“Where are you?” might be a common question, but how does that apply to processes?  The answer is “not at all”! Let’s consider a basic process.  Something will trigger the process, then there will be inputs, some sort of activity or task to perform, then outputs.  Good processes will have feedback loops, governance, etc. However, […]

In 1996, a PhD supervisor was in New Zealand on sabbatical and so guidance seemed impossible. Yet my email request for feedback, sent from Edinburgh, received a reply within under 5 minutes. This post is not a rant about email. Instead it probes the default assumption that service desks need to support email as a […]

Spring Is Just Around The Corner… Whilst cycling in this morning there was still snow on the hills but also signs of spring just around the corner… In nature spring is a time of rapid change and this change is often cruel and time bound. The crocuses in the picture are in a race against […]

Since 2007, the University of Edinburgh has trained many staff in Service Management best practice. 565 attendances on a Foundation in IT Service Management course (8 years of staff time) 178 attendances on a Practitioner or Intermediate course (3 years) 7 staff trained to Manager or Expert level (15 weeks) Training fees are in the […]

The sketch shows a general store front. Whilst it functions perfectly adequately for a film set, if you wish to buy vittles [1] you will be disappointed! What we may think of as Service may not be. It may be just a function. So what is the difference between a Function and a Service? Can […]

Whenever someone asks me for a report, my response is usually “Why?  What do you wish to achieve?” I’m not (just) channeling my inner Mordac, rather I’m trying to make the outcome as beneficial as possible. Firstly , a report always answers a question, but that question may be unstated or ill-defined. Secondly, the underlying […]

A Look Back This week the blog is a celebration of how far we have come on our ITIL® journey. Sometimes it has been a winding uphill road but perhaps blue sky is ahead… It might seem an odd time to reflect but as the University has just passed through arguably the busiest time of […]

Two weeks – two conferences and a blog post on two recurring themes: ITIL® 4 and Self-Service Portals. Last week was an itSMF meeting at Glasgow University. This week the UniDesk 2019 Conference up at University of Highlands and Islands at their main Inverness campus. Conferences provide a great opportunity to network and find out […]

Why Saying No Is OK Good service is all about knowing what service you offer and knowing how to deliver it. The corollary is that, knowing what you don’t offer, and saying “No” to our users quickly is every bit as important. Are You A Caller? Perhaps you have calls in where you are the […]