Six Sigma for IT Management

Product Description

This is a unique publication, giving the application of the Six Sigma approach in combination with ITIL best practice. Six Sigma provides a quantitative methodology of continuous (process) improvement and cost reduction, by reducing the amount of variation in process outcomes. This book demonstrates how IT can be made to work as an enabler to better business processes.

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Where is your SLM these days?
Dissapointed
Among the best on the subject
Much-needed book on a neglected topic
you've read the book, now visit www.nextslm.org-

Foundations of Service Level Management
Rick Sturm , and Wayne Morris
Manufacturer: Sams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0672317435

Book Description

Foundations of Service Level Management provides detailed recommendations for creating a service level management strategy and establishing service level agreements. This book also shows IT managers and executives at third-party SLM companies how to deploy services more quickly, placing a premium on time to market and time to scale, become more service oriented, delivering guaranteed services through service-level agreements (SLAs), evolve from reactive network management to proactive service management, and reduce costs whenever possible by automating network and service management.

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Customer Reviews:

Where is your SLM these days?.......2001-11-20

In the old school of thought, the three most important rules in business were location, location, and location. In today's virtual world, the new rules are service, service, and service. Foundations of Service Level Management establishes a framework from which to address the SLM phenomenon. It is comprehensive, up-to-date, and embraces the actual and virtual complexities inherent in today's computing environments.

How well are we serving our customers? How well are we serving ourselves? How well are our vendors serving us? These are simple questions often extremely difficult to answer accurately, timely, and in an easy to understand manner. These perspectives lie at the heart of FoSLM's focus and, like a breath of fresh air, renews the SLM mindset.

As one manager of a large credit card company put it: "A fool with a tool is still a fool." FoSLM brings this point home by emphasizing that a plan must be in place before selecting the tool to make it happen. The number of companies offering SLM tools is approaching the three-digit mark. Because of this, it is vital that a company have their plan in place before shopping. Otherwise, like going to the supermarket hungry, you may wind up buying things you don't really need. And while you may eventually eat those other things, shelfware has the potential of costing time, money, and careers.

Drawing on decades of combined experience, the authors zero in on the concept of "end-to-end" metrics. This customer-centric view cannot be seen among the vast silos of vertically aligned data based on individual network components. These must be combined and related to business functions at the transaction level -- and reported in a manner the customer understands. Quality service, from the customer's viewpoint, is the prime directive.

For companies embarking on establishing or refurbishing their SLM programs, the FoSLM book is a must. There are strategies, tactics, and operations for building a game plan. There are examples, templates, and references in its appendix. Dozens of available SLM-related products are briefly discussed. To use an Emerilism, the FoSLM takes SLM and kicks it up a notch.

Dissapointed.......2001-08-16

I admit I was impressed by the table of contents of this book, and I admit I had no previous experience with the subject, but sure with the 'real life' of support services for a database company. Most of the book is devoted to review commercial software available on the market and for me, this is just enough to be dissapointed. There are better commercial magazines or even websites can provide you this information for free... Although some formulas and templates looks very interesting (that's why 2 stars), maybe should you consider a help desk book instead.

Among the best on the subject.......2001-06-20

This book is important for two reasons: (1) it's written by experienced practitioners who have specialized in service level management for a large part of their careers, and (2) it covers all of the key points of creating, implementing and managing an effective service level management initiative.

The five chapters of Part I thoroughly covers principles. One of the strongest chapters in this part is 2, which addresses factors and issues that other books (and articles and white papers) seem to sidestep. Among them are the effect of batch processing and workload on your ability to meet service level objectives, security, recovery management and costs/affordability. Lest you think that batch processing is a thing of the past, consider what it takes to refresh data warehouses and data marts, which depend on batch processing. Workload management, especially the balancing act of squeezing in batch jobs, back-ups and other tasks that need to occur in maintenance windows that are shrinking because the demands of e-commerce and supply chain management practically demand 24x7, is highlighted in this book as well. Other chapters in Part I that contained gems include: the report card summary in chapter 3 (service level reporting), the plethora of tips in chapter 4 (service level agreements) and the excellent collection of resources cited in chapter 5 (standards efforts).

