Zdenek Kvapil

There are two main categories of IT work:

1. Routine – following predefined process, workflow, stream – I.e. onboarding, user support, request fulfilment. For this work type quantitative metrics are suitable
2. Knowledge work – explorative, knowledge extensive, ever changing, creative – I.e. innovation effort, business process improvement, value stream mapping, learning, adoption of a new management method. For this category Qualitative metrics are applicable and better than quantitative metrics.

Key differences between quantitative and qualitative metrics are displayed in the next table.

As more and more work in IT is knowledge type, IT management is transitioning from quantitative to qualitative metrics.

For example Knowledge Worker Quality Index is the representing overall quality of an individual IT worker, which can eliminate mundane quantitative measurement, not capable to capture multidimensional property of knowledge worker quality. Practical guidance to qualitative people management is the core part of recently introduced Managing Knowledge Worker Quality training, extending the whole family of qualitative metrics and qualitative management in IT.

 

When we look inside widely used methods, as ITIL, ITSM, Agile, DevOps, Scrum, innovation topic is absenting. The reason is simple as all methods are working with underlying logic of demanding customer and IT responding to this demand. Business ideates what they want, IT is here to fulfil this demand. So innovation is business’s job.

This logic was good and reasonable in 1990s and 2000s, but not sustainable in 2020s.

In 2020s IT role must be upgraded

• Upgrade your IT management method so innovation effort is recognized as an IT activity
• Actively participate in innovation ecosystem
• Unlearn old paradigms about passive IT role
• Offer executives an active role of IT in cross organization innovation effort

If you want to learn more, new training is available for CIOs and other managerial positions in IT – training Innovation management in IT

For 2022 we prepared many changes and innovations, supporting modernization of IT management for the knowledge era.

New edition IT Quality Index 2022 published, extended by 20%, covering new parts:

• Measurement of Knowledge worker quality – Knowledge Worker Quality Index #KWQI
• Collaboration Quality indicator – CLQ
• Collaboration Experience indicator – CLX
• New training Managing Knowledge Worker Quality explaining KWQI measurement

These changes are supporting overall drift towards qualitative metrics in IT management.

 

Model DCMM : Digital capabilities management model extended to cover also:

IT as an orchestrator of an innovation ecosystem

Information theory and decision making as critical component of complex knowledge work in IT