Ticket Volume - IT Podcast

The change from ITIL v3 to ITIL 4 was not merely a number. David Billouz (ITIL Master) discusses the core differences of scope, talks about Value Streams, and introduces us to the world of Value Management. Plus, the importance of building an ITSM community and giving something back to others. David Billouz is an ITIL Master, ITIL 4 Co-author and Assessor, and ITIL v3 Expert. He's currently a Part...

Doing IT support for schools is not easy, but neither too complex. Casey Rutherford shares his experience building a service desk, helping teachers with new technologies, integrating platforms, and automating processes. Casey Rutherford is the Director of Educational Technology and Innovation at Faribault Public Schools, but he's a teacher at heart. Prior to that, he was a Physics and Math teacher...

Expanding the Service Management mindset outside the IT department certainly has its challenges and roadblocks. Darren Rose (FSP) shares his thoughts on the matter and offers ideas about where to start, how to deal with the difficulties and put stakeholders in your pocket, and how to adapt to change and provide autonomy to your teams. Plus, he reflects on the two types of service touchpoints neede...

Providing business value is perhaps the most desired (and complex) outcome for organizations. Ken Wendle (Edify ITSM) shares his *V*A*L*U*E Formula and explains why the execution part should be at the foundation to truly deliver value. Plus, he delves into the differences with the Business Model Canvas and describes how to combine them. Ken Wendle is the Founder of Edify ITSM, where he's been an I...

The term "Sustainable IT" was first introduced in IT publications in 2021, but it's not something new. Antonina Douannes explains its extent, shares the three key areas to put it into practice, and reflects on the right mindset to make these efforts count in the shortest possible time. Antonina Douannes is a Digital and IT Sustainability Leader and ITIL 4 Lead Editor. With 15 years of experience i...

Have you ever felt like you were taking a course just because you needed to fill a gap in your resume? Lisa Schwartz (ITSM Academy) and David Ratcliffe (Pink Elephant) talk about the right mindset to study, the difference between learning and training, and the significant gap they detected among alumni regarding ITSM.   Lisa Schwartz has been the Chief Executive Officer at ITSM Academy for th...

It's more and more common for companies to work with multiple suppliers of services. But how can they make something cohesive out of the diversity? Claire Agutter shares the fundamentals and benefits of working with sourced services and using a SIAM approach to manage them. Claire Agutter is currently the Director at ITSM Zone and Scopism. She's a Service Management trainer, consultant, author, an...

Though spreading the benefits of ITSM to the rest of the company can be tempting, the result might not be as promising as you thought. Phyllis Drucker shares some tips and thoughts to start on the right foot, create a foundation that acknowledges the diversity and complexity of all the areas involved, and set the right expectations. Phyllis Drucker is an author, keynote speaker, Service Management...

70% of transformations fail, and Paul Wilkinson knows exactly why. Find out the five common reasons for this to happen, and discover how a (not so) new shiny thing can actually help. Plus, he talks simulation games, continual improvement, and reflection. Self-described as the "retired pointy-fingered-grumpy-old-man-in-IT, Paul Wilkinson was the Business Development Director at GamingWorks for 19 y...

Once an ITSM professional (and knowledge management expert), Aprill Allen changed career paths five years ago to fully dedicate herself to being the COO of a joint venture capital firm with her husband. In this episode, she explains how she managed to take the leap, and how her former knowledge (pun intended) was essential for her new role. Plus, she shared some couples' advice for those who want...

Optimizing business processes is not an easy task. Lorn Campbell (Innovation Consultant for CDW) believes this can be done with just a bit of therapy. Learn how he conducts interviews and simulations to understand the company's purpose, provide a controlled experience, and achieve an innovative change based on empathy. Lorn Campbell has been in the consultancy field since 1995 and is currently an...

Employee experience is a hot topic among companies, and Maddie Blumenthal (QSTAC) is here to help. She gives some great advice on how to measure it in a way that's as close to reality as possible - spoiler alert: just sending a survey won't do - and talks employee retention, onboarding, and how the IT department is absolutely crucial to all of this. Maddie Blumenthal is VP of Customer Success at Q...

