AI driving ITSM


The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into IT Service Management (ITSM) is redefining the way organizations handle their IT operations, processes, and customer interactions. By automating repetitive tasks, providing intelligent insights, and fostering proactive problem-solving, AI transforms ITSM into a more efficient, resilient, and innovative function. Here's a look at how AI is enhancing ITSM.

## 1. **Automating Routine Tasks**

One of AI’s most impactful contributions to ITSM is its ability to automate repetitive, time-consuming tasks. Examples include:

- **Ticket Routing:** AI-powered systems analyze the nature of IT requests and route them to the most appropriate team or individual.

- **Password Resets and Access Requests:** Virtual agents can handle these straightforward tasks, freeing up IT staff for more complex work.

- **System Monitoring:** AI tools can automatically monitor IT infrastructure, detecting anomalies and generating alerts.

This automation reduces workload, speeds up response times, and allows IT teams to focus on strategic activities.

## 2. **Enhancing Incident Management**

AI improves the incident management process by:

- **Real-Time Diagnostics:** Identifying the root causes of incidents quickly using historical data and machine learning.

- **Predictive Insights:** Anticipating potential failures and alerting teams before issues escalate.

- **Automated Resolution:** Suggesting or even implementing solutions for common problems without human intervention.

The result is faster incident resolution, minimized downtime, and enhanced service reliability.

## 3. **Enabling Proactive Problem Management**

Traditionally, ITSM has been reactive, addressing issues after they occur. AI shifts the focus to proactive problem management by:

- **Identifying Patterns:** Analyzing historical data to uncover recurring issues.

- **Preventive Actions:** Recommending and implementing measures to mitigate potential problems.

- **Improving System Resilience:** Ensuring that systems are optimized to withstand challenges.

This approach minimizes disruptions and fosters a more stable IT environment.

## 4. **Enhancing Change Management**

AI simplifies the complexities of change management through:

- **Risk Analysis:** Evaluating the potential impacts of changes and identifying risks.

- **Best Practices:** Providing recommendations based on successful implementations in similar scenarios.

- **Automated Testing:** Running simulations to predict outcomes and ensure smooth transitions.

With AI, organizations can implement changes more confidently and efficiently.

## 5. **Streamlining Knowledge Management**

A well-maintained knowledge base is essential for ITSM. AI enhances knowledge management by:

- **Organizing Information:** Structuring data into easily accessible formats.

- **Answering Queries:** Using natural language processing to help users and IT staff find relevant information quickly.

- **Learning and Updating:** Continuously updating the knowledge base as new issues and solutions arise.

This ensures that both users and IT teams have access to up-to-date, relevant information.

## 6. **Optimizing Service Delivery**

AI improves the service delivery process by:

- **Personalization:** Tailoring responses and recommendations based on user profiles and preferences.

- **Predictive Analytics:** Anticipating user needs and offering solutions proactively.

- **Virtual Agents:** Providing 24/7 support to handle user queries, ensuring consistent service availability.

These enhancements lead to better user experiences and stronger service outcomes.

## 7. **Empowering IT Teams**

AI is not here to replace IT professionals but to empower them. By taking over repetitive tasks and providing actionable insights, AI allows IT teams to focus on innovation, strategy, and complex problem-solving. This fosters a more engaged and productive workforce.

## Final Thoughts

Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing ITSM by making it smarter, faster, and more proactive. From automating tasks to enabling predictive insights and enhancing user experiences, AI empowers organizations to deliver superior IT services while adapting to the challenges of a fast-paced digital world. By embracing AI, businesses can not only streamline their operations but also unlock new opportunities for growth and innovation.



Embracing Service Architecture


## **How Service Architecture Boosts Business Effectiveness**

In today’s rapidly evolving business environment, organizations must be agile, efficient, and customer-focused to stay competitive. Service architecture, a strategic design approach for structuring business processes and systems, plays a critical role in achieving these goals.

By aligning services with business needs, it ensures that resources are optimized, processes run smoothly, and customer experiences are enhanced. Here’s how service architecture can transform your business:

### 1. **Streamlining Business Operations**

Service architecture breaks down complex systems into modular, manageable services. Each service represents a specific function or process, such as order management or customer support. By designing these services to work independently yet cohesively, businesses can:

- Reduce inefficiencies by eliminating redundancies and streamlining workflows.\n- Quickly adapt to changes, as individual services can be updated or replaced without disrupting the entire system.

For example, if your organization introduces a new payment method, the payment processing service can be updated without overhauling the entire operational framework.

### 2. **Enhancing Scalability and Flexibility**

As your business grows, so does the demand for resources and capabilities. A well-designed service architecture allows for seamless scaling by enabling the addition of new services or the expansion of existing ones. This flexibility ensures that your operations can handle increased workloads without compromising performance or customer satisfaction.

### 3. **Improving Collaboration and Communication**

Service architecture fosters better collaboration within and across teams by clearly defining roles, responsibilities, and workflows. Each service has a specific purpose and owner, reducing ambiguity and encouraging accountability. Moreover, the use of standardized interfaces and protocols facilitates smoother communication between services, ensuring that data flows efficiently across departments.

### 4. **Driving Innovation and Adaptability**

In a world where customer needs and market conditions change rapidly, businesses must be able to pivot quickly. Service architecture supports innovation by enabling organizations to experiment with new ideas and technologies without disrupting existing operations. Whether it’s integrating AI-driven analytics or launching a new digital product, service architecture provides the flexibility to stay ahead of the curve.

### 5. **Enhancing Customer Experience**

By aligning services with customer journeys, service architecture ensures that each touchpoint delivers value and meets expectations. Whether it’s faster response times, personalized recommendations, or seamless transactions, a customer-centric service architecture can significantly enhance satisfaction and loyalty.

### 6. **Reducing Costs and Risks**

Service architecture promotes cost-efficiency by optimizing resource allocation and reducing waste. Additionally, its modular nature minimizes risks, as failures in one service are less likely to impact the entire system. This resilience is crucial for maintaining business continuity and protecting your reputation.

### Conclusion

Service architecture is more than just a technical framework; it’s a strategic tool for enhancing business effectiveness. By streamlining operations, enabling scalability, fostering collaboration, driving innovation, and improving customer experiences, it empowers organizations to thrive in a competitive landscape. Embracing service architecture isn’t just an investment in technology—it’s an investment in your business’s future success.


Embracing the future


In the ever-evolving IT Service Management (ITSM) landscape, staying ahead of the curve is crucial for organisations aiming to deliver exceptional service and maintain operational efficiency. One of the most exciting innovations in ITSM today is the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to revolutionize service delivery and user experience.

**AI-Powered Automation: Transforming ITSM**

AI-driven automation is poised to redefine ITSM by taking over routine tasks, such as password resets, troubleshooting, and system updates. This not only reduces the reliance on human intervention for repetitive support but also frees up IT staff to focus on higher-value tasks. With advancements in Natural Language Processing (NLP), AI agents can understand complex queries, improving response times and reducing human error.

**Experience-Driven ITSM: The Shift to XLAs**

Traditional Service Level Agreements (SLAs) have long focused on system uptime and response times. However, the shift towards Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) is gaining momentum. XLAs prioritise service quality and user satisfaction over mere technical performance. By integrating AI-driven monitoring and real-time sentiment analysis, IT teams can enhance IT services, improve user satisfaction, and align ITIL-driven services more closely with business goals.

**Enhanced AI Governance: Ethical and Effective AI Use**

As organizations increasingly rely on AI, the need for robust AI governance frameworks becomes paramount. These frameworks ensure ethical and effective AI use within ITSM, promoting transparency and accountability. By continuously monitoring AI performance and adjusting algorithms, organizations can maintain accuracy and improve service delivery.

**Holistic ITSM: Integrating Business Functions**

The future of ITSM lies in its integration with other business functions, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. This holistic approach improves data sharing and decision-making across departments, aligning business goals with IT capabilities. By leveraging shared data, organizations can develop coordinated strategies that enhance service delivery and operational efficiency.

**Conclusion**

The integration of AI and ML into ITSM is not just a trend; it's a transformative shift that promises to enhance efficiency, improve user experience, and drive innovation. As we embrace these advancements, it's essential to balance AI's capabilities with the human touch, ensuring that technology serves to augment, not replace, human interactions. By adopting AI-driven ITSM solutions, organizations can stay ahead in the competitive landscape and deliver exceptional service to their users.

JIRA Service Management


Greetings!

Automation in JIRA Service Management (JSM) is revolutionising how teams handle their service requests and incident management. By leveraging powerful automation features, organisations can streamline workflows, reduce manual tasks, and improve overall efficiency. 

These automation capabilities allow teams to set up rules that trigger actions based on specific conditions, ensuring that repetitive tasks are handled automatically. This not only saves time but also minimises the risk of human error, leading to more consistent and reliable service delivery. 

Whether it's automating ticket assignments, sending notifications, or updating issue statuses, JSM’s automation features empower teams to focus on more strategic and value-added activities.

In this article, we will explore the possibilities available in JSM.

## Why automate?

Process automation in IT Service Management (ITSM) is a transformative approach that brings numerous advantages to businesses. By automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks, organisations can significantly enhance their operational efficiency.

This means that IT teams can focus on more strategic activities that require human expertise and creativity, rather than getting bogged down by mundane tasks. For instance, automating service desk processes can drastically improve the productivity of IT professionals by automatically assigning service requests to the best-suited IT employee and ensuring that all necessary documentation is stored correctly.

One of the most compelling benefits of IT process automation is the reduction in human errors. Automated processes follow precise instructions and are not susceptible to distractions, ensuring tasks are carried out consistently and accurately. This minimises the risk of costly mistakes and enhances the overall reliability of IT services.

Additionally, automation enables faster and more efficient responses to user requests, which can significantly enhance user satisfaction. Users receive quick and effective responses to their inquiries, leading to a better overall experience.

Moreover, IT process automation can lead to substantial cost savings for businesses. By reducing the need for manual intervention, organisations can lower their operational costs and allocate resources more effectively.

This not only improves the bottom line but also allows businesses to invest in other areas that drive growth and innovation. Furthermore, automation makes it easier to implement process changes and adapt to evolving business needs, providing a flexible and scalable solution for IT management.

## What is available?

### Project Settings

In order to access to automation functionality you need to navigate to **Project settings -> Automation**.  The screen that you will see first is the list of automation templates available to JSM. 

![Settings](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739439721/JSM/automation/img-01_kxmbtz.png)

The templates are grouped into areas such as.

- Rovo - Atlassian's AI capability\n- Service Management\n- Business\n- Change Management\n- Design\n- Human Resources\n- Information Technology (IT) - the largest group of templates

The templates cover scenarios from the manual triggering of request updates through to automatically triggering the running of functions, in MS Azure / AWS, based on set criteria, to run functions systems management functions e.g. reboot a server.

![ITSM templates](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739439721/JSM/automation/img-06_ofyllh.png)

The other tabs in the Automation area are.

**Rules** - which lists all the rules created in your project and allows you to; enable/disable a rule, copy a rule and filter by action type and/or label.

![Rules tab](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739439721/JSM/automation/img-02_aterxq.png)

**Audit log** - which lists all the changes made to your project's automation rules and can be filtered by.

- Date and time\n- Audit log ID\n- Action type\n- Triggers

![Audit log tab](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739439721/JSM/automation/img-03_iyjppt.png)

**Usage** - lists the project automation invocations, which can be filtered by month.

![Usage tab](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739439721/JSM/automation/img-04_enxvwk.png)

## Creating an automation rule

There are three ways to create an automation rule;

- Use a template, either as-is or as a starter\n- Use Atlassian’s AI capability\n- Start from a blank slate

Let’s explore these options in more detail.

### Using a Template

![Settings](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739439721/JSM/automation/img-01_kxmbtz.png)

To use a template, navigate to **Project settings -> Automation -> Templates** and select the template that you want to use from the list.

The rule configuration screen will open and you will be asked to enter the required data. I have selected the *When an incident is created → create a post-mortem page in Confluence* template so, as a minimum, I need to populate the fields marked with an asterisk.

![Template step 1](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739439721/JSM/automation/img-07_gdkkh5.png)

I then need to click on each element within the template and provide any additional information. For example, when I click on *Issue type equals* I am asked to provide a Field, Condition operator, and either Value or Field against which to assess the condition.

![Template step 2](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739439721/JSM/automation/img-08_mjayt8.png)

Clicking on **Next* takes me to the next element in the automation flow. In the example I am using, I am prompted to connect a Confluence instance where the post-mortem page will be created. Once linked, I specify additional information, so that the post-mortem pages are created in the area that I want

![Template step 3](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739439721/JSM/automation/img-09_dmsf6e.png)

At this point I could select **Next** and with the rule on… or I can add additional components to the automation and extend its usefulness.

To add an additional step, simply click on the **New component** element. You will see that the right-hand menu has changed as shown below.

![New component](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739441980/JSM/automation/img-10_mvtaxf.png)

When you click on **Then** you will be presented with a list actions to choose from. For this demo I have selected the *Send email* action and populated the template.

To add in details into the email from the contents of the issue record you use a double set of curly brackets with the attribute name inside, for example *{{issue.reporter.displayName}}*. Thankfully Atlassian don’t expect you to know these and, by clicking on the **{ }** icon in any field where you can add attribute details, provides a searchable list of available attributes.

![curly bracket options](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739441980/JSM/automation/img-12_bg69wt.png)

I then click on **Save** or **Update** to include the new element.

You can also add conditional statements into your automation flow by clicking on **IF: Add a condition**, you will see the following options.

![IF conditions](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739443876/JSM/automation/img-13_aukwuh.png)

As well as a **THEN** and **IF** you can also add a **FOR EACH** element which creates a branch in your automation.

![FOR EACH conditions](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739443875/JSM/automation/img-14_axbaz1.png)

You can add a branch that relates to the

- Current Issue\n- Sub-tasks of the current issue\n- Parent of the current issue\n- Children of the current issue\n- All created issues\n- Most recently created issue\n- Destination issues\n- Issues fixed in version\n- Issues fixed in Sprint\n- Similar issue description\n- JQL (JIRA Query Language) which creates a matchable search string\n- Stories or Epics in JIRA Software

![Branches](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739443876/JSM/automation/img-15_nxue4v.png)

### Use AI

If you want to use the Atlassian AI, to help generate your automation workflow, navigate to **Project settings -> Automation -> Templates**. 

![AI prompts](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739445942/JSM/automation/img-16_fab4kk.png)

The AI field is at the top of the screen. Once you have entered your requirement, click on **Preview rule** and Atlassian will generate an automation workflow based on the criteria you entered.

*Note: As with any Generative AI solution, getting the prompts correct is key to getting the most optimal outcome. My recommendation is to keep your prompts succinct and use ITSM-oriented language.*

![Proposed workflow](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739445942/JSM/automation/img-17_hcadrm.png)

From this screen, you can enter any required information, into the AI proposed elements, and add/remove components as described under the Template section above.

### Blank slate

If you want to create your automation workflow, from a blank slate, navigate to **Project settings -> Automation** and click on **Create**.

Once you have taken the tour, or skipped past it, you will see the following screen where you can art to create your workflow.

For example, the following shows the creation of a simple rule to email the reporter of an issue when the status is changed to ‘Waiting for Customer’.

First, set the *TRIGGER* condition, in this can *Issue Updated*. For this to work in JSM, you need to select an option from the *Issues* part of the list.

![Rule TRIGGER](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739448820/JSM/automation/img-18_iumzpq.png)

Next, I add an **IF** condition, where I specify the issue status.

![Rule IF](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739448819/JSM/automation/img-19_st1bzy.png)

And then a **THEN** action to send an email and populate the form as shown below.

![Rule THEN](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1739448819/JSM/automation/img-20_zxtx9r.png)

I then click on **Turn on rule** to same and initiate the rule. I am prompted to specify a name for the automation rule, and which roles can edit it, and Atlassian makes the rule live.

You can just save the rule for further editing by clicking on the arrow, beside the **Turn on rule** button, and selecting the appropriate option.

