The challenge with ‘best practices’ is that associated recommendations, although generally sensible, remain untested and unproven. Many best practice recommendations have been shown to have no
consistent impact on the successful use of IT. Evidence is almost overwhelming that only 10-20% of projects deliver the promised business benefits despite the widespread use of best practice
recommendations. Research has shown there is a fundamental flaw because “none of the ‘best practice’ lists have ever been openly related to objective measures of performance such as
profitability. It is through these realisations that Governed Service Management™ has been born to provide practical guidance to ICT and business professionals in combining the long term
compliancy requirements of IT Governance ensuring strategic value with the contributing value of ICT Services by measuring and linking the performance of both. In fact, where we lost the link
between the business requirements and the ICT provision, Governed Service Management™ puts ICT back on that logical road. It is generally accepted that every organisation has a business purpose
and requires a well thought through strategy and adaptable tactics to make the purpose become realised. E.g. Sales, Marketing, HR, and ICT require subscribing towards the overall business
purpose and strategy to become an effective tactical force. In many instances ICT over the years lost its tactical link with the rest of the business. Facing the challenges of aligning with the
business requirements, ICT became an organisation on itself, operating in a bubble, blown up with support of the wisdom of technology vendors and strategy consulting practices. An added
challenge for ICT was and is the unfortunate decline of internal available expertise and experience. Under the pressure of compliancy requirements and showing business benefits ICT started to
implement processes and controls, conform best and proven practices. But although following what had to be done, it did not see the value that was expected when buying into these standard,
practice and governance bodies. But that is weird. In essence all these bodies base their proposition on ICT value towards the business! In fact, most of these bodies formalised practices that
were inherent to the business already! Apparently somewhere within the process of translating what the bodies advised into implemented practice, the business perspective gets lost… as did the
measurable value of ICT. Governed Service Management™, GSM, is putting that perspective back into the charts, e.g. from strategic intent to operational execution, from long term governance
expectations to the medium and short term performance of ICT Services. Governed Service Management™, GSM, proves the connection where we see most consulting firms decide to focus on one
perspective.
