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Better Tools to Support IT-Enabled Sourcing

Abstract1.

IT-enabled sourcing, or eSourcing, uses information technology as a key component of service delivery, or as an enabler for delivering services. Often provided remotely, eSourcing services range from routine and non-critical tasks that are resource-intensive and operational in nature to strategic processes that directly impact revenues. The eSourcing Capability Model for Service Providers (eSCM-SP) is a framework developed by ITSqc at Carnegie Mellon University. This Document provides a brief overview on eSCM-SP and how a the OMNITRACKER Business Process Management platform facilitates a service provider to effi ciently deliver eSCM-compliant services.

Purpose of eSCM - The Service Quality Model for 2. eSourcing

The eSCM-SP is a “best practices” capability model with three purposes:

to give service providers guidance that will help 1. them to improve their capabilities across the sourcing life-cycle,to provide clients with an objective means of 2. evaluating the capability of service providers, and,

3. to offer service providers a standard to use when differentiating themselves from competitors.

The eSourcing Capability Model for Service Providers (eSCM-SP) helps sourcing organizations manage and reduce their risks and improve their capabilities across the entire sourcing life-cycle.

Service providers use eSCM-SP and its accompanying Capability Determination methods to evaluate their eSourcing capabilities, and to become eSCM-SP certifi ed.

This status provides an advantage over their competitors. eSCM-SP has been designed to complement existing quality models, e.g., Software CMM®, People CMM®, CMMI®, ISO 9001, BS 15000 and ITIL, COBIT, and COPC, so that service providers can capitalize on their previous improvement efforts.

eSCM At a Glance3.

The Model’s Practices can be thought of as the best practices associated with successful sourcing relationships. It addresses the critical issues related to eSourcing for both, outsourced and in-sourced (shared services) agreements.

Each of the Model’s 84 Practices is distributed along three dimensions: Sourcing Life-cycle, Capability Area, and Capability Level.

Although most quality models focus only on delivery capabilities, in eSourcing there are also critical issues associated with initiation and completion of an engagement, as well as the overall capabilities of the service provider. For this reason, the fi rst dimension of the eSCM-SP Practices highlight where in the Sourcing

eSCM Scope

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Life-cycle each Practice is most relevant. The Sourcing Life-cycle is divided into Initiation, Ongoing, Delivery, and Completion. Ongoing Practices span the entire Sourcing Life-cycle, while Initiation, Delivery, and Completion occur in specifi c phases of that Life-cycle.

Capability Areas provide logical groupings of Practices to help users better remember and intellectually manage the content of the Model. Service providers can then build or demonstrate capabilities in a particular critical-sourcing function.

The ten Capability Areas are:

1. Knowledge Management2. People Management3. Performance Management4. Relationship Management5. Technology Management6. Threat Management7. Service Transfer8. Contracting9. Service Design & Development, and10. Service Delivery

The fi ve eSCM-SP Capability Levels indicate the level of an organization’s capability.

Capability Levels describe an improvement path that clients should expect service providers to travel. This path starts from a desire to provide eSourcing services, and continues to the highest level, demonstrating an ability to sustain excellence:

Capability Level 1: Providing services •

Capability Level 2: Consistently meeting • requirementsCapability Level 3: Managing organizational • performanceCapability Level 4: Proactively enhancing value• Capability Level 5: Sustaining excellence, i.e., proven • sustained excellence over a period of at least two years.

eSourcing is delivered through a series of interdependent functions that enables service providers to effectively deliver service. The second dimension of the eSCM-SP, Capability Areas, provides logical groupings of Practices to help users better remember and intellectually manage

the content of the model. These groupings allow service providers to build or demonstrate capabilities in each critical sourcing function, addressing all of the critical sourcing issues discussed above. All of the Ongoing Practices are contained within Capability Areas 1 to 6 of the above listing.

While developing eSCM-SP, 23 issues were identifi ed as being critical for successful eSourcing. These critical issues have been classifi ed into six themes:

Good relationships between the service provider • and the client, the end users, suppliers, and all stakeholders,Selecting, hiring, and retaining a motivated • workforce, Well defi ned and delivered services that satisfy • commitments and meet client needs, Managing common business threats, such as security • issues, risk management, disaster recovery, and statutory and regulatory requirements, Providing world-class services that are always • improving, andManaging service transitions well at both engagement • initiation and completion

The next fi gure provides a combined view of all 3 dimensions for the most signifi cant capability levels 2–4.

eSCM Sourcing Life-cycle

eSCM Capability Areas related to the eSCM Life-cycle

3D eSCM Model

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How OMNITRACKER Supports eSCM Practices4.

In practice, eSCM Capability Areas need integrated tools to effectively manage the different aspects. OMNITRACKER is a state-of-the-art workfl ow-, ticketing– and service management system.

The table below provides a high-level view of how OMNITRACKER modules support eSCM requirements.

OMNITRACKER supports all eSCM Capability Areas because it:

provides process template solutions that are ready-• to-use “out-of-the-box”, but can also easily be customized. integrates all processes listed above into one single • data base. All users access the system using the same unique User Interface (Windows or Web Client),allows any of the processes to be integrated with any • other (internal interworking), provides comprehensive standardized interfaces for • bi-directional real-time communication with 3rd party systems (external interworking),

In conclusion, OMNITRACKER is an ideal tool to fully support eSCM up to Level 4 capability. Using OMNITRACKER, a service provider can be sure to comply with all eSCM-SP aspects and deliver services with sustainable performance.

ReferencesHyder, E., Heston, K., Paulk, M. (2006): The eSCM-SP v2.01: Model Overview Pittsburgh, PA. Carnegie Mellon University, TR# CMU-ITSQC-06-006

Hyder, E., Heston, K., Paulk, M. (2006): The eSCM-SP v2.01: Model Overview

Pittsburgh, PA. Carnegie Mellon University, TR# CMU-ITSQC-06-007

DAVID SMITHPresident, Micromationinc.com

David Smith (Canada) is the President of Micromationinc.com and is certifi ed in TCO, ITSM & ISO 20000. David has over 30 years experience in the development, management, measurement and improvement of IT systems, people and processes. His IT experience includes information technology optimization; IT governance; balanced scorecard; Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) benchmarking & business case; activity based management; ITIL process improvements; formulating service marketing

& communications strategies; services packaging & pricing; organizational design & restructuring; and the development of services strategies for IT service providers, fortune 500 companies and government organizations.

David is the author of “Implementing Metrics for IT Service Management” ISBN: 9789087531140 and contributing co-author of “IT Service Management - Global Best Practices” ISBN: 9789087531003.

eSCM Capability Areas Matching OMNITRACKER Module

Knowledge Management1. OMNITRACKER Knowledge Management

People Management2. OMNITRACKER Skill Management, OMNITRACKER Request Fulfi lment for HR

service requests

Performance Management3. KPI monitoring by pre-defi ned or tailored reports, Dashboard Client, KPI Cockpit

Controls, complaint tracking based on OMNITRACKER Incident Management

Relationship Management4. OMNITRACKER Customer Care Centre,

OMNITRACKER Service Level Management,

OMNITRACKER Survey Management

Technology Management5. ITILv3-compliant

OMNITRACKER IT Service Management Centre

Threat Management6. OMNITRACKER Risk Management

Contracting7. OMNITRACKER Contact Management Centre

Service Design & Deployment8. OMNITRACKER Service Level Management

Service Delivery9. ITILv3-compliant

OMNITRACKER IT Service Management Centre,

OMNITRACKER Project Management Center

Service Transfer10. OMNITRACKER Activity Management

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