## Conclusion

In summary, process automation in ITSM offers a multitude of benefits, including increased efficiency, reduced errors, enhanced user satisfaction, and cost savings. By leveraging automation, businesses can optimise their IT operations and focus on strategic initiatives that drive long-term success.

JSM provides an intuitive and robust solution to deliver automation in your ITSM environment.

Embrace the power of JSM and unlock new levels of productivity and reliability in your IT operations.

Hopefully, this has been useful to you and I wish you well on your ITSM journey…


Greetings!

In today's fast-paced IT environment, organisations need robust tools to manage their service management processes efficiently. JSM Premium offers a suite of advanced features designed to supercharge your IT service management (ITSM) practices and help your teams work smarter and faster.

In this article, we will be exploring the key features that come with upgrading to Premium and how to implement them.

I am splitting this article as follows:

- Part 1: Key Features and Customer Engagement\n- Part 2: ITSM Processes\n- Part 3: Asset Management, Governance and Security (this article)

## Asset Management

ITIL Asset Management, also known as IT Asset Management (ITAM), is a framework that assists organisations in efficiently managing their IT assets throughout their lifecycle. This process helps a company maximise value, limit costs, and manage risks by planning and driving the entire lifecycle of all IT assets.

IT Asset Management (ITAM) involves the systematic tracking and utilisation of an organisation’s assets, both physical and digital. It includes cataloguing, deploying, maintaining, upgrading, and responsibly disposing of assets to ensure their optimal use throughout their lifecycle. This lifecycle typically encompasses planning, procurement, deployment, maintenance, and retirement, with a focus on understanding the total cost of ownership and maximising asset value.

### Creating the schema

Once the Premium license has been procured, or you have started the free trial of Premium (currently 30 days), you can create the schema for your Asset Register. 

First, you click on **Assets**, found in the top menu on the screen. This will take you to the schema list page, from which you click on *Create schema*.

![All schemas screen](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738684972/JSM/premium/img-001_sagqu9.png)

You will be given the opportunity to choose an Atlassian template or start with a blank schema. I will be starting with the IT asset Management template for this demonstration.

![Schema template of blank selection](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738684971/JSM/premium/img-002_ub28am.png)

The next screen asks you to provide three pieces of information.

- Schema name\n- Key - this will be the prefix for all assets within this schema\n- Description

![Schema creation](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738684971/JSM/premium/img-003_hspxli.png)

Once you have provided the information you just need to click on *Create schema*. Your schema will be created and you will be redirected to the main view screen for the schema. 

![Main schema screen](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738684971/JSM/premium/img-004_pigj32.png)

From this screen, you will be able to.

- Amend the schema configuration\n- Add, amend or delete Object Types

![Schema config screen](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738684971/JSM/premium/img-007_zxo2ym.png)

As you will see from the below you can create the schema hierarchy to suit your needs by setting the *Parent* field. If you want a new top-level object you need to leave this field blank, see **Software Licenses** in the below screenshot as an example.

![Schema hierarchy](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738684970/JSM/premium/img-006_vv6xuy.png)

- Create objects (Configuration Items in ITIL terms), by clicking on an Object Type in the lowest part of your hierarchy (NMI Workstations in this example) and filling out the form that is presented to you. *Note: different object types have different field sets, so it is worth exploring these before committing to a particular type*

![Object creation form](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738684970/JSM/premium/img-009_pkknlv.png)

- Amend or delete objects from the schema by clicking on the menu shown below. You will see at the top of the object record the Unique ID for the record with the prefix *DEMO*

![Object record](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738684970/JSM/premium/img-010_z47xdd.png)

Now, this is all well and good if you only have a small number of assets to manage and their data is relatively static but, if you have thousands of assets that you need to manage, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to import assets into your Asset Register, either using an extract or through integration with a discovery tool.

### Importing Assets

JSM gives you the ability to import Asset Data from the *Schema Configuration* menu, which is accessed from the main schema view screen.

![Import screen](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738684970/JSM/premium/img-011_qlwlte.png)

From this screen, you can see all the imports that you have done previously, as well as creating a new import by clicking on the **Create import** button. You will need to

- Specify the import type that you want to use\n  - Discovery Import\n  - JSON file Import\n  - CSV file Import\n  - External Import\n- Define your import structure\n  - Import name or reference\n  - Add a description, as needed\n  - Identify the file, or its location, that you want imported\n  - Specify whether you want *Object Types* and *Structures* to be created based on the data in your file. This can be useful, if you are starting with a blank schema and want JSM to create based on the content structure of your file, but should be used with caution if you have manually created a schema or used a template\n  - Additional options include\n    - Being able to specify the encoding format of your data\n    - Specifying the character that will be used if data needs to be concatenated e.g. Field Office becomes Field-Office\n    - Whether to ignore or remove entries with no data\n    - Whether to add or ignore unknown values\n    - Specify a Date or Date/Time format

\n### Asset Reporting

There are a number of templated asset reports that are provided. These are accessed from the side menu, as shown below, from where you can click on **Create Report** which will open up the template selection screen.

![Main report screen](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738684970/JSM/premium/img-012_wxvfdi.png)

From here you simply specify a meaningful name for the report and select the template you want to use.

![Report template selection](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738684970/JSM/premium/img-013_mg6xwq.png)

From your selection, you will be taken to a report configuration screen. This is where you specify the schema, object types, object attributes etc, that you want your reports to be generated from. 

![Report config screen](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738684970/JSM/premium/img-014_hmufzp.png)

Once you click **Save** your report will be listed in the main *Reports* screen.

### Linking assets to records

Now having an accurate record of all of your assets is a splendid thing, which can be enhanced by creating custom fields and adding them to the screen for your various request types.

Linking ITSM Configuration Items (CIs) to ITSM process records is essential for several reasons:

1. **Enhanced Incident and Problem Resolution**: By understanding the relationships between CIs, organisations can quickly identify and resolve issues. This comprehensive view of system configurations and dependencies facilitates troubleshooting and enables faster root cause analysis\n2. **Improved Change Management**: Linking CIs to process records ensures that any changes made to the IT environment are well-documented and understood. This helps in evaluating the impact of changes and reduces the risk of unintended consequences\n3. **Effective Release Management**: Having detailed information about CIs and their relationships allows for better planning and execution of releases. This ensures that all components are correctly configured and reduces the likelihood of release failures\n4. **Efficient IT Service Management**: Configuration Management provides accurate and trustworthy information about IT services, supporting decision-making and service delivery. This helps in maintaining consistency in a product's functionality, physical characteristics, and performance\n5. **Risk Reduction**: Properly linking CIs to process records helps reduce the risk of interruptions and security breaches. It also minimises unnecessary duplication and ensures that all IT services, hardware, and software operate efficiently

**Example: Change Management**

Navigate to **Project settings -> Operations -> Change Management -> Assets**.

This screen enables you to link your asset records to Requests for Change (RfCs). This provides assurance that there is no ambiguity as to which specific assets an RfC relates to, and therefore the business risk of the change can be accurately assessed.

![Assets](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738769163/JSM/premium/img-032_crbxhg.png)

The two steps to do this are 1) creating a custom field that maps to your asset schema, and 2) adding that field to your change request types.

Let’s walk through this. Click on the **Create custom field** link and then the **Create custom field** button at the top right-hand of the screen that appears.

![Custom fields](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738835773/JSM/premium/img-035_f2soaz.png)

In the popup form, choose *Advanced* from the side menu and then the *Asset Objects* option. Now click on **Next**.

![Custom field](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738835773/JSM/premium/img-036_yqvndx.png)

Provide a name for the field and a description. Now click on **Create**.

From the list of Custom fields that will appear, click on the name of your newly created field, then open the Context tab and finally the *Create, edit or delete contexts* link.

From this screen click on the *Edit Assets object/s field configuration* link.

![Add scema](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738835773/JSM/premium/img-039_pcith7.png)

In the next screen, you need to specify, as a minimum.

- Object schema - your asset schema\n- Which fields users can search against in the custom field\n- Which field will appear in the field for the issue view\n- Whether the field allows multiple selects, crucial if your RfCs will relate to more than one asset

Clock on **Save** when ready.

![Schema config](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738835773/JSM/premium/img-040_zmlzo1.png)

Now navigate back to the **Project settings -> Operations -> Change management -> Assets** screen and click on the **Request a change** link. *Note: if you have more than one request type under for changes these will all be listed here*.

Now drag your new custom field from the right-hand of the screen and place it where you want it to be in the list of existing fields. Once you are ready, click on **Save Changes**.

![Add custom field to request type form](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738835773/JSM/premium/img-038_gucdvz.png)

Your field is now visible whenever someone creates or views the assigned request type(s).

## Governance and Security

### Enhanced Security / Governance Controls

The Premium license model provides additional security and governance capability enhancements for JSM. These are;

* **Audit Logs** - Troubleshoot a problem or keep a record of important events, like changes to global permissions\n* **Data Residency** - Choose where key product data at rest is hosted within Atlassian’s global cloud footprint. This helps your business where legislation mandates where data should be held e.g. [GDPR](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj/eng), [HIPAA](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/index.html) etc\n* **Admin Insights** - Gain a better understanding of your product usage with data, like usage, security, and access insights\n* **IP Allowlisting** (White Listing) - Limit site access to trusted IP ranges, giving an extra layer of access security\n* **Sandbox** - Test and control the rollout of updates and new apps in a sandbox copy of your environment\n* **Release Tracks** - With the option to control Atlassian cloud releases, control when and how changes are released to end users

### Single Sign On (SSO) integration (AD / SAML)

Premium also gives you the ability to implement an SSO integration with your project. I have covered this in the 5th post of this series, which can be found [here](https://blog.stevengodson.com/series#JSM).

## Conclusion

In summary, JSM Premium is a comprehensive solution tailored for modern IT service management needs. By harnessing its advanced features, organisations can; streamline their service management processes, enhance efficiency, and provide exceptional service delivery. 

From advanced incident management to AI-powered capabilities, and robust support to enhanced security, JSM Premium equips teams with the tools they need to excel in a fast-paced digital landscape. 

Embrace the power of JSM Premium and unlock new levels of productivity and reliability in your IT operations.

Hopefully, this has been useful to you and I wish you well on your ITSM journey…

Service Excellence


IT security operations (SecOps) involve protecting an organisation’s IT infrastructure, data, and users from cyber threats. This requires a combination of proactive measures, incident response, and continuous monitoring. Integrating the Japanese philosophy of **Ichi-go Ichi-e** can offer unique and valuable benefits to IT security operations.

**Ichi-go Ichi-e**, meaning "one time, one meeting," emphasises the uniqueness and irreproducibility of each moment. This mindfulness philosophy encourages presence, appreciation, and attention to detail, which can significantly enhance IT security operations.

## 1. Improved Incident Response

Approaching each security incident with the Ichi-go Ichi-e mindset ensures that IT professionals are fully present and focused on the specific threat at hand. This heightened attention can lead to quicker identification of attack vectors, more effective containment measures, and faster resolution of incidents, thereby minimising potential damage.

## 2. Enhanced Threat Analysis

Treating each threat as a unique and valuable learning opportunity fosters a deeper and more thorough analysis. This approach can help security teams uncover subtle patterns, understand attacker behaviour, and develop more robust defences against future attacks.

## 3. Better Communication and Collaboration

SecOps require seamless collaboration between various teams, including IT, security, and compliance. Embracing Ichi-go Ichi-e fosters mindful and respectful communication, ensuring that all parties are fully engaged and understood. This can lead to stronger collaboration, better decision-making, and a more cohesive security posture.

## 4. Increased Efficiency and Productivity

By focusing on the present moment and giving full attention to each task, IT security professionals can work more efficiently and effectively. This mindfulness can lead to higher-quality work, reduced errors, and faster completion of tasks, ultimately boosting overall productivity.

## 5. Enhanced User Awareness and Training

Applying Ichi-go Ichi-e to user interactions ensures that each training session, awareness campaign, and security briefing is conducted with full attention and appreciation for the unique needs of the audience. This can lead to more effective training outcomes and a higher level of security awareness among users.

## 6. Reduced Stress and Burnout

The demanding nature of SecOps can lead to stress and burnout among security professionals. Adopting the principles of Ichi-go Ichi-e encourages a mindful approach to work, helping individuals stay calm and composed even during high-pressure situations. This can lead to a healthier work environment and improved well-being for security staff.

## 7. Continuous Improvement

Viewing each security incident and threat analysis as a unique learning opportunity aligns with the philosophy of continuous improvement. By reflecting on the lessons learned from each incident and interaction, security teams can identify areas for enhancement and implement changes that drive ongoing improvement.

## Conclusion

Integrating Ichi-go Ichi-e into IT security operations brings a mindful and human-centred approach to a traditionally technical field. By fostering presence, attention to detail, improved communication, and a focus on continuous improvement, IT security professionals can enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of their operations. As the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve, embracing the timeless wisdom of Ichi-go Ichi-e can provide a significant advantage in safeguarding an organisation’s digital assets and ensuring the smooth functioning of business processes


IT operations encompass a wide range of activities aimed at managing and maintaining an organisation’s IT infrastructure to ensure smooth and efficient business processes. While technical expertise and procedural rigour are essential, integrating the Japanese concept of **Ichi-go Ichi-e** can bring a refreshing and highly beneficial perspective to IT operations.

**Ichi-go Ichi-e**, meaning "one time, one meeting," emphasises the uniqueness and irreproducibility of each moment. This mindfulness philosophy encourages presence, appreciation, and attention to detail, which can significantly enhance IT operations.

## 1. Improved Incident Response

Approaching each incident with the Ichi-go Ichi-e mindset ensures that IT professionals are fully present and focused on resolving the issue at hand. This heightened attention can lead to quicker identification of root causes and more effective solutions, minimising downtime and reducing the impact on business operations.

## 2. Enhanced Preventative Maintenance

Treating each maintenance activity as a unique opportunity to ensure the health of IT systems encourages thoroughness and attention to detail. This proactive approach can help identify potential issues before they escalate into major problems, leading to more reliable and resilient IT infrastructure.

## 3. Better Communication and Collaboration

IT operations often involve coordination between various teams and stakeholders. Embracing Ichi-go Ichi-e fosters mindful and respectful communication, ensuring that all parties are fully engaged and understood. This can lead to stronger collaboration, better decision-making, and a more cohesive team environment.

## 4. Increased Efficiency and Productivity

By focusing on the present moment and giving full attention to each task, IT professionals can work more efficiently and effectively. This mindfulness can lead to higher-quality work, reduced errors, and faster completion of tasks, ultimately boosting overall productivity.

## 5. Enhanced Customer Satisfaction

Applying Ichi-go Ichi-e to customer interactions ensures that each user feels valued and appreciated. By being fully present and attentive during support interactions, IT professionals can provide a higher level of service, leading to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty.

## 6. Reduced Stress and Burnout

The demanding nature of IT operations can lead to stress and burnout among IT professionals. Adopting the principles of Ichi-go Ichi-e encourages a mindful approach to work, helping individuals stay calm and composed even during high-pressure situations. This can lead to a healthier work environment and improved well-being for IT staff.

## 7. Continuous Improvement

Viewing each operational activity as a unique learning opportunity aligns with the philosophy of continuous improvement. By reflecting on the lessons learned from each incident, maintenance task, and interaction, IT teams can identify areas for enhancement and implement changes that drive ongoing improvement.

## Conclusion

Integrating Ichi-go Ichi-e into IT operations brings a mindful and human-centred approach to a traditionally technical field. By fostering presence, attention to detail, improved communication, and a focus on continuous improvement, IT professionals can enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of their operations. As the IT landscape continues to evolve, embracing the timeless wisdom of Ichi-go Ichi-e can provide a significant advantage in delivering exceptional IT services and ensuring the smooth functioning of business processes.


DevOps, the amalgamation of development and operations, emphasises collaboration, automation, and continuous improvement to deliver high-quality software rapidly and efficiently. While technical methodologies are at its core, integrating the Japanese philosophy of **Ichi-go Ichi-e** can provide profound enhancements to the DevOps culture and practices.

