Tag: Laura Brandenburg

Fresh Links Sundae – February 23, 2014 Edition

Fresh Links Sundae encapsulates information I have come across during the past week. Often they are from the people whose work I admire or resonate with me. I hope you will find these ideas thought-provoking at the minimum. Even better, I hope these ideas will, over time, help my fellow IT pros make better decisions, be awesome, and kick ass!

While pulling some thoughts together on the future of ITSM and service desk, Stephen Mann outlines his perspectives on what’s to come for those two important areas in IT. What’s the Future of ITSM? (HDIConnect)

As more and more organizations adopt cloud infrastructure, the migration to the cloud is not always a straight path with no obstacles. Phil Whelan outlines common steps IT organizations can take when adopting cloud technologies. 10 Steps To The Cloud (ActiveBlog)

Keeping up with and leveraging the available technology advancement has become one of the top challenges for many organizations and their CIOs. Dion Hinchcliffe recommends the ways a CIO can leverage building a more digitally-aligned business. The new CIO mandate (Enterprise Irregulars)

Migrating to the cloud is not only a technology decision but also a risk management consideration. John Overbaugh recommends four steps a leader can follow to help their companies adopt cloud technologies while minimizing overall risk. Risk changes in the cloud (ISACA Now)

The recent security breach at Target highlights a reality where organizations are much more connected to one another these days. Those close connections, if not managed correctly, also can present potential security loopholes. Bob Lewis suggests two lessons any organization should consider and learn. When they’re good at being bad, learn from the good (IS Survivor Publishing)

Today’s managers often need to exercise the ability to think analytically. Thomas Redman discusses an example of using data to explore cause and effect. How to Explore Cause and Effect Like a Data Scientist (Harvard Business Review)

Many IT organizations work hard to meet their service levels and deliver excellent customer experience. Ryan Ogilvie explains why identifying what makes the service function is critical in the delivery of a consistent customer experience. Service Level Management – The Gap between Delivery and Expectation (Service Management Journey)

When implementing ITSM, some believe that, by improving the IT processes, the IT services will improve as well. Dan Kane cautions IT organizations that improving processes does not always lead to service improvement. Process Improvement is not Service Improvement (Hazy ITSM)

For many organizations, the success often comes down to the quality of leadership and the strength of the culture. Pearl Zhu describes three areas where IT can be a supporting catalyst to the business culture. IT as Business Culture Catalyst (Future of CIO)

Business analysis is a discipline that can effectively promote the success of the projects. Laura Brandenburg outlines eight steps with which a business analyst can follow to perform effectively on the projects. The Business Analysis Process: 8 Steps to Being an Effective Business Analyst (Bridging the Gap)

Something else you might be interested in…

Microsoft has made a free Microsoft System Center e-book available for download. Free ebook: Microsoft System Center: Building a Virtualized Network Solution (Microsoft Press Blog)

Fresh Links Sundae – February 9, 2014 Edition

Successful problem management process requires KPIs and targets that can be leveraged to improve the effectiveness of the IT services. Rob England gives a list of suggested KPIs that can be incorporated into your problem management effort. Measuring problem management (The IT Skeptic)

Many IT organizations have no formalized way of communicating with the business. Thom Salo explains how instituting a Business Relationship Management (BRM) process can help to strengthen the working relationship between IT and business. ITIL’s BRM: How Business Relationship Management Shows the Love (Plexent Blog)

The speed of business change is accelerating, but IT still needs to continue its effort to transform from a cost center to value creator. Pearl Zhu examines the forces behind the changes and suggests how IT can transform itself. How to Run IT as a ‘Digital Horse’? (Future of CIO)

A majority of Software Asset Management (SAM) managers today spend the bulk of their time on inventory-related activities that should have been automated. Sean Robinson believes that is not the best use of SAM manager’s time and advocates other proactive approaches that SAM managers should consider. How do SAM managers spend their time? (The ITAM Review)

When you try to improve your IT services, regular review of certain activities are critical. Ryan Ogilvie recommends some practical examples which we should be reviewing with some regularity. What Happened? Performing Service Management Reviews (Service Management Journey)

Sometimes, there is a significant difference whether your boss is a micromanager, or is micromanaging you. Bob Lewis explains the difference and suggests approaches that can be taken to deal with the situation. Dealing with a micromanaging boss (IS Survivor Publishing)