Part II of the book is weak. It consists of a chapter on service level management practices for a selection of U.S. companies, and a chapter on service level management products. In my opinion this entire part of the book can be dispensed with because the authors have a web site that augments this book that provides a more up-to-date survey of practices in the U.S. and an additional survey that is global. The chapter on products was obsolete before the book was published. Again, the web site (URL is provided in the book) provides up-to-date information.

Part III is superb. It is a roadmap to developing, implementing and managing service levels, starting with chapter 8 that leads you through developing a business case. Chapter 9, implementing service level management, was a little light because the task is much larger than what the authors squeezed into the 14 pages allocated to this topic. Chapter 10 is devoted to data and metrics, which are essential to a viable service level management initiative. The remaining two chapters are a wrap-up; however, each is worth a thorough reading because there are gems of information and advice sprinkled throughout.

The appendices are forms and templates, which can also be obtained in soft copy from the authors' web site. Each of these artifacts are valuable and will save you a significant amount of time if you're starting from scratch.

I'm tempted to subtract a star for Part II's deficiencies, but I won't because this book still stands as the best I've read. Moreover, the authors make available updated information on their web page, which is something you cannot do with a paper book, and also provide a wealth of additional material that adds significantly to this book's value. My hope is the authors will trade the page count consumed by Part II for a more in-depth treatment of implementation in chapter 9.

Much-needed book on a neglected topic.......2000-12-28

There is a real dearth of books that deal with service level management from an IT pespective, which makes this a "must-have" for consultants, production services managers and others in IT whose job involves service delivery.

The book is straightforward and puts service level management into perspective. It addresses all key process areas for establishing, implementing and managing service delivery. Also provided are artifacts from the authors' web site that are invaluable to anyone who is in the process of implementing SLM.

I especially like the business case approach taken to quantify the value of a sound service delivery program, and also thought that treament of how to negotiate a service level agreement was a highlight of this book.

Why 4 stars instead of 5? Some of the URLs provided in the book either were dead or led to sites that did not provide valuable content.

If service delivery is your business I strongly recommend this book. There are two companion books that should also be on your book shelf: IT Services Costs, Metrics, Benchmarking and Marketing (the material complements this book) and Mission Critical Systems Managemet (also complements this book, but also has an excellent SLA template and addresses SLM in a comprehensive manner).

you've read the book, now visit www.nextslm.org-.......2000-11-23

"Foundations of Service Level Management" (the book)has spawned a significant website- the world's only Service Level Management learning community. The book mentions the website- almost as an afterthought by the publisher, but believe me it is worth it!

The book not only explains how to implement Service Level Management (SLM), it also points out how to avoid common pitfalls. The web-site takes their efforts online

Nextslm.org is an educational zone- you can post comments and questions to the authors along w/ other industry experts on SLM.

The site also provides:

- a benchmark tool which helps you assess the state of your organisational SLM efforts

- specific recommendations for developing a Service Level Management discipline

- templates for building Service Level Agreements

- guidelines to shorten the process of negotiating a Service Level Agreement

- sample business justifications supporting Service Level Management investments

- a comprehensive list of vendor products used for Service Level Management

- an ongoing discussion group

- a free report: "Service Level Management- North America Survey 2000"

- links to SLM/SLA resources

- a featured "ASP of the Month"

and much more...

Product Description

Poor quality of data and information can have a harmful impact on decision-making and therefore on the overall effectiveness of an enterprise. Incorrect and misleading information associated with an enterprises production and service provision jeopardize both customer relationships and customer satisfaction, and ultimately have a negative effect on revenue. Challenges of Managing Information Quality in Service Organizations presents cases and applications of information quality in various industrial service sectors, and presents twelve chapters organized into four sections: information quality application in healthcare industry, information quality application in banking, real estate and postal industries, information quality application for database management services, and information quality application for research and development. Challenges of Managing Information Quality in Service Organizations provides insight and support for academic professionals as well as for practitioners concerned with the management of information.

