ITSM
The function of IT Service Management (ITSM) is to help organisations deliver technologies, and maintain and support in-life systems. If we take ITSM as a human body, our brain is where the ideas are developed and the heart is used to keep us alive. In this case, software development and innovation are like our brain and ITSM is like our heart pumping blood all over our body to provide oxygen and nutrients to our cells and then carrying away wastage from our cells to outside our body. ITSM not only keeps the IT systems alive but it also helps keep them healthy and free from virus infections in an efficient and cost effective way.
Agile and ITIL
ITSM Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is always associated with ITSM. In the last decade, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) and ITIL have been adopted like hands and gloves in the ITSM world. They are certainly complementary to each other as there are lot of techniques in SAFe which are very useful in ITIL. For example, incidents or service request tickets raised can be compared with User Stories in Agile if a technical development solution is required. With User Stories, tickets can also be prioritised based on their urgency and level of business criticality. For example, a Customer raising the request for change could play the role of a Product Owner for providing additional inputs and approving the resolution at the end. User Stories created as a result of incidents, service requests, or requests for change can be prioritised in the backlog during the “backlog grooming” (aka: backlog refinement) session to ensure the next few sprints worth of user stories in the product backlog are prepared for sprint planning. Such discipline (prioritisation & time-boxing) can help achieve the SLA’s hence meeting the criteria as set out in the KPI’s.
COVID-19
Agile and ITIL had been working really well like a marriage made-in-heaven, with many proven successes until…..COVID-19. The pandemic has led to many people working from home and the physical interactions which play a big part in Agile have all of a sudden become impossible as the Agile methodologies work best when everyone on the team is together in one location. I’ve seen some articles saying that during the COVID-19 lockdown when people are working from home, video-conferencing could easily replace the in-person interactions in Agile such as the daily stand-up in the Agile Scrum. Remote working as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has now been with us since mid-March 2020. During the past 4 months, not only has the way of working pattern changed but also, undeniably so has human behaviour. Some people find it easy to adapt to the new ways of working while others are struggling to accept the social distancing, and the absence of human contact such as handshakes and hugs, and the camaraderie with their colleagues and workmates. As a result, the practice of Agile virtually as opposed to physically in the team could have a negative impact and hinder its efficiency and effectiveness.
The “New Normal”
According to the BBC News, it said remote flexible working will be a “New Normal” even after the COVID-19 outbreak. It is anticipated that social distancing, in general, will likely remain for some time, probably until the end of 2020 and could possibly be even longer. Therefore, it is imperative to find ways to make Agile work in a distributed and collaborative remote ITSM environment considering the traditional working environment is not in a hurry to return. Here are a few tips:
Customer buy-in
To retain Customer’s confidence that we are doing a job remotely as good as we are doing at the site, we must show our “virtual presence” when conducting Customer meetings using video or audio conferencing tools. As for virtual conferencing with multiple Customers attending, a “Buddy System” is a very effective way to draw Customer’s attention. One project team member is to be buddied up with one Customer to ensure none of the Customers feel they are being forgotten or left out. If a certain Customer raises a question or a comment, the project team member who is the buddy of this Customer will be responsible for making sure the Customer has not been ignored by either answering the question or jotting down the question or comment for a later response in a timely fashion.
Agile tool training and support
As Sir Winston Churchill said in his radio broadcast in 1941 during the 2nd World War: “Give us the tools and we will finish the job”. The absence of physical interaction and physical work environment means that it is very important to use Agile tools and to provide training and support to both the project team members and the Customers. Some of the Customers are product owners and they need to get involved to access the tools and to get training on how to use them. If organisations have already used the Agile tools before COVID-19, they need to make sure to adjust the tools to make it suitable for remote working. I must admit, without the Agile tools in place, it is almost impossible to implement Agile in the “New Normal”.
Interactions
It goes without saying that many of us are still learning how to continue to make Agile as successful in the virtual world as it was in the physical world of ITSM environment. Some of us are struggling with challenges on how to connect or engage with our team colleagues, Customers and suppliers due to the restrictions associated with COVID-19 new ways of working. Team members must adjust the communication styles to ensure team productivity, collaboration, and quality. People respond differently based on their communication styles online versus in person. We now all need to learn how to converse online. It is also a collective responsibility that every team member should share their availability status online as this is particularly important when teams are open to flexible working hours or taking time off from work. If the tools allow, it is a good idea allow people to receive notification when the person they are looking for is back to work. There is no other time when interactions amongst us are more important than now.