**Ichi-go Ichi-e**, meaning "one time, one meeting," emphasises the uniqueness and irreplaceability of each moment. This mindfulness philosophy encourages presence, appreciation, and attention to detail, which can significantly benefit DevOps.

## 1. Enhanced Focus on Each Deployment

Treating each deployment with the Ichi-go Ichi-e mindset ensures that every release is given the attention and care it deserves. This heightened focus can lead to more thorough testing, validation, and monitoring, resulting in higher-quality software releases with fewer issues.

## 2. Improved Collaboration and Communication

DevOps relies heavily on collaboration between development and operations teams. By embracing Ichi-go Ichi-e, team members are encouraged to be fully present and engaged in their interactions. This can lead to more meaningful and productive communication, fostering a stronger sense of teamwork and mutual respect.

## 3. Increased Responsiveness to Feedback

Viewing each piece of feedback as a unique opportunity to improve aligns perfectly with the DevOps culture of continuous improvement. By treating feedback with mindfulness and appreciation, teams can more effectively address user concerns and enhance their products based on real-world experiences.

## 4. Reduced Stress and Burnout

The fast-paced nature of DevOps can lead to stress and burnout. Applying Ichi-go Ichi-e encourages individuals to approach their work with mindfulness, helping them stay calm and composed even under pressure. This can lead to a healthier work environment and improved well-being for team members.

## 5. Better Incident Management

In the event of an incident, approaching it with the Ichi-go Ichi-e mindset can lead to more focused and effective problem-solving. By fully engaging with the incident at hand, teams can quickly identify root causes, implement solutions, and document learnings for future reference.

## 6. Enhanced Innovation and Creativity

Mindfulness fosters an open-minded and reflective approach to problem-solving. By embracing Ichi-go Ichi-e, DevOps teams can tap into their creativity and explore innovative solutions that might not have been considered otherwise. This can lead to more effective and forward-thinking development practices.

## 7. Stronger Continuous Improvement Culture

The philosophy of Ichi-go Ichi-e aligns with the DevOps principle of continuous improvement. By treating each sprint, each deployment, and each feedback loop as unique opportunities for learning and growth, teams can continually refine their processes and deliver better outcomes.

## Conclusion

Integrating Ichi-go Ichi-e into DevOps brings a mindful and human-centered approach to a fast-paced and technical discipline. By fostering attention to detail, improved collaboration, better incident management, and a culture of continuous improvement, DevOps teams can enhance their effectiveness and achieve greater success. As the tech landscape continues to evolve, embracing the wisdom of Ichi-go Ichi-e can provide a significant advantage in delivering high-quality software and fostering a positive work environment.


Change management within IT Service Management (ITSM) involves the controlled process of managing changes to IT services, ensuring minimal disruption and maintaining service quality. While technical procedures and frameworks are essential, integrating the Japanese concept of **Ichi-go Ichi-e** can offer valuable insights and improvements to this critical function.

**Ichi-go Ichi-e**, meaning "one time, one meeting," emphasises the uniqueness and irreplaceability of each moment. This mindfulness philosophy encourages presence, appreciation, and attention to detail, which can significantly benefit ITSM Change Management.

## 1. Enhanced Attention to Detail

Approaching each change with the Ichi-go Ichi-e mindset means giving full attention to every aspect of the change process. This thoroughness can lead to more accurate impact assessments, risk evaluations, and implementation plans, reducing the likelihood of errors and unforeseen issues.

## 2. Improved Stakeholder Engagement

Viewing each change as a unique event fosters a more considerate and collaborative approach to stakeholder engagement. By valuing each interaction and ensuring that all voices are heard, change managers can build stronger relationships with stakeholders, gaining their trust and support for the change.

## 3. Better Change Documentation

Mindfulness in the documentation process ensures that each change is recorded with precision and clarity. Detailed documentation helps create a comprehensive change history, which can be invaluable for future reference, audits, and continuous improvement initiatives.

## 4. Reduced Resistance to Change

When change managers are fully present and empathetic during the change process, they can better understand and address the concerns of those affected by the change. This approach can help mitigate resistance and foster a more positive attitude towards the change, leading to smoother implementations.

## 5. Increased Flexibility and Adaptability

The philosophy of Ichi-go Ichi-e encourages an open-minded and flexible approach to each unique change. This adaptability allows change managers to respond more effectively to unexpected challenges and to tailor their strategies to the specific needs of each situation.

## 6. Enhanced Learning and Improvement

Treating each change as an opportunity to learn and improve aligns with the continuous improvement mindset central to ITSM. By reflecting on the unique aspects and outcomes of each change, teams can identify best practices and areas for enhancement, leading to more effective change management over time.

## 7. Strengthened Team Collaboration

Applying Ichi-go Ichi-e principles can foster a culture of mutual respect and cooperation within the change management team. When team members approach their work with mindfulness and appreciation for each other's contributions, it can lead to stronger collaboration and more innovative solutions.

## Conclusion

Integrating Ichi-go Ichi-e into ITSM Change Management brings a mindful and human-centred approach to a structured process. By fostering attention to detail, improved stakeholder engagement, better documentation, and a culture of continuous improvement, IT professionals can enhance the effectiveness and success of change initiatives. As the IT landscape evolves, embracing the wisdom of Ichi-go Ichi-e can provide a significant advantage in managing changes with grace and efficiency.



Greetings!

In today's fast-paced IT environment, organisations need robust tools to manage their service management processes efficiently. JSM Premium offers a suite of advanced features designed to supercharge your IT service management (ITSM) practices and help your teams work smarter and faster.

In this article, we will be exploring the key features that come with upgrading to Premium and how to implement them.

I am splitting this article as follows:

- Part 1: Key Features and Customer Engagement\n- Part 2: ITSM Processes (this article)\n- Part 3: Asset Management, Governance and Security

## ITSM Processes

### Problem Management

Problem Management in ITIL v4 is a practice aimed at reducing the likelihood and impact of incidents by identifying actual and potential causes of incidents and managing workarounds and known errors. The practice is divided into three main phases:

1. **Problem Identification**: Activities for identifying problems include analysing incident records and identifying duplicate and recurring problems.\n2. **Problem Control**: After identifying problems, this phase involves taking a closer look at them to understand their nature and impact.\n3. **Error Control**: This phase handles recognised mistakes and may allow for the development of potential long-term fixes.

The purpose of Problem Management is to ensure that errors causing incidents are identified, understood, and eliminated quickly and reliably. This helps organisations to move away from daily firefighting and focus on more valuable work.

#### How to switch it on

Problem Management can be switched on by navigating to **Project Settings -> Features** and clicking on the switch at the top right-hand of the Problem Management card.

![Features](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738762236/JSM/premium/img-021_ldo7wz.png)

You will see this message appear at the bottom of the screen.

![Pop-upl](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738762236/JSM/premium/img-022_yrff0l.png)

If you opt to add a request type at this stage you will be taken to the following screen where you can add a request type from…

![Problem request types](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738762236/JSM/premium/img-023_h5dwqz.png)

An Atlassian template…

![Templates](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738762237/JSM/premium/img-024_oszoif.png)

From a blank request type…

![Blank request type](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738762238/JSM/premium/img-025_uwcevu.png)

Or using AI.

![AI](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738762237/JSM/premium/img-026_jy0n9r.png)

#### Managing the request type

Once created you will be able to customise the Problem record through **Project settings -> Request management -> Request types -> Problems**.  

You can configure the request form, used to raise a Problem, the issue view, used by those with the Service Desk Agent role to manage Problems and review/change the workflow statuses. 

You can also view and edit the processes workflow, if required, to align with your business's Problem Management process.

![Manage request type](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738764089/JSM/premium/img-028_oa5oe6.png)

### Post Incident Reviews

#### What is it?

A **Post Incident Review (PIR)** in ITIL v4 is a formal meeting or process that takes place after an incident has been resolved. The goal of a PIR is to analyse the incident, understand its causes, and assess the incident management process itself. This review provides an opportunity for key stakeholders to review the incident, share insights, and document lessons learned. 

The PIR is critical for organisations because it:

* **Uncovers Root Causes**: Identifies the underlying technical and process failures that contributed to the incident\n* **Promotes Learning**: Provides a structured environment for teams to learn from mistakes or missteps\n* **Improves Future Response**: Leads to actionable recommendations that enhance the organisation’s ability to respond to and prevent future incidents\n* **Ensures Accountability**: Ensures that action items are assigned to responsible teams or individuals to prevent recurrence

#### Creating and managing a request type

Creating and managing a PIR request type is the same as Problem Management, so I will not be repeating this. 

![Post implementation review](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738764796/JSM/premium/img-029_rfyes8.png)

### Change Management

#### What is it?\nITIL v4 Change Management, also known as Change Enablement, is a practice within the IT Service Management (ITSM) framework designed to manage changes in a controlled and systematic manner. The primary objective of Change Management is to minimise the risk associated with changes while ensuring that beneficial changes are implemented efficiently.

Key aspects of ITIL v4 Change Management include:

* **Evaluation and Approval**: Assessing the potential impacts of changes and obtaining necessary approvals.\n* **Implementation**: Executing changes in a structured way to reduce risks and increase operational efficiency.\n* **Risk Management**: Identifying and managing risks associated with changes to prevent service interruptions and ensure stability.

#### Creating and managing a request type

Creating and managing a PIR request type is the same as Problem Management, so I will not be repeating this. However, I will highlight that there are plenty on templates to choose from, which allows you to have a request type for most conceivable ITSM scenarios, either out of the box or by customising a template.

![Change management](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738765171/JSM/premium/img-030_avecxc.png)

#### Change management operations

The **Change Management** functionality also opens up an entry under the **Project settings -> Operations** menu which gives you the following functionality.

##### Deployment pipelines

Connecting your Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipeline with your Change Management process is a great way to ensure that any modifications to production systems are carefully reviewed and approved. By integrating it with CI/CD, you maintain a high level of reliability while benefiting from the speed and automation of CI/CD

![CICD](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738769164/JSM/premium/img-031_pxbrw7.png)

##### Assets

This screen enables you to link your asset records to Requests for Change (RfCs). This provide assurance that there is no ambiguity as to which specific assets an RfC relates to, and therefore the business risk of the change can be accurately assessed.

![Assets](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738769163/JSM/premium/img-032_crbxhg.png)

The two steps to do this are 1) creating a custom field that maps to your asset schema, and 2) adding that field to your change request types.

Let’s walk through this. Click on the **Create custom field** link and then the **Create custom field** button at the top right-hand of the screen that appears.

![Custom fields](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738835773/JSM/premium/img-035_f2soaz.png)

In the popup form, choose *Advanced* from the side menu and then the *Asset Objects* option. Now click on **Next**.

![Custom field](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738835773/JSM/premium/img-036_yqvndx.png)

Provide a name for the field and a description. Now click on **Create**.

From the list of Custom fields that will appear, click on the name of your newly created field, then open the Context tab, and finally the *Create, edit or delete contexts* link.

From this screen click on the *Edit Assets object/s field configuration* link.

![Add scema](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738835773/JSM/premium/img-039_pcith7.png)

On the next screen you need to specify, as a minimum.

- Object schema - your asset schema\n- Which fields users can search against in the custom field\n- Which field will appear in the field for the issue view\n- Whether the field allows multiple selects, crucial if your RfCs will relate to more than one asset

Click on **Save** when ready.

![Schema config](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738835773/JSM/premium/img-040_zmlzo1.png)

Now navigate back to the **Project settings -> Operations -> Change management -> Assets** screen and click on the **Request a change** link. *Note: if you have more than one request type under for changes these will all be listed here*.

Now drag your new custom field from the right-hand of the screen and place it where you want it to be in the list of existing fields. Once you and ready click on **Save Changes**.

![Add custom field to request type form](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738835773/JSM/premium/img-038_gucdvz.png)

Your field is now visible whenever someone creates or views the assigned request type(s).

##### Risk insights

This area lets you set.

- Which risk insights tabs are visible on the *View* screen for Change request types\n- Specify the status to be used for rejected changes and specify time windows if you want to show rejected changes\n- Specify the time window if you want to show failed deployments\n- Create standard forms for use within your Change request type to drive consistency of data capture

![Risks](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738838108/JSM/premium/img-041_ivtsse.png)

##### Other settings

This area links to.

- The list of services that you may or may not have configured within your project. Services are separate from assets as they relate to a service that is delivered to a customer and may consist of one or more assets\n- The automation area of the project where you can create automation rules using existing templates on Atlassian’s AI tool

![Other settings](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738769163/JSM/premium/img-034_bzocfn.png)

## Advanced Alert Integration

Premium gives you the ability to integrate JSM with one or more Enterprise Management tools. This means that your service desk agents will have visibility of alerts that have been generated in your service(s) and, depending on how much automation you want to use, go from automatically raising Incidents to automating Incident response and resolution.

This is a large topic, which deserves a detailed look, so I will cover this later in the series.

## Conclusion

In summary, JSM Premium stands out as a comprehensive solution tailored for modern IT service management needs. By harnessing its advanced features, organisations can streamline their service management processes, enhance efficiency, and provide exceptional service delivery. 

From advanced incident management to AI-powered capabilities, and robust support to enhanced security, JSM Premium equips teams with the tools they need to excel in a fast-paced digital landscape. 

Embrace the power of JSM Premium and unlock new levels of productivity and reliability in your IT operations.

Hopefully, this has been useful to you and I wish you well on your ITSM journey…


In the fast-paced world of IT Service Management (ITSM), incident management is a critical function that ensures the continuity of business operations and the swift resolution of IT issues. Amidst the technical and procedural rigour of ITSM, a Japanese concept known as **Ichi-go Ichi-e** can offer a refreshing and highly beneficial perspective.

**Ichi-go Ichi-e** translates to "one time, one meeting" or "for this time only." It emphasises the uniqueness and irreproducibility of each moment, encouraging mindfulness, presence, and appreciation for the here and now. Applying this philosophy to ITSM Incident Management can bring several significant benefits:

## 1. Enhanced Focus and Presence

When IT professionals approach each incident with the mindset of Ichi-go Ichi-e, they become fully present and focused on the task at hand. This heightened attention can lead to a more thorough and accurate diagnosis of issues, reducing the likelihood of overlooking critical details.

## 2. Improved Customer Satisfaction

Treating each incident as a unique opportunity to provide excellent service fosters a customer-centric approach. By valuing each interaction with the end-user, IT support teams can build stronger relationships, ensuring that users feel heard, respected, and valued. This can lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty.

## 3. Reduced Stress and Burnout

The high-pressure environment of incident management often leads to stress and burnout among IT professionals. Adopting Ichi-go Ichi-e encourages a mindful approach to work, helping individuals stay calm and composed, even in the face of challenging situations. By taking each incident one at a time and fully engaging with it, IT professionals can avoid feeling overwhelmed by the volume of incidents.

## 4. Increased Collaboration and Team Cohesion

When team members embrace the principles of Ichi-go Ichi-e, they are more likely to engage in meaningful and respectful communication. This fosters a collaborative environment where ideas and solutions are freely shared, leading to more effective problem-solving and a cohesive team dynamic.

## 5. Continuous Improvement

Viewing each incident as a unique learning opportunity encourages a culture of continuous improvement. By reflecting on the lessons learned from each incident, IT teams can identify patterns, uncover root causes, and implement preventative measures to reduce the likelihood of future incidents.

## 6. Enhanced Incident Documentation

Mindfulness in incident management extends to the documentation process. When IT professionals approach each incident with the intention of capturing its unique aspects, they produce more detailed and accurate records. This improved documentation can serve as a valuable resource for future incidents, providing insights and references that enhance the overall effectiveness of the ITSM process.

## Conclusion

Incorporating Ichi-go Ichi-e into ITSM Incident Management brings a human-centred approach to a traditionally technical field. By fostering mindfulness, presence, and appreciation for each unique incident, IT professionals can improve their focus, reduce stress, enhance customer satisfaction, and promote continuous improvement. As the IT landscape continues to evolve, embracing the timeless wisdom of Ichi-go Ichi-e can offer a significant competitive advantage in delivering exceptional IT services.



