DevOps and the Theory of Constraints

The Theory of Constraints was first introduced in the business novel The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt.   The main character of The Goal is Alex, a plant manager who is challenged to increase the output of his factory in a short period of time or face shutdown.  Alex embarks on a journey to understand systems thinking and relies on a mentoring relationship with an elusive Jonah to help him understand how to improve his production processes.

One of Alex’s key realizations occurs during a hike with his son’s scout troop.   Herbie, a less than athletic scout, is having a difficult time keeping up with the other boys.  Alex observes that it is actually not Herbie who has to keep pace with the troop, but rather the troop that has to keep pace with Herbie.   Poor Herbie is a constraint that affects the rest of the system. 

This example illustrates the basis of the Theory of Constraints – a well-respected model for systems management.  Every process is an end-to-end system that has one or more constraints affecting its outcome.  The process will therefore only meet the capacity of its weakest link.  If the constraint is improved or removed, the flow of the entire end to end system will also be improved.   The key is being able to analyze, identify and improve the constraints. 

Gene Kim’s best-selling novel, The Phoenix Project, builds on the same premise in an IT context.  Constraints are interwoven throughout the story and form the basis for improving flow in the First Way.  As more bottlenecks are overcome, the entire end to end flow between Dev and Ops is improved.

Bottlenecks may not always be apparent since work slows down but does not necessarily stop.   Good practices for process analysis and identification of constraints are starting to emerge.   The soon-to-be-published DevOps Cookbook by Gene Kim and colleagues will provide better guidance.

I believe that understanding and applying the Theory of Constraints will be a key practice to help transform a DevOps culture.  Analyzing the bottlenecks and constraints that exist in and through Dev, Ops and ITSM will help to eliminate waste, identify collaborative and opportunities and streamline the flow of work downstream and upstream.

Service Management Fusion Conference 2014

As we ring in September, we also ring in the start of the fall conference season.

It's hard to believe but the itSMF/HDI Fusion 2014 conference is next month!   

As always, members of the ITSM crew will be among the many experienced service management professionals sharing insight, knowledge and experiences at the event.

Donna Knapp will be co-presenting with Anthony Orr at a Breakfast Briefing: How to Pass Your MALC Exam on Monday, October 20th at 7:30 am

I will be leading Session 606: Practical Problem Management: The Courage to Ask Why on Tuesday, October 21 at 2:45 PM.

I will also be participating in Session 704: Expert Focus on Practical DevOps with Brandon Gillis of Bank of NY Mellon on Wednesday, October 22 at 9:00 am.

You can register for Fusion14 at https://www.servicemanagementfusion.com/purchase.

Hope to see you there.

The New Jayne Explains - Let's Talk About Agile, Agile SM, Lean and DevOps

For several years  now, I have been blogging about updates in the ITSM industry.   “That’s interesting, Jayne” some of my followers have recently said “But what we really want to know is what the next generation of IT and ITSM will or should look like.”   OK - I may have an opinion or two about that.

It’s taken a while, but the trends are becoming clearer.   Individuals and organizations are starting to  look at complementary frameworks, methods and movements such as DevOps, Agile, Lean, Agile Service Management® and others in order to take their IT and ITSM efforts to the next level. 

What does that mean?  Are ITSM processes no longer going to be relevant?  Of course not.  It means that we will have to  build on what we have already accomplished by doing it faster.   It means we will have to break down some pretty significant silos.  It means we will have to integrate the best of Dev and Ops’ processes, practices and vocabularies into a universal system that spans the entire IT supply chain.  It means we will have to actively reduce bottlenecks, waste and work in progress.  It means we will have to accept automation as a member of our teams.  It means that ITSM processes will have to be more agile, more lean, more “modern”.    It means we have to learn and share and assimilate all good ideas into a custom framework that specifically fits the needs of your business.  A little scary?  Perhaps.  Exciting? Definitely.

Let’s embark on this new knowledge journey together.  Some of the frameworks, methods and movements mentioned do not (yet) have definitive bodies of knowledge but good practices are starting to emerge.  I will now use Jayne Explains to share my observations, insights as well as bits and pieces about what I learn along the way.    Hopefully we can also use this blog as a forum to engage interesting discussions and help shape the future of IT learning.  ITSM Academy’s  introductory DevOps Overview course is already available with more detailed DevOps Fundamentals and Agile Service Management courses on the way.  Stay tuned.   

