URGENT :::: Start with Documented Process

[ireen_sl]

Our Audit team has reported and expecting our service team to start documenting all processes - incident management, problem management, change management, configuration management, release management, availability management, service level management, etc.

They are expecting a time frame and want me with team to start work on it very soon.

As long I understood, implementing all these processes is a matter of long time and to be successful on it also requires much study, research, experiences.

But primarily, what should be my response (what could be the minimum time frame ?? ) considering just to construct a ground level structure for all those processes ?
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Ireen Sultana
Customer Service Engg
International Turnkey Systems

[UrgentJensen]

Hi ireen_sl,

You're asking a question that none of us can answer specifically, it's like asking 'how long is a piece of string?'. There are lots of factors that will influence your time frame and they will be specific to your organisation, e.g. buy-in from seniot managers, current production workload, resources available for this work etc. etc.

What I will say is that you mentioned both documenting processes and implementing processes, and the latter is a considerably bigger effort than the former. Documenting could be done in a days or weeks, depending on how much time you have to put into this and whether this includes a redesign, or just the 'as is' processes.

Given the fact that it comes across like you don't already have any formalised processes then ask for as much time as you can. You need to buy time by the sounds of it.

Good luck,

UJ

[m_croon]

Hi Ireen,

As UJ pointed out, documenting and implementing processes are 2 different things (time/effort and result-wise). It is my experience that auditors basicly do 2 things:

1. Check if there is 'a' written proof of processes as they ought to function (they check by investigaging documentation), and

2. Check if these descriptions match with reality (by interviewing people, asking for proof produced from service and system mgt tooling etc.).

The thing auditors sometimes will alow (depending on the audit-framework), is allowing you/your organisation to set the level of detail in your process documentation and therefor also in your 'proces reality'. This means that if you create a very detailled proces description on paper, you give auditors more opportunity to ask for proof. If you have less detail in your documentation and you can argue (with proof) that this level of detail is sufficient for your organisation, auditors will sometimes allow more freedom.

Maybe you can use this to determine priorities within the amount of time that you receive. I am not sure whether the above point of view is biased by my geographical location. You might want to check with a local consultant if he agrees with my point of view.

[ireen_sl]

Thanks for such prompt responses.

I would like to know, would this foundation level knowledge is enough for start documenting the processes ?

Where do I found any sample for real time process documentation ?
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Ireen Sultana
Customer Service Engg
International Turnkey Systems

[UKVIKING]

You dont need ITIL to write the documentation for the existing processes

You merely need skills as listed

with word processing programs such as Microsoft Word
flowchart skills with PowerPoint or Visio

Does your company have any standards document templates for style / outline

Write down what your IT departments does for incidents management

as to how detailed it should be,
[free advice]
write it as a narrative to start

for example
a customer's user calls into the service desk using the local phone number, internal dialing . the service desk/call centre/nco etc .....

the issue is entered into the tool - rememdy/clarify etc-

once this is done for a process

then flow chart it out

then re-write the narrative into processes and procedures

and there are no real templates for this because every company is different
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John Hardesty
ITSM Manager's Certificate (Red Badge)

Change Management is POWER & CONTROL. /....evil laughter