Uncategorized — No comments
17
Jan 11

Conflict Resolution

So I took this whimsical on-line IT personality quiz at infoworld.com the other day.  Turns out I am the “Angry Support Drone”.  Yikes!  Could that be true?  I hate to admit it, but yes, it not only could be true…it probably is true.  I can get angry…not ideal for a person working the Service Desk (which is why I don’t!).  But it got me thinking…how do we deal with conflict at the Service Desk or Help Desk?  So for the next few weeks I am going to be blogging about how we can deal with conflict at the Desk that will help us do a better job at helping our end-users (be they employees or customers).

Here’s to surviving for seven days (even with conflict)!

Cherwell Software — No comments
01
Jan 11

2011 is here – where did 2010 go?

I’m a bit chagrined to look at my post and see that it’s been a looooong time since I last posted a blog!  Yikes!!  Where does the time go?  The title of my blog has the answer…survival!    With that I made it a personal goal to be more consistent with my blogging in 2011.  Hang in there with me!!!

Uncategorized — 1 comment
13
Apr 10

Malcolm Fry ITIL Lite Workshops

Malcolm Fry ITIL Lite Workshops are coming to a city near you. Make sure you sign up and attend one of these great workshops to help you. http://www.cherwellsoftware.com/itil-lite-workshop-dates

Cherwell Software / Real-life Experience — No comments
06
Apr 10

ITSM ‘Into the Fire’ Webinar Series

I live in Colorado and these past few days we have had nothing but wind, wind and more wind!  I think I heard that we range between 15 and 20 mph sustained winds, with occasional 40mph gusts.  Combined with the low humidity and lack of moisture we are ripe for a forest fire.  Which brings me to today’s topic:  Cherwell’s new ITSM ‘Into the Fire’ Webinar Series.

You may remember from my first post that this blog is dedicated to you, the IT departments that are constantly fire-fighting in your respective organizations.  Daily, seven days a week you are putting out fires and dealing with the barrage of Incidents, Problems and Changes in your organization.  And as if that wasn’t tiring enough add to that the ‘blowups’.  The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) defines a ‘blowup’ as a “sudden increase in fireline intensity or rate of spread of a fire sufficient to preclude direct control or to upset existing suppression plans.” (emphasis mine)

I think IT often can figure out how to manage the daily fire-fighting aspect of IT.  You know who to avoid (!), how to get a rhythm going, multi-task, whatever it takes to survive for the week.  Tiring? Yes.  Overwhelming at times? You betcha. But, somehow manageable? Usually.

Admit it…it’s the blowups that terrify you!  Look at the last part of the definition – “preclude direct control or to upset existing suppression plans.”  Yikes!  You know what I’m talking about when I say blowups:

  • You are expected to roll out 3 major new software implementations in the same timeframe.
  • The directive is given that your organization is moving to cloud computing as soon as possible.
  • There is a broad mandate to implement ITIL (or one of it’s processes) without any specifics attached to it.
  • Due to budget constraints half of your IT staff has been laid off – but keep customer satisfaction at the same level

Any of that sound familiar?  What are some of the blowups you have had to face in your IT Department?

At Cherwell Software, we are trying to do something to help.  Our tag-line is “Innovative Technology…Built on Yesterday’s Values.”  It’s embedded in the DNA of our company culture to be passionate about our customers.  Yes, we are software company.  Yes, we want IT Departments to buy our software. But, we believe we are more than that.  Starting with our Leadership Team and our fearless leader, Vance Brown, Chairman and CEO, and cascading down through the ranks, we want to help IT Departments become a true business partner in their respective organizations.

And that’s the purpose of the ITSM ‘Into the Fire’ Webinar Series – helping you deal with the blowups.  We are out there finding subject matter experts who can address the issues that seem to keep popping up.  We’ll be doing one every month.  Some of the issues we will be addressing:

What is the current state of the Service Desk?  The Anatomy of the New Service Desk with Evelyn Hubbert, Senior Analyst from Forrester Research, will look at that.

Have you been tasked with creating SLA’s in your organization, but not sure where to start? Service Level Management with Jim Bolton, ITIL v2 Manager, ITIL v3 Expert from ProPoint Solutions will address that.

How does social media affect the Service Desk?  Cris Dancy, founder of SerivceSphere will tell you everything you ever needed to know about this.

What is hybrid/cloud computing?  Where does a person start with implementing ITIL in my organization?

The list of questions goes on and on…and so does our new ITSM ‘Into the Fire’ Webinar Series!  Join us…I guarantee you won’t regret it!

Cherwell Software / Lessons Learned / Uncategorized — 2 comments
02
Apr 10

ITIL Incident Classification

Want to start a huge debate at your company?  Tell ‘em you’re going to redo your Incident Classification!

When it comes to implementing Cherwell Software, or any Service Management solution for the matter, one of the more difficult aspects of implementing ITIL is classification, particularly Incidents.  We all have our opinions, heck, even the experts differ.

I’ve done numerous Requirements Gathering sessions in my tenure at Cherwell Software and I brace myself as I ask for their Incident Classification.   “What does Cherwell recommend?” – Ugh! I knew it!  Truth be known…there is no ‘correct’ answer.  ITIL is a framework, not a step-by-step methodology, a reality I believe has been lost with the emergence of ITIL v3.

