Did the word ‘free’ prompt you to read this post  đź™‚ ?

Stephen Mann’s post a couple of weeks ago on ‘Giving Back To The IT Service Management Community’ got me thinking in regards to ways in which the industry could give something back easily. The reality, I believe, is that we need to take ITSM back to its roots, back to focusing on IT customers.

One of the problems I see with ITSM adoption is that it is all too easy to get lost in a framework such as ITIL and to lose focus on the customer element. Unfortunately, ITSM adoption is not a one-size-fits-all approach and so adoption can be different from company A to company B, which means that trying to adopt a process from a guide can be difficult and can feel impossible.

The answer to good ITSM adoption practices lies within those practitioners who have implemented processes, experienced the highs, the lows, the sweat and even the tears. In order to really build best practices these people need to share these experiences back to the rest of the community. So one way I think we could do this is to arrange a ‘Free ITSM Practitioner Meet Up’ which I thought could maybe be called ITSMME (me=meet up). This would follow the successful Cloudcamp format and would be an evening, free to attend event with an agenda like this:

  • 6.30pm  – Introduction  – introducing speakers and maybe a theme.
  • 6.40 – 7.30pm – ‘Preach and Teach’ – Quick 10-minute volunteer presentations centered on a central ITSM theme.  This has to focus on best practices, experiences, lessons learned, tips, etc.  No software/solution plugs, i.e., this is not a platform for vendors to sell their solutions but practitioners to share their experiences with other practitioners.
  • 7.30-8.30pm – Volunteer panel from audience – We take 3-5 ITSM topics and promote discussion between the panel and audience. The idea is that if an audience member does not like an answer from the panel then the audience member can take the panel members place (this is obviously all done in a friendly way).
  • 8.30pm – Drinks and food (networking)

So would you attend? We’re actively trying to find new ways to engage with our clients, so if you’re not completely sold, I welcome any feedback to make the agenda more compelling.