New Zealand Trade & Enterprise Case Study



From Tools to Effective Service Management

Business objective:

Upgrade Service Management Tools

Solution:

infra Version 8
Polestar ITSM Simulation Training

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise implemented infra Version 8, in what began as a simple upgrade of their Service Management tools and processes.

The relationship between Delta Software and NZTE began via NZTE's open RFI, when they were evaluating options for upgrading or replacing their existing service support tools. Delta Software was one of three vendors invited to respond to a formal RFP. NZTE realised that adopting Delta's Service Advantage programme, with infra Version 8 as the cornerstone, gave them considerable potential beyond their existing systems and processes.

NZTE's initial expectation of simply replacing their toolset changed when they understood the potential of the project. Service Advantage helped them achieve an IT Service Vision and deliver greater value across the organisation compared with their previous reactive tool-based approach to IT service delivery.

An important catalyst for realising this potential came from the Polestar IT service improvement workshops, undertaken by the NZTE team, and facilitated by Delta Software Programme Manager, Dave Hayes.

Developed in the UK, Polestar is an experiential learning simulation especially designed to introduce the key elements of IT Service Management (ITSM) as a business function. While demonstrating how the ITIL framework works in practice, the real value lies in understanding of roles within a process, the resulting teamwork, and how results can be achieved far more efficiently for business outcomes.

The day-long interactive simulations saw participants move from "chaos" in Round 1 to "control" and "efficiency" by the final round. Polestar highlighted for NZTE which areas of their IT service were not performing as effectively as they could. This insight enabled them to identify opportunities to define and implement Management processes that would enable their people to perform at the next level.

NZTE's work with Delta, in the Polestar workshops, challenged their preconceptions of the role of ITSM within the organisation. Service Advantage's model of pro-active service management presented NZTE with a previously unseen option. This was a radical departure from an earlier perception of ITSM as a reactive process, whereby Service Delivery Staff worked within the confines of a tool. Within this new model, IT own and control their ITSM tool and use the tool to drive better processes out into the business – delivering previously untapped value for the organisation through continually improving service delivery.

"One important concept was socialising the idea early," says Jaclyn Bell. "Traditionally, IT projects are implemented and then introduced to the organisation. Delta's Service Advantage approach encouraged us to turn this on its head and to educate staff about the IT service vision prior to implementation. The improved communication between our team and across departments was a bonus we were not expecting."

The improved communication resulted in more efficient working relationships and better awareness of the needs of the organisation. This cultural change has resulted in a more proactive approach, which is vital with implementing a new process.

NZTE began the evaluation process with a good strategic roadmap and a committed sponsor. A key factor to their success was that the project was sponsor driven, this engendered strong motivation to succeed and commitment from all involved to make the project work. Their work with Delta led them to challenge the reasons behind the existing roadmap. NZTE's project team came away with a clear view of what they were trying to achieve and why. The result - NZTE had a clearly defined IT service vision and could see the path to achieving it. Although NZTE started with a comprehensive Business Case, the insights gained from working with Delta, even during evaluation, exposed the key drivers that were vital to ensuring effective delivery. "We had confidence Delta understood the drivers and knew what project outcomes were important to us."

Previous experience of buying off-the-shelf products was replaced by a fully-supported package solution that was combined with an ongoing value-add relationship. This gave the best of both worlds – out-of-the-box software plus the ability to tailor the implementation to suit, while staying within the fully-supported toolset.

"The implementation was really smooth," says Jaclyn Bell. "We always knew what was happening. We worked with a team of people at Delta and we always had a high confidence in the process, With NZTE IT based in Auckland and Wellington, it's great knowing Delta has staff in both cities to support our needs."

All those in IT are familiar with those problems that just never seem to go away. It's easy to become reliant on the person or people who always know the answers. A deliverable Delta introduced to combat this, was a problem management register and a Knowledge Bank. Formalising problems and solutions into a Knowledge Bank is usually greeted with groans and resistance. And although disciplined record keeping didn’t come easily at the beginning, Jaclyn says the team are already realising the benefits. "We are already seeing the value in the Knowledge Bank, not only from increased efficiency, but also as value to NZTE with having this knowledge permanently at hand. We are increasingly having the confidence that the answers can be found within the system itself rather than relying on people’s personal knowledge."

Another benefit we're already seeing is a significant increase in the percentage of calls logged directly by NZTE users over the service portal – up from 18% to 39%." This reduces service desk workload, while increasing overall confidence in the new IT service process to deliver an effective resolution.

NZTE's entire implementation took under 4 months from start to go-live, including all process re-design, workshops, CMDB design and training.

Next for NZTE are SLAs and service targets. "We know now that effective ITSM relies on continual improvement. We can see with each step how much easier it has become and the increased value we are giving to the organisation. Having improved intra- and inter-departmental communication has been another added bonus. Our partnership with Delta has taken our ITSM to a new level and will continue to do so."

In April 2008, NZTE's in-house London Support Centre began operation. The London team will be using the same infraEnterprise system already in operation, leveraging further value from their investment in tools, processes definition and training, which were part of NZTE's first Service Advantage programme.

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