9 tips for achieving IT service delivery excellence

Service delivery excellence is an attribute that far too many IT leaders fail to prioritize. That’s unfortunate given how much of smooth business operations depends on the efficient delivery of IT services today.

IT service delivery enables an organization to give end users access to essential IT services by designing, developing, and deploying key technology resources, including applications and data. But is your organization doing all it can to ensure service delivery excellence? The following nine tips will help get your there.

1. Be proactive and serve with empathy

It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to be active in ensuring that all services delivered to end users are fully vetted and tested to the point where there’s no room for complaints. “Provide an IT service that focuses on user experience,” advises Edgar Padua, business value architect at digital workplace provider Nexthink.

One way to ensure smooth service delivery is to deploy tools aimed at detecting and proactively resolving issues. “Using this strategy, IT can prioritize their transformation roadmap without being stuck in the mire of reactive support processes,” which leads to support groups chasing and extinguishing fires, hampering essential business operations, Padua explains.

Follow-through is also vital, Padua says. Listen and be empathetic to the user’s situation before presenting — and enacting — the best possible solution. “In the end, all the user is concerned with is getting back to work and that their issue is resolved within a timely manner,” he observes. “An IT organization that collects sentiment and acts on actionable, constructive feedback will always have more users that are fans rather than detractors.”

2. Develop a structured service catalog and adapt

Achieving service delivery excellence is not a one-size-fits-all process. As disruptive technologies keep arriving, the path to excellence constantly shifts. “The key to providing top-tier service delivery is the integration of a skilled staff, streamlined operations and processes, and the use of innovative technologies,” says Marcus Cziomer, a senior vice president at cloud services firm Lemongrass.

Cziomer observes that the foundation for service delivery excellence lies in a well-structured service catalog. He notes that the catalog should present a clear definition of offerings as well as methods for delivery while ensuring that sales and delivery departments are consistently aligned. “With our team’s strong understanding of every service within our catalog, we can quickly adapt to client needs and optimize output for success,” Cziomer says.

3. Embrace metrics and iterate

To achieve maximum efficiency, Cziomer also suggests focusing service efforts on DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) metrics, such as “lead time for change” and “time to restore service.” Customer-centric Net Promoter Scores are equally important, he adds.

“To dive deeper into understanding our services, I employ methods like value stream mapping to pinpoint bottlenecks or inefficiencies,” says Cziomer, who feels that proactive approaches such as these enable IT organizations to consistently elevate their service levels.

Cziomer also believes that achieving service excellence is an iterative process. “Once changes are implemented, it’s crucial to loop back, measure against the anticipated improvement, and continually review data.” By revisiting and fine-tuning methods, it becomes possible to achieve constant service progress and world-class quality, he says.

4. Standardize processes and understand LOB needs

Effective IT service delivery begins by creating and standardizing processes and documentation, says Patrick Cannon, field CTO at data center and cloud services firm US Signal. Standardization ensures a consistent end-user experience with outcomes that adhere to established security policies. “It’s also beneficial for effective training and new IT staff onboarding,” he says, adding that when IT understands the needs of each business unit, it opens the way to a more proactive service approach, reducing downtime and fostering innovation.

Cannon advises IT leaders to study and understand each department’s needs, and how they match the enterprise’s overall strategic goals. He notes that developing a services portfolio to leverage various cloud services can give IT a flexible operating model. “By separating the decision-making process from infrastructure, and aligning workloads with suitable cloud models, IT can redirect its focus toward ongoing business enhancement,” he explains.

5. Take a user-centric approach and assemble teams to fit

In addition to understanding business needs, IT service delivery excellence requires attention to user feedback with an eye toward constant improvement, says Steven Marcetic, a senior manager with Centric Consulting’s modern software delivery practice. “Adopt a user-centric approach when organizing your development/application delivery teams,” he recommends. “Establish product teams enabling independent end-to-end delivery of new features, applications, and services for all the various business streams.”

Marcetic believes that it’s important to have a well-trained team and to place the right people in strategic roles, particularly architects and product management experts. “Your leadership team should behave like a Scrum team, enabling end-to-end delivery and support.” Decisions, he advises, should focus on optimizing IT services in general and not only concentrate on locally optimized decisions.

“All of IT must know and be aligned with the organization’s goals,” Marcetic says. “This strategy places the end user — whether it’s an internal employee or an external customer — at the center of the decision-making process,” he explains. “Understanding customer needs and pain points makes IT service delivery more responsive and adaptive.”

The benefit of having a well-trained team speaks for itself, Marcetic notes. “A team that understands business needs and priorities is paramount to enabling your business,” he says.

6. Avoid ad hoc execution and document complaint resolutions

As with any business-critical activity, service delivery has to be planned in advance. “Ad hoc execution of services always leads to bad taste and attrition,” says Bhupendra Chopra, chief research officer at software engineering firm Kanerika. The completed plan should specify service delivery methods, expected results, resources allocated, and the team members responsible in the service delivery chain. “A clear standard operating procedure is a recipe for success.”

Always create and follow predefined plans, Chopra advises. Predictability and transparent, proactive updates are critical, and after addressing and resolving any complaints, follow a corrective and preventive action (CAPA) process to record the result for internal use and to share with customers. The final report should show how the correction was made and delivered should a similar issue occur at a future date.

7. Embrace continuous improvement and pursue root causes

Working toward continuous improvement leads to service excellence, claims Richard Ricks, CEO of MSP Silver Tree Consulting and Services. “IT leaders need a comprehensive plan to make their operation the best it can be.”

Ricks recommends conducting a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. He also advises establishing defined service targets and using agile methods to ensure continuous improvements and developing an effective governance improvement plan.

Most IT organizations react quickly to customer complaints, but only address the top-level issue, Ricks says. “The underlying root cause is still open and, therefore, the issue is unresolved and will reappear,” he warns. “Until you address the root cause, you can never sustain IT service excellence.”

8. Prioritize customer satisfaction with a tested approach

The customer may not always be right, but it’s important to remember that service delivery begins and ends with a happy customer, says Craig Wilson, CEO of IT services firm Opinov8. “Focus your process, governance and, ultimately, your quality of service and delivery as the bedrock of that philosophy,” he suggests. “Have a service delivery model that’s predictable and consistent.”

Resist the temptation to simply throw resources at a problem — a dubious and expensive approach for any service provider. Instead, build rails to guide service delivery within specific situations, Wilson advises. It’s important to have a tested approach that starts each engagement in the same way with predictable results. “Once you’re confident in the approach, it’s easier to focus on the actual client requirement and not waste time double-checking data or processes,” he explains.

9. Address specific needs and adhere to a priority framework

Business stakeholders have many different needs, often requiring unique support levels. Unfortunately, many IT leaders end up spreading their attention equally across all delivery areas. Such an approach can force business needs into limited delivery priority frameworks, warns Ola Chowning, a partner with technology research advisory firm ISG. A one-size-fits all outlook often results in relatively minor issues being addressed at the same priority level as problems that impact major business objectives.

Chowning stresses the importance of ensuring that the service priority framework has been clearly outlined and that exact value levels are established in cooperation with the business stakeholders themselves. “This approach allows the business to make decisions based on outcomes rather than focusing on cost, and for IT to defend service delivery priority more effectively.”