When designing your organizational processes around agile, a number of structure-related considerations have to be taken into account. Mike Cottmeyer explains what those structural considerations are and shares his experience. How to Structure Your Agile Enterprise (LeadingAgile)

When use cases are not clear, business stakeholders, developers, and testers cannot do an effective job. Laura Brandenburg outlines the most common use case mistakes that can lead to ambiguity. 7 Use Case Mistakes That Confuse Your Stakeholders (Bridging the Gap)

Marshall Goldsmith believes an incorrect assumption of almost all leadership development programs is “if they understand, they will do.” He explains why that assumption is not valid in leadership development and offers recommendations on what changes a leader should consider making. If They Understand, They Will Do (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

Many of us set noble goals but often find it difficult to reach them. Jeff Haden suggests that you need to pay more attention to the systems you deploy than simply focusing on the goals themselves. An Almost Foolproof Way to Achieve Every Goal You Set (Inc.com)

Fresh Links Sundae – February 2, 2014 Edition

IT infrastructure managers need to meet a number of challenges in 2014. Björn Münstermann, Brent Smolinski, Kara Sprague describes 11 practices that will help infrastructure managers navigate a challenging, and sometimes conflicting, set of demands. The enterprise IT infrastructure agenda for 2014 (McKinsey & Company)

IT organizations should periodically exam and evaluate the key metrics they measure. For 2014, Andrew Horne suggests seven measurement priorities recently highlighted in a CEB’s research. 7 New Metrics for 2014 (CEB’s IT Blog)

Many non-IT end users probably are not aware of the software asset management (SAM) practice in the organization and what it means to them. David Foxen explains why SAM is important to an organization and how IT can collaborate with its end users and effectively communicate its SAM practice to them. Introducing Software Asset Management to end users (The ITAM Review)

Often people will ignore ineffective governance or unenforceable policies. Michael Scarborough suggests that IT organizations can improve their effectiveness by regularly evaluating whether the existing policies and procedures in place are still making sense. Governance That Makes Sense (Global Knowledge Training Blog)

Big Data, when practiced correctly, can yield a good amount of insights that might not have been possible with human analysis before. Michael Schrage believes those insights can also lead to dilemmas and unwarranted discrimination when improperly used. He further cautions that all Big Data champions and practitioners need to have a better understanding of how they intend to use the insights for making decisions. Big Data’s Dangerous New Era of Discrimination (Harvard Business Review)

With a strong dependence on IT for many businesses, IT organizations have many challenges on their hands to deliver a stable operation while continue to leverage technologies and innovate. Robert Stroud believes IT service delivery managers have many opportunities to add even greater value to the organization in 2014. Long Live Service Delivery! (CA Service Management)

While resolving incidents and putting fires are commendable things to do, Ryan Ogilvie recommends that understanding and addressing the root cause to an incident will be a much more value-added activity. Score a Service Management Touchdown through Incidents (Service Management Journey)

While use cases are an extremely useful requirements tool and one tool that every BA should have handy, Laura Brandenburg suggests that there are situations in which writing use cases would be a big mistake. 3 Signs You Shouldn’t Be Writing a Use Case (Bridging the Gap)

Fostering a successful culture entails hiring employees who buy into the corporate culture, and it also means getting the wrong employees off the organization. Joel Greenwald believes that the best companies use culture as both a sword and a shield, to improve performance and reduce risk. How to Get the Wrong People Off the Bus (strategy+business)

Today’s connected world means many leaders have access to a global mind that represents both opportunities and challenges. Marshall Goldsmith explains the process of e-coaching and how leaders can leverage the process to manage the opportunities and challenges. E-Coaching Roles (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

Fresh Links Sundae – January 12, 2014 Edition

With business’ dependence on technology, Robert Stroud recommends that today’s CIOs need to make more focused choices that are aligned with the business. Speed to Execution is Critical for the Modern CIO (CA Service Management)

Bob Lewis believes that trying to fix a problem with an organization is a lot like going on diet and trying to lose weight. Neither one works, but he recommends a better goal is to live the weight you want. A diet of lasting change (IS Survivor Publishing)

In collaboration with 3Gamma’s CEO, Peter Wahlgren, Aprill Allen and Mr. Wahlgren discuss the knowledge management approaches in a multisourcing environment. Service integration and knowledge management Service Integration in a Multisourcing Environment Document (Knowledge Bird)

