Often during requirements gathering sessions for ITSM process improvements and tool implementations, solutions are presented which seem to address the concern, but would disappoint if implemented as a key success factor hasn’t yet been defined. Until you can answer “What is the problem we’re trying to solve?”, it’s difficult to focus the discussion on identifying the success criteria and requirements which when fulfilled will deliver the desired outcome.
It’s surprising how often a team does not have a clear vision of the problem. As a result, as the ideas start to flow, there’s a misalignment within the project team. Without knowing why you’re implementing Change Enablement, a new ITSM tool, or an updated form, how will you measure success? To have a successful implementation or improvement, the team must have a clear and aligned view of the problem statement. Problem statements and solutions should answer:
- What is the problem we’re trying to solve?
- Does the proposed Solution solve the problem (and/or set the foundation for the future)?
- Does the Solution introduce any additional risks or considerations?
Problem statements aren’t just important for successful projects, they are key in delivering any level of improvement. Take the following common example:
A client is having an issue with their new outsourced Service Desk provider not documenting “Resolution details” when resolving a ticket. A decision is made to make the field required. Now that the Service Desk is required to populate the field, they do so by entering “done”, “resolved”, or “fixed.” This obviously isn’t what the client expected or needs, but without a Problem Statement, they’re not sure what to do next.
In this scenario the solution isn’t successful because the problem wasn’t identified and used as a guide for designing the solution. In this scenario the problem statement might be: “Without complete and relevant information in the ‘Resolution details’ field, we lack sufficient information for reporting, incident analysis and trending as well as knowledge article creation.”
Proposed solutions need to address each aspect of the statement to ensure the desired outcome. Potential solutions might still make the field mandatory, but also include training the Service Desk on the importance and use of the details captured, identify any difficulties they have in populating the field or knowing what level of details to add, as well as random ticket reviews to identify adherence and training opportunities.
At the beginning and throughout each project, implementation, or improvement, your team needs to ask, “What is the problem we’re trying to solve?”. Understanding and agreeing the problem statement is key to validating the solution has addressed the problem and delivering desired outcomes. Without it you’re looking for a needle in a haystack in the dark.
For more information on how ClearBridge can help with your ITSM process improvements and tool implementations, contact us here today.
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