In the fast-paced world of IT Service Management (ITSM), efficiency and effectiveness are often prioritised. However, integrating the Japanese philosophy of "ichi-go ichi-e" (一期一会), which translates to "one time, one meeting," can bring a unique and valuable perspective to managing service requests. This philosophy emphasises treasuring each moment and encounter, treating it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. By applying "ichi-go ichi-e" to ITSM, organisations can enhance the quality of their service and improve customer satisfaction.

#### Understanding "Ichi-go Ichi-e"

"Ichi-go ichi-e" encourages individuals to fully appreciate and value each unique moment and interaction. Originating from the Japanese tea ceremony, this concept can be applied to various aspects of life, including business and customer service. By embracing this philosophy, ITSM professionals can transform routine service requests into meaningful and memorable experiences.

#### Applying "Ichi-go Ichi-e" to Service Request Management

1. **Personalised Interactions**: Each service request should be approached as a unique encounter. Personalise interactions by addressing users by their names, understanding their specific needs, and providing tailored solutions. This creates a sense of importance and appreciation for each user.

2. **Active Listening**: Practice active listening to fully understand the user's concerns and requirements. By giving undivided attention to each service request, ITSM professionals can gather valuable insights and provide more accurate and effective solutions.

3. **Empathy and Understanding**: Show empathy and understanding towards users' challenges. Acknowledge their frustrations and reassure them that their issues are being taken seriously. This humanises the interaction and builds trust between users and ITSM professionals.

4. **Timeliness and Quality**: Treat each service request as a priority and strive to resolve issues promptly and efficiently. Ensure that the quality of the solution is not compromised by time constraints. A timely and high-quality response reflects the value placed on the user's unique situation.

5. **Continuous Improvement**: After resolving a service request, seek feedback from users to understand their experience. Use this feedback to continuously improve service delivery and ensure that future interactions are even more valuable.

#### Benefits of "Ichi-go Ichi-e" in ITSM

- **Enhanced User Experience**: By valuing each service request as a unique opportunity, users feel appreciated and respected, leading to higher satisfaction levels.n- **Improved Trust and Loyalty**: Personalised and empathetic interactions foster trust and loyalty, encouraging users to return for future services.n- **Increased Efficiency**: Active listening and a thorough understanding of user needs result in more accurate and efficient resolutions, reducing the need for repeat requests.n- **Positive Workplace Culture**: Embracing "ichi-go ichi-e" cultivates a positive and respectful workplace culture, motivating ITSM professionals to deliver their best.

#### Conclusion

Incorporating the philosophy of "ichi-go ichi-e" into IT Service Management can transform the way service requests are managed. By treating each interaction as a unique and valuable moment, ITSM professionals can enhance the user experience, build trust, and improve overall service quality. In a world where technology often dominates, bringing a human touch to ITSM can make all the difference.nnBy embracing "ichi-go ichi-e," IT organisations can ensure that each service request is not just a task to be completed but an opportunity to create a lasting positive impact.


The concept of Ichi-go Ichi-e, emphasising the uniqueness of each moment and interaction, can significantly enhance engagement in Information Technology Service Management (ITSM). However, to effectively incorporate and measure this philosophy within an ITSM environment, Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) can be a valuable tool. XLAs focus on the end-user experience rather than just service-level metrics, making them an ideal framework for assessing the impact of Ichi-go Ichi-e.

## Understanding XLAs

XLAs are agreements that define the desired user experience and outcomes in IT services. Unlike traditional Service Level Agreements (SLAs), which measure technical performance metrics such as uptime and response time, XLAs concentrate on the quality of the user experience, satisfaction, and overall engagement. By using XLAs, ITSM teams can ensure that they are meeting the users' expectations and providing a meaningful, impactful service.

## Measuring Ichi-go Ichi-e with XLAs

To measure the application of Ichi-go Ichi-e within an ITSM environment, it is essential to establish XLAs that capture the essence of this concept. Here are some key steps to achieve this:

### 1. Define User Experience Metrics

Identify and define metrics that align with the principles of Ichi-go Ichi-e. These metrics should focus on the uniqueness and quality of each user interaction. Examples include:\n- **Personalisation Index**: Measure the extent to which service interactions are tailored to individual users' needs and preferences.\n- **Engagement Score**: Assess how engaged and involved users feel during their interactions with IT services.\n- **Satisfaction Rate**: Capture overall user satisfaction with the service provided.

### 2. Collect Qualitative Feedback

In addition to quantitative metrics, gather qualitative feedback from users to gain deeper insights into their experiences. Use surveys, interviews, and feedback forms to understand how users perceive the uniqueness and value of each interaction. Questions to consider include:\n- How personalised did you feel your service experience was?\n- Did the service interaction meet your unique needs and expectations?\n- How likely are you to recommend our IT services to others?

### 3. Monitor Real-Time Data

Utilise real-time data analytics to monitor user interactions and experiences continuously. Track metrics such as response times, resolution times, and user sentiment during each service interaction. Real-time monitoring allows ITSM teams to identify trends and make adjustments to improve user experiences on the fly.

### 4. Conduct Experience Reviews

Regularly review and analyse user experiences to identify areas for improvement. Hold experience review sessions where ITSM teams can discuss feedback, reflect on recent interactions, and brainstorm ways to enhance the uniqueness and quality of service. Use this information to refine XLAs and ensure they remain aligned with the Ichi-go Ichi-e philosophy.

### 5. Foster a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Encourage a culture of continuous improvement within the ITSM team. Emphasise the importance of learning from each interaction and making incremental enhancements to service delivery. By fostering a mindset of continuous improvement, ITSM teams can consistently elevate the user experience and embody the principles of Ichi-go Ichi-e.

## Conclusion

Incorporating the concept of Ichi-go Ichi-e into an ITSM environment can transform the way IT services are delivered and experienced. By using XLAs to measure the uniqueness and quality of each interaction, ITSM teams can ensure they are providing meaningful, personalised, and engaging services. Embracing Ichi-go Ichi-e through XLAs not only enhances user satisfaction but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement and respect for each unique encounter.

As we continue to navigate the evolving landscape of ITSM, let us remember the wisdom of Ichi-go Ichi-e and strive to create memorable and impactful experiences for every user.


In the fast-paced world of Information Technology Service Management (ITSM), maintaining meaningful engagement with users and stakeholders can often be a challenging endeavour. However, there is a unique concept from Japanese culture that can significantly enhance ITSM engagement: Ichi-go Ichi-e (一期一会).

## Understanding Ichi-go Ichi-e

Ichi-go Ichi-e, which translates to \"one time, one meeting,\" is a Japanese idiom often used in the context of the traditional tea ceremony. It encapsulates the idea that each encounter is unique and will never happen again in exactly the same way. This philosophy encourages individuals to cherish each moment and interaction, recognising its singular importance.

## Applying Ichi-go Ichi-e to ITSM

Incorporating the principle of Ichi-go Ichi-e into ITSM practices can lead to more meaningful and effective engagement. Here’s how:

### 1. Personalising User Interactions

Each interaction with a user or stakeholder is an opportunity to create a lasting impression. By embracing the concept of Ichi-go Ichi-e, ITSM professionals can focus on personalising each encounter, addressing individual needs, and showing genuine care and attention. This can build stronger relationships and foster trust.

### 2. Enhancing Customer Experience

Ichi-go Ichi-e encourages ITSM teams to view each service request or incident as a unique event. By treating every service interaction as a one-of-a-kind experience, teams can enhance the overall customer experience, ensuring that users feel valued and understood. This approach can lead to higher satisfaction rates and positive feedback.

### 3. Encouraging Active Listening

The philosophy of Ichi-go Ichi-e emphasises the importance of being fully present in the moment. For ITSM professionals, this means actively listening to users’ concerns and feedback without distractions. By practicing active listening, teams can better understand user needs, leading to more effective problem-solving and service delivery.

### 4. Promoting Continuous Improvement

Recognising the uniqueness of each interaction allows ITSM teams to learn and improve continuously. By reflecting on each engagement, identifying areas for improvement, and celebrating successes, teams can evolve their practices and deliver better services over time.

### 5. Fostering a Culture of Respect

Ichi-go Ichi-e teaches respect for the present moment and for the individuals involved. In ITSM, this translates to respecting users' time, opinions, and experiences. By fostering a culture of respect, ITSM teams can create a positive and collaborative environment, enhancing overall engagement and productivity.

## Conclusion

Incorporating the concept of Ichi-go Ichi-e into ITSM practices offers a fresh perspective on engagement. By cherishing each interaction as unique and significant, ITSM professionals can build stronger relationships, enhance customer experiences, and promote continuous improvement. Embracing Ichi-go Ichi-e can transform the way ITSM teams connect with users, leading to more meaningful and impactful engagements.

As we move forward in an ever-evolving technological landscape, let us remember the wisdom of Ichi-go Ichi-e and the value of each unique encounter.


Greetings!

In today's fast-paced IT environment, organisations need robust tools to manage their service management processes efficiently. JSM Premium offers a suite of advanced features designed to supercharge your IT service management (ITSM) practices and help your teams work smarter and faster.

In this article, we will be exploring the key features that come with upgrading to Premium and how to implement them.

I am splitting this article as follows:

- Part 1: Key Features and Customer Engagement (this article)\n- Part 2: ITSM Processes\n- Part 3: Asset Management, Governance and Security

## Key Premium Features

1. **Advanced Incident Management**\n   JSM Premium provides advanced incident management capabilities, including alerts, incident data analysis, and service and infrastructure health analysis. These features enable teams to detect and resolve incidents faster, minimising downtime and improving service reliability.

2. **Flexible Asset and Configuration Management**\n   With JSM Premium, you can track assets, configuration items, and resources, gaining visibility into critical relationships between applications. This helps streamline IT operations and ensures that all assets are properly managed and maintained.

3. **Change Management Automation**\n   Automate change management processes with JSM Premium. Automatically create change records for standard changes and pause high-risk changes for review and approval. This ensures that all changes are properly managed and reduces the risk of disruptions.

4. **AI-Powered Features**\n   Leverage AI-powered features like the virtual service agent and generative AI for the issue editor. These tools help automate routine tasks, provide personalised support, and enhance the overall user experience.

5. **No-Code/Low-Code Capabilities**\n   Empower your teams to build and customise their own services using no-code/low-code capabilities within an IT-regulated environment. This allows for greater flexibility and innovation while maintaining compliance with IT standards.

6. **Unlimited Storage**\n   JSM Premium offers unlimited storage, ensuring that you have all the space you need to manage your projects and data without worrying about running out of storage.

7. **24/7 Premium Support**\n   Benefit from 24/7 support with one-hour response times for critical issues from a dedicated team. This ensures that you always have access to expert assistance whenever you need it.

8. **Project Archiving**\n   Reduce clutter in your instance by archiving old projects and their underlying issues. This helps keep your workspace organised and improves overall efficiency.

9. **IP Allowlisting**\n   Bolster security by limiting site access to trusted IP ranges. This helps protect your data and ensures that only authorised users can access your Jira instance.

10. **Sandbox and Release Tracks**\n    Prepare and test product changes and updates before they roll out to your teams using sandbox environments. Control when and how product changes are released to users with release tracks.

The various license plans and their features can be found at [Explore Jira Service Management Pricing Plans](https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/service-management/pricing).

We will now take a deeper look at some of these and ODWS best to use them to enhance your services.

## Customer Engagement

### Virtual Assistant

The **Virtual Assistant** is a function that your customer(s) will interact with in the portal to ask questions and raise request types. The main benefit of this is that it should, assuming it is configured correctly, empower your customer(s) to answer questions and resolve issues without the need the engage with service desk agents. A secondary benefit is that your service desk agents will have more time available to focus on proactive activities and delivering additional value to your customer(s).

### Help Centre (Customer Portal)

JSM Premium Licensing enables

- Unlimited service portals\n- Customer branding with your company's URL e.g. www.[your company domain]/support\n- Multiple help centres

To customise your Help Centre, and the JSM Projects below it, you need to navigate to your help centre. The link for this can be found at **Atlassian Admin -> Products -> Product URLs -> Jira Service Management**. Once there you should see, assuming you have the appropriate admin permissions, a **Customise** button in the top right-hand side of the screen. Clicking on opens a dropdown with 5 options.

- Manage announcements\n- Customise look and feel\n- Add login page message\n- Manage topics and portals\n- Edit page layout

#### Manage announcements

Adding announcements to your Help Centre or Project Portals is a great way of providing updates on Major Incidents to your users or identifying upcoming outages. This is in addition to other communication routes and should not be taken as the primary mode as you cannot guarantee that people will be looking here.

Permission to add announcements is, by default, restricted to Organisational Admins (Help Centre) and Project Admins (Project Portals), but can be opened up to the Agent role in a projects **Project settings -> Channels & self service -> Portal** screen.

To add a new announcement, or manage existing ones, click on the **Customise** button, populate the form that opens up and click **Save changes** for your message to be visible.

![announcements](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738687869/JSM/premium/img-019_d6ue59.png)

#### Customise look and feel

![look and feel](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738687870/JSM/premium/img-015_xh78jq.png)

You can change some basic areas of your Help Centre to make it to match your companies, or your customers, branding. You can

- Change the name\n- Change the home page title\n- Add a logo\n- Change to banner image\n- Change to banner and button colour\n- Change the banner text colour

![Change look and feel](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738758049/JSM/premium/img-020_belf0e.png)

#### Add login page message

To add a login message, click on the **Customise** button, select **Add login page message** and populate the form that opens up and click **Save changes** for your message to be visible.

![login essage](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738687869/JSM/premium/img-016_jf9ihd.png)

#### Manage topics and portals

To manage topics and portals, click on the **Customise** button, select **Manage Topics and Portals** and use the screen that you are taken to too make the changes that you need to. Click on **Publish layout** for your changes to be visible.

![topics and portals](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738687870/JSM/premium/img-017_st4p8m.png)

#### Edit page layout

To change the order that the sections of your Help Centre appear in, click on the **Customise** button, select **Edit page layout** and use the screen that you are taken to too make the changes that you need to. Click on **Preview** to see what your changes look like and **Publish** for your changes to be visible.

![edit layout](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1738687870/JSM/premium/img-018_seb45l.png)

## Conclusion

In summary, JSM Premium stands out as a comprehensive solution tailored for modern IT service management needs. By harnessing its advanced features, organisations can streamline their service management processes, enhance efficiency, and provide exceptional service delivery. 

From advanced incident management to AI-powered capabilities, and robust support to enhanced security, JSM Premium equips teams with the tools they need to excel in a fast-paced digital landscape. 

Embrace the power of JSM Premium and unlock new levels of productivity and reliability in your IT operations.

Hopefully, this has been useful to you and I wish you well on your ITSM journey…


Greetings!

In this article, the second in my series on JIRA Service Management (JSM), I will be exploring the Access Management capabilities available in a JIRA Service Management (JSM) project. It includes a detailed look at the Single Sign-On (SSO) options provided by the Atlassian Guard product. The document aims to guide users on how to manage user access effectively, align with organisational security policies, and implement SSO with the necessary permissions.

*Note: you will need to have Organisation Administrator permissions to implement SSO, as well as having access to your organisations MS Entra ID admin.*

## Key Principles 

The following are a few examples of areas that should be considered, ideally as part of your design for JSM as discussed in the initial article of this series, when planning for managing user access to JSM.

* Managing users should not be an onerous task
* Align with your organisations information security policies 
* Align with your organisations Joiners, Movers and Leavers (JML) process
* Review license usage to ensure you only those that need it have access
* Follow the principle of least privilege access so users only have permission to do what they need to do to fulfil their role

## Available Roles

There are three distinct roles, with JSM, that users can be assigned to.

* ***Administrator*** - access to all functionality plus the ability to access the **Project Settings** and make changes to the project’s configuration 
* ***Agent*** - access to the agent functionality to create and manage request and Incident records
* ***Customer*** - the ability to create requests, view requests that have been raised and search the knowledge base (if access is provided)

These roles can be assigned in a number of ways which we will explore in the next section.