So I put on my consulting hat and began to talk and walk thru the process of outlining Incident Classification.  (Side note: I am very much against the category – OTHER)  But, a new day has come.  Chris Dancy, Founder of ServiceSphere, recently did a webinar on Classification that I thought was outstanding.  It is worth the 45 minutes if you are working thru Classification.

By the way if you want a plethora (every now and then I like to use a big word!)  Click on the link below and then on the words “Download the Buttery Goodness Here!” to download a zip file chocked full of great articles to help you!

http://www.servicesphere.com/blog/2009/12/18/help-desk-categorization-webinar.html

That’s all from me for this week…tomorrow (Sat) we will have survived another week!

Cherwell Software — No comments
31
Mar 10

ITIL Made Easy

If only it were this easy…

Real-life Experience — 1 comment
29
Mar 10

You wear many hats and should be proud!

I was cleaning out some old files on Friday and came across a talk my very good friend, Malcolm Fry, once gave.  It was the first HDI Conference in Brazil and I had the privilege of attending to represent Cherwell Software with our new VAR in Brazil.   The final session Malcolm spoke on “Help Desk to Service Desk – a Journey through Performance, Quality and Service”.  Towards the very end he showed a slide that listed the many hats the Help Desk/Service Desk wears.  Then…this was so amazingly cool…he walked off the stage and had all the HDI attendees get up on stage.  As they stood there looking at him he read his last slide.  Here is what it said:

Why am I proud?

I work at the leading edge

I support the business not just IT

I like helping people

I never stop learning

My job is a constant challenge

I work to challenging targets

I get praise and compliments

I am a quality ambassador

I am part of a team

I am even part of a community

The job I do is all about decision making

Who wants to be a techie?

I am multi-lingual

There is never a dull day in my job – varying challenges

My job helps me develop as a person

I get the satisfaction of achieving something - solving a problem

I love rising to a crisis

The group was silent.  Malcolm started clapping and telling them how proud he was of each one of them.  I noticed some even started tearing up.  It was the coolest sight to see all these Help Desk/Service Desk people being applauded by one of the greats in the ITSM space.

You do wear many hats and should be proud of what you do, each and every day!

Real-life Experience — 1 comment
25
Mar 10

Top 5 IT Trends for 2010 –

Just came across this article on the Top 5 IT Trends for 2010.  http://www.itsmwatch.com/news/article.php/3868741

I found the 3rd trend listed to be very intriguing: Organizational support for ITSM is on the rise.

That got me thinking.  This is talking about support for ITSM…but what about support for the IT department in general? What do you think?  Does your organization support the IT department in general, only when a fire has been successdully put out, or do you feel like Rodney Dangerfield – “I get no respect!”?

Take the quick poll below and let me know.  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Cherwell Software — 1 comment
13
Mar 10

A different look at ITIL’s People, Process & Technology

My name is Matthew Neigh, Channel and Marketing Manager for Cherwell Software, Inc., the first SaaS 3.0 service desk solution you’ll never outgrow. We’ve incorporated the latest enterprise-class scalability, configurability and integration technology—making it the most compelling value on the market today – Guaranteed.

But enough about the company I work for.  Let’s focus on the reason for this blog.  Survive For Seven was created to honor men and women, like you, who daily face Incidents, Problems, Changes and Crisis in your organization that affect your IT Department.  You certainly aren’t able to keep the organization humming along working 9-5, Monday – Friday, with hour-long lunch breaks!  No, for the IT department it’s 24/7, and if you can survive the next seven days you will feel good – hence the “Survive For Seven” title.

By industry standards, I’m new to the IT Industry and in particular, IT Service Management.  I was the second employee hired at Cherwell Software to sell Cherwell Service Management.  I can still remember trying to figure out ITIL, LDAP, SQL and any other acronym you want to throw in the mix!  I’ve learned a lot over these years as I transitioned thru various roles in the company.  Most of all I’ve developed a tremendous respect for the work, often behind the scenes, that the IT Department does to keep an organization humming along.

What I bring is a perspective, not only from all that I have learned over these years with Cherwell, but from my background, that will be a different look at IT Service Management.  Yep, that’s me in the picture – about 20 years ago when I worked my way through college as a police officer.  I know something about trying to survive on the job.  Always being on.  Dealing with emergencies. Responding to crisis.

For about 8 years I had my own organization and traveled the world (55 countries) speaking, consulting and training on cross-cultural adjustment for expatriates living internationally.  I know something about what it takes to bring about a cultural change (in your case in an organization).  Constantly in a state of transition. Dealing with changes in ones environment.

So, as Marketing Director, I’ve decided to start blogging about ITIL’s People, Process and Technology with a different, fresh perspective.  Most of all I want to focus on the People part of the equation. You can find more than enough information out there about the Process and Technology (I can definitely hook up with some Technology!)…but the People…don’t see too much out there on that.

Oh, I’m also out on Twitter as well, username Survive_for_7, hashtag #S47.

Here’s to the next 7 days,

Matt