Service Management Implementation: Key Job Roles

To have a successful service management implementation of any managed service solution, there needs to be clearly defined roles to ensure clear lines of communication and streamlined decision making. In this article, we’ll highlight the different roles that we’ve seen help make our projects and on-going support efforts successful.

Service Management Project Manager (PM)

The PM is the center point of the project and is responsible for the coordination of all planning, reporting and communication involved in the project. They act as the bridge between the ‘business side’ and the ‘technical side’ of the project and are critical to the success (or failure) of any implementation.

They will typically have first-hand knowledge of the business and departmental operations. They’ll also work with the business stakeholders to define the system and end-user requirements of the project.

In the agile development world, this could include development of user stories, development and testing sprints, and reflection goals. In the traditional waterfall development world, they would develop the system requirements and coordinate the development schedule with the technical lead, while also coordinating the quality assurance (QA) and end-user acceptance.

Successful PMs that implement service management solutions are highly adept at planning and communication and  have established trusted relationships with business stakeholders.

Business Stakeholder(s)

Stakeholders are typically in an upper management role at a departmental level and have won budget and approval for the project to proceed. They may or may not be day-to-day users of the systems but are in tune with what results are desired from the implementation.

They fully understand the ‘end game’ that is desired from the implementation and are experts in how the system is used on a company-wide basis and what the success criteria are for the project. Their insight into the reporting aspects of the system is very valuable as their reporting requirements are typically critical measuring points for other business decisions.

Their role in the project it to help define the project requirements, acquire resources needed for development and testing and provide answers to questions about any ambiguities that may arise during development.

Service Management Analysts

Analysts are day-to-day end users of the system and are experts in usage as it pertains to executing their jobs. In the service management sector, these roles may consist of IT service desk managers or analysts who facilitate resolution of end-user support tickets.

They understand the intricacies of routing service tickets, working with support queues and resolving the issues as they come in.

In their role, they can offer immensely valuable feedback on usability and performance of the system, therefore, making them an excellent resource for testing in the QA cycle of the project.

Implementation Developer/Administrator

In many cases, this may be a role filled by a third-party consultant(s) as the system may not warrant a full-time resource to be on staff. The developer is responsible for the technical implementation of the system requirements, married to the use cases defined by the PM and Stakeholders.

This may include things like customization of user permissions, routing queues, third-party add-ons, reporting, etc.

In an administration function, the developer may be retained to support on-going customizations that are needed post-release and to support application and testing of system upgrades and patches.

The developer typically works in a ‘sandbox’ environment in which they clone current configurations and data and build and apply system changes in a safe, non-production environment.

Keys to a Successful Service Management Implementation

We’ve found that having a structured process that has buy-in from all the different contributors and can be repeated for each subsequent project works best. This includes:

• Well-defined system requirements
• End-user requirements
• Realistic development timelines
• Dedicated cycle for QA
• Project management software that is easy to use for everyone involved in the project (not just a project file on one user’s laptop that no one else can see)
• Consistent communication throughout the project lifecycle

Are you looking to implement or upgrade your BMC Helix Remedyforce service management solution? Connect with us to schedule a consultation.