No IT service is perfect. On the rare occasion a service is fully aligned with business requirements, it won’t stay that way for long. Services need to be continually improved to make sure they stay aligned with changing business needs. Continual improvement can be applied to IT services, its structure and its processes. Service quality, service cost and the efficiency of service delivery all need to be considered as part of any continual improvement initiative.
Scope
The scope of CSI covers all elements of IT services and service management, including every stage of the service lifecycle. It focuses on the four main areas:
- The health of IT service management
- The alignment of the Service Portfolio with current and future business needs
- Maturity and capability of people, processes, management structures and organisational structures that support services
- Continual improvement of services and service assets
Objectives
- working to improve all stages of the service lifecycle, including CSI itself
- carrying out review and analysis of services, service management processes and service level performance
- identifying improvements to IT services, service management processes and cost effectiveness
- implementing improvements without affecting customer satisfaction
- assessing current measurement methods and identifying any shortcomings
- applying quality management to CSI; many organisations will already have a quality management methodology in place that can be applied to CSI activities, preventing duplication of methodologies
Values
CSI provides a focal point for improvement. It is much better than having fragmented improvement initiatives happening all over the organisation, leading to duplication and wasted resources. Introducing a culture of improvement delivers value. Services continually improve in both quality and cost effectiveness, and customers can be confident that changes in requirements will be accommodated.
