Another dozen USM Thoughts-Of-The-Day [4]

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• USM Thought Of The Day [37]: "𝐁𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 '𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭': the risk that you are misunderstood is huge... Actually, you’d better forget the concept of 'product', as we live in the era of Service-Dominant logic. The days of the Goods-dominant logic have long passed." We have to get out of the 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡 mindset, as the modern world is driven by 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞. In our service-dominant economy, the real value often comes from the 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 of the things that are delivered, rather than from the things themselves, as 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 when you're living in a 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲. It’s time to embrace the service mindset, or risk getting left behind. Read the LinkedIN post on products versus services.
• USM Thought Of The Day [38]: A managed infrastructure register (a ‘CMDB’) only contains components of the management system, the services, and the environment; the components that are relevant for the actual performance of the service provider in a service delivery context. Capabilities would not be part of such a register, as they are only modeling components, only relevant for modelers (architects, analysts, etc.).: capabilities do not do anything, they only describe things that are realized by other components – in the real world. Capabilities may be of importance in a different context: the modeling world. And maybe there can be a CMDB involved in the management of that modeling world. But that’s a different service delivery context, with different providers and customers, and different services. We should not mix these up….” Read the USM Wiki on 'Capability
• USM Thought Of The Day [39]: "The term ‘process’ is one of the most abused terms in the history of (IT) (service) management – along with the term ‘service’. We’re throwing these terms around without a clear understanding of what they actually mean, mostly using descriptions instead of straightforward definitions. As a consequence, we call everything a process, whether it is a customer-driven value chain or merely a single internal step. We also assume we know what a service is, even when each department has a different idea and they don’t have a definition they can operate and measure. Dutch government architects are working on a clear vocabulary with consistent definitions, to be used throughout the public sector. This afternoon, we’ll finish the first batch of definitions, which will be a serious milestone in the improvement of the nationwide interoperability. If you’re living in the European Union, you may want to check this out, before you’re too late.
• USM Thought Of The Day [40]: "With the advent of improvement techniques such as SixSigma and Lean, we have learned to improve the 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 of our work - 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑒. And as soon as conditions change, we’ll have to do it again… and again… . USM isn't dismissing Lean or Six Sigma, but rather it is saying that these techniques operate in a practice-driven way, and are not connected to a solid 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 architecture. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨. USM provides the foundations, and these techniques enhance the practice. In other words: USM provides the heart of the system, Lean and SixSigma polish the outside. A perfect combination." 'Read the USM Wiki.
• USM Thought Of The Day [41]: Lean, SixSigma, service blueprinting and customer journeys are useful techniques, but they only polish the outside; they don’t cure the heart of the system. If you consult your doctor, you don’t expect to be sent home with a box of plasters, you expect him/her to cure your illness. That’s how USM differs from these techniques. USM cures the heart of your system.” Read the USM Wiki.
• USM Thought Of The Day [42]: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. [Alvin Toffler]. And it’s not just the ITIL folk being stuck in practice-based thinking, it’s also the (presumed) architect who is stuck in technology-thinking. I’ve often said “EA is EITA”, demonstrating how so-called Enterprise Architects are often techies and data modeling experts. The ÜSMmethod will provide you with the simplest, universal model of any service provider’s business, and it can be applied to any line of business of any size, using any (suitable) tool. Read the USM Wiki.
• USM Thought Of The Day [43]: "Every problem has a solution, but we should first and for all follow Einstein here: 𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦". USMmethod uses the words of Einstein as a guiding principle. If we want to change the chaos, we have to 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. We can't expect the solutions to come from the same thinking that got us here in the first place. So, we must look at the problem from 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞. For many people, that is very hard to accomplish, either because 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙, or because 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑡𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑛𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠. To solve management problems in a sustainable way, you must have 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞. Read about the USM Service Management Architecture in the USM Wiki.
• USM Thought Of The Day [44]: “If you’re looking for a consistent definitions set, a consistent glossary, don’t go to ISO. For more than a decade they’re trying to get their glossary in order, but they can’t even get this done within even a single standard. As an example, working on ISO27001, I read that a risk can be positive (i.e. opportunity) as well as negative (i.e. threat). Next thing, they keep talking about “risks and opportunities”. I think they’ll never learn. USMmethod For a consistent glossary: USM Wiki Glossary.
• USM Thought Of The Day [45]: Enterprise Architects struggle bridging Strategy with Execution. The more they use TOGAF and Archimate, the more they drift off, and the more they end up at an island where nobody takes their advise serious any more. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦. The solution is easy: 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐝. Seek alignment with your operating model, describing your business practice, but do that 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐚𝐲, using Systems Thinking. Model that with the 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑡 components of TOGAF and Archimate and forget the rest (because that’s theory). This will get you an actionable EA and it will bridge your Strategy with your Execution – not by starting at the theoretical strategy end of te bar, but at the other end: the system that specifies your business operations.” @USMmethod will help you define the system of your business practice in a very simple way. When you’ve done that, you can derive your EA model, making sure it aligns to a systematic approach of your service delivery, using TOGAF and Archimate – but without the bells and whistles of these frameworks. Read the USM Wiki.
• USM Thought Of The Day [46]. "It’s funny to see how all the practice-thinkers of this world are 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐈, forgetting what service management was all about... They would sleep much better if they had set up their service management in a methodical way, with the USM Method. USM isn’t changing at all by the uprise of AI. A proof of its full 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥-𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲-𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 nature." Smart service management tools can support a smart service management system. The only thing you need is 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 workflow 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 and 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 register. USM will then demonstrate how you can do all your service management tasks with just these 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬, saving major cost, effort, and time. Read the USM Wiki.
• USM Thought Of The Day [47]: So many people are still looking at APQC, BPMN, eTOM, TOGAF, BIAN, SCOR, ITIL, COBIT, or any of the other sources of so-called ‘process classification frameworks’, without understanding that they’re entirely missing the point of process modeling. None of the proposed sources is a #process classification. They all describe #practices: the things that can be built on processes by adding #people and #technology to practical #cases. They always result in long lists of these so-called 'processes' that change whenever the conditions change. Perfect material to keep the consultant off the streets, but for the customer they only contribute to cost and complexity. Think about this from a different perspective: if all organizations and all teams within organizations are service providers (because they are), wouldn't it be logic that they all do the same - but with different people and different technology, providing different services? Wouldn't the concept of 'process' then be universal for each team and organization in the ecosystem? This is the new thinking of USM - Unified Service Management: the concept of systems-of-systems, links in a supply chain, all built on the very same architecture of this link, solving the challenge of #interoperability between teams and organizations in ecosystems. Read the USM wiki to find out how simple this is, and why countries can use this to get in control of an integrated government or health care ecosystem, nationwide... USMmethod
• USM Thought Of The Day [48]: "We live in a 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑, and therefore connected and dependent society. 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 ‘𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬’, 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞-𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭". USM has diagnosed ‘Islitis’, an ailment where teams act in isolation instead of for the greater good. By unifying the management system of the enterprise with USM, you can finally cure this, and have every team aligned for the benefit of the customers. The solution for ESM is based on the concept of 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬: systems-of-systems. Read the USM Wiki.

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