- Objective Is Identified
- Process Outputs Are Identified
- Process Is Designed to Provide Process Metrics
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Process Outputs Are Identified
These are the specific deliverables or services being provided to the primary and secondary customers. The quality of the delivery and content of these outputs is usually measured with service metrics.
Process Suppliers Are Identified and Involved
Process suppliers are the individuals who provide the specific inputs to a process. These suppliers may include the following individuals or departments:
Internal to an IT infrastructure (for example, data entry departments)
External to an IT infrastructure but internal to IT (such as a development group inputting change requests)
External to IT but internal to a company (for example, an outside user group supplying report-modification information)
External to a company (such as hardware and software vendors who provide details about how an upgrade is to be performed)
Execution Is Enforceable
Almost any process, regardless of design, must be enforced to be effective. Whenever possible and practical, software techniques such as passwords, authorizations, audit trails, or locks should be used to enforce compliance with a process. When technical enforcement is not practical, management support, review boards, metrics, or other procedural techniques should be used to ensure enforcement.
Process Is Designed to Provide Service Metrics
Most processes measure something associated with their output. Often this involves a quantitative measure such as transaction processes per second or jobs completed per hour. In addition to these measurements, a robust process also focuses on qualitative measures that are oriented toward the end user. These metrics show the relative quality of the service being provided. For example, service metrics involving a report delivery process may include not only how often the report is delivered on time, but also whether it was delivered to the right individual, in the correct format, with accurate content, and on the proper media. Service metrics should measure the benefits of the process to the end users in the end users' own terms. The metrics should be customer-oriented and focused on measuring the right thing; that is, these metrics should exhibit effectiveness.
Service Metrics Are Compiled and Analyzed, Not Just Collected
Mediocre infrastructures often invest a fair amount of time, money, and energy to collect and compile metrics; then they do little to analyze them. The real value of meaningful measurements comes from thoroughly and consistently examining these metrics for trends, patterns, and relationships and then applying the results of the analysis to improve the effectiveness of the particular service being measured.