Maturity is a funny concept. Most of us think of maturity as a positive thing. When we’re young, all we want to do is grow up and be more mature; we even measure our height and etch it on a door
jamb to gauge our progress. Maturity is considered foundational to being disciplined and making rational, socially responsible decisions. Books provide us guidelines to raise mature, responsible children and professionals will help if we struggle. Even wine tends to get better as it matures in the bottle. But as we get older and more mature, most of us would pay dearly to be young again. There are many parallels with ITSM maturity.
Like a child, almost every ITSM shop has a goal to increase ITSM maturity. And like the door jamb, Analysts have created models to measure and track ITSM maturity. As for guidelines, standards bodies have documented the nirvana of ITSM process models and consultants stand by to help. And here we stand after 20+ years of ITSM, wishing we could go back and simplify things and do things better knowing everything we know now. So what happened?
The reality is that most shops are at a very low ITSM maturity level and are failing to advance that state. People, processes and technology have changed, but ITSM has not. ITSM has operated under the premise that adding sophistication and customization is a good thing, but now that we are older, we look back and think, “Hmm. I wish I could go back and….” It is time to rethink this premise. The good news is this time we can go back and try a different way!
Today, no matter where you are on the ITSM maturity spectrum, to grow, you need to think simple, personal, and fast and continually measure your progress. Today’s workforce demands a social, consumer experience - think simple, collaborative, personal and fast – rather than a “technical UI” with a million bells and whistles. ITSM processes need to reflect and exploit the reality of today’s technology, workforce and business culture. ITSM Agility is needed to respond to IT consumer demands FAST or the user will go elsewhere for services and not return. And everyone must be able to measure progress and success at all times.
So we can continue to watch ITSM age as it has with little progress, or we can reset the clock and drive ITSM maturity higher which is what most of us want. The decision is ours and the right tools can play a key role. Read how our latest CA Service Management release provides innovative capabilities to help you grow in ITSM check out our website. You’ll see that it is a simple, personal and measured way to ITSM maturity.
And when we are all there at the top of ITSM maturity, maybe we can break out that mature bottle of wine and celebrate.