## Basic User Management

JSM provides ‘out of the box’ functionality for managing users. It is accessed from the **Project Settings** menu under **Access -> People and access**.

![People and settings](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735566618/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-11-1_ivlzg7.png)

The **People and access** screen is where users of the JSM project can be managed. From this screen you can

- Add users to the project by
  - Clicking on the **Add people** button
  - adding the email of the users you want to give access to OR add from Google, Slack or Microsoft
  - Choose the role that you want them to have
  - Click on **Add**

![Add users](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735566619/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-11-2_tytvoi.png)

- Remove users
- View users by file using the **Roles** filter
- Search for specific users in the **Search roles** field

## Single Sign On (SSO)

To use SSO with any Atlassian product a subscription needs to be taken out for [Atlassian Guard](https://www.atlassian.com/software/guard). This provides four methods of authenticating users for SSO. 

From an architectural perspective this sits outside of JSM and can be considered a global Atlassian product as it controls access across all products that your organisation has signed up to with Atlassian.

These setting are accessed via the Atlassian Administration menu.

![Atlassian admin](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735573543/JSM/sso/image-1_y2nfjf.png)

### Domain Verification only

This is the simplest way of deploying SSO as it only requires you to have access to the DNS records for the email domain that you want to use for authentication e.g. stevengodson.com.

In the Atlassian Admin menu select **Settings** then **Domains** and click on the **Verify your company domain** button.

![Verify domain screen](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735573645/JSM/sso/image-2_yc1nz9.png)

Click on **Next** on this screen.

![Screen 1](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735574052/JSM/sso/image-3_jletk4.png)

Enter the domain that you want to verify and click **Next**.

![Screen 2](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735574051/JSM/sso/image-4_xrwen0.png)

On the following screen, select the method of verification that you want to use, follow the instructions and click on **Verify domain** when completed.

![Screen 3](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735574052/JSM/sso/image-5_aygnu8.png)

You should be taken back to the main Domains screen where your domain will be listed. *Note: this may take several hours to verify depending on the method that you choose.

![Domain listing page](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735574652/JSM/sso/image-6_tnjrni.png)

Once your domain is verified you can claim any existing accounts for users under that domain. From this point any users that are logged into their browser using the verified domain can login, using SSO, to Atlassian Cloud.

Access to specific projects within Atlassian will still need to be granted at the project level following the steps shown in the *Basic User Management* section of this article.

### Identity Provider Integration

If you want to be able to control access to your Atlassian projects and products, through your existing federated user management tool, this can be achieved by implementing an **Identity Provider** integration using **SAML** and deploying **Authentication policies**.

This will, with the exception of Google Workspace, require you taking out a subscription to Atlassian Guard, which is licensed based on the number of users claimed rather than active, so I strongly advisee you to check the current pricing and be sure you have a valid business case to proceed.

Once you have setup your Atlassian Guard subscription, or signed up the the free 14 day trial, navigate to the **Atlassian Admin -> Security -> Identity Providers** screen and select your identity provider.

![Identity providers](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735576516/JSM/sso/image-7_dsy5ly.png)

*Note: most of these options will require you to verify your domain prior to setting up any integration.*

If the workflow for your specific integration does not cover setting up *Authentication policies*, I recommend navigating to **Administration -> Security -> Authentication policies** and creating a new policy for your specific *Identity Provider* integration to enforce single sign-on for all sync’d users.

These policies give you control over whether

- A user needs to use Two Factor Authentication
- Login using Third Party login routes
- Use API Tokens to access the JSM APIs
- Set how long users can be idle before they are kicked out. *Note: consult your organisations Information Security Policies to ensure compliance with any mandated periods*

#### Considerations

* If using groups to delineate role access, populate with a test user, wait for it to sync and test the access
* To give sync’d users with a group automatic access to certain projects, you just need to
  * In **Administration -> Directory -> Groups** select the applicable group and give all members access to *JSM* and *Confluence
  * In your JSM project go to **Project Settings -> Access -> People and Access** and add the user group to the appropriate JSM role (Admin, Service Desk Agent and Customer)
* The email addresses of the users, that are sync’d, **MUST** be the ones using a *verified domain*. Failure to do this means users will be treated *External* users and, as such, unmanaged

## Conclusion

We have come to the end of the fourth article in this series. We have explored the User Access Management controls for JSM.

In the next article we will go through the **User Portal** which is the main view for Service Desk Agents when work on different request types.

Hopefully this has been useful to you and I wish you well on your ITSM journey…


Greetings!

In this article, the second in my series on JIRA Service Management (JSM), I will be exploring the **Project Settings** available in a JSM project. Due to the numerous options, and level of detail, available in **Project Settings** I am splitting this article into two as follows.

This first article covered 

- Details
- Summary
- Features
- Access

The second article covers

- Request Management
- Automation

This article covers

- Channels & self-service
- Operations
- Notifications
- Language support
- Apps
- Versions
- Components

In my first article I setup a basic JSM project using the ‘out of the box’ functionality and the Customer Service Management template. Now we will go deeper into the available configuration options and discuss what is possible.

It is worth noting that, where additional functionality can be added as part of a paid subscription or license upgrade, I will be covering these in later articles.

## Key Principles 

The following are a few examples of areas that should be considered, ideally as part of your design for JSM as discussed in the initial article of this series, when planning for the configuration of a JSM project.

- Is your Service Desk going to be managing processes other than Incident Management and Request Management e.g. Problem Management, Change Management or Asset Management?
- What information needs to be captured for each process, both at the initial creation of a record and through its lifecycle?
- Are there existing process templates that can be used for the data capture and workflow?
- What queues and views are needed by the teams?
- How many customers are being supported and is there a need to split the data by customer?
- What integrations are needed? JSM can integrate with
  - Collaboration tools e.g. MS Teams and Slack 
  - Enterprise Management tools e.g. DataDog
  - Email integration for a more seamless service experience 

## Project Settings 

We will now go through the sections of the Project Settings menu and see what each sub element lets us configure.

This is accessed from the link shown below, you must have Admin permissions to see this link.

![Project Settings](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735475430/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-1_xpai6z.png)

### Channels & self-service

#### Portal

##### Portal Configuration

![Portal settings](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_700/v1735038726/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-3_jqwvux.png)

- Portal URL - this is the link to your external facing portal for your service desk
- Service project information
  - Portal name - a mandatory title for your service desk project, this is visible internally and externally
  - Introduction text - the text that customers / users will see under the service desk project (Portal) name
  - Logo - allows you to add a logo to the portal which will sit beside the portal name
- Channel access - clicking of *Edit customer permissions* opens a new page where you can
  - Decide who has access to the portal, and other engagement routes, e.g. Restricted to users who have been given access or Open to anyone who has the link
  - Decide what customers can see within the project. This very much depends on whether your service desk project supports multiple customers or just one and the data privacy regulations that you need to comply with

![Channel Access](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735040287/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-5_zhcbzf.png)

- Announcements - controls who can add banner announcement messages to the portal e.g. notifying users of an upcoming service outage or major Incident

##### Portal groups

![Portal groups](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_700/v1735040889/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-6_lrwxht.png)

This tab allows you to add sections to your portal to enable a logical grouping of request types e.g. Incidents, Requests, Changes etc. By default it comes with the General group populated with 7 request types, assuming you have that many in your project. The groups can be re-ordered by clicking on the top left of a group tile and dragging around the page

##### Final View

Once you have configured your portal you can use the Portal URL to see what it looks like. I recommend making changes incrementally and checking the portal after each change so you can see the results in real time.

Below is a simplistic view of where your changes will be visible.

![Portal after customisation](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735041252/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-7_dexplf.png)

If you look at the top righthand corner you will see me logged in as a user, a search icon and a Customer button, the latter only being available to those with permissions to add announcements.

#### Email

![Email settings](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735059290/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-8_xcltez.png)

The Email section provides the capability to manage the email addresses that customers / users can use to report issues and request services.

The default email address is *support@[your-account-name].atlassian.net*. However, this can be amended by clicking the ellipsis, under the **Actions** heading, and selecting **Edit**. This opens the following pop-up from which the email address name can be amended and the Request type that will automatically be created upon receipt.

You will notice that the Request types in the drop down field represent the full list of Request types that were created earlier in this article.

![Manage email popup](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735059290/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-9_iqhkjs.png)

If you want to create multiple email addresses then click on the **Create Atlassian email** button which opens the same pop-up form.

It is also possible to link external emails to your project, useful if you want to keep a corporate “feel” to the service desk. Simply click on the **Add external email** button, select the option that fits your use case and follow the instructions to connect to your email provider.

![Email integration](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735060223/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-10_d4fszs.png)

#### Chat

The chat options of JSM are shown as four streams.

- Integration - with Slack or Teams to give a more integrated feel to the customer experience, crucial in a world where Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) are ever pushing their way into the foreground of CIO thinking
- Workflows - seamless fulfilment of requests within the chat
- Chat to Request - including triggers within a chat to allow agents to generate request records from a chat message
- Virtual Agent - the ever ubiquitous use of AI and Machine Learning to support customers through automation and knowledge bases

![Chat options](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_700/v1735060739/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-11_jhf0wg.png)

#### Widget

The **Widget** page gives you the functionality to configure a deploy a widget to the customer portal that can be used to 

- raise an issue with the service desk
- search the knowledge base
- engage with a virtual agent

![Add a widget](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_700/v1735934803/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-21-6_jeouji.png)

*Note: you will need to have portal access set to Open before you can add a widget. This can be set from the Portal settings page.*

#### Knowledge base

The JSM knowledge base is a feature that needs to be enabled but, currently, incurs no cost. It essentially deploys Atlassians Confluence product.

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_700/v1735934998/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-21-7_vajnev.png)

To add a knowledge base you will need to

- Click on **Try Now**
- Accept the T’s and C’s on the next screen and wait
- Then, once the last screen appears click on **Go to knowledge base**

You will be taken to the following screen where you can see 

- Create spaces
- Link an existing space
- Set who has visibility
- Select which articles are shown

![knowledge base](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735935242/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-21-8_emiuzd.png)

#### Virtual service agent

The **Virtual Service Agent** is an AI driven tool that can enhance the customer experience and shift volumes away from the service desk agents, allowing them to focus on more value add activities. 

However, as this incurs an additional cost it is out of scope for this article.

#### External resources

The screen is used to add links to external tools and / or websites, outside of Atlassian, that customers will find useful. To add one you just need to

- Click on **Add link**
- Populate the form, as shown below, and click on **Add**

![Add link form](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_500/v1735935805/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-21-10_kbiuch.png)

The link will now be visible on the customer portal, as shown below.

![Portal with external resource](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735935805/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-21-12_gp7szc.png)

#### Issue collectors

![Issue collectors](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735935991/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-21-13_ujdvut.png)

**Issue collectors** are a great way to engage your users, from any website that can run JavaScript, to provide feedback or raise an issue. To add one click on **Add issue collector** and populate the screen that appears.

![Collector form](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_700/v1735988493/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-21-14_ckzp1u.png)

Once you have customised the collector configuration to meet your needs, click on **Submit** and you will be taken the the following screens that provide you with the HTML and jQuery code that you need to include in the website that the collector is for.

![HTML](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735988493/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-21-15_sejrba.png)
*HTML*

![JQuery](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735988493/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-21-16_jpmsww.png)
*JQuery*

### Operations

In the view shown below only Incident Management is listed. However, if you take out a Premium or Enterprise plan, and switch on Problem Management or Change Management, they will appear in this part of the menu as well.

#### Incident Management

This is a summary page that lists useful articles for managing fields, in both Standard and Premium services, configure responder alerts, set communications preferences and Post Incident Reviews, the latter two being Premium services.

![Incident Management](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_700/v1735989074/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-21-17_nskfny.png)

### Notifications

The following screens are used to configure and enable/disable notifications that will be sent internally within your support organisation e.g. issue assigned to agent or Priority 1 Incident raised, and notifications that will be sent to customers e.g. request created or approval required.

Depending on how your service desk operation is designed, you can switch off all customer notifications or customise the templates (Premium functionality).

#### Internal notifications

![Internal notifications](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_700/v1735989714/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-21-18_q4i5xx.png)

#### Customer notifications

![External notification](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735989714/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-21-19_mycocr.png)

### Language Support

This setting allows you to add support for additional languages to your JSM project.

![Language support](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_700/v1735990449/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-21-20_x4jcn4.png)

The main page lists the default language for the JSM project. This is what was selected when the JSM project was originally created. From this page you can

- Change the default language
- Add a new language by selecting one or more of the languages shown in the pop-up when you click on **Add Languages** button, as shown below

![Add languages](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_500/v1735990449/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-21-21_q24iho.png)

### Apps
#### Microsoft Teams integration

From this screen you can integrate JSM with your organisations M365 Teams solution. This gives you the ability for customers to engage your service desk through Teams channels, assuming they either sit on your Teams or allow integration with theirs.

You should check with your IT Security Manager, prior to going down this path, to ensure that you are compliant with your organisation’s information security policies.

Once implemented you can expand the capability through the use of integrated workflows, automation and the AI Agent (additional costs apply).

#### Slack integration

From this screen you can integrate JSM with your organisations Slack solution. This gives you the ability for customers to engage your service desk through Teams channels, assuming they either sit on your Teams or allow integration with theirs.

You should check with your IT Security Manager, prior to going down this path, to ensure that you are compliant with your organisation’s information security policies.

Once implemented you can expand the capability through the use of integrated workflows, automation and the AI Agent (additional costs apply).

#### Development tools

![Repository connect](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735991281/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-22-1_y2ekfr.png)

As you can see, this screen lets you connect Developer tools to JIRA.

#### Explore apps

This page lists the additional Atlassian Marketplace apps that JSM can integrate with. If you click on one of the tiles it shows you

- Details of the app
- Privacy and security statements
- Support details
- Version information
- Whether there is a cost for using it
- Additional resources

If you want to deploy one just click on the **Get it now** button to initiate the integration.

![Explore apps](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735991475/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-22-2_dom7ud.png)

### Versions

This screen gives you the functionality to list Releases of what you are supporting with your JSM service desk.

![Versions](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735991992/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-23-1_x6aerd.png)

You can add a new version by clicking on the **Create version** button and populating the pop-up that opens.

![Add version](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_500/v1735991992/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-23-2_gty2to.png)

Once added you can change the status of the record to

- Released
- Archived
- Merged
- Edited
- Deleted

![Updated list](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735992220/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-23-3_xkfuyj.png)

### Components

The **Components** screen is where the components of the service(s) that you are supporting, using your JSM instance, are managed. This list populated the *Components* field that can be seen in the **Request Management -> Fields** menu.

![Components](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735992531/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-24-1_k1ebnu.png)

From this page you can *Edit* and *Delete* components.

To add additional components, simply click on **Create component**, fill out the pop=up form that appears and click on **Save**.

![Add components](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_500/v1735992532/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-24-2_wsvnct.png)

## Conclusion

We have come to the end of the fourth article in this series. We have explored what JSM is, gone through some of the **Project Settings** feature.

In the next article we will continue to go through the **Access Management** options to discover just how versatile JSM can be.

Hopefully this has been useful to you and I wish you well on your ITSM journey…


Greetings!

In this article, the second in my series on JIRA Service Management (JSM), I will be exploring the **Project Settings** available in a JSM project. Due to the numerous options, and level of detail, available in **Project Settings** I am splitting this article into three as follows.

This article will cover

- Details
- Summary
- Features
- Access

The second article will cover

- Request Management
- Automation

The third article will cover

- Channels & self-service
- Operations
- Notifications
- Language support
- Apps
- Versions
- Components

In my previous article I setup a basic JSM project using the ‘out of the box’ functionality and the Customer Service Management template. Now we will go deeper into the available configuration options and discuss what is possible.

It is worth noting that, where additional functionality can be added as part of a paid subscription or license upgrade, I will be covering these in later articles.

