Calculus of IT - Episode 10 - 1/31/2024 - "IT Survival Guide Chapter 11 - Service and Support"

The Calculus of IT

In Episode 10, Mike and Nate, along with special guest Kate Bosman (Digital Forces Sorceress at Xilio Therapeutics), discuss Chapter 11 of the IT Survival Guide, which is focused on the activities required to establish a successful services and support model at your new company. We also spend some time discussing the continuing loss of autonomy we are experiencing when making decisions through the use of technology and how that will continue to evolve both as it relates to support and from a general experience perspective.
Then there is the usual stuff, such as digging into what is new and novel in AI today and what is happening with recent Apple privacy decisions.

Post-chapter 11 analysis/reflection questions:

1. How can IT transform from a reactive to a proactive support model?
2. How might surveying employees help establish a baseline for support and identify areas for improvement, and what types of questions should be included?
3. What are the pros and cons of allowing employees to select urgency/priority levels for their support tickets?
4. How important is establishing self-service options and setting clear expectations for users on when to submit tickets versus asking questions?
5. What metrics are most important to track for support, and how can they demonstrate the value IT provides?
6. What factors should be considered when determining appropriate response times, and how can consistency and managing expectations be balanced?
7. What guidance does the chapter provide around first responses to tickets and the balance between automation and manual intervention?
8. How can status updates and policies around reopening tickets ensure issues are fully resolved from the customer's perspective?
9. How do you balance standardized incident management procedures with the need for flexibility in unique or urgent requests?
10. What strategies encourage users to adhere to formal incident submission processes and eliminate informal "drive-bys"?
11. What challenges have you encountered when implementing a new IT Service Management (ITSM) tool, and how have you managed data integrity and user adaptation?
12. How do you approach incident categorization within your support model to ensure efficient routing and resolution?
13. What role do surveys and feedback play in your IT Service and Support strategy, and how do you ensure high participation and actionable insights?
14. How have you addressed IT support challenges across different time zones or remote locations, especially with limited resources?
15. Looking forward, how do you see the role and delivery of IT Service and Support evolving with trends like automation, AI, and remote work?

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Chapitres

1. Preamble: The evolution of loss of autonomy (00:00:00)

2. Nate Reads Chapter 11 (00:47:40)

3. Chapter 11 Concludes - General Banter Continues (01:11:00)