Relationship Management
Manage relationships with stakeholders to analyse and support optimization of IT services so that they meet current and future business needs, and to agree on more effective and efficient service solutions.
Improvement Planning
Practices-Outcomes-Metrics (POM)
Representative POMs are described for Relationship Management at each level of maturity.
- 2Basic
- Practice
- Establish informal relationships with key service owners and service users.
- Outcome
- Relationship management is used informally to manage key service owners and service users, and to better understand their needs.
- Metrics
- % of service owners with whom there is informal relationship management.
- # of customer feedback channels.
- Practice
- Establish a basic needs and information gathering process for IT services.
- Outcome
- Some basic requirements are captured, and there is emerging understanding of these requirements at a managerial level.
- Metrics
- Existence of an IT service needs and information gathering process.
- # of documented requirements.
- # of customer needs surveys that are completed.
- 3Intermediate
- Practices
- Use a standardized approach to manage relationships with service owners and service users across most of the organization.
- Establish a proactive stakeholder expectation management process.
- Outcome
- Establishing a formal relationship management process improves stakeholder satisfaction.
- Metrics
- % of service owners with whom there is formal relationship management.
- # of customer feedback channels.
- % of satisfied customers.
- Practice
- Plan service operations as part of business activity planning, ensuring that customer requirements are taken into account when setting up service levels.
- Outcome
- Value is delivered by regular service planning with the customer and by linking customer service levels to customer requirements.
- Metrics
- % of business plans with IT service provisioning included.
- % of IT services where the required service level matches the provided service level.
- 4Advanced
- Practice
- Use a combination of informal and formal approaches to manage relationships with service owners and service users across the entire organization and regularly poll, monitor, and report on stakeholder satisfaction.
- Outcome
- There is systematic management of relationships with service owners and service users across the entire organization.
- Metrics
- % of service owners with whom there is formal relationship management.
- # of customer feedback channels.
- # of customer satisfaction surveys.
- % of satisfied customers.
- Practice
- Link the service strategy and service portfolio to business priorities and planning, and ensure that potential impacts from operational changes are exchanged regularly.
- Outcomes
- Stakeholders are aware of each others' operational plans.
- Service management is perceived as a strategic capability that enables and supports the business objectives.
- Metric
- % of IT services that are aligned with business strategy requirements.
- 5Optimized
- Practice
- Maintain an up-to-date understanding of customers' business drivers and requirements in order to continually identify service provisioning improvement opportunities.
- Outcome
- Understanding of business needs, priorities, and requirements for new or changed services enable service provisioning to successfully manage relationships with the rest of the business.
- Metrics
- Frequency of communications with the customer.
- # of performance reviews with the customer.
- Practice
- Ensure that service provisioning provides advice on suitable service options in business scenario modelling discussions across the organization, and continually adjust the service plan according to changes in requirements.
- Outcomes
- Service provisioning is perceived as a strategic partner by the rest of the business.
- The service level is always maintained in line with business and economic requirements.
- Metrics
- % of business functions collaborating with IT services on suitable service options.
- Frequency of requirements gathering process reviews and service level adjustments.