## Key Principles 

The following are a few examples of areas that should be considered, ideally as part of your design for JSM as discussed in the initial article of this series, when planning for the configuration of a JSM project.

- Is your Service Desk going to be managing processes other than Incident Management and Request Management e.g. Problem Management, Change Management or Asset Management?
- What information needs to be captured for each process, both at the initial creation of a record and through its lifecycle?
- Are there existing process templates that can be used for the data capture and workflow?
- What queues and views are needed by the teams?
- How many customers are being supported and is there a need to split the data by customer?
- What integrations are needed? JSM can integrate with
  - Collaboration tools e.g. MS Teams and Slack 
  - Enterprise Management tools e.g. DataDog
  - Email integration for a more seamless service experience 

## Project Settings 

We will now go through the sections of the Project Settings menu and see what each sub element lets us configure.

This is accessed from the link shown below, you must have Admin permissions to see this link.

![Project Settings](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735475430/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-1_xpai6z.png)

### Details

The first section of Project Settings is Details. This allows you to

- Change the icon that appears in the top left-hand corder of the project screen
- Change the name of the project
- Change the project key, which is the unique prefix to the various record types
- Change the team type to more closely match how you are using JSM and get more tailored recommendations from Atlassian
- Add a URL
- Choose a category, assuming you have some configured
- Add a project description so that users can clearly understand when the JSM project is being used for
- Change the Project lead, typically to the Service Desk Manager/Team Lead or the owning Service Delivery Manager
- Add a default assignee, so tickets are automatically assigned when raised. This can be useful if you have a single person or role that initially triages tickets

![Details](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735476243/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-2_rgydgl.png)

### Summary

This section is a one-stop shop to see the key configuration options that are in JSM, whether the defaults or ones that have been configured is subsequent sections.

![Summary](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735476568/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-3_tvvyms.png)

### Features

![Features](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735476854/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-4_tzxvdt.png)

The Features section is where you switch on or off, and start top configure additional functionality. There are two tiers of features

- Standard, which can be accessed trough the base JSM license charge, and
- Premium, which incurs an uplift to the license charge and gives you access to a range of use features

In this article I will be covering the Standard features only, with the Premium ones being covered later in the series.

#### Views

![Views](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735478574/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-5_zrnimc.png)

Clicking on the **Select views** button opens a pop-up where you can select / de-select which of the available view types the service desk agent role can see and use in your JSM project.

![Select views](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_500/v1735479243/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-6-1_tqjb76.png)

#### Work Categories

![Work categories](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_700/v1735478574/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-6_deeukl.png)

##### Service request management

Enabling this feature provides you with a dedicated Service requests space, that can be accessed from the main project side menu, where you can see, raise and manage all service request records, that haven been created, in dedicated queues.

![Service Requests](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735479637/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-7-1_dbplf4.png)

##### Incident Management

Enabling this feature does a couple of things.

Firstly, as with service request management, you get a dedicated area in the main project side menu.

![Incidents](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735480160/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-7-2_pq1wnn.png)

It also creates a new **Operations** section in the Project settings menu, which we will come to later in this article. However, it is essentially a consolidation of guides and links to other areas of **Project Settings** that relate to the creation and management of Incidents. 

#### Customer Service

![Customer service](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735478576/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-7_qrmqrg.png)

##### Customer and organisation profiles

Enabled by default, this features allows the creation of customer and / or organisation profiles from the **Directory** section of the main left-hand side project menu. These are great for holding information of customers that can be pre-populated in a record, information on key contacts, service entitlement information etc.

##### Products and entitlements

If enabled, this features allows the creation of Products profiles from the **Directory** section of the main left-hand side project menu. You can set specific fields for data capture and define who can see the information. There is also the facility to import data, from external sources e.g. a CRM, using an API.

This feature is useful if you need to hold details of entitlement to support for the products that your organisation sells.

##### Developer escalations

Similar to Incident and Service request, enabling this feature gives a dedicated section under **Queues** in the main left-hand menu of the project. From this area you can add or create specific request types for Developer escalations that will be visible in this queue.

![Developer escalations](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735481666/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-8-1_uskqif.png)

#### Operations

![Operations](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735478574/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-8_oqblot.png)

##### Services

Enabled by default this feature provides the functionality to create a representation of the services that you are supporting, using JSM, and the linkages between them. A good place to start when trying to work out what needs to represented is your Enterprise Architect or ITSM Architect as they should have clear visibility of the service ties, inter-linkages and how best to represent them.

The menu to access this functionality sits in the **Operations** group in the main left-hand menu on the project itself. I will be covering the detail of these in a separate article, but creating a Service allows you to specify

- Name
- Type
- Tier
- Service Owner(s)
- Change approver(s)
- Responders
- Stakeholders
- Repository (BitBucket)
- Description

All of this is invaluable in managing services through their lifecycle.

##### Alerts

Enabled by default this feature provides the functionality to manage IT alerts. The menu to access this functionality sits in the **Operations** group in the main left-hand menu on the project itself.  

Coupled with JSMs ability to interface with Enterprise Management tools, such as DataDog, and the process automation functionality that exists in Atlassian products, you can monitor alerts coming in from your services, perform an action(s) dependent on the data in the alert and auto-assign to resolvers and / or initiate escalations.
##### On-call

Enabled by default this feature provides the functionality to integrate with OpsGenie to manage your on-call rotas for support start and automate ticket assignment and notification outside of your core support hours.

OpsGenie is separate to JSM and incurs additional charges to use. As such it is out of scope of this article.

#### Issue view

![Issue view](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735478575/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-9_bmzdeo.png)

##### Suggestions

If enabled this provides your service desk agents with an AI assistant, for Incidents and Service Requests only, that will provide summarised insight into a ticket and suggested actions that can be followed.

It is automatically enabled for Premium and Enterprise plans in JSM.

##### Similar requests panel

Enabled by default this feature provides the functionality provides your service desk agents with a view on similar records, within a type e.g. Incidents.

This visibility is great as it allows agents to identify and escalate trends or major incident scenarios earlier on that just waiting for dashboards to update. It also maximises efficiency as it reduces the need to “re-invent the wheel”, thus giving your customers a better experience.

##### Customer sentiment analysis

This feat is only available for Premium or Enterprise plans, so is out of scope for this article but will be covered in a later one.

I will highlight though that this kind of user sentiment capture and analysis can be a great way to get a balanced view for Experience Level Agreements (XLAs), which I take a look at in a [two part series](https://blog.stevengodson.com/series#XLA) on them.

#### Feature Lab

![Feature lab](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735478575/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-10_xeoyng.png)

##### Default request types

If enabled this functionality lets you assign one of your selected request types as a default for certain issue types.
Simply click on the **Default request type settings** button and the following modal will appear, from which you can assign the defaults.

![Default request types](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_500/v1735561830/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-10-1_twg4k4.png)

This functionality takes some of the guess work away from the service desk agents and ensure that requests will be raised in a consistent manner,

##### Request type groups

Enabling this feature allows you to create and add groups that request types can be assigned to. These can be functional, logical, organisational groupings that help your service desk agents provide a more effective service to your customers.

Once enabled, navigate to the **Request types** section in the main left-hand menu and select on of the options.

Click on the ellipsis under **Actions** for the request type that you want to change and select **Edit** under request type group.

![request type groups](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735562863/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-10-2_ihmkyi.png)

Then either select the group that you want to assign to the request type from the **Assign to group** tab.

![assign to group](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_500/v1735563113/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-10-3_azmhrx.png)

Or, go to the **Manage groups** tab, click on **Create group** and, once created, go back to the **Assign to group** tab to assign it to the request type.

![create request type group](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735563114/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-10-4_epipa5.png)

If you then go back to the **Request types** menu, you will be able to filed your request types by the grouping that you have added.

![filtered example](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_500/v1735563621/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-10-5_tyj7wx.png)

### Access

In this section we look at the Access management options that a JSM Project Admin can see in the Project Settings. These are not the only options available and the next article in this series will look at the options available to an Organisational Admin in the Atlassian settings menu.

#### People and access

![People and settings](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735566618/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-11-1_ivlzg7.png)

The **People and access** screen is where users of the JSM project can be managed. From this screen you can

- Add users to the project by
  - Clicking on the **Add people** button
  - adding the email of the users you want to give access to OR add from Google, Slack or Microsoft
  - Choose the role that you want them to have
  - Click on **Add**

![Add users](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735566619/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-11-2_tytvoi.png)

- Remove users
- View users by file using the **Roles** filter
- Search for specific users in the **Search roles** field

#### Project permissions

![Project permissions](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735567227/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-12-1_ntabbz.png)

The **Project permissions** page shows all of the permissions available in JSM and what has been assigned to which **Project Roles** in your instance.

These can be adjusted to meet your organisational and security policy requirements. Click on the **Actions** button and select **Edit permissions**. The following screen will appear, from which you can Update or Remove assigned permissions.

*Note: caution should exercised with this to ensure you don’t accidentally break your service desk operation*

![Edit permissions](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735567228/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-12-2_qgqrzb.png)

Alternatively you can copy permissions from another project, that you have access to, by simply by clicking on the **Actions** button and select **Use a different schema**. The following screen will appear, from which you can Update or Remove assigned permissions. 

The following screen appears. Just select the project whose schema you want to copy and click on **Associate**.

![Copy schema](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735567934/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-12-3_ohkotq.png)

#### Customer permissions

![Customer permissions](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735568102/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-12-4_ddll34.png)

The **Customer permissions** functionality lets you set the level at which customers can search for other customers. This is set to three levels

- only search within own organisation (default)
- only search within own organisation or enter the email of a specific customer (if known)
- search within the project or own organisation

You can also determine whether the JSM projects portal is restricted to customers that can login or open to anyone who has the URL. The default is to have access restricted. I do not recommend changing this.

![Portal visibility](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735568101/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-12-5_zgsjle.png)

#### Issue security

![Issue security](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735569008/JSM/project-settings/project-settings-image-12-6_y6izul.png)

This function requires a Premium or Enterprise plan, as such it is out of scope for this article. By using this functionality you are enabling  security permissions schema that will be applied to your issues. This can be useful for

- Segregation of roles
- Implementing a Security Incident and Event Management process

## Conclusion

We have come to the end of the first article in this series relating to the **Project Settings**. We have explored what JSM is, gone through some of the **Project Settings** feature.

In the next article we will continue to go through the **Project settings** options to discover just how versatile JSM can be.

Hopefully this has been useful to you and I wish you well on your ITSM journey…


Greetings!

Welcome to a new series of articles in which we will look at Atlassian’s JIRA Service Management (JSM) product and I will explain how to set it up so that you can make the most of the products capabilities.

## So what is JSM?
JSM is a service / support desk tool that provides businesses with that capability to quickly implement one or more service *projects* to cater for a range of business function use cases. Under the hood it is essentially JIRA Software, so any organisation that uses JIRA for developing products will find it all quite familiar. 
In my opinion using both modules together is a good basis for implementing a highly integrated support and development model. 

Out of the box it provides an enough basic functionality to engage with customers and log & track issues and requests. However, with the available extensions and integrations, it has the potential to become the beating heart of an enterprise scale IT operation.

In this initial article we will focus on the initial setup of JSM and getting a basic instance up and running. Then, in subsequent articles, we will be going into the various capabilities in greater depth and looking at the options currently available.

## JSM Design Thinking 
While not wholly necessary, if you are an experienced JIRA administrator, I highly recommend creating a design of some sort prior to creating and configuring a JSM instance.

Such a document should consider the following.

* License requirements e.g. how many users and of what type, this includes
  * JSM (inc upgrades for Asset Management)
  * Confluence 
  * Atlassian Guard
* Access management and role based controls e.g. how you want to manage user access and to what level 
* Scope of the Service Desk that will be using the project. Processes, form design, workflows, and required outputs should all be considered 
* What Service Level Agreements need to be tracked and monitored in the tool
* How will users engage with the Service Desk e.g. portal, email, chat, voice etc How your support teams work and what views they require 
* What standards need to be adhered to and therefore what process controls need to be in place e.g. ISE/IEC 20000-1, ISO/IEC 27001, HIPAA, COBIT etc
* Reporting and dashboard needs should be considered
* Integration with other tools, such as
  * Slack or Teams
  * Enterprise Monitoring tools e.g. DataDog, AWS Cloud Watch or Azure Monitor 
  * Email integration 

Creating a document that describes what you will be deploying helps focus the minds of all stakeholders and provides an auditable baseline of what you intended and agreed to do.

## Initial Setup
The first thing you will need to do, assuming you do not already have an Atlassian account, is to register an account with Atlassian and say that you want to use JSM.
Once registered you will be presented with the below choices. Your selection is obviously dependent on what your business driver is for implementing JSM. This series of articles looks specifically at the **IT Support** use case.

![Project Types](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1734982362/JSM/initial/Initial-Setup-Image-6_lp6lwh.png)

This selection	takes you to the **Projects** screen. This where you can create and manage all the JSM projects that your business requires.

![Create a project](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1734982362/JSM/initial/Initial-Setup-Image-2_sj0q6o.png)

Select *Customer service management* from the next screen.

![Selection](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1734982363/JSM/initial/Initial-Setup-Image-3_ksljg1.png)

The next screen tells you to select a Customer Service Management template.

![Template](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1734982362/JSM/initial/Initial-Setup-Image-4_zg71fe.png)

We are now at the point where specific information about the project needs to be provided (most of these can be changed later if needed).

- Name - what you want the project to be called
- Key - this will be automatically populated from the name, but you can override it. This code must be unique within your Atlassian account as it is used as a prefix for tickets and is part of the URL for your project and external facing portal
- Team type - select based on your business use case. I am selecting Information Technology (IT)
- Channel access - defaults to Open, which means anyone with your portal URL can submit a request or raise an Incident. I always start with *Restricted* and open up access when the project is launched
- Template - you can select another template type or just with a blank project

![Project info](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1734982362/JSM/initial/Initial-Setup-Image-5_xalbtu.png)

Once you click on *Create Project* you are presented with the Service Request types that come with the template. I recommend investigating these and choosing those appropriate to your business use case. To get the most out of these you may need to switch on specific functionality for IT Service Management (ITSM) specific processes e.g. Incident Management, which come with pre-defined workflows.

![Request types](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1734982362/JSM/initial/Initial-Setup-Image-6_lp6lwh.png)

Once you have you completed your selection (you can always revise later) click on *Continue to project*. You will see the projects *Get Started* screen. 

![Getting Started](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1734982363/JSM/initial/Initial-Setup-Image-7_sg0tvl.png)

## Getting Started
In this section we will go through the specifics of the *Getting Started* screen.

![Let’s get started!](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735036967/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-1_fnteyl.png)

The first section of this allows you to walkthrough raising a request, prioritising it using the queues available in JSM and then resolving it. It is quite intuitive so I will not being going through this.

The second section allows you to review essential project configuration data, and consists of three sections.
- Enable customers to raise requests - these are your engagement channels
- Collect relevant information with request types - here you can review your request types and add/remove fields so that the data collected matches your business requirements and data model
- Manage work with your queues and board - this section allows you to review the views that you have for managing requests and Incidents

The third and final section provides links to Atlassian guides, tutorials, community and support pages. These are generally quite good, the ones that I have used at least, so well worth exploring.

Now we will look at the middle section in greater details and discover what the possibilities are.

### Enable customers to raise requests
![Engagement channels](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735038440/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-2_o4lndt.png)

This section covers three modes of communication that your customers can engage through. First is the Portal, which a web front end where your customers / users can raise Incidents, requests and search knowledge articles. If we click on the *Customise Settings* button we are taken to a section or the **Project Settings** that is specific to the Portal. This section has two tabs where choices can be made.

