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By Brian P. Watson on 2010-01-12
Running an effective, efficient IT operation is no easy task.
Chris Oleson (an IT manager), Mike Hagan (an IT executive) and Christophe DeMoss (a national consultant) co-authored "Achieving IT Service Quality: The Opposite of Luck" (Synergy Books, 2009). This is their take on the seven biggest mistakes IT leaders make in running their shops - and what they can do to correct them.
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- Deadly Sin #1: Over-reliance on Availability as a Quality Metric
People yell the loudest when their app is down, but there are other areas that deserve focus. - Deadly Sin #1: Over-reliance on Availability as a Quality Metric
Other key areas:
-Response times: Slow apps can harm the business and can be tricky to detect and resolve.
-Error rates: 99% error-free transactions isn't good enough.
-Scalability: System strain will increase, which could translate into availability problems. - Deadly Sin #1: Over-reliance on Availability as a Quality Metric
Solutions:
-Get out in front of problems and make sure the business understands that you are looking out for them.
-Project the future business load and have a scalability plan. - Deadly Sin #2: Assuming that No News is Good News
-If no one complains, but you don't know how healthy your systems are, you're in trouble.
-Customers may be too angry, busy or confused to bring up issues. - Deadly Sin #2: Assuming that No News is Good News
Solutions:
-Know all key elements of your systems (availability, response times, etc.).
-Thorough reporting each month (if not more often).
-Keep your IT team apprised of systems status. - Deadly Sin #3: Under-Utilizing Charts, Graphs to Understand Key Trends
-Problems can be missed when you rely only on tables or text.
-Graphs illustrate long-term system behavior trends. - Deadly Sin #3: Under-Utilizing Charts, Graphs to Understand Key Trends
Solutions:
-Analyze your quality metrics month over month.
-Show off your successes. - Deadly Sin #4: Hoping Unresolved Problems Won't Reoccur
-Systems don't always work correctly.
-Flukes will continue if not addressed. - Deadly Sin #4: Hoping Unresolved Problems Won't Reoccur
Solutions:
-Monitor and track incidents.
-Analyze root causes.
-Fix problems to prevent them from reoccurring. - Deadly Sin #5: Relying Upon Firefighting and Heroics
-Too often, leaders shower worship on problem-solvers.
-This focus on firefighting can inhibit smooth operations - Deadly Sin #5: Relying Upon Firefighting and Heroics
Solutions:
-Continue to praise your smoke jumpers.
-Incent and reward stability. - Deadly Sin #6: Allowing New Functionality to Trump Production Quality
-Too many companies sacrifice quality for improved time to market.
-Many don't know when to pull the brake on projects. - Deadly Sin #6: Allowing New Functionality to Trump Production Quality
Solutions:
-Keep track of the volume of changes and make sure partners understand them.
-Negotiate your own production; if you own production, you are empowered to influence. - Deadly Sin #7: No Specific Quality Improvement Goals for 2010
-This is the biggest sin of all. - Deadly Sin #7: No Specific Quality Improvement Goals for 2010
Solutions:
-Meet with business leaders each month.
-Convene all-hands meetings each quarter to keep pushing forward.
-Carefully choose reasonable targets in each of the quality areas.
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