Interest of the Key User in a Jira Service Management/ITSM project
Key Users are too often left out and not involved enough in JSM*/ITSM projects. However, they have a real role to play in projects. Why? Simply because they are the representatives of the end users. The Key User is an uncompromising judge of the value creation brought by a new service to users. They are also a company's best asset when it comes to highlighting points left out by the project team. The Key User is the asset to involve from the start of the project to guarantee its success!
*JSM= Jira Service Management, formerly Jira Service Desk
IT as a service provider for customers
CIOs position themselves in an organization as a service provider to its customers. These services provide value to the IT department's customers, namely the users. They are the first consumers of a company's service.
What is a service that is used and requested by ISD customers? It is a service that has a real added value and a real contribution to customers. Conversely, a service implemented by the IT department that is not used, or not used very much, or not requested by users, is considered a failure, a waste of budget that must be avoided.
Let's never forget that it is the users who perceive the true value of a service. We can therefore consider the end user as a full-fledged actor in the value creation chain. It is therefore important to give him his place during ITSM tool implementation projects.
The approach of bringing value through the ITSM tool and its related functionalities
In order to structure this process of providing value to users, the implementation of an IT service management tool (ITSM) is a must. There are many such tools on the market.
Let's take the case of Jira Service Management (JSM). This Atlassian tool provides IT departments, and especially support teams, with a complete solution. It allows to structure the processes and to organize the provision of the services. In that, it answers the constraints, stakes and objectives of the IT department. This solution also provides a portal for users.
The portal will offer two major solutions:
- users will be able to declare their requests autonomously,
- they will also be able to search for information in the knowledge base, etc...
This portal must be the first point of entry for users in case they need assistance. It is therefore important to design it well in order to facilitate the life of our users. Above all, it must lighten the workload of the level 1 teams who take into account user requests.
Very often in the design of ITSM tools and in the implementation of processes, the IT department tends to keep a very "IT" vision of things, both in terms of the implementation of processes and forms for declaring requests, and in terms of the portal made available to the user for creating requests.
The role of the Key User in the ITSM project and his real added value on the success of the project
Let's not forget that the end user is the only judge of the value of a service offered by the IT department. They are also the only judge of the practicality and usefulness of the portal that the IT department will make available to them.
It is therefore imperative to give him his place in the projects, on the phases that concern him directly. As soon as an ITSM tooling project is initiated, it is important to identify Key Users. They will be the direct representatives of the company's users. They obviously have a very pragmatic vision of the use of the portal and the information they expect to find there. They are also the first "sponsors" of the project, in direct contact with the future user population.
Why including Key Users late is a bad idea...
In my experience, the inclusion of Key Users in projects is done later, at the time of the revenue. The approach of including them in the project is good, of course. But it's already too late because the mistakes have potentially already been made during the design phase. And the Key Users find themselves "up against the wall". They can only see that the weeks and months of work done beforehand are of little use. Why is this? Because they don't see the value creation. Of course, they will be able to provide all the necessary feedback during the acceptance phases. But what if they question the design that was previously agreed upon? Then the feedback will be taken into account very little. And the disappointment at the end of the project will be even greater for them.
It should be noted that the positive perception of users is in the details (wording, layout, relevance of the information presented, etc.). These are often put in the background by those who have an "IT" hat. This is why it is important to bring them to the forefront.
SmartView's advice: Putting the key users back in the picture in ITSM projects
That's why we at Smartview always advise our customers to include key users in projects. It is important to give them back the place they should have in the project. They are the guarantors of the real success of an ITSM and user portal project.
All the projects that have included the Key Users from the design workshops onwards are projects that have been a real success, from all points of view (IT and users). This satisfaction can be measured in several ways:
- The majority of tickets are created on the user portal and no longer by phone, email, etc.
- N1 support teams have more time to process tickets (no more time wasted creating tickets)
- The implementation of the knowledge base on the portal allows the user to answer these questions directly without asking for support
- The user feedback is positive and we have the satisfaction of a project well done 😊
So, will you integrate your Key Users in your future projects?
Articles in the ITSM series:
- #1 Don't forget your key users in your ITSM projects
- #2 Continuous improvement and the ITSM approach
- #3 An ITSM audit: when and why?