The future is here - welcome to NextGen ITSM®

Ten Years Later

This week, ITSM Academy will celebrate its tenth anniversary.    Our whole team will be in Fort Lauderdale at our annual “all hands” meeting. We will use this time to draw on each other’s energies, ideas and capabilities to review the past, assess the present and prepare for the future to ensure that we continue to deliver value to our customers and to each other.

Ten years ago, many organizations were unfamiliar with ITIL or service management.  Awareness was slow and mostly at the large enterprise level.    There was not a lot of ITIL education available in the US.  The primary areas of focus were Incident and Change Management. Lisa and I helped found the 9^th itSMF USA Local Interest Group in South Florida. 

Things have certainly changed.  Here are a few of my observations:

• ITIL is no longer just for the Fortune 1000 organization.  The need for service management programs and practices has transcended every vertical market including government, non-profit, global and local organizations.  This is a very positive indicator about scalability and the fact that you do not need a million dollar budget to manage your services.
• Service Management is shifting the focus from apps to services.  The definition of “service” is still not as business-centric as it should be but we are closer than ever before.  Service Catalogs are more common and are being used to request and understand services by both the business and IT.
• Service Management programs are maturing and moving beyond Incident and Change Management.  Today’s roadmaps include processes such as Problem Management, Demand/Capacity Management and Service Portfolio/Service Catalog/Service Level Management.
• More organizations are interested in implementing Service Management Offices (SMOs).
• While ITIL is a great service management framework, it is not perfect and cannot stand alone.  More and more organizations are integrating their service management practices with frameworks such as Agile, Lean, DevOps, Project Management and Cobit.
• Interest in organizational change concepts is increasing.  Change the way people think and you are more likely to change the way they behave.
• Mobile computing, the cloud, BYOD and other influences are forcing IT to move faster and be more efficient.   Traditional service management will need to upgrade to Agile Service Management and leverage methodologies such as Scrum to improve velocity and workflow.
• DevOps is revolutionizing the relationship and flow between IT development and operational teams. Organizations will have to assess and improve culture, automation, measurements and sharing (CAMs) in order to compete.
• The future is now.

Technical innovations over the past ten years have been remarkable – from desktops to laptops to smartphones, tablets and beyond.   The next ten years will be an even wilder ride.  We are getting ready - are you?

ITSM Academy's 2014 DevOps and ITSM Scrum Master Courses

Can you believe that 2013 is rapidly coming to a close?  I can’t.  In two weeks, we will give thanks for all of our blessings then move quickly onto Christmas and a New Year.  Wow! 

I am very excited about 2014 – it promises to be a year of transformation.   Business and technology innovations are transforming the way we live, think, share and envision the future.  IT professionals will have to keep up or be left behind.   Service management will be more relevant than ever, but how it is applied and which services it supports may be the difference between value creation and obsolescence.

To meet these changing needs, I am thrilled to introduce ITSM Academy’s  2014 lineup of Agile Service ManagementÒ  courses, including 

• DevOps Overview– a half-day high level introduction to the cultural phenomenon that is rocking the IT world and delivering real value by enabling organizations to build, deploy and operate quality software faster
  
• DevOps Principles – a two day experiential course that takes a deeper look at DevOps including its relationship to ITIL and ITSM.  This will also be a great opportunity to learn more about the “three ways” of DevOps that is detailed in our buddy Gene Kim’s bestseller “The Phoenix Project”
• ITSM Scrum Master ^TM– a two day hands-on opportunity to learn about Scrum processes from a service management perspective.  Attendees will experience practical ways to apply the same techniques used by software developers in order to develop and manage quality processes and services that meet customer needs

We are proud to be the first ITSM training provider to bring this important knowledge to you.  ITSM Academy has been involved in the Agile/DevOps community for some time and we have witnessed the steady paradigm shift from traditional IT to Agile IT.  We started down the Agile Service ManagementÒ  path several years ago with the Certified Process Design Engineer (CPDE) and VisOps courses.  The addition of education about DevOps and Scrum injects the much needed human factor - modifying the way people think, behave, interact and work together.

The first virtual delivery of the DevOps overview will be January 24, followed by releases of the other course throughout Q1 2014.  Keep an eye on our website for further developments or email info@itsmacademy.com with questions or requests for more information.   I hope that you will take the opportunity to explore these concepts with us and experience the 2014 Year of Transformation!