Taxonomy - What is that all about?

[ChrisPope]

As a follow on from the previous blog 'What is a Service anyway?'@, we step into the first topic, Taxonomy!

A classification scheme for services that establishes defined patterns of conduct, reusable business rules, layers of commonality, and architectural and design patterns for building solutions … or

Identify the service and say what it does and why!

I prefer the 2nd definition as its clearly tells us what to do, and how to do it. Too often methodologies and framework spend far too much time focused on the theory of everything, without ever giving practical advice or guidance to get it done. Now, the purists amongst the readership will no doubt be saying 'its framework, you take from it blah blah blah', yup got that, done it and got the t-shirt. But, come Monday morning and its time to get work done, I am somewhat still none the wiser as to how to put pen to paper.

As described in the previous blog, a 2hr workshop is often more than enough to get this process started. During questioning I like to give the resources I am speaking with, the pen and flip chart or a whiteboard and ask them to start to write or draw what they do each and every day. All people who come to work deliver some kind of service, either helping someone else, responding to a request for new things, changing the service a consumer already has, or just simply replying to a question.

Some examples:

On-boarding new employees - Making them effective contributors as soon as practicable

Fleet maintenance - Ensuring trucks are available and usable when required

A quick test for you. Describe these services;

1. Building Facilities

2. Retail Store Support

3. Aircraft Maintenance

Describe the outcomes of these services, answers at the bottom of the page!

I often try to get customers and resources to pick something outside of IT. Email is the traditional go to, as generally it is poor performing and a real problem child. If that's picked or any service in IT, then its easy to always do things and ask the same questions   over and over. To keep doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different outcome is insanity. By picking a non IT service, its easier to think objectively and potentially ask questions you don't have the answer to. That way you really focus on the service you want to describe and define. Someone recently chose Aircraft Maintenance and during a review session stated that their 'Grandma should be able to understand and know what it is'. Very true, however, does your granny maintain airplanes, mine doesn't! The intent was correct though.

Hopefully through this series of 5 blogs, we take you on a useful journey and explain how to achieve this. Often being to close to the problem, closes our eyes and ears to the obvious.

Thanks

#GWP