Published: Support World - (HDI Publication) - Oct/Nov 2003

 

HOW ITIL BRINGS BENEFIT TO THE HELP DESK
Karen Ferris

The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) has become the world-wide de facto standard in IT Service Management. This set of best practice for the support and delivery of IT services consists of 7 books of which the two books on IT Service Management form the core.

The Service Support and Service Delivery books are structured as follows: 

* Note: The Service Desk is a function and not a process.

Many organisations looking to implement best practice at the Service Desk concentrate just on the Incident Management process. The truth of the matter is that ALL of the processes contribute to a successful Service Desk.

Incident Management is concerned with restoration of normal service operation as quickly as possible and minimising the adverse impact on business operations.

Problem Management is concerned with resolving the underlying cause of incidents and proactively solving problems and known errors before incidents occur in the first place. Without Problem Management, the Service Desk can become ineffective with poor staff morale, as the same incidents have to be resolved time and time again. Problem Management reduces the incident volumes and provides knowledge to the Service Desk, via the capture of incident solutions and work-arounds, that are available at the time the incident is logged.

Configuration Management provides a logical view of the IT infrastructure and describes the relationships between each of the items in the infrastructure. Access to this information allows the Service Desk to determine how many users are affected by the loss of part of the infrastructure and thus accurately determine the priority that should be given to the resolution of the incident.

An effective and efficient Change Management and Release Management process not only ensures increased visibility and communication of changes to the Service Desk but also reduces the number of incidents occurring as the result of failed or poorly implemented changes.

Service Level Management provides both the Service Desk and the customer with a clear understanding of the level of service required. For example, both parties know what constitutes a priority one incident and the associated response and fix times.

Financial Management supports the Service Desk by provision of accurate cost information to support investment decisions and ensures that the business provides sufficient funds to operate the Service Desk at the levels of service required.

Capacity Management reduces the risk of incidents related to performance issues.

IT Service Continuity Management supports the Service Desk through a process designed to reduce business disruption during an incident and provides the ability to recover services efficiently in business priority order.

The frequency and duration of incidents is reduced through Availability Management and shortfalls in service levels are identified and corrective actions taken before incidents occur thus reducing call volumes at the Service Desk.

In conclusion, all of the processes work in conjunction with each other to support an effective and efficient Service Desk. Therefore organisations need to consider adoption of best practice in all these areas in order to recognise the full potential of the Service Desk.

Karen Ferris is an independent IT Service Management consultant, trainer and practitioner specialising in the application of the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL). Other articles and Karen’s contact details can be found at www.kmfadvance.com.