ITOM-Akademie Hot Topics:
Interview about "SMAX Personas, Tasks and Duties"

The interview was conducted by Bernd Cyriax (BC) from the "Social Media and Education" project and Wolf-Dietrich Schmook (WDS), chief developer and trainer at cTc GmbH for ITOM topics (known under the nickname Wodisch).
The ITOM Academy is a division of cTc GmbH.

[BC]  Wodisch, you have given me an introduction to the world of training for SMAX.
Now I would like to know more, e.g. which SMAX training courses you recommend. From my experience I know the request "I need 1 week of SMAX training, how much does it cost?".
[WDS]  This is often not a promising start.
This approach leaves the customer with frustrated employees, overburdens manufacturer support due to a lack of knowledge among users and significantly reduces the benefits for the customer.

[BC]  How should I proceed now?
[WDS]  I need to go into more detail here.
I need to go into more detail here. Before the project begins, it is crucial to decide whether to work largely ‘out of the box’ or whether to incorporate customised processes or the first elements of automation.
The initial situation alone requires different approaches:
Is it the replacement of another tool or a migration from the Service Manager or a "greenfield approach"? When migrating from Service Manager, for example, a decision must be made:
- "the old solution with a new tool" - the customer's current requirements are often not taken into account and the new possibilities of SMAX are not utilised
- a "new start on a greenfield site" is usually the better option
Once this has been clarified, the operating concept is up for decision: A "Software as a Service" (SaaS) solution - usually in the cloud - or should an in-house system (on premise) be operated. The installation, basic configuration, operating configuration, tasks from day-to-day operations, maintenance and troubleshooting as well as continuous improvement must be assigned to the teams.
Everyone talks about only one SMAX training. Allthough the teams have partly different, but also sometimes overlapping interests and expertise requirements.

[BC]  Which groups are the most important?
[WDS]  This is where the project phase comes into play:
1: Planning/design
2: Installation, customization and commissioning
3: Everyday operation
4: Very important, as described in ITIL, is "continuous improvement", i.e. continuous adaptation and therefore also continuous improvement.
And this includes the areas of: Process owners, operations groups and users. This is visualized in our Knowledge Cube.

[BC]  What tasks do the process owners have, for example?
[WDS] They first need to have a good understanding of the customer's existing operational processes and the "out of the box" processes of SMAX.
Based on this, they must decide what and how much should be adapted or redesigned. The internal processes may also need to be updated.
Training the process owners before the start of the project is important. Only if they know what is available and what is required for the company can the right decisions be made.
There are considerable sources of error here even before the start. Because without prior, comprehensive planning, something is set up that only partially fulfils the customer's needs.
I received feedback from a large international company (after the training course was commissioned far too late):
"If I had known this beforehand, I would have written the specification differently. Now we have a new, powerful tool with processes that were created many years ago with limited possibilities".

[BC]  OK - So the process owners need to be trained before the project starts so that the best possible structure is established. Can one of the many "process consultants" help?
[WDS]  The use of external process consultants in a project rarely offers a significant advantage. Although they are familiar with the theoretical requirements for processes, such as ITIL, they are usually completely unfamiliar with current operational issues.
In my experience, timely coordination with the customer's process owners is the best way forward. The "Concepts, Components & Functions" course is an ideal introduction.

[BC]  Something new again: ITIL - what is it?
[WDS]  This is the "IT Infrastructure Library". A standard that documents cross-company IT processes.
Today, ITIL 4 describes 34 processes as "practices", among other things. And the "Service Value Chain" is placed in the centre of attention.

[BC]  It is now clear what needs to be done before the project starts. What happens next?
[WDS]  This depends on the chosen implementation concept. Open Text's Professional Service is often involved here.
The customer then has operations teams with various tasks, appropriate training and their integration in line with the project plan.

[BC]  Are there any other tasks?
[WDS]  Yes, the responsibility for the service catalogue. Here, too, savings are made far too often.
A service catalogue suitable for everyday use must be designed so comprehensively that future users can quickly find what they need. Otherwise the offer will not be utilised. And the extensions to the services must be suitably updated in the service catalogue.

[BC]  And now to the users.
[WDS]  Their training is a key factor in the success of the system.
It is important that they learn to work effectively with the system that is actually installed. A general briefing without using the implementation used by the customer is very confusing for most users.

[BC]  Users can also number in the thousands.
[WDS]  In order to keep the budget for a large number of users within reasonable limits, we have developed the concept of key users.
These support groups of users on site and in the local language. We also create videos and know-how articles for all users.
This learning material - based on the customer's own implementation and for self-study - can be used as often as required, including for training new employees.
These key users also have the task of identifying potential improvements and passing them on to those responsible for "continuous improvement".
I must repeat: It is very important that the training is carried out with the implemented design and the processes actually used and not with general tutorials that look and work differently.

[BC]  Thank you Wodisch, this clearly shows how important it is to organise the training courses in a timely and content-appropriate manner.
The varying demand for SMAX courses is now obvious - "one size fits all" jeopardises the success of the project!



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