#### Portal
##### Portal Configuration

![Portal settings](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_700/v1735038726/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-3_jqwvux.png)

- Portal URL - this is the link to your external facing portal for your service desk
- Service project information
  - Portal name - a mandatory title for your service desk project, this is visible internally and externally
  - Introduction text - the text that customers / users will see under the service desk project (Portal) name
  - Logo - allows you to add a logo to the portal which will sit beside the portal name
- Channel access - clicking of *Edit customer permissions* opens a new page where you can
  - Decide who has access to the portal, and other engagement routes, e.g. Restricted to users who have been given access or Open to anyone who has the link
  - Decide what customers can see within the project. This very much depends on whether your service desk project supports multiple customers or just one and the data privacy regulations that you need to comply with

![Channel Access](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735040287/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-5_zhcbzf.png)

- Announcements - controls who can add banner announcement messages to the portal e.g. notifying users of an upcoming service outage or major Incident

##### Portal groups

![Portal groups](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_700/v1735040889/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-6_lrwxht.png)

This tab allows you to add sections to your portal to enable a logical grouping of request types e.g. Incidents, Requests, Changes etc. By default it comes with the General group populated with 7 request types, assuming you have that many in your project. The groups can be re-ordered by clicking on the top left of a group tile and dragging around the page

##### Final View

Once you have configured your portal you can use the Portal URL to see what it looks like. I recommend making changes incrementally and checking the portal after each change so you can see the results in real time.

Below is a simplistic view of where your changes will be visible.

![Portal after customisation](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735041252/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-7_dexplf.png)

If you look at the top righthand corner you will see me logged in as a user, a search icon and a Customer button, the latter only being available to those with permissions to add announcements.

#### Email

![Email settings](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735059290/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-8_xcltez.png)

The Email section provides the capability to manage the email addresses that customers / users can use to report issues and request services.

The default email address is *support@[your-account-name].atlassian.net*. However, this can be amended by clicking the ellipsis, under the **Actions** heading, and selecting **Edit**. This opens the following pop-up from which the email address name can be amended and the Request type that will automatically be created upon receipt.

You will notice that the Request types in the drop down field represent the full list of Request types that were created earlier in this article.

![Manage email popup](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735059290/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-9_iqhkjs.png)

If you want to create multiple email addresses then click on the **Create Atlassian email** button which opens the same pop-up form.

It is also possible to link external emails to your project, useful if you want to keep a corporate “feel” to the service desk. Simply click on the **Add external email** button, select the option that fits your use case and follow the instructions to connect to your email provider.

![Email integration](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735060223/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-10_d4fszs.png)

#### Chat

The chat options of JSM are shown as four streams.

- Integration - with Slack or Teams to give a more integrated feel to the customer experience, crucial in a world where Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) are ever pushing their way into the foreground of CIO thinking
- Workflows - seamless fulfilment of requests within the chat
- Chat to Request - including triggers within a chat to allow agents to generate request records from a chat message
- Virtual Agent - the ever ubiquitous use of AI and Machine Learning to support customers through automation and knowledge bases

![Chat options](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/c_scale,w_700/v1735060739/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-11_jhf0wg.png)

### Collect Relevant information with request types

![Request type fields](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735061960/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-12_xlm1lj.png)

This section of the Getting Started page is really just a prompt for you to think about what information you want to capture in the forms for the various request types. Clicking on the **View all request types** button takes you to the *Request types* section of *Project settings*.

I will be covering all of the options in **Project settings** in the next JSM article, so we will move on to the next section.

### Manage work with your queues and board

![Queues and board](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1735062796/JSM/getting-started/Getting-Started-Image-13_yf7yuv.png)

Both Queues and Boards (now known as Views) are basically ways of view the different tickets yours service desk has open. These can be cut numerous ways depending on how you want to see the information. Both of these take you to the relevant project sections where, assuming you have Admin permissions, you can manage the queues and views.

I will be covering both of these in the third JSM article.

## Conclusion

We have come to the end of the first article in this series. We have explored what JSM is, how to initiate a project and gone through the basic options in the **Getting Started** feature.

In the next article we will be going through all of the **Project settings** options to discover just how versatile JSM can be.

Hopefully this has been useful to you and I wish you well on your ITSM journey…


AI Governance

Greetings!

Governance of how an organisation uses AI will be a key factor in how much value/benefit can be realised in the future.

As AI becomes increasingly present in our everyday lives, both at work and at home, more domestic and international governments will attempt to exert control through legislation and regulatory standards.

This will naturally lead to organisations needing to understand, in-depth, how they are using AI and what data sources/structures are being used so they can monitor, manage and maintain compliance with all of the applicable statutes and industry best practices.

Areas that will need careful consideration include the following.

Business case/usage

A clear idea of what AI can and cannot be used for should be established. This should establish firm use cases and decision trees that teams within the organisation can follow if they want to implement AI to tackle specific scenarios.

Intellectual property

An organisations IP must be protected to ensure that, through the use of AI, whether public platform or internet connected private platform, it isn’t exposed to the threat of theft or loss.

Legislative compliance

The introduction of new legislation, such as the EU AI Act, organisations have new statutory obligations to meet or face significant fines and damage to their reputation.

Organisational culture/Skills evolution

At this stage, AI introduces new and exciting, tools that are lauded as being able to improve an organisation’s productivity by percentages that have not been achieved since the Industrial Revolution. However, picking up a spanner doesn’t automatically make me a mechanic! Therefore, an organisation needs to define, implement and continually refresh its culture to ensure that its resources make effective use of these new tools and that the expected Return On Investment is achieved.

An organisations ITSM capability will need to be at the core of this, ensuring that the appropriate strategies and plans are in place to enable business AI agility whilst robustly managing the associated risks.

“But how?!”, I hear you cry…. Well here are some of my thoughts on the subject.

Robust enterprise architecture to provide

architectural patterns and reusable technology stacks, that evolve with business needs and technology improvements

enterprise management solutions that can manage, monitor, alert, and report on the organisations AI solutions

automated and integrated tracking of key data assets that underpin an organisations AI implementation e.g. Large Language Models

Adhere through the use of policy and process controls designed to meet the regulatory requirements of the geographies that the organisation operates in.

Effective audit and reporting capabilities that can analyse information, in real-time, and facilitate escalations, as appropriate, within the organisation so that risks can be managed. The more this can be automated, possibly with the use of AI for analysis, the more robust this will be.

Enforce policies, at the operational and technology levels, to control

usage (appropriate and inappropriate)

data separation to safeguard company intellectual property

user access controls

Invest in the skills of your team, and encourage experimentation with new technologies. AI is growing at an unprecedented pace and so organisations must adapt quickly to meet business demands.

In summary, ITSM capabilities must embrace the organisations use of AI and provide guidance and guardrails. How fast they can evolve with business needs will have a significant impact on the organisations ability to manage risks and realise value from AI.

Hopefully this has been useful to you and I wish you well on your ITSM journey…

Config Management Database (CMDB)

Greetings!

In this weeks article I will be talking about the concept of a Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and whether it is still relevant in today’s fast paced I.T. world.

## What is a CMDB?

A CMDB is, in essence, the main tool that the Service Asset & Configuration Management function uses to track the state of “stuff”. In the context of an I.T. service “stuff” is anything that the services needs to manage and control the state of in order to be able meet its obligations e.g. levels of service, compliance requirements etc.

Commonly each instance of “stuff” is referred to as a Configuration Item (CI), at least in the world of ITIL&reg;, and has a number of attributes against which pertinent information is stored. For example, the CI record, in a CMDB, for a laptop may hold the following information; 

- Make
- Model
- Warranty Status
- Operating System
- Assigned Owner
- Related Cost Centre
- Previous Incidents
- etc

This information can all be useful to various roles and functions within an I.T. service, for example;

- Operating System - can be used by Technical Management to know which devices to patch with what updates
- Related Cost Centre - can be used by Financial Management for cross charging
- Previous Incidents - may be useful to the Service Desk when trying to diagnose a  reported issue

Now all of this information is undoubtedly useful, but does it all need to be kept in (and typically manually replicated into) a monolithic CMDB?

## Is there a better way?

Better, in a sense of being more efficient, and less prone to human error? Absolutely! In the following sections I will expand upon this and describe the options in a toolset agnostic way.

### Federation

![Federated CMDB!](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1689867576/ITSM/CMDB_Federation_zybvzx.png)

The federation model is where the base minimum of data is held in the CMDB to enable ITSM processes but, when further information is required, it points to the single source of truth for that data type. 

The guiding principle is here “Right data, right place and only accessible by those who need it, when they need it”.

This model is my preference when there is a complex service environment spanning multiple delivery models and architectures.

### Integration

![Integrated CMDB!](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1689867576/ITSM/CMDB_Integration_p9lipe.png)

The integration model is where the various primary data sources,  that underpin delivery of your service(s), feed into your central CMDB (typically within your ITSM toolset).

Automation is the underpinning point here. This approach can work well where integrations have been proven to work, and most leading ITSM tools will come with standard integration with other leading tools, but I am always conscious that anything new requires time and will undoubtedly need iteration to get it right.

## Conclusion

The CMDB still has an important part to play in delivering and controlling services to ensure consistency and quality.

However, the days of the CMDB being deployed as a single entity, and source of truth for everything, should be reconciled to the past.  Instead consideration should be given to who really needs the information and how that information visibility requirement should be met.

Hopefully this has been useful to you and I wish you well on your ITSM journey…

Inside an XLA


Greetings!

This week we will be diving deeper into what an XLA (eXperience Level Agreement) should be and look at some examples.

If you are not familiar with XLAs then my previous article XLAs - avoiding watermelons give a useful introduction.

An XLA is a combination of objective and subjective measures that give you a balanced measurement of the impact of the service, with a weighting towards how the “users” experience the service. So let’s look at some examples of what that means in reality.

Balanced Measurement

Objective and Subjective

An objective measure is based on data derived, usually, from the systems or toolsets that are used to manage either ITSM processes, e.g. Incident Management tools, or IT systems, e.g. Application Performance Management.

The objective measures, that help to make up an XLA, are important because they bring context and meaning to the subjective measures.

For example, if you have an XLA that is measuring user satisfaction with your Service Desk, then objectively measuring the number of contacts with the Service Desk gives context.

The context is important because if your subjective result shows 50 negative responses then this sounds, on the face of it, to be a bad thing. Now this result is never a “good” thing but, when taken into the context of 20,000 contacts in the Service Desk in a measurement period, thus meaning a 0.25% negative response, it doesn’t sound so bad.

But, is this really an accurate measure?

Again the answer revolves around context. If 20,000 contacts result in 20,000 survey responses, your subjective source, then this could well be a valid measurement. However, this is unlikely to be the case.

So, another objective measure would be the number of survey responses received in your measurement period. For the sake of novelty let’s say you get 420 completed surveys. Now this changes your perspective quite significantly.

Your original 0.25% becomes 11.9%, which is quite a dramatic change and suddenly things don’t seem quite so good.

However, what cannot be emphasised enough is that XLAs are for driving improvement in areas that are important to the business to that the service(s) are being delivered.

An XLA is neither a carrot to reward a service provider, nor is it a stick with which to beat one. An XLA is a point on the horizon that both customer and supplier are walking towards together. The measurement points are simply there to identify whether they are walking forwards, standing still or are walking backwards.

Source: Steven Godson

So, what we have, so far, is a number of objective measurements, which are as follows.

Total contacts to a Service Desk

Total number of survey results and as a % of total contacts

Total number of positive/negative survey responses and their respective percentages

So, what’s next? Well, the next thing is to define what good” actually looks like in your context and ensure balance in your results.

What is “good” anyway?

What good means, in the context of XLAs, will greatly depend on what you are using XLA measurements to achieve.

However, it is true to say that whatever it is there needs to be acknowledgement that the target chosen should be realistic and is a target to be worked towards rather than there being an expectation that it will be achieved from day one.

It is also sensible to apply a balanced approach to reporting the measures that combine to give the overall XLA measure. A pragmatic way to do this is to apply weighting to each of the component measures based on their importance/significance. The weighting is a % split across the number of measures you are using to calculate your XLA score.

For example, if you are working towards users adopting self-service and digital channels, your XLA measurement may look like this.

Weighting % - this weighting allows you to apply a balanced, business-focused, view whilst maintaining transparency

Metric - the objective and subjective numbers captured in the reporting periods

eXperience Performance Indicator - the XPIs expressed as a % of the relevant total

XLA Score - the weighting applied to the XPI

XLA achievement - the figure that you would be reporting for the given measurement period

The examples of what an XLA could be used to measure are;

Gauging the impact of a new supplier or service, so that improvements can be identified

Measuring the end-user experience (UX) for one or more applications, as long as there is a subjective element to the measurement

Impact of a change program

Summary

In this article, I have talked about what makes up an XLA, and the mindset required, and provided a real-life example. Hopefully, this article has been of some use and has given you a good idea of the types of areas that need to be addressed.

I wish you well on your ITSM journey…

ITSM and DevOps

Greetings!

In this week's article, I will be talking about how ITSM can co-exist with DevOps so that the ITSM teams are not seen as blockers and the DevOps team(s) are not seen as “chaos monkeys”.

This can be achieved through two fronts;

1. Culture
2. Understanding and agreeing on the touch points

## Culture

It is easy to say that a good working culture, within an organisation, leads to better interworking between departments and the teams within them. But what does that mean in practical terms when you are aspiring to get ITSM and DevOps working together?

In my experience, this means addressing the following areas, in a program of change that is sponsored from the top but driven from the bottom up.

- Open and respectful dialogue - so that issues can be raised and ideas discussed
- Willingness to change - adopting a one-team approach
- Continual improvement mindset - striving to do better

## Touchpoints

The below diagram is my view on where the key touch points are between ITSM and DevOps as models. I have deliberately used ITIL terminology for the ITSM side, mainly because it is widely used around the globe.

![DevOps and ITSM!](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1687544857/ITSM/ITSM_and_DevOps_Interaction_n60p55.png)

### Ticket Creation / Update / Resolve

- The resolution of an Incident or Problem may require the DevOps team so, unless it is critical, it would need to be cross logged onto the appropriate Product Backlog
- A Service Request could be a conduit for “asks” being raised onto a Product Backlog
- Depending on how rigorously the deployment of Release Packages to the production environments is controlled, the DevOps team will be raising Operational Request for Changes (RFCs) to get approval to deploy. This can be seen as a bottleneck that restricts business agility, so consideration must be given to;
	- Agreement on what can be automatically approved based on specific criteria being met i.e. tests passing
	- Pre-agreed windows for deployment

### Authorisation

The Operational Change Management process will provide authorisation to deploy based on what criteria is either defined in the Change Management policy document or as agreed operationally for each Product. 

The key to this is finding the appropriate balance between the business's needs;
	- frequency and rapidity of change
	- ensuring that users / customers, depending on your business environment, do not suffer from change fatigue
	- maintaining the required levels of service availability
	- minimising risks

### Pre/Post Baseline Report

The SACM (Service Asset and Configuration Management) team is responsible for ensuring that there is accuracy in the configuration of the service(s). 

The DevOps team relies on this information to;

- know what *good* looks like, so they can restore the service back to its baseline configurations in the event of an Incident
- identify what might be impacted as a result of planned changes

The typical advice, which I broadly agree with, is to use a CMDB (Configuration Management Database)  to hold this data. 

My view on this is that a CMDB should be seen as a collection of federated data / information repositories that are specific to the type of data / information that is being managed e.g. a Software Configuration Manager tool (CICD pipeline or Github etc) or Wiki / Knowledge Articles (ITSM tool, Gitbook, Confluence).

### Knowledge Share

This touchpoint is important to ensure that changes to the service(s) are understood by the Service Desk, and other support tiers, so that they know what to do when an Incident occurs or a user phones up to query something.

It is also important from a user perspective so that they;

- know what has changed and what, if anything, that change means to them
- can access self-service knowledge to resolve issues themselves

The DevOps team also needs a flow of knowledge not them so that they can understand;

- whether the knowledge that they are providing is actually of use
- how users are reacting to the visible changes that are being made

## Summary
In this article, I have described the key touchpoints between ITSM and DevOps and why they are important. Hopefully, this article has been of some use and has given you a good idea of the types of areas that need to be addressed.

I wish you well on your ITSM journey…

Service Design Package

Greetings!

