Proactive Problem Management
During discussions regarding Proactive Problem management, I have often observed that most of the time Proactive Problem Management is related to Incident Trending Analysis and Event analysis. I would say this is just a tip of the iceberg, there is lot more onto Proactive Problem Management.
Proactive Problem Management is more effective and successful when it is inculcated as a culture in the organisation rather than just a process to be followed. Its very important that the people, process, tools and policies in organisation are intigrated to promote reporting and registering the problems proactively. It is not necessary that only a senior is responsible to identify the problems proactively, Anyone who is working for the organisation can report a problem if he logically senses anything which may cause a damage in the near future.
Its very important that the people, process, tools and policies in organisation are integrated to promote reporting and registering the problems proactively.
Proactive Problem Management is not a one time process, its a continual process, the other aspect for the success of proactive problem management is how well is the communication managed between Organisation's process, the Business and the Technology interacts with each other, This is one thing that the the organisation must look into so that all the 3 are on the same page.
- Organisation Process: This may include ITIL and non ITIL processes. Processes such as capacity management, Supplier Management, Risk Management must interface with business and technologies, to ensure we are inclined with Business.
- Business - Its important that Business communicates with the rest of the teams and process with regards forecast of their business in near and far future or any unexpected changes are that are happening in and around business.
- Technology- The teams which manages technology must have the update on the latest changes in business and processes, for which frequent interactions with Business and relevant stakeholders becomes important.
success of proactive problem management is how well is the communication managed between Organisation's process, the Business and the Technology managed
Lastly, Although I have highlighted the participation of the functions and process in proactive problem management, Its the responsibility of the Problem Manager or anyone who is holding this responsibility to drive the proactive problems towards closure.
Note: This is my first article, your feedback would be positively appreciated.
Thank you...
Anup, none of the processes you mention are processes. They are practices. ITIL 4 finally admits that. This should make people curious to find the real processes behind these practices... And the rest of the world (outside of IT) has worked for ages with Risk Management to cover all ITIL describes as Proactive Problem Mgt, and they do it in a much better en more sensible way than described in ITIL. The "Proactive Problem Management" practice is useful, but you can do so much better than that by simply reading the first book on risk management...
Good points Anup.. On the verge of the automation, from my point, I see PPM as a threat to the technical teams as they are well aware of the result of the successful PPM. Only very few see PPM as an opportunity but most others see as a problem which they want to avoid. The role of a good problem manager also includes how well he showcases the importance and opportunistic level of the process and a periodic heads up training should also be done to technical teams. Dedicated PM team and a manager is a necessary one rather than the Incident Manager doing the PM.
The second reason organization's don't embrace proactive PM is because departments don't like to admit the problem. If proactive PM was practiced some departments see this as negative exposure. Instead they silo the problem and go about trying to fix it under the radar. Unfortunately i have seen this type create more P1's and disruptions than i care to deal with. There is nothing like a P1 RCA postmortem only to find out someone already knew the root was a known problem. Sadly we all invest in tools that if aligned and data analysed properly, already lays the foundation for proactive PM.
I agree, it would certainly cut back on the constant reactionary crisis management.