Assessing Demand - Question-Driven Scoring

[dan_linton]

Understanding Demand Assessment Methods

ServiceNow provides three primary methods for evaluating demands:

1. Ranked Scoring
2. Question-Driven Scoring
3. Assessment Scoring

This is a great article on maturing through these options - https://www.servicenow.com/content/dam/servicenow-assets/public/en-us/doc-type/success/quick-answer/...

This post focuses on Question-Driven Scoring and exploring its implementation options.

Why Choose Question-Driven Scoring?

Why would you use Question-Driven Scoring?  Question-Driven scoring is a good steppingstone to use when moving between ranked scoring and stakeholder-based assessment scoring. Typically ranked scoring involves a demand manager adjusting scores to reflect the demand business value, risk and size however accuracy is difficult using this method especially if more than one demand manager is involved. On the mature side we use stakeholder-based assessments which are completed by stakeholders within the business and these scores are consolidated to create a score around value, risk and size. While very effective this can be a lot to solve initially for some organizations.

In the middle we have question-driven scoring, which is different as this typically relies on a single or sometimes small group of individuals cooperatively completing a set of questions that will calculate value, risk and size. Often this is completed/lead by the demand manager listed on the demand. One temptation is the use of simple direct questions directly around Value, Risk and Size (e.g. What is the value for Risk?). This is no different in terms of process from ranked based scoring and is not recommended. The preferred approach is to leverage data and questions that can contribute to the scoring of these values.

How to implement Question-Driven scoring?

To start I am going to build off an example criterion around business value, execution risk and investment size. This is the typical scenario and aligns to the demand workbench. An internal exercise should be to expand each of these to determine what makes up these criteria and what questions/metrics/data would provide the necessary values around scoring.

For example, if we were to look at business value we may want to assess the potential impact on the organization's goals, financial benefits, and stakeholder satisfaction. Questions would then be aligned to items such as

1. Strategic alignment

1. Financial impact
2. Customer or user benefit
3. Operational efficiency
4. Competitive advantage

Implementation options:

1. Demand assessment - Create a demand assessment for the demand to update the assessment data tab on the demand record. The easy way to complete this is to leverage and configure the out of box demand assessment.  This assessment is automatically triggered and assigned to the individual that moves the demand into the “Screening” state. In most cases this is the demand manager. I like this approach as it helps us to test and refine our assessment questions that could one day be asked of stakeholders if you decide to move to stakeholder assessment scoring.
   1. Utilizes ServiceNow's built-in demand assessment functionality.
   2. Automatically triggers when demands enter the "Screening" state.
   3. Leverages configurable out-of-box assessment templates.
   4. Provides structured workflow and tracking.
2. Record based questions: In this scenario similar questions are added to the demand record and logic is added to score the demand using either business rules or a flow to calculate the risk, value and size.
   1. Questions directly on the demand record
   2. Custom business rules or flows for automated calculations.
   3. Enables immediate scoring updates throughout demand process.
   4. Higher effort

Example

ServiceNow as shipped provides an assessment which is a very good starting point, however this is an alternative if interested. Before going further, it is important to state it is never a good idea to ask a question when we can use data to derive the answer. If information is available, populated and trusted within your instance use that in place of a question.

1. Check the ServiceNow assessment shipped with demand management out of the box.
2. If you still want more, here is an alternative set of questions around risk, value and size. Again, this should be discussed and agreed upon internally, I have purposely left off any answers and weighing in these questions to encourage this conversation.
   • Business Value Questions
     •       How closely does this demand align with our organization's strategic objectives?
     •       What is the expected financial impact of this demand over the next 3 years?
     •       How will this demand improve customer or user satisfaction?
     •       To what extent will this demand enhance operational efficiency?
     •       How will this demand impact our competitive position in the market?
   • Execution Risk Questions
     •       How complex is the technical implementation of this demand?
     •       Do we have the necessary internal skills and resources to execute this demand?
     •       What level of organizational change will this demand require?
     •       How many dependencies does this demand have on other projects or systems?
     •       Are there any regulatory or compliance risks associated with this demand?
   • Size Questions
   •       What is the estimated total financial cost of this demand?
   •       What is the expected time to complete this demand?
   •       How many full-time equivalent (FTE) resources will be required for this demand?

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Oversimplification: Avoid direct questions about value, risk, and size without supporting criteria.
• Redundant Data Collection: Don't ask questions when the data already exists in your instance.
• Lack of Stakeholder Input: Even in Question-Driven Scoring, incorporate stakeholder perspectives in question design.

Have other ideas on how to implement, please share we would love to hear alternatives.