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Ideal, and Actual, IT Performance Metrics?
An anonymous reader writes "Recently it was revealed that our company measures IT performance by the time it takes to close trouble tickets. I consider IT's primary goal to be as transparent to the user as possible, thus this metric was rather troubling to me. Shouldn't we be focused on reducing calls, rather than simply closing them quickly?
My question is: How is your IT performance measured, and how do you think it should be measured?"
...by the number of callers left alive at the end of the day.
I think poster has a point.
A nice metric might be the count of tickets that are never opened.
An IT-department, IMHO, should be working on making itself obsolete.
But it's close. Of course, closed tickets are something a manager can measure. Needless to say, it measures nothing meaningful. For example, I tell a customer to reboot. Close the ticket. That takes little time and closed the ticket fast. In fact, I can improve my metrics by telling that same person to do this ever 4 hours for several years. OR, I can get up, go to their desk, and solve the problem permanently. It takes longer, making my metrics look bad, but in reality-land (a land far, far away from management land), that person is doing productive work longer and more efficiently because the interruption and downtime have been removed.
Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
For example, for every fax successfully sent via the fax server without IT intervention, the IT department gets one point.
For every fax that needs IT intervention to be sent, the IT department loses one point.
For every person who becomes aware of a problem with the fax server, the IT department loses one point. No more "heroics". The goal is to be as invisible as possible to the end users.
And similar items for every other server/service that IT supports. If nothing else, it will show exactly where the problems really are.
Management gets the behavior that it rewards, not necessarily the behavior that it pretends to ask for
I don't say "no" any longer. I ask them what their budget is for accomplishing the task they want.
me: "How much do you have budgeted for this project"
them: "Budget? You mean it costs money? I thought you could do this for free"
me: "We can't do that for free" (laughing to myself the whole time) .... later they come back ...
them: "We have $400 for the project"
me: "Does that include the licensing? Does that include ongoing support? Does that include setup, training, and installation of new infrastructure needed to support your project?"
them: "Uh, no. What do you mean?"
me: "Well, when you want a project ... say for a new building, do you just present $400 and say can you build the building for that?"
them: "Well, no, we have professional architects design the building, then we have professional contractors bid on the project, then we included additional maintenance in the budget for the new building and .... "
me: "So, what you are saying is that you don't view IT as being professional"
them: "No no no no! That's not what I mean at all."
me: "So, how come you just expected us to do what you wanted without asking us what it would take to do it?"
them: "Because it is too expensive when I do ask that"
me: "It is more expensive to do things right. If you want to do it wrong, any non-professional can quote you a lower price. You can get a building and have it built a lot less expensive if you don't hire Architects and Contractors to design and build a building, and it will get built, but it will be missing things you probably want and need. But you know this, and that is why you trust those professionals."
them: "yes, but you are too expensive"
me: "Then the answer is no"
---
Sometimes it is just easier to say "NO". The sad fact is, people don't respect IT professionals AS professionals. We often don't deserve it either, but that is another topic.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
[sales to IT] We need (something that is a huge security risk).
[IT to sales] No.
[sales to administration] waaaahhh.
[admin to IT] Do it.
[IT] Grumble grumble fuck you. *does it*
[sales] yaaay!
[Admin] Damn IT.
Shit hits the fan, IT is blamed. Goto 10.
if the answer isn't violence, neither is your silence / freedom of expression doesn't make it alright
[sales to IT] We need (something that is a huge security risk).
[IT to sales] No.
[sales to administration] waaaahhh.
[admin to IT] Do it.
[Competent IT with minimal people skills] No, and here's why
[Admin] Ok, it was a dumb idea.
Anyone can "stand up for what they believe", but it takes a very brave individual to change what they believe. - Loundry
[Sales to IT] We need (something that is a huge security risk).
[Good IT] Here's a slightly different solution that addresses your needs without creating a security risk.
[Sales] Great, thanks!
[Good Admin to IT] Good job understanding the client's needs and thinking outside the box to get it done.