In this article I will be exploring the concept of the Service Design Package, what it should be and what should be included within its scope.

## What is a Service Design Package?
Service Design Package, abbreviated to SDP, is a term that initially appeared in ITL&reg; v3 which was first published in 2007, is a collection (the package part) of documents and artefacts that describes;  

- Scope - what a service is
- Users / Location - who it can be consumed by
- Compliance - the business, regulatory and statutory constraints that it has to exist within
- Requirements - the warranty, utility, quality and satisfaction characteristics that it has to meet
- Processes - that will be used to manage the service on a day to day basis
- Products - the tools that will be used to deliver the service. This includes everything from SaaS solutions through to bespoke applications
- Partners - the sub-contractors you use to deliver parts of the service
- People - the individual roles and functions that will govern and manage all of the above

> “Good service starts, and ends, with having great people..”. Source: me

## What should it be?
An SDP should be the definitive source of information for anyone requiring an understanding on what a service should deliver and how it delivers that service.

It should provide different views so that it can be used by different stakeholders with different perspectives.

It should be useable, accessible and written in plain English (or whichever language is relevant).

It should be a number of complimentary, and not over lapping, documents that are regularly reviewed and maintained to ensure currency.

## What should be included within an SDP?
The following is based on my years of experience of designing and building ITSM solutions as part of a Managed Services provider. 

Depending on your situation e.g. internal servicer provider (“The IT department”) or a Managed Service provider (external organisation to the one buying the services), you may consider some of these to not be relevant.

And, depending on your situation, you may be correct. However, all of the following areas should at least be considered when creating an SDP.

### Service Description - the what and the when…

A Service Description is the shiny document that, depending on your scenario, your customers and / or users will read to understand what the service is that they are consuming / paying for.

The common scenarios under which these tend to exist are;

- Contractual Service Description - part of a customer / supplier legal agreement where what is being delivered needs to be concise
- Service Catalogue (Public) - part of your businesses website / marketing collateral where you describe the services you offer
- Service Catalogue (Internal) - the portal where your internal IT department lists the services that users get as standard or that can be ordered

However, there is a common set of information, described below, that a Service Description should cover.

SCOPE - this is where you clearly describe what the service is and what it will, and as importantly will not (exclusions), delivers.

SERVICE LEVELS & PATTERNS - this is the level of service that a consumer should expect to receive and when the service will be available to them.

GOVERNANCE - how the service will be governed, who the key points of escalation are and what the measurement periods will be.

CHARGES - inescapable, but possibly less relevant in an internal IT department setting, how much the customer will pay for the service(s) that you are describing is important.

### Service Management Design - the how and tho who…

A Service Management Design (or Architecture or Blueprint or…) is the document where you describe how the service is going to be put together to deliver the service.

It covers the various building blocks needed, and how they interact, to deliver the service(s) covered by the SDP.

Typically, in no particular order, this includes;

SCOPE - this is where you clearly describe what the service is and what it will, and as importantly will not (exclusions), delivers.

RCTM - the Requirements Capture and Traceability Matrix where all the requirements that the service(s) need to meet are captured.

COMPLIANCE - the legislative, regulatory and industry standards that the service(s) need to comply with. Examples include ISO20k, ISO27001, Payment Card Industry (PCI) etc

UTILITY / WARRANTY - what the service(s) provide functionally, the *utility*, and when the customer / user can expect the service to be available to them, the *warranty* or Service Levels.

PROCESSES - the ITSM processes that need to be used for the service(s), whether there is any “localisation” needed or whether bespoke processes are needed.

TOOLSETS - the shiny toys that the service and support functions will use to underpin the ITSM process and technical activities required to manage the service. Given the availability or relatively mature and emergent technologies, the following should be considered;

- Integration
- Robotic Process Automation
- Artificial Intelligence
- Augmented and Virtual Reality
- Smart Locker / Vending solutions
- Self-healing systems

DATA MAP - crucial to both understanding where the data that will feed into your billing and performance measurement of the service, as well as helping you to understand your position as it relates to data residency and access legislation / regulations.

> Data is like garbage. You’d better know what you are going to do with it before you collect it. - Mark Twain

ROLES & FUNCTIONS - the individual roles and functions, within your organisation, that will perform day to day management or technical support functions to support the service(s). Examples are Service Desk, Security Operations Centre, Service Delivery Manager or Release Management.

PARTNERS / SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT - the third parties, and how they will be managed / governed, they will deliver aspects of the service(s). Thought needs to be given as to how Service Levels will be flowed down to them.

INFORMATION SECURITY - either described separately, or interwoven into all of the above, a description of how Information Security will be managed against the defined Information Security Management System (ISMS).

> It takes 20 years to build a reputation and few minutes of cyber-incident to ruin it. - Stephane Nappo

RAID - the identified Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Dependencies of the service(s), both for the transition to live and ongoing.

TECHNICAL REFERENCE DOCUMENTS - such as…
- Enterprise Architecture
- High Level Designs for Networks, Applications, Infrastructure, Integrations, Enterprise Management, Data Management
- ISMS, Role Based Access Controls etc
- Disaster Recovery, Backup, Recovery and Data Retention 

### Ops Policies, Processes and Procedures

A service can be described beautifully and designed to within an inch of its life but, when the brown and sticky hits the spinning blades, it is the operational processes and procedures, based on well thought out policies, run by well trained people that will see you through. Consideration should be given to…

- Incident, Problem and Event
- Call Handling, Knowledge Articles and escalation management
- Major Incident Management
- Change (Normal, Standard and Emergency), Release, Knowledge and SACM
- Information Security, SIEM, Access Control etc
- Applications Management, Agile and DevOps
- Capacity and Availability
- IT Service Continuity
- Technical Management, Patch Management, On Premise vs Hybrid vs Cloud and Technical Refresh
- Request Catalogue and Fulfilment
- Management Information, Billing and Invoice to Cash
- Continual Service Improvement

## Things to avoid…

Based on my, not inconsiderable experience, try to avoid the following.

- Trying to fit all of the above into a single document, it doesn’t work and creates a monolithic document that no-one, other than insomniacs, will want to read
- Re-inventing the wheel, re-use is awesome and helps to create consistency (as long as it is consistently good!)
- Repetition, say it once and cross reference, where practical. Adopting a Document as Code approach can greatly help with this 

> In our company, we all have 2 jobs: 1) to do our job and 2) to improve it - Toyota

## A final word…

Ultimately the SDP scope you use has to meet the needs of the business environment that you are working in. Hopefully this article has been of some use and has given you a good idea of the types of areas that need to be addressed.

I wish you well on your ITSM journey…

XLAs


Greetings!

This weeks article is dedicated to is XLAs (eXperience Level Agreements) and will answer:

- What are they?
- Should you care?
- How can they be used?

## What is an XLA?
A couple of quotes to start us off…

> XLA is a powerful new addition to the traditional IT Service Level Agreement (SLA). One that builds on the SLA concept by measuring human sentiment and using this to break down silos and think and act from the perspective of a user. 
*Source: [Giarte.com](https://www.giarte.com)*

> Xperience Level Agreement (XLA) is the *concept* of consensus between IT service provider and consumer regarding the desired human experience and business impact.  
> 
> It is also an *agreement* that extends the scope of the output-oriented Service Level Agreement (SLA) to describe the collaboration, experience, and business impact associated with IT services – the outcome. This outcome-oriented document defines the agreed goals, metrics that indicate achievement of the goals, and procedures for collaboration.
*Source: [www.xlaconsortium.com](https://www.xlaconsortium.com)*

In my opinion, both of the above quotes work quite nicely.

An SLA is purely an objective measure based on metrics that are gather from tools (ideally). It should be unimpeachable. 

However, beware of watermelons… which is where your shiny SLA dashboard or report is a field of green, but your customer still isn’t happy! This usually signifies you are not measuring the right things.

An XLA is a combination of objective and subjective measures that give you a balanced measurement of the impact of the service, with a weighting towards how the “users” experiences the service.

## Should you care?
Yes, yes you should… assuming that you are providing a service to a customer  rather than a utility type product that is positioned as being a “service”.

## How can XLAs be used?
XLAs can be used in a number of ways.

- Drive a specific business outcome e.g. adoption of digital channels to drive quicker resolution for users
- Improve the relationship between supplier and consumer by measuring what actually matters to your customers and users
- Gauging the impact of a new supplier or service, so that improvements can be identified
- Measuring the end user experience (UX) for one or more applications, as long as there is a subjective element to the measurement
- Impact of a change programme

The possibilities are varied. The key is having the subjective measure as part of any XLA calculation, ideally captured in a consistent way e.g. using a user survey tool.

However, XLAs should *not* be used as a stick to beat a supplier of services with. Rather they should be entered into as a joint exercise between the Service Provider and Customer to drive improvements.

In future posts I will be diving deeper into this space, so keep an eye open!

Agile Service Management

Greetings!

In this article I will be looking at *Agile Service Management&reg;* (ASM) and how it can be practically implemented. This will be based on the real world experience I gained in my 12 years as a Service Architect.

## What is ASM and where did it come from?

ASM is an approach to developing and maintaining ITSM processes. It was developed by the DevOps Institute&reg; in response to the perception that ITSM can be a blocker to the speed and agility of delivering benefit to the business.

So ASM is essentially using the Scrum, but instead of developing software you are developing processes. The following diagram compares ASM to pure Scrum and identifies key differences in terminology and cadence.

![Agile Service Management!](https://res.cloudinary.com/xenos-design/image/upload/v1687715150/ITSM/ASM_high_level_diagram_v0.1_brkh3d.jpg)

So, as you can see, the key differences are;  

- Scrum Master = Agile Service Manager  
- Product Backlog = Process Backlog (or CSI Register if it is a mature process)
- Product Owner = Process Owner  

## Example Implementation: Developing the Service and Support Model

This example of implementing ASM is where I was working with a client, who were creating a new business application using SCRUM to manage the software development, and there was a need to align the development of the service management and support model in alignment with the sprint planning and cycles.

This new application was going to be supported by a well established and mature support organisation. This meant that I didn’t have to look a standing up new processes, rather that I needed to analyse what needed to be designed and implemented to support the smooth transition from project to live service.

What I ended up with, as an output of the analysis, was a number of *Epics*, spanning the various processes, functions and tools, each of which had a number of high level *User Stories*. 

These *User Stories* were classified as either Enablers, which meant they needed to be completed before further work could be undertaken, or Functional, which were delivering specific elements inline with the delivered output from the software development sprints.

Then I brought all of the key protagonists together for a *Backlog* refinement and initial sprint planning session. This turned out to be invaluable as we were able to refine some needs, re-align others and produce the *Sprint Backlog* for the enabler sprint and the first functional sprint.

These sprints went well, or at least better than I was expecting given how new the approach was to all parties, and the project was delivered successfully. 

The following actions / activities certainly paid dividends;

- Establishing the *Minimum Viable Product* (MVP) is less straight forward in a well established ITSM model than if you are building some thing new, so allow time for this, listen to opinions but never be afraid of challenging the “norm” as, just because something is done in a certain way it doesn’t mean it is the best or most efficient way
- Engaging with the local process owners early on, and taking them through the ASM&asm; approach, and listening to their concerns helped to smooth the path to adoption
- Working closely with the software Product Owners and Solution Architects enabled early identification of challenges and producing collaborative responses 
- Acknowledging that issues arise in live operations, that may require the “service development” teams focus, and allowing a reasonable allowance in the *Sprint Plan* worked well and allowed us to meet expectation
- Stabling the correct routes of escalation, so that blockers can be removed as soon as possible, is essential to maintaining the cadence of the team

## Moving Forwards…

In my opinion the ASM approach can be very useful when you need to deliver and maintain an ITSM model for a software product where SCRUM, or another form of Agile, is used. However, as with any tool, it is not a one size fits all answer, so give serious consideration to the environment in which you want to use it.

I recommend that you go to the [DevOps Institute](https://www.devopsinstitute.com/skilbooks/agile-service-management-guide/) site and read about ASM further. 

If you decide that you want to use ASM then there are a couple of certification courses that you can attend, both developed and licensed by the DevOps Institute.

These are *Certified Agile Service Manager* (CASM) and *Certified Agile Process Owner* (CAPO). I have attended both of these courses, and gained the certifications, and see there is a lot of content that is repeated so attending one or the other, depending on what role you will be in, should be suffiicient to get a good baseline of understanding.

I hope that you found this article useful and I wish you good fortune in your ITSM journey.

An Introduction to ITSM


Greetings!

So, assuming you are relatively new to it, I thought I would give a high level overview of what ITSM is.

ITSM is an acronym, we use a lot of these, for Information Technology Service Management.

Since the early days of I.T. there has been a concept of “managing” the services that customers were buying. Initially this was very limited to support the products (hardware or software) that were purchased and, in my opinion, was very much there to drive additional sales rather then deliver any tangible value beyond that derived from the products.

Towards the end of the 1980’s the Central Computing and Telecommunications Agency, a government department in Great Britain, developed a framework for managing IT infrastructure. This methodology was called ITIL&reg; (IT Infrastructure Library), and was series of books that described how IT could be managed in a consistent way. It is now owned by AXELOS&trade;.

My first introduction to ITIL&reg; was in the late 1990’s / early 2000’s as I moved up the career ladder. At that point ITIL&reg; v2 was out and predominantly focused on two areas Service Delivery (SLAs, BCDR etc) and Service Support. My enduring memory is sitting two very long, and handwritten, exams after 2 weeks of training, which felt quite hellish at the time.

Since then ITIL&reg; has kept evolving with v3 coming out in 2007 and v4, the most recent iteration, coming out in 2019.

One of the things I have always found fascinating in this areas is the continual evolution of how close an “IT Department” should be to its “Customer” from a relationship and goal alignment perspective. Initially coming across as quite standoffish through to being closely interwoven with how the business operates.

Also that ITIL&reg; has never positioned itself as a standard that must be followed to the letter. Rather you _adopt_ the methodology and _adapt_ it to the needs and constraints of your organisation. Thankfully this message has never changed but, what has grown up along side this methodology, are a number of other frameworks and standards, such as:

- _[Microsoft Operations Framework](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/tn-archive/cc506049(v=technet.10)?redirectedfrom=MSDN)_ - based on ITIL, that came out in 2008
- _[ISO 20000-1](https://www.iso.org/standard/70636.html)_ - the international standard for IT Service Management. This has been heavily influenced by ITIL evolution over the years and could be considered the hard stick for what “good” looks like
- _[IT4IT](https://www.opengroup.org/it4it)_ - developed by The Open Group&trade; who, among other areas, own the TOGAF framework for Enterprise Architecture (I am a big advocate of this) , this is a architectural model for delivering and managing IT service. There is a lot of crossover, in my opinion, between this and ITIL&reg; v4 which makes them very complimentary
- _[Agile Service Management](https://www.devopsinstitute.com/skilbooks/agile-service-management-guide/)_ - developed by The DevOps Institute, which heavily focuses on service management process development as a “product”. Think scrum for process development and maintenance and you will get the picture.

Now, fascinating as this potted history is, it doesn’t quite answer the question of what ITSM actually is.

One definition of ITSM is

> IT service management (ITSM) is a strategic approach to design, build, deliver, operate, and control information technology (IT) services offered to customers. Source: Wikipedia.

This is an ok, if somewhat dry, statement but misses a fundamental point, which is that IT, as a business function / capability, _MUST_ be aligned with the operational, regulatory and governance needs of the business that it delivers to.

If this isn’t achieved the IT will typically be seen as a “problem child”. Sadly even today, this kind of mis-alignment between the business needs and what the “IT department” thinks it reason for existing is, still exists.

Now when you get into the world of Managed IT Services e.g. those procured by a business from a 3rd party organisation, the original definition is still ok, but there still needs to be that alignment between the _consumer_ and _provider_ of IT services, albeit constrained by the boundaries of a commercial agreement (contract) of some kind.

I will be expanding on some of these areas in future posts.

I will sign-off at this point but watch out for future posts and discussions.



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An Introduction to ITSM