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Friday, May 29, 2009

SIPOC...Process Mapping made simpler

A good Process Mapping tool I've come across lately is the SIPOC
. Define the following at a high level.
 
 
  • Suppliers
  • Inputs
  • Process
  • Outputs
  • Customers
Saw it recently used by one of our Service Providers. Worked great. Very simple.

Follow up with your flowcharts and you've got a pretty good idea of your Process(s)
 

More to follow... 


Braun Tacon

10:51 am pdt 

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Those steely-eyed missile-men at Popular Mechanics...

have produced another Rocket Man story.

More to follow...

Braun
4:08 pm pdt 

The ITIL Incident, Problem and Change Dance

Troy DuMoulin from Pink Elephant considers and opines on the perplexing topic of  The ITIL Incident, Problem and Change Dance.

I agree, and why would anyone not?

More to follow...

Braun Tacon
10:00 am pdt 

Friday, May 22, 2009

Major Incident Handling...first you need a Plan


Incident
(Service Operation) An unplanned interruption to an IT Service or a reduction in the Quality of an IT Service. Failure of a Configuration Item that has not yet impacted Service is also an Incident. For example Failure of one disk from a mirror set.

 

Major Incident (Service Operation) The highest Category of Impact for an Incident. A Major Incident results in significant disruption to the Business..

 

Major Incidents…they can best be described as, er…Major.

 

You don’t need to fear Major Incidents unless you don’t have a Plan.  Fighting a Major Incident without a Plan is like fighting a 3 Alarm fire without Firemen or Equipment.

 

Here’s a Plan you can use as a model for your own Plan.  Modify it to fit your needs, and remember, “…first you need a Plan.”

(Modeled after the UCSC Major Incident Handling Plan...used by permission)

 

More to follow…

 

Braun Tacon

4:33 pm pdt 

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

What about Braun?

Just a little background for those that visit here.

Who am I? Braun Tacon. Over 25 years experience as a Strategist, Tactician, and Project Manager with an extensive background in Management, ITIL and similar Frameworks. ITSM (IT Service Management), Information Security, Process and Documentation Management all with a Strategic and Tactical Point of view.

My Current Interests? To focus on People, Process and Technology as a means of Delivering needed Innovation and Continual Service Improvement

My Current Focus? Applying Strategic Vision with a Tactical Approach to Consistently Deliver momentum and Closure for Large Scale Projects.

More to follow...

Braun Tacon
7:43 pm pdt 

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

When a Project stalls…

A Project will stall for many reasons.

 
  • Lack of resources (time, money, people)
  • Lack of interest (an unneeded Project, or one not well championed)
  • Lack of motivation (disinterest, task saturation, higher priority concerns)
  • Or a combination of two or all three of the reasons above
There are other possible reasons for Project slippage, but in my experience the above three are the most common.  What to do? 


It really depends on the cause.  You may need to ask for additional resources.  You might need to reexamine your Project charter and make it more relevant or even consider not doing the Project.  You might have to break out your very best influencing skills and appeal to your peers, colleagues, and management in ways that you never imagined.  The goal is the same…as Project Manager you have overall responsibility for delivery or closure of the Project.

 

I think the best trait a good Project Manager can have is an innate sense of urgency, tempered with a patience honed from experience.  Choose your battles carefully.  Remember…no plan survives the first engagement.  If Project timing is important or critical, speak honestly and state the need for commitment and delivery from the team or team members.  If timing is more fluid and you sense good intentions from your Project Team, be grateful they are there to help you and allow them to set their own pace as much as is reasonable or is possible based upon the overall Project constraints.

 

Projects, like many things in life tend to be journeys, not events.  Take a little time to enjoy the journey.  Along the way you’ll probably learn a thing or two that will make you’ll be all the better prepared and capable come the next time around.

 

More to follow…

 

Braun Tacon

7:10 pm pdt 


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BraunsBlog...Random musings on specific topics.  The central themes will be ITIL V.3, Information Security, and other sundry ITSM topics.  That said, there are many more things in this world on which to opine, so don't be surprised if I do now and then.

About me...Braun Tacon, Portland Oregon.  Husband, father, aviator and former Air Traffic Controller with over 20 years experience in the Information Technology and IT Service Management field, the last thirteen years of which having been spent at a Fortune 500 in the Pacific Northwest. 

Professional background and certifications include Aviation Management, Education, Systems Management, Information Security and Process, Standards and Quality Management.  Always delivered with a strong focus on ITIL and similar Process Improvement Frameworks such as LEAN, SixSigma and TQM (Thank you Mr. Deming!).

Hobbies include reading, writing, and even the occasional Karaoke contest!

All opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone.

Contact me...

Questions?  Comments?  Suggestions?  You may contact me at btacon@BraunsBlog.com.

BraunsBlog - 99 and 44 one hundredth percent pure ITIL...66 one hundredth percent pure Braun

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