There's data-driven, there's personalized, and there's trying to fake it all. No one knows the difference best than Roy Atkinson. Tag along to hear a fresh perspective on Customer Experience, a revaluation of the concept of Information Technology, and a wish to not forget about the customers' individual experiences when designing processes. Roy Atkinson is one of the top influencers in the Service...

Yet-another-ITIL-auhor, Mark Smalley is here to talk experience, reflect on happiness at the workplace, and share some of his thoughts on "High-velocity IT" and its spin-off, "Reflections on High-velocity IT." An absolute must for Service Management professionals out there! Self-defined as The IT Paradigmologist, Mark Smalley is an ITIL author and co-author, IT Management consultant and trainer, a...

With half a century in IT, Daniel Breston has seen it all. Here, he shares some learnings on one of his favorite topics (Value Streams). Plus, he advises leaders on how to properly enable (and not "empower") their teams and gets a bit mad when Matt mentions the concept of "best practices" — all while mentioning Batman and quoting Sherlock Holmes. Daniel Breston is a retired coach, blogger, speaker...

Simone Jo Moore's fresh take on how to look at work more healthily and efficiently is definitely worth a look. In this episode, she shares some ideas about Flow Science and explains how to be "in the zone" without overstaying our welcome. Self-defined as a "framework mixologist," Simone Jo Moore is a renowned author and coauthor guiding organizations and individuals in adopting a "Humanising IT" p...

Looking for your first job in IT? Then this is what you need to listen to. Kevin Apolinario (a.k.a Kevtech IT Support)'s efforts to lower the entry bar for IT are well known, and in this episode, he shares some questions to ask hiring managers, what skills are indispensable for help desk agents, how to show your experience in your resume, and a fresh perspective on whether you should get certified...

If you're planning on taking the ITIL 4 certification (or are in any way related to it), this episode is a must. Katrina Macdermid (ITIL master author) sheds some light — not without a bit of controversy — on the fundamentals of ITIL 4, what it went wrong, and what it got right. Join the conversation, and take with you the recipe to create effective value streams. Katrina Macdermid is a consul...

What do IT and HR have in common? If you were thinking about tearing down silos once and for all, Greg Sanker (Taylor Morrison) has proof that'll back you up. In this episode, Matt and Greg discuss the need for communication between departments, the common concerns of areas that don't seem quite similar on the surface, and the way synergy could drive success. Greg Sanker is the Director of IT Supp...

For far too long, technology has been seen as the most important thing, not the experience of those consuming that technology. Jon Leighton (Nexthink) is here to say otherwise. Find out what a people-centric organization entails and how you can approach that in your organization. Jon Leighton has been the Head of Customer Engagement and Advocacy at Nexthink for more than three years. Before this,...

It's time for a bit of disruption! Tammy Ward and Niko Miller (ATB Financial) walk us through what it's like to expand a people-first culture into every process of a company. From a shift to collaboration and a focus on mental health to an effective process to recruit staff that doesn't depend on a single person, they've transformed the service desk, the IT department, and the leadership in their...

Problems are everywhere, but you have to know what to look for to find the ones that really make a difference when solved. Experienced Problem Manager Brian Skramstad offers a view inside his head (and his processes) and provides a detailed description of how to work with data and make every effort count to solve problems right at their root cause (and not with just a band-aid). Brian Skramstad is...

As organizations continue to innovate and push the boundaries of capabilities, we can't help but wonder if ITIL reflects that learning. David Cannon (nfiniti3) attempts to answer that and lends a helping hand to understand how the practices in ITIL reflect a broad spectrum of maturity and are giving cutting-edge teams enough to chew on for now. Plus, he discusses tooling-led maturity, increasing I...

In small IT teams, the first and last tiers are exactly the same. Danny Kateli (Manager of IT Operations at Midrex) knows this by heart and shares some tips on loyalty, learning processes, and employee retention. If you were wondering how to keep your team motivated, how to engage with them, and how to facilitate a family-like environment that keeps your teammates around, this is the episode for y...

Melissa Teater (Director of Support and Experience at Jamf) shares her experience creating a Service Management Office to help expand a 20-year organization globally. The goal is to implement ITIL best practices across the company — hoping that a Service Management backbone would provide stability and scalability to their processes and platforms.  Melissa Teater is a 25-year veteran of Inform...