{"id":10951,"date":"2023-03-06T01:31:59","date_gmt":"2023-03-06T01:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/?p=10951"},"modified":"2023-03-06T01:42:20","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T01:42:20","slug":"what-does-your-organization-need-in-an-itsm-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/what-does-your-organization-need-in-an-itsm-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does Your Organization Need in an ITSM Tool?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"10951\" class=\"elementor elementor-10951\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e156bfc e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"e156bfc\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f193b5c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f193b5c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 25-04-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Few people would disagree with the statement that it\u2019s hard to provide effective IT service management (ITSM) and IT support capabilities without a fit-for-purpose ITSM tool. However, it\u2019s critical to understand the importance of the term \u201cfit-for-purpose\u201d in \u201cfit-for-purpose ITSM tool.\u201d After all, what\u2019s the point of looking at an ITSM tool that states it has \u201cthe best change management (or change enablement) capabilities in the industry,\u201d say, when your organization needs the ITSM tool that\u2019s best suited to its change management needs? It\u2019s no different from buying a new car. A model might claim to have the best fuel economy (or electricity-powered range) of the vehicles in its price bracket, but what use is this achievement if you can\u2019t get the whole family in it comfortably?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">So, what does your organization need in an ITSM tool? If you\u2019re already listing out the ITIL-espoused ITSM processes you need to enable, please keep reading this blog.<br \/>Hopefully, it will help you in any future ITSM tool assessment initiative.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><h2><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The scope of ITSM tool capabilities is an important consideration<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">When looking at the suitability of an existing or prospective ITSM tool, the traditional approach has been to use a long list of functions and features and a suitable scoring mechanism. Yes, it shows whether an ITSM tool has a particular capability, but it doesn\u2019t necessarily highlight how well the capability meets IT and business needs. It\u2019s a \u201cfit-for-purpose ITSM tool\u201d in that it offers what\u2019s expected of an ITSM tool but is not necessarily a \u201cfit-for-purpose\u201d ITSM tool in the context of your organization\u2019s needs.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Knowing that the capability is available is only the start. And perhaps the beginning of an investigative journey that\u2019s unnecessarily lengthed by asking generic rather than specific questions about the available ITSM capabilities. But this is only part of the potential issue with the traditional focus on a long list of functions and features, especially when the list contains elements your organization doesn\u2019t and will likely never use. Not only do the additional capabilities potentially take the focus away from what\u2019s most important, but there\u2019s also no guarantee that the capabilities, while meeting the typical requirements of ITSM tools, actually meet your organization\u2019s needs. For example, your organization might need the change calendar capabilities to integrate with Microsoft Teams to work effectively, but this isn\u2019t included in standard change management (or enablement) feature lists.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><h2><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Understanding the common ITSM tool capabilities<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">While your organization needs to be wary of generic capability availability, it\u2019s still important to understand what\u2019s commonly available in ITSM tools. If only to avoid the limitations of the current ITSM tool in the future (because the current ITSM tool is seen as the blueprint for what ITSM tools can and cannot do). For example, the absence of workflow automation in the existing ITSM tool shouldn\u2019t prevent the desire to have it in a future ITSM tool. So what do the most popular ITSM tools offer?\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ITSM tool capabilities can be viewed as multidimensional and include:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><ul><li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"3\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Common ITSM processes or ITIL practices that are enabled through technology capabilities<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"3\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ITSM processes (or practices) that enable other ITSM capabilities (that are again enabled through technology capabilities)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"3\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Technology capabilities that can relate to some or all ITSM processes<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"3\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Support for use cases that go beyond ITSM<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Examples of these dimensions are:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><ul><li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Incident management, change management (or change enablement as ITIL 4 now calls it), and problem management.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Knowledge management and service configuration management<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Workflow automation, automation and service orchestration (including artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled capabilities), service catalogs and self-service, knowledge bases, reporting and analytics, and integrations with other systems<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Use of the corporate ITSM tool to help enable work in customer services, human resources (HR), facilities, and finance.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\"><br \/><\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Your organization will have needs across these dimensions. However, returning to the earlier meaning of \u201cfit-for-purpose,\u201d these dimensions alone are insufficient for understanding whether an ITSM tool is right for your organization. For example, the fact that an ITSM tool offers self-service capabilities or can be used by HR doesn\u2019t mean that it meets your organization\u2019s self-service needs or its ambition for workflow enablement in HR (perhaps due to information security concerns).<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><h2><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Defining the \u201cfit-for-purpose\u201d in \u201cfit-for-purpose ITSM tool\u201d<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Returning to the question of what your organization needs in an ITSM tool, the meaning of \u201cfit-for-purpose\u201d needs to rise above the inclusion of the common capabilities (across the various dimensions). These capabilities are, after all, what the ITSM can do, not what your organization can or needs to achieve through the use of the ITSM tool. The latter is what makes an ITSM tool \u201cfit for purpose\u201d for your organization.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A way to think of this is that the ITSM tool isn\u2019t the finished dish; it simply provides many of the ingredients required to create the outcomes your organization needs. These outcomes should inform what your organization needs in an ITSM tool \u2013 they are the key ITSM tool use cases that rise above the functions and features.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Some people might not see the difference between focusing on these outcome-based use cases and the traditional long list of functions and features, but there are two key differences in both the approach and the results each brings. First, the outcome-based approach lets your organization focus on what matters most, i.e. the capabilities that will drive success or harm business operations and outcomes if missing. Second, as already mentioned, just because an ITSM tool has functions and features related to what your organization needs to do, it doesn\u2019t mean the tool can actually do what\u2019s required.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><h2><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What this means for ITSM tool assessment<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Whether this is assessing the suitability of an existing ITSM tool or the consideration of new options, the same approach is applicable. It requires that business requirements are described in outcome rather than multiple feature-point terms, with the assessment exercise ascertaining whether and how the ITSM tool can achieve the desired outcomes (rather than merely offering a requested set of features). This approach provides a far better view of ITSM tool capabilities in the context of your organization\u2019s needs, especially because many of the ITIL-aligned capabilities are present in all popular ITSM tools.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">However, the functions and features data can still be considered (even if just as a \u201csafety net\u201d), with this insight already available via the PinkVERIFY scheme. Although it\u2019s important to appreciate that while the verification of specific processes (or practices) in an ITSM tool confirms they align with ITIL ITSM best practices, the lack of verification doesn\u2019t mean that they don\u2019t. It\u2019s an ITSM tool vendor\u2019s decision on which capabilities they submit for verification based on commercial needs.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">How well does your ITSM tool meet business needs?<\/span><\/p><p><strong>Reference:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.it-care-center.com\/what-does-your-organization-need-in-an-itsm-tool\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.it-care-center.com\/what-does-your-organization-need-in-an-itsm-tool\/<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Few people would disagree with the statement that it\u2019s hard to provide effective IT service management (ITSM) and IT support capabilities without a fit-for-purpose ITSM tool. However, it\u2019s critical to understand the importance of the term \u201cfit-for-purpose\u201d in \u201cfit-for-purpose ITSM tool.\u201d After all, what\u2019s the point of looking at an ITSM tool that states it&#8230; <a class=\"view-article\" href=\"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/what-does-your-organization-need-in-an-itsm-tool\/\">View Article<\/a>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10952,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[179],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/IT-CareCenterbg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10951"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10951"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10973,"href":"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10951\/revisions\/10973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10951"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athenadynamics.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=10951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}