In a two-part blog, Vawns Murphy recommends ten tips for a sound SAM practice. Software Asset Management – Tips From The Trenches (Part 1) Software Asset Management – Tips From The Trenches (Part 2) (The ITAM Review)

In a four-part blog, Jenny Juliany discusses an approach for managing the lifecycle of corporate data. The Four Seasons of Data Management – ‘Spring’ Inception The Four Seasons of Data Management – ‘Summer’ Primetime The Four Seasons of Data Management – ‘Fall’ Retirement The Four Seasons of Data Management – ‘Winter’ Removal (Intreis)

If you are a manager with direct reports on an Agile team, Len Lagestee believes that a set of expected behaviors should apply to you. He outlines what would make the interactions productive when managers attend Agile team events. A Managers Guide to Attending Agile Team Events (Illustrated Agile)

Stakeholders play a critical role in a business analyst’s success. Laura Brandenburg explains how to turn every meeting and every deliverable into an opportunity to invest in your stakeholder relationships. How to Build Better Stakeholder Relationships in 2014 (Bridging the Gap)

When working with customers, Marshall Goldsmith talks about the importance of being authentic and genuine. Dear Yet to be Born Grandchildren (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

While it’s debatable how much self-esteem contributes to one’s success, Scott Adams believes that having a clear sense of one’s own self-esteem has helped him. The Glorious Advantages of Low Self-Esteem (Scott Adams Blog)

When dealing with the uncertainty of future, all of us take different approaches. Seth Godin talks about three general approaches and the mistakes people often make. Accuracy, resilience and denial (Seth’s Blog)

Fresh Links Sundae – December 8, 2013 Edition

In spite of its negative connotations, politics can be viewed as the art of finding a way forward when people disagree about the best path forward. Bob Lewis explains how a manager can manage his/her political capital and work with the system effectively. Political Capital Management (IS Survivor Publishing)

For 2014, itSMF UK has decided to focus on four key topics that will drive its agenda, and those four key topics (referred to as the “ITSM Big 4”) were chosen based on the input from the ITSM community. Sophie Danby interviewed four ITSM Review regular contributors and practitioners to obtain their views on the ITSM Big 4. ITSM Big 4 – the practitioner view (The ITSM Review)

Maintaining a Supported Software Catalogue can immensely benefit the audit and reconciliation of Software Asset Management (SAM) data and facilitate activities at the Service Desk. Rory Canavan recommends a process for maintaining a Supported Software Catalogue. Process of the Month – Maintain a Supported Software Catalogue Process (The ITAM Review)

With the influx of mobile devices into the workplace, it will have a visible impact on what service desks have to do to provide support to the end-users. Stuart Facey recommends several planning approaches that service desk managers and ITSM professionals should consider. Service management for a more mobile world – is anything different? (The ITSM Review)

A number of organizations are struggling to find the balance between productivity and security when supporting IT initiatives such as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). Rob Enderle cautions that IT needs to scrutinize its BYOD approach and not put organizations and employees at risk by trying to be overly accommodating. IT’s BYOD Approach Is Wrongheaded (Unfiltered Opinion)

More and more IT support centers are paying close attention to customer satisfaction. Roy Atkinson explains what support managers can do to gain additional insight into their customers’ perceptions. Customer Conversations: One Thing (HDIConnect)

Diagrams and matrices can help to communicate complex ideas. Laura Brandenburg shows us how visual models can make business analysis work more productive with plenty of examples. How to Make the Requirements Process Faster With Visual Models 22 Visual Models Used by Business Analysts (Bridging the Gap)

Reflecting from the book “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty,” Jim Taggart talks about how an organization can meet today’s challenges by sharing power and enrolling its people to help find solutions. The Payoff from Sharing Power (ChangingWinds)

On those occasions when we are about to do something incredibly vital, we can get incredibly nervous. Jeff Haden suggests five things we can do to prepare ourselves mentally with a quick shot of confidence. 5 Ways to Get a Confidence Boost (Inc.com)

Most of us don’t like or fear public speaking because we believe the audience is focusing on us and constantly judging our presence. Seth Godin explains why those fears are simply misplaced. Speaking in public: two errors that lead to fear (Seth’s Blog)