In the second webinar of "The USM Revolution" series on the Unified Service Management method, we received more live questions than we could handle online. One of these live questions in that webinar was:
"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐒𝐌 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 (𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧)?"
The 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 answer to this question is "Bottom up! And start with the first step."
The 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 answer would be this:
There is a huge difference between levels 1, 2, and 3 of the USM Value Maturity model, and levels 4 and 5. Levels 1, 2, and 3 are internally focused, above these levels you're externally focused. But you'll never get to the higher levels if you're not in control of the lower levels. Reformatting from an inside-out organization tot an outside-in organization has proven to be the hardest thing to do for service providers. And it's exactly this barrier that keeps so may organizations from realizing what they all seem to pursue; becoming a customer-driven service provider.
As usual, there's plenty of organizations that claim they already are a customer-driven provider - without being in control of these lower levels. They may want to reconsider this after looking at the USM Value Maturity model.
The barrier
At levels 1, 2, and 3, the service provider has a focus on internal affairs, and tries to get in control of their internal business. In the evolution of a service provider, they first start with getting their technology under control, to such a level that they can assure the delivery of that infrastructure according to the applicable agreements. E.g. an IT service provider will first make sure the hardware is running smoothly, and the network will be available without interruptions.
When they've achieved this, they can focus on how systems of technology components are made available according to specific agreements on functionality and functioning. An IT service provider would then focus on the behavior of servers, server parks, and cloud platforms, so they can deliver these systems as a whole - without worrying about the functioning of underlying technology components. This would bring them to level 2.
Having achieved that, the service provider can finally focus on the delivery of supported facilities that provide specific functionality and that will function according to the applicable agreements. Th service provider can now compete with other service providers in terms of the quality of their supported facilities (i.e. their services). In practice, this is what most service providers are 𝑡𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 to achieve: delivering services in a competing way. They still focus on the facilities they provide, and on the support they deliver to their customers. They're struggling to get to level 3.
Beyond the barrier
In the unlikely case that the service provider has achieved full control of all of this, they can consider the delivery of supported facilities to be a commodity, and they can start focusing on the result of these services for their customers. This is where their perspective will flop from internal to external, to get to level 4. They'll start expressing their achievements in terms of business resultsfor that customer.
But to be honest: have you ever run into a service provider that really does this? Have you ever seen Service Agreements that do not specify the provider's facilities but specify instead?
I hope this also explains why a top-down approach is not an option...
Which brings us back to the only possible answer: "Bottom up! And start with the first step."
Moving up the ladder with USM
USM provides a methodical approach to this challenge, supporting organizations that want to be at level 4 of the Value Maturity model. The architecture of USM, its standardized Enterprise Service Management System, and the components of these, are discussed in a series of webinars called "The USM Revolution".
Check out the full recording of webinar 2 (on Architecture & System), or any of the other recordings of the USM Revolution series.
If you want to learn more about the unique USM Process Model, please join us for the 4th webinar in the USM Revolution series: USM & the Universal Process Model for Service Management, 15 October 3pm CEST.