When you have the big picture, it's easier to make small steps forward

One very big challenge we have in IT is “what is the big picture”. We hear so much about technological advances and trends like cloud and the internet of things that many organisations become confused and seem to think that these are the big picture – but they are not! These are simply different types of ways IT can be delivered and technological advances. So why is this “big picture” so elusive? If you think about it most IT people are quite obsessed with IT. It’s their job after all. IT advances seem to come thick and fast resulting in yet another project, yet another new thing to deliver, and yet another set of problems and issues to resolve. So it’s not really a shock to see that IT people can become easily engrossed in technology and not focused on “the big picture”. Does a big picture actually exist? Well yes, as at last there is a Reference Architecture designed specifically for running the business of IT which utilises fundamental concepts such as viewing IT as a value chain, supported by value stream. This is called IT4IT™ and it has been produced by The OpenGroup http://www.opengroup.org/IT4IT So how can the big picture help with Continual Service Improvement? Well, at last we have an overarching architecture which we can use to drive improvements focused on maximising value back to the business, and not just improving IT for the sake of it! This also allows organisations to identify small incremental steps that are more manageable and achievable for them to deliver whilst gradually moving closer to the “big picture”. This session will introduce IT4IT™ and give some practical examples of how it can be used within the context of Continual Service Improvement