“Talkin’ ‘bout a revolution” – VeriSM, a service management conversation for the digital age. – Van Haren Publishing

The field of service management is changing rapidly as the industry shifts towards digital transformation, the evolution of new management practices and the ‘commoditization of IT’. Service management needs to be ubiquitous. Organizations of every type require a flexible approach to service management in which all service provider capabilities work together. It is for this reason that the International Foundation for Digital Competences (IFDC) took the initiative to create VeriSM™. VeriSM has been developed in cooperation with an international team of over 70 professionals. It has been written by the service management community for the service management community!

1. The Title: “Talkin’ ‘bout a revolution” – VeriSM, a service management conversation for the digital age.

2. The Basics:

We were delighted to have been contributing authors of the first VeriSM book and to have been commissioned alongside Doug Tedder by Van Haren Publishing to create the VeriSM Pocket Guide. Of course, the core VeriSM book goes beyond the VeriSM approach; it is crammed with anecdotes and real-world examples. The Pocket Guide is aimed at supporting readers who need to understand the most important content, elements and principles. We think it’s a perfectly condensed snapshot of the book and a practical reference tool which captures the spirit and intent of VeriSM.

3. Summary:

The Pocket Guide contains the fundamental principles of VeriSM. We wanted to extend the VeriSM message that everyone is a service provider. Even organizations that focus on selling products (for example: retailers) need to provide services attached to those products to be successful (for example: customer service, shipping, returns). And it’s not only private sector or profit-seeking organizations that need to focus on services either. Services are just as important in public sector and not-for-profit environments, where good service can deliver a better experience for consumers or citizens. Value still needs to be delivered, whether financial or non-financial.

Within, we explain that services are not restricted to the IT domain. For years, practitioners have been calling for the ‘IT’ to be dropped from IT service management and in VeriSM that is exactly what has happened. VeriSM is built on the premise that to be an effective service provider organization, service management can no longer be confined to a single department like IT or customer services; it touches every element of the organization. To create digital services, all the capabilities within the organization need to work together.

We wanted to send a very clear message that the ‘them’ and ‘us’ attitude prevalent in so many organizations, where IT and the business are disconnected, needs to change. Service alignment is out and service integration is in – all areas of an organization’s capability working together as an integrated unit, to deliver digital services to the organization’s consumers.

4. Target Audience:

The VeriSM approach is specifically tailored to support the entire organization to help them succeed in the world of digital services. Today, service management must have an ‘enterprise wide’ focus. It is for this reason that the VeriSM Pocket Guide is essential reading for anyone who works within a service organization.

It will be of particular interest to:

Those undertaking a VeriSM course – and studying for an examination
- Whether that is VeriSM Essentials, Plus or Foundation
Managers – who want to understand how to leverage evolving management practices
Service owners and service managers – who need to bring their skills up to date and understand how service management has changed
Executives – who are accountable for effective service delivery
Graduates and undergraduates – who will be joining organizations and who need to understand the principles of service management.

5. Scope:

The future is playing out right now. The next core VeriSM book in the final stages of creation and more and more organizations are bringing their VeriSM stories to the author team. These stories will be embedded within the new book, making it a practical, filled with examples and anecdotes; perfect for anyone looking for information about digital service management. Who knows, maybe VeriSM Professional will be the source of another publication for us to contribute to? I know we would be delighted to get the opportunity to work with Doug again on a VeriSM Professional Pocket Guide.