How do you develop IT service management skills in yourself and your team?

1 Assess your current ITSM maturity

Before you can improve your ITSM skills, you need to know where you stand and where you want to go. You can use various frameworks and tools to assess your current ITSM maturity, such as the ITIL Maturity Model, the COBIT Self-Assessment Tool, or the ISO/IEC 20000 Gap Analysis. These assessments will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, your gaps and risks, and your opportunities and priorities for improvement.

2 Set SMART ITSM goals and objectives

Based on your ITSM maturity assessment, you can set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals and objectives for yourself and your team. For example, you might want to increase your customer satisfaction ratings, reduce your incident resolution times, or implement a new ITSM tool. Your goals and objectives should be aligned with your business strategy, your ITSM framework, and your stakeholder expectations.

3 Learn and apply ITSM best practices and standards

One of the best ways to develop your ITSM skills is to learn and apply ITSM best practices and standards, such as ITIL, COBIT, ISO/IEC 20000, or DevOps. These frameworks and methodologies provide you with guidance, principles, processes, and practices for effective ITSM. You can take courses, read books, watch videos, or join online communities to learn more about ITSM best practices and standards. You can also use templates, checklists, or tools to help you apply them in your daily work.

4 Seek feedback and improvement opportunities

Another way to develop your ITSM skills is to seek feedback and improvement opportunities from your customers, stakeholders, peers, and managers. You can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, or metrics to collect feedback on your ITSM performance, quality, and value. You can also use audits, reviews, or benchmarks to compare your ITSM practices with industry standards or best practices. You should analyze the feedback and data you receive and identify areas for improvement or innovation.

5 Invest in ITSM training and certification

Finally, you can invest in ITSM training and certification to enhance your ITSM skills and knowledge. There are many ITSM training and certification programs available, such as ITIL Foundation, COBIT Foundation, ISO/IEC 20000 Foundation, or DevOps Foundation. These programs will help you gain a comprehensive understanding of ITSM concepts, frameworks, processes, and roles. They will also validate your ITSM skills and competencies and increase your credibility and recognition in the IT industry.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?