Tracking metrics are key for an effective service management in any company. Thus, ITIL metrics have been positioned as the best monitoring solution for organizations that want to improve their communication, standardize IT service management processes or better meet the needs of their customers.

Steps for the process of improving service management  

To improve the management of your company's services you need to have a plan that will help you successfully achieve this goal. These are the steps you will have to follow to achieve it.

Step 1. Identify the improvement strategy

The first thing you have to do is be clear about what you want to achieve. To do this you must ask yourself what your business needs and how IT services can meet those needs.

Step 2. Define what you are going to measure

Now that you know the most relevant ITIL metrics, you must determine which ones to use based on what you can and want to measure. The most recommendable is to choose 4 or 5 that work specifically in the area you want to improve. If you carry out a gap analysis of your management, you will be able to establish a suitable metrics plan.

Step 3. Collect, process and analyze the information

In the service operation stage you will be able to collect the information. Once you have it, you will have to process it to obtain the defined ITIL metrics and then you will have to analyze this data to start an improvement plan.

Step 4. Present and use the information

The information collected, once processed and analyzed, must be communicated to all key actors so that they can understand it and use it for decision making.

Step 5. Implement the improvement 

This information will help companies to define what they need to correct, optimize or improve in their service management. In this step, not only should the improvements to be made be established, but also the order of priority should be determined.

Most important ITIL metrics to improve your service management

When establishing an effective monitoring in your organization through ITIL metrics, you should know well which ones exist and then determine which ones are the most relevant for your business. You will find them in several categories and it is important that you know the most relevant ones according to each one.

Incident Management

• Initial response time
• Average resolution time
• Percentage of incidents reassigned more than once

Problem management

• Number of RFCs created to solve a problem
• Total cost of resolution per problem
• Top 5 categories of incidents reported in the period

Change Management

• Number of RFCs made without authorization
• Percentage of RFCs that have caused incidents

Configuration Management

• Number of failed RFCs due to incorrect data in the configuration management database
• Percentage of incorrect ICs in the configuration management database

Capacity management

• Number of SLA breaches due to lack of capacity
• Percentage of IQs monitored

Financial Management

• Total cost of ownership per service
• Percentage variance in cost forecast

Availability Management

• Time elapsed between failure and creation of an incident
• Average repair time

Continuity Management

• Number of services without a continuity plan
• Number of failures detected in the last test of the continuity plan

BMC Footprints for Implementing ITIL Metrics

If your goal is to increase customer satisfaction, you need a tool to help you implement ITIL metrics. BMC Footprints is one of the best solutions to perform this monitoring, since it is a multiple platform compatible with ITIL that will allow you to visualize and manage your assets to improve service delivery. It will also help you reduce costs, risks and vulnerabilities.

This tool stands out because it is web-based and focuses on the user experience. This way you can detect areas of improvement that impact performance and customer satisfaction and even anticipate their service needs. Among its most important advantages are:

• Delivery of real-time reports and analysis to assist in decision making
• Constant tracking and visibility of assets, formats and schedules.
• Mechanization of tasks for inventory control.
• Implementation of a friendly and updated interface.

If you want to leverage ITIL metrics to improve your company's service management, BMC Footprints can help. To implement this solution, our GB Advisors experts will provide you with all the information you need. Contact us and we will answer your questions so that you can start using this solution as soon as possible.