a “Service Dominant Logic”, leading into the Experience Dominant Logic thinking. It is the next step in understanding what IT Services are actually about, and how value in that context is co-created with the consumers of the services.

Key Takeaways

• Goods dominant logic is an old way of thinking, where a product changes ownership and the consumers' perception is not essential for understanding the value provided.
• Service dominant logic is already considering how services become valuable in the interaction between providers of the service, and the consumers of that service.
• Experience dominant logic considers not only the interaction but also the emotions that influence behaviors in that interaction.

Links:

Doug Rabold is HDI's Top 25 Thought Leader; International Speaker & Certified Trainer; Chairman of Board at HDI; CX, EX and Service Delivery Executive, and a familiar face in the ITSM events especially in the US.

In this episode, I met Doug at the Service Management World HDI event in Orland. We talk related to his article “Why XLAs Matter Now More Than Ever”, Doug opens up the article and other learnings he’s made since writing it. So if XLAs is your interest, you should listen to this episode and learn from Doug’s experience.

Key Takeaways

• SLAs' role in today's IT landscape, compared to XLAs
• Should XLAs be contractual like SLAs?
• Why do XLAs matter more than ever when going into 2023?

Links:

The guest in this episode is Antonina Klentsova, IT expert in Digital and Sustainable transformation. She is one of the contributors to the ITIL4 framework and well known professional in the IT Service Management industry.

The episode goes deep below the surface to look at the impact of human sciences on ITIL4, the deeper significance of sustainability, diplomacy and what successful transformation looks like.

Key Takeaways

1. Diplomacy and Sustainability go hand-in-hand, even in an IT Service Management context.
2. Sustainability is about achieving our objectives now, without jeopardizing the future.
3. Transformation projects take time, and when the members of the team start doing things (the new way) without thinking about it, that is when you know the job is done.

Links:

Back with the "Happy in 15" -format, Sami and Pasi dive into the topic of how to answer to Cost Saving Pressure as an IT Team and how Experience Management and ITXM™ can help.

Key talking points:

1. Reduce IT costs and prioritize

2. Optimize IT outsourcing

3. Automate areas that matter

Make sure to check out the The Global IT Experience benchmark, to see the graphs we talk about.

At HappySignals we talk a lot about People vs. Process and Technology, our guest Lauren Kelly really explains how behaviour is a fundamental part of success in future businesses. She shines light on how behaviour thinking can help organisations become more successful and healthy.

Key Takeaways

• We need to understand people, really understand people in a fundamental way - this is where behavioural sciences can help our understanding.
• Because we are irrational, we think we understand people but we do not. We make a lot of assumptions about why people do things, and most of the time those assumptions are wrong.
• Find out about the intention and action gap… what people intend to do, and what they actually end up doing. Intention can start well, but may not lead to the right action.

Links:

Sami and Pasi go through the typical mistakes organizations seem to make when they change their outsourced Managed Service Providers. Listen to the two most common mistakes Sami has recognized with global companies he has been talking with.

This episode is especially for those companies who are looking start their XLA journey with their MSPs.

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In this episode we speak about skills assessment in IT. Our guest in this episode is Matthew Burrows, takes us through the benefits and steps for organisations to map their IT employees’ skills to better match job roles to the people who would succeed in and enjoy those roles.

Key Takeaways

• Skills are action based. Having knowledge of an area does not mean having the skills that are needed.
• IT skills are not only technical, but include very human aspects that are important.

Links:

In this episode Sami and Pasi go through a recent finding from The Global IT Experience benchmark, which states that 80% of the productivity business end-users lose comes from 13% of your tickets. Listen to learn more and make sure to check out the YouTube version with all the graphs.

Welcome to this new season of The IT Experience Podcast. This season we’ll introduce Sakari from HappySignals as another host, Sakari is curious about behaviours and data, and data about behaviours. Welcome Sakari, so happy to have in the podcasts as well, some might already know you from the The Global IT Experience Benchmark webinars, as you are the owner of that report.

"I have always been fascinated by why people do the things they do. What metrics drive the right kind behaviours and so forth. This is at the core of IT Service Management as well, where interactions between IT and end-users needs to be measured in some ways, and where metrics and KPIs are in place to encourage and enforce specific actions at work in the IT organisations." - Sakari Kyrö

Hope you enjoy this season and we’ll give the first episode very soon, so make sure you are subscribed and have the podcast app ready to go!

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Following on from our previous episode, we bring you another practical episode on how ITXM™ is a vital tool for your IT’s continual improvement success.

ITXM™ is the framework that brings the practice of experience management into IT operations.

In this episode of Happy in 15 we focus on:

- What are you setting out to improve?

- The outcomes of IT initiatives and why they hold high importance, especially from an end-user and team perspective

- How to measure and celebrate success from an ITXM™ perspective

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ITXM™ is the framework that brings the practice of experience management into IT operations.

In this first episode of Happy in 15, Season 2, we kick off after the winter season with a practical episode on how you can Identify Continual Improvement areas to focus on through using ITXM™

In this episode you will get a firm understanding of why: 

- Humans are the best sensors when it comes to delivering feedback about IT services

- The important order of People, Process and Tech

- Why conducting continuous measurement to receive continuous experience data trumps yearly surveys.

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ITXM™ or IT Experience Management brings experience management, a practice that has been used in external customer support and management for well over a decade, into IT operations.

ITXM™ enables IT teams to focus on outcomes of the deliverables they produce, as well as providing data-driven insights, fueling Continual Improvement initiatives, in order to achieve said outcomes.

Most importantly, ITXM™ is a framework that is needed and used by the whole IT organization, and not just the IT Service desk.

Now, we bring to you the recently released ITXM™ foundation course, bringing to life the practicalities of Experience Management for IT. Through online training videos and an online exam, you can get certified in ITXM™ and bring this framework into your organisation.

But the fun doesn’t stop there - Join our online community to share thoughts, ways of working and learning experiences with other like-minded professionals, thought leaders and pioneers of ITXM™.

We all wish that the war in Ukraine would end soon. While our ability to help is limited, we wanted to do two things.

1. Donate to Unicef in order to help the children and families affected by the war
2. Celebrate some of the brilliant Ukrainians that have created IT services and applications that billions of people use on a regular basis

Good technology enables people to do things that would otherwise be difficult or cumbersome. This is why we want to celebrate a number of Ukrainian startups that enable people in numerous different ways.