Information Service Excellence Through Tqm: Building Partnerships for Business Process Reengineering and Continuous Improvement

Average customer rating:

Valuable for orgs that do heavy development

Information Service Excellence Through Tqm: Building Partnerships for Business Process Reengineering and Continuous Improvement
Timothy Braithwaite
Manufacturer: Irwin Professional Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0873892712

Book Description

no description

Customer Reviews:

Valuable for orgs that do heavy development.......2001-06-30

After reading the author's "The Power of IT: Maximizing Your Technology Investments" I was sufficiently impressed with his work to track down other books that he had written.

This book starts with a 360 degree view of IS by giving the following viewpoints and perceptions: users, bottom line, and from within IS itself. Although this book was written in 1994 it is as valid today as when Mr. Braithwaite wrote chapter 1. The next chapter is a discussion of TQM, and its main value is to synchronize the author's definitions with our own. A few topics here were real gems, including managing by prevention, identifying and measuring the cost of quality, and measuring the performance of business processes which IS is chartered to support. The best part of this chapter the structure and approach for institutionalizing management of change. Mr. Braithwaite proposes four different groups: (1) management, (2) measurement, (3) education and (4) employee involvement committees. This approach does ensure that all major stakeholders are involved, and it also will prevent IT/IS from operating in a vacuum.

Chapter 3 is devoted to TQM within IS, but the focus moves to systems development. I was hoping for a more holistic treatment of IS that also covered service delivery and support, and production. These areas are covered, but only within the context of systems development. The next three chapters are devoted to incorporating TQM into the systems development process. Chapter 4 is devoted to establishing TQM, chapter 5 covers TQM initiatives in the requirements definition phase, and chapter 6 addresses TQM in the build and delivery phases. Chapter 6 has some excellent information on metrics, testing and release to production.

I especially liked chapter 7, which focuses on creating a quality culture within IS. Some of the factors and indicators that Mr. Braithwaite provides in this chapter are worth reading carefully, including staff turnover and the effect on cost of quality, and the TQM implementation model for IS. I also liked the way the author aligns seven of Deming's principles to IS department management. This is another area that is worth reading.

Chapter 8 wraps up this 141 page book with a discussion of future directions for IS within the context of TQM. Some of the key points here include: change perceptions [of users and the business] through performance, add value to the enterprise, and formulate a long-term vision. These points should be mandates for any IS department regardless of whether they elect to implement TQM or not.

Book Description

SLM Solutions: A Buyer's Guide, is a powerful resource for anyone wanting expert advice on SLM tool selection. This book also provides valuable decision support information for enterprise and service provider IT departments tasked with selecting and implementing the right SLM solution.

Customer Reviews:

Perfect for businesses comtemplating SLM expenditures.......2002-11-11

It's interesting how networks, computer systems, and software applications have evolved towards the notion of information services. The industry is looking at information technology in terms of services provided for business operations, and that has caused interest in buying, deploying, and managing services instead of networks and applications.

This book is a buyer's guide into the numerous products that manage services in one way or the other. The first 50 pages are devoted to concepts in service level management, while the remaining 300 or so pages describe some 70 SLM solutions along several dimensions, including product functionality, distinguishing features, data sources, third-party product reliance, support for service-related standards, pricing/packaging, and strengths/weaknesses. I would think that readers would study the first 50 pages carefully and use the product description section as a reference. The 50 page overview is excellent, from both a technical and business point of view.

I almost gave the book four stars because it is inevitable that SLM vendors with change their products, some will go out of business, and new ones will come into play, and thus the book would become obsolete in relative short order. However, the very last page of the book promises a 2nd edition. A book of this sort should probably be updated annually.

