Henrik Finn Brocke

Design Rules for User-Oriented IT Service Descriptions

Customers of complex IT-services increasingly demand integrated value bundles that fit their individual needs. At the same time, IT service providers are facing commoditization of their products and need to standardize their portfolios to realize economies of scale. While approaches to coping with the gap between individual customer demand and the economic necessity of standardization have a long standing tradition in mature manufacturing industries, IT-service providers still struggle with translating their standardized portfolio into a form that is understandable and relevant for their customers. This paper proposes a way of describing IT-services that follows the paradigm of a “service dominant logic”. We therefore transfer “service dominant logic” to the realm of IT and propose guidelines to create customer oriented service descriptions. An excerpt of a prototype description serves as an example, how the technical, inside view on IT-services can be translated into a customer-oriented outside view.

A methodical procedure for designing consumer oriented on-demand IT service propositions

IT providers are increasingly facing the challenge to adapt their previously resource oriented service portfolios in order to offer their customers services which explicitly support business processes. Such customer centric service propositions, however, seem to contradict the demand for standardized and automated operational IT processes more than traditional IT service offers, as they are even more subject to customer individual reengineering efforts due to permanently changing business requirements. In order to reconcile increased efficiency in operational processes and effectiveness in consumer oriented service propositions, we propose (1) to predefine all service propositions in consideration of both consumer oriented commitments and operational processes, and (2) to allow for standardized customization by offering a selection of complementary service propositions that extend commitments regarding customer oriented functionality and performance. Such service propositions are aligned with a company’s entities such as workplaces. Thereby the customer organization is enabled to trace, control and adjust commitments, value and expenses of IT services per entity in its business. We introduce a procedural model for designing and on-demand requesting this kind of service propositions, and we illustrate the model’s application and impact by examples taken from two large projects with an associated IT provider.

Managing the Current Customization of Process Related IT-Services

IT service providers are increasingly required to orientate their service portfolio towards the IT support of their consumers business processes. This enables diversification as well as transparency in costs and services vis-a-vis the customer to be achieved. Such services however, appear too customer specific for a standardized service provision within the context of IT-industrialisation as they are subject to constantly changing customer demands. To combat this, a concept is envisaged that keeps business process orientated IT-services modifiable and configurable by concretely defining additional Associate Services in advance. In order to maintain transparency and influence in IT expenses, these services orientate themselves towards business objects in the customers business. The concept is illustrated with the aid of examples from its application and further development together with two associate IT-providers.

Customizing IT Service Agreements as a Self Service by means of Productized Service Propositions

Whilst service providers of information technology (IT) seek to achieve cost-efficiency and optimization in request processing, customers increasingly demand flexibility and agility to align long lasting IT service relationships to changing requirements of their business processes. Customer individual adjustments of service agreements and changes in commitments of functionality and performance cause negotiation and service reengineering efforts. Amounts of service agreements and change requests impede the overview of currently valid commitments in service systems. In order to overcome these problems, this article proposes to customize service systems on demand only by selecting, parameterizing and arranging predefined and productized service propositions. A self-service reference model is introduced that allows the customer to continuously adjust service systems in their arrangements of committed IT services on demand. Its implementation as an online portal supports easy traceability of the current total of IT service commitments as well as consistency of additional service requests with the current service arrangement. Examples from its application in two major IT-projects illustrate the results.

Zwischen Kundenindividualität und Standardisierung – Konzept und Referenz-Datenstruktur eines konfigurierbaren IT-Produktmodells

IT-Dienstleister sind zunehmend gefordert, ihr Serviceportfolio konsequent auf die IT-Unterstutzung von Geschaftsprozessen der Kunden auszurichten. Dadurch konnen Diversifikation sowie Transparenz in den IT-Ausgaben und ihrem strategischen Wertbeitrag beim Kunden erreicht werden. Fur eine standardisierte Leistungserbringung im Sinne der IT-Industrialisierung erscheinen solche Dienstleistungen jedoch zu kundenindividuell, zumal sie einer kontinuierlichen Veranderung der Kundenanforderungen unterliegen. Dem entgegenwirkend wird ein dreistufi-ges Konfigurations-Konzept von Leistungsvereinbarungen vorgestellt: IT-Dienstleistungen sollen zum einen durch fest vorab definierte Zusatzservices ausgestaltbar und konfigurierbar gehalten werden. Zusatzlich soll die Wiederverwendung modularisierter Leistungszusagen fur kundenindividuell ausgestaltete Leistungsvereinbarungen den standardisierten IT-Betrieb aufrechterhalten. Dieses Konzept wird detailliert in seiner Datenstruktur als Resultatdimension der Dienstleistungsmodellierung vorgestellt und durch Beispiele verdeutlicht, die in der Konzeptentwicklung mit zwei Praxisunternehmen entstanden sind.

Balancing Customer Requirements and IT Service Standardisation - A Procedural Reference Model for Individualised IT Service Agreement Configurations

IT service providers are increasingly urged to stringently align their service portfolio with the IT support of their customers’ business processes. Consequently, both IT expenses and its strategic contribution to value creation are expected to become subject to heightened transparency. Yet, in order to allow for standardised on-demand service request processing within the meaning of IT industrialisation, these services appear too adapted to individual customer needs, particularly as they are subject to continuous changes in business requirements. In order to address this issue, a three-phase procedural model of IT service agreement configuration is introduced: IT services thus remain transformable and configurable via predefined complementary services which are selected by configuring a customer’s individual service directory. In addition, the reutilisation of modular commitments in order to compose service specifications aims to maintain standardised IT operations. Serving as a procedural reference model, these configuration phases are introduced in detail regarding activities, roles, techniques and data structure as developed and implemented in Action Research cooperation with two IT providers.

Leistungsmodellierung als Voraussetzung für Produktionsplanung und -steuerung (PPS) für die Bereitstellung von IT-Services

Steigender Kostendruck und zunehmende Dienstleistungsorientierung erfordern ein Umdenken beim Einsatz von Methoden zum Management der Bereitstellung von IT-Services. Wurden in der Vergangenheit primar Projektmanagementmethoden genutzt, rucken mit zunehmender IT-Service-Standardisierung Methoden aus der Sachguterfertigung in den Mittelpunkt. In diesem Beitrag wird dargestellt, welche Moglichkeiten und Grenzen industrielle Produktionsplanungs- und -steue-rungssysteme fur die Bereitstellung von IT-Services am konkreten Fallbeispiel der „Global Delivery Unit SAP Services“ der T-Systems Enterprise Services GmbH aufweisen.