In the current digitized era, everything is changing continuously. This dynamic situation affects every aspect of life. How could businesses remain safe from this vibrant atmosphere? This constantly evolving atmosphere has proven itself a battlefield for organizations. An Organization continuously changing itself according to the requirements will win on this battlefield. In contrast, an organization that does not try to transform itself remains behind in the race. There are many different trends, techniques and tactics to tackle this changing environment. Agile service management is one of them.
In this article, we will briefly tell you the actual concept of Agile service management. It includes several topics like what is Agile and How the idea of Agile service management evolves from the term agile? This article will be not only helpful in answering those questions but also includes many other topics like the importance and benefits of agile service management, its linkage with ITIL and ITSM, and Agile frameworks. In conclusion, we will provide you with a summary of this article.
We hope that this article will be helpful for you to understand these complex but essential concepts. To make it easier, we tried to arrange the topics in sequential form. That’s why before going to the concept of Agile service management, you should first know what is the meaning of Agile.
The word agile means able to move quickly and easily. It seems like a single and commonly used word if we look at it without relating it to service management. It becomes a complex but beneficial concept if we associate it with service management. If we define the term by relating it to service management, it refers to an approach that makes the service management process faster.
It is simply said to be a mindset that develops software that helps service teams deliver faster. It is more important for organizations to be more flexible and dynamic in today’s modern technology period. If an organization does not meet the demands of current service management changes. It will remain behind in the competition.
In this regard, an agile mindset is more important for companies to be more flexible and dynamic. Due to the implementation of the agile mindset in software development, It applies to all fields of organizations. In this way, companies could be more agile in all areas. In this article, we will focus on agile service management. There are many other topics we can relate to this concept, but now, we should come to our main point.
Implementation of an agile mindset to service management is called agile service management. According to Jaynee Groll,
“Agile Service Management (ASM) ensures that service management processes reflect agile values and are designed with “just enough” control and structure to enable the delivery of services that enable the ability to do something when and how they are needed or desired.”
Agile service management is a natural protuberance of the ‘Agile Manifesto Of Software Development’. This manifesto was initiated in the early 2000s and is called a hallmark principle of software development. This manifesto was published at a conference in Utah ( A US state) and was signed by all seventeen participants of that conference. It includes the concept that you should focus on service instead of focusing on software. In this regard, it presents the following four main ideas.
The participants of the conference agreed that the principles on the left side had a higher value than the principle on the left side. Many participants of that conference went to form the ‘Agile Alliance’. The purpose of making this alliance is to rehabilitate the credibility of software development methodology through agile principles.
After getting knowledge of the basic concepts of Agile service management, the question arises of how its principles could be implemented practically. Agile principles are part of ITSM from process conception through implementation. Agile principles must influence both the process design and the process implementation. Like ITIL, agile does not provide complete process descriptions. Agile is a philosophy based on how you want to set up your work. According to the principles by Van Der Haven, the following are the six common things you should keep in mind while transforming to agile service management.
It is important for organizations to be more dynamic in today’s modern tech period. A static organization could not be the market leader. To tackle these continuous challenges in market trends, agile service management becomes more important for organizations. It ensures rapid and meaningful service management. ITIL standards are also crucial for organizations, but Agile service management offers more rapid processes.
Implementation of agile principles could be more beneficial for an organization. It could ensure more customer and employee satisfaction. As a speed-boosting philosophy, Agile service management could be the best option for organizations looking to boost their service management speed. Following are some benefits of the implementation of Agile service management.
Agile principles are not in direct competition with the application of ITIL. It is possible, even could say necessary, for Agile and ITIL to co-exist. There is a little bit of friction between them, but it could be avoided. The purpose of ITIL is to provide a standard framework for your service management. In contrast, Agile principles aim to improve and enhance the capabilities of your service operations. Their method could be different, but the goal is relatively the same.
Unlike previous versions, ITIL 4 provides only guiding principles and prescriptive processes. Previous versions focused not on how to implement the strategy but focused on why you are implementing this process. Due to its new updates, ITIL 4 could be a better combination than previous outdated versions.
The reputation of ITIL as a more complex and rigid process was not the starting point. The idea behind the ITIL was not to force the organizations to implement processes step by step according to the ITIL guidance. The main idea of ITIL is to implement the framework in the most appropriate way which is suitable for your organization. That’s why ITIL and Agile are never opposite principles.
The development in digital technology means that existing process approaches have to adjust with the new approaches. The more recent updates in ITSM approaches are well aligned with this mindset. An ITSM originated as a well-structured process that also borrows many practices from Agile thinking that causes more value addition in service delivery. It means that ITSM approaches coils also borrow practices from Agile thinking to improve different aspects of that process, like the speed of response.
As mentioned above, Agile is not a framework, methodology, standard or technique. Instead, different frameworks like Kanban, Scrum, and extreme programming establish and structure a body of knowledge according to Agile principles and give them to organizations. Each framework’s methodology, techniques and standards help organizations move according to the Agile principles. For example, due to its resemblance with Agile culture, scrum is commonly perceived to be synonymous with it. It is the most accepted framework of Agile principles. Scrum causes a decrease in the value of traditional waterfall approaches.
Agile is a mindset or guiding principle that improves an organization’s service management. It could work together with ITIL and ITSM principles. It is a guiding value for and by software developers. Implementation of an Agile mindset in service management makes it Agile service management.
Agile principles remind us of what really matters and what is essential to meet the rapidly changing market demands and requirements. You can witness the unlimited benefits once you institutionalize Agile principles in your service management process. In today’s dynamic and continuously evolving needs and requirements, it is more important for an organization to be Agile. If not, then it would not be able to compete with its rivals.