Also, I almost gave the book 4 stars because it has no references to other sources. But section 2 refers to several SLM standards bodies and lists URLs, including ITIL, Telemanagement Forum, and IEFT.

There was just one thing about the book that puzzled me: In the table of contents, about a dozen of the 70 companies are in bold, and I couldn't figure out why. However, that problem wasn't worth taking off a star.

In sum, the book is perfect for businesses comtemplating SLM expenditures. I would expect to see it updated from time to time to keep up with the industry.

SLM Solutions: A Buyer's Guide - Review.......2002-10-24

The analysts at EMA have written a very clear guide to helping IT people prepare for, evaluate and compare, and implement an SLM solution. The book is divided into two parts. The first part is a detailed discussion of the important facets of Service Level Management: what it is, all of the things that it encompasses, how to create and negotiate SLAs (Service Level Agreements), creating RFPs to evaluate SLM offerings, and some of the nitty-gritty around the actual measurements. The second part is a synopsis of the majority of commercial software products available for SLM. Each vendor gets a four or five page write-up that summarizes key features, the pricing model, expected support costs, and a brief EMA summary of the product and company, including strengths and limitations. If you need to implement an SLM solution, don't expect to find all of your questions answered just by looking at the product comparisons. Chapters 3 and 4 provide a wealth of information about how to evaluate solutions based on your specific environment and then how to write the RFP so that you will get the information to meet your specific needs. The one thing that is missing from the Vendor Briefs is any mention of open source software. In some cases, open source solutions my provide a better fit than COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) software products at a somewhat lower price point. Regardless of the direction chosen (commercial or open source), the information in "SLM Solutions: A Buyer's Guide" will provide the reader with important information about the whole SLM process.

SLM Solutions.......2002-10-22

Great resource for anyone trying to implement SLM. A must have
that lists (what seems like) every vendor's product with an honest
evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of each. Every IT professional should have a copy on his/her bookshelf.

Exhaustively researched and clearly presented material.......2002-10-07

This book is to service level management consultants and prospective buyers of SLM solutions what Hoover's handbooks are to business intelligence - a complete and comprehensive survey of SLM solutions from major and minor vendors.

The information in this book is divided between timeless reference material and time-sensitive information. The reference material is comprised of a thorough discussion of what service level management is, what is required to implement it, and the value and ROI that you should expect from both the processes and the tools. The reference part of the book also extends to how to effectively manage the selection and procurement process of a solution. This material is on the mark, is consistent with best practices in service level management, and is clearly written. In fact, after reading the author's earlier book, "Foundations of Service Level Management" (ISBN 0672317435) I expected the depth and detail in which the reference part of this book delved.

Time-sensitive material that comprises the second part of the book consists of a collection of vendor brief that are arranged alphabetically from Aligent Technologies to WiredMinds, Inc. Each brief is similar in format to Hoover's handbooks in that you are shown an 'At a Glance' view of the vendor (product/service offering, SLM solution, date founded, number of employees, target customer and operating requirements for the solution). This is followed for each vendor by a more detailed view that covers product details (functionality, distinguishing features, support and pricing). One nice touch here is that each product is also depicted in an architecture diagram. Each vendor brief concludes with a summary, strengths and limitations from Enterprise Management Associates' (the book's authors) viewpoint.

In addition to the material in the book the publisher's website contains a wealth of additional material, which augments this book and adds considerable value to it.

If I could change one thing about the book it would be the title, which should be renamed to "SLM Solutions: a buyer's guide - 2002 Edition", which subsequent editions appearing twice a year. Yes, the reference material is likely to remain the same, but the vendor information is in a constant state of flux and will render this excellent resource obsolete unless it's updated at least every six months.

Book Description

This timely, concise report explains total quality control, its adaptation from manufacturing and its application to information services including operations, systems development and end-user computing. Case studies by IS executives examine Texas Instruments' total quality culture, Motorola's Six Steps to Six Sigma and Federal Express' focus on systems availability.

Total Quality Management in Information Services (Information Services Management Series)

Average customer rating:

Total Quality Management in Information Services (Information Services Management Series)
Guy St. Clair
Manufacturer: Bowker-Saur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1857390393

Understanding Capability by Implementing Statistical Process Control

Average customer rating:

Excellent, self-paced program
Self-paced learning materials
This author doesn't know the first thing about statistics
Worst book for SPC users
"Practical"

Understanding Capability by Implementing Statistical Process Control
James C. Abbott
Manufacturer: Robert Houston Smith Publisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1887355022

Book Description

Practical Understanding of Capability by Implementing Statistical Process Control covers the full range of control charts (X and S charts, S and R charts, Variable and Attribute charts, and Individuals charts) and capability studies. Unlike most statistics and process control texts, which were written for college courses, author James Abbott designed his book specifically for use on the shop floor. Traditionally, all of the statistical tools are introduced and their uses explained. Mr. Abbott discusses the situations companies are likely to encounter and then explains which tool to use, and how to use it, for each situation. His conversational style is a welcome relief from other technical handbooks. Practice questions (and answers) are scattered throughout the book for readers to practice their new skills. A complete appendix provides the constants, formulas, and charts necessary for all phases of SPC.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent, self-paced program.......2003-10-08

This book, along with the Self Study
Guide, are excellent self paced learning materials. I highly recommend these materials to anyone whose job demands a thorough knowledge of Statistical Process Control.

Self-paced learning materials.......2003-08-12

The SPC " Practical Understanding of Capability by Implementing Statistical Process Control" along with the Self Study
Guide are excellent self paced learning materials. I highly recommend these materials to anyone whose job demands a thorough knowledge of Statistical Process Control.

This author doesn't know the first thing about statistics.......2001-08-12

I think that it is sad that a book of such extremely poor technical quality, which the author believes is "practical understanding", fools so many people who do not understand statistics themselves. If you have not been exposed to statistics for sometime, or have always wanted to learn statistical methods, then this should not be your first book. Anyone who has been exposed to a good book on statistics, or attended a class or seminar on statistics, will quickly see that this book contains numerous incorrect definitions and interpretations of statistical terms and methods. A book review of this book by noted statistician, Lloyd Nelson (who is an ASQ Fellow and Shewhart medalist) appeared in the April 2001 issue of the Journal of Quality Technology.

As an example, the author defines the binomial distribution as one which has two modes, which he has confused with the biMODal distribution. The range is defined as the (data point - average), which would produce both positive and negative values. Of course, the range is known (by everyone else except the author) as the difference between the largest and smallest values of a set of data, so it can never assume a negative value. His discussion of control charts also demonstrates a lack of understanding as to their use and the underlying distributions on which they are based. For instance, his statement that the binomial and Poisson distributions are a special case of the normal distribution is blatantly incorrect. The list of examples goes on and on, and many more can be found in Nelson's book review.

The best advice this reviewer can give someone shopping for an easy to read and credible book on statistics is to pass this one up, save your money, and keep looking. If you subscribe to one of the journals of ASQ (American Society for Quality), namely the Journal of Quality Technology and Technometrics, then read their book reviews. The reviewers are very knowledgable and are composed of Senior Members and Fellows who have considerable practical and theoretical knowledge. They can offer valuable information on which books give the best value for the money.

Worst book for SPC users.......2001-08-01

This text is one of the worst in terms of technical merit and correctness. The author obviously does not have much of an idea about statistics and how to implement SPC....

"Practical".......2001-06-24

" The word practical in the book's subtitle says it all. The book has a decision making focus (still has the math). This really clarified everything for me. Not just a math book but a how to make SPC work for you. The idea of different tools for strategic and tactical decisions was new and refreshing."

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