CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO HIGH-VELOCITY IT
In this chapter, we introduce High-velocity information technology (HVIT). The topics in this chapter include:
HVIT key terms;
When the transformation to HVIT is desirable and feasible; and
The five HVIT objectives.
The ITIL 4 HVIT publication "aims to help readers understand digital transformation and to guide them and their organizations towards a more integrated state between business and technology. By discussing organizational best practice and useful mental models from a practitioner's perspective, it provides invaluable guidance in the practical application of high-velocity IT."
High-velocity IT key terms
The key terms that you need to understand for HVIT are:
Digital organisation
High-velocity IT
Digital transformation
IT transformation
Digital products
Digital technology
Digital organisations
A digital organisation is one "that is enabled by digital technology to do business significantly differently or do significantly different business".
For these organisations, digital technology is:
A significant enabler for internal processes;
Often part of their products and services;
A strategic part of the business model; and
For primary activities, not just supporting activities.
Digital organisations may also be described as 'digitally enabled'. Their culture is 'digital first'.
Think about the concept of a digital organisation. Which companies come to your mind first? You might think of organisations like Uber, Apple or Airbnb. These organisations have all had digital technology embedded in their business model from the beginning, but can you also think of any organisations that have changed how they do business because of technology? For example, a magazine or newspaper that has moved to an online version rather than printed copies.
When we think about digital organisations and HVIT, we need to remember the organisations that will change because of technology, not just organisations that have embraced technology since their inception. Organisations that change how they do business will face bigger challenges as they try to change their strategy and their culture, but they will also have the potential to gain huge rewards.
High-velocity IT
"High-velocity IT is the application of digital technology for significant business enablement, where time to market, time to customer, time to change, and speed in general are crucial. It is not restricted to fast development; - it is required throughout the service value chain, from innovation at the start, through development and operations, to the actual realization of value."
Velocity encompasses speed and direction - do the right things, quickly. Increasing velocity has costs and risks, and each organisation must assess whether a High-velocity approach will deliver a return for them.
Have you heard this project management expression? "A project can be good, fast or cheap. Pick any two from that list, because you can't have all three!"
The idea of a project that was good, fast AND cheap was seen as impossible. In my experience, this was true for many projects that I worked on. Picking the cheapest quote often led to a poor-quality outcome, or a tight deadline could only be achieved for a higher price.
Is this still the case? I'd argue that it is not. There are some significant shifts in IT and business thinking that mean that we can frame this problem in a different way.
First, the shift from waterfall projects to more agile ways of working means that we look at both 'good' and 'fast' differently. If we are working iteratively, we have a series of short, predictable deadlines rather than one goal to aim for. 'Good' is an outcome that is achieved over multiple iterations. The first idea or demo might not be 'good', but the feedback that it creates helps to deliver a better end product.
The shift from project to product thinking (and teams structured in the same way) also changes this equation. A product might never be complete; instead, it is continually refined. And finally, evidence1 shows that organisations that make more changes (move 'fast') get better at making changes and deliver more value.
HVIT encompasses many of these ideas. Speed is good, but remember that it's a means to an end. Speed for speed's sake isn't the goal. Speed to increase our ability to deliver better outcomes is our ultimate aim. Speed must work within the context of our organisation and any constraints that apply to our business.
Digital transformation
"Digital transformation is the use of digital technology to enable a significant improvement in the realization of an organisation's objectives that could not have been feasibly achieved by non-digital means."
IT transformation
"Where business and IT are regarded as separate organisational functions, 'IT transformation' can be used to denote major change to improve how IT services are provided."
'IT transformation' includes how IT systems and services are developed, run and supported. If the business and IT are not viewed as separate entities, there is no distinction between IT transformation and digital transformation.
Be careful with the concept of 'IT transformation'. In many organisations that I've worked with, the IT department operates as a separate entity, distinct from 'the business'. This is a source of cultural issues, can stifle innovation, and leads to the rise of 'shadow IT' (defined as IT solutions procured without the authority or oversight of the IT department). If we accept that digital transformation puts technology at the heart of most (if not all) of our business processes, the idea of IT running its own fiefdom immediately suggests a silo, along with all the problems that creates.
'Digital transformation' is also problematic as a term. Transformation means a process of change, with an implied start date and end date. This has led to the rise of 'digital transformation' projects, consultancy initiatives, organisational change programmes, etc. Think instead of digital transformation as being a thread that will always run through your organisation and its activities. It's not a single big change from state A to state B; rather, it is a constant assessment of how technology can improve ways of working and add value. Look at it another way - you don't hear companies talking about an 'automation transformation' where they spend 18 months automating things and then never look at automation again.
Nevertheless, digital transformation is the accepted and most popular term (try an online search!), so we are stuck with it. Just make sure you think critically about it and don't get sucked into large flashy programmes. Iterative, incremental changes will always be more effective.
Take a look at the Banksbest case study and see what you can learn about the organisation's digital transformation efforts. What positive changes do you see? Are there any red flags or warning signs that you would make Banksbest aware of if you were advising them? For example - how do you feel about the CIO and CDO roles? Is it helpful to separate them or not?
Digital products
"A product is a configuration of an organisation's resources designed to offer value for a consumer. A product is digital when digital technology plays a significant role in its goods, resources, or associated service interactions."
Products could include mobile phones, software, websites, cars, etc.
Some products have both digital and physical elements; for example, your car might be delivered with an app to tell you where it is parked.
Remember from your ITIL 4 Foundation course that a service offering between a consumer and a provider can be one or a combination of three elements:
Service action: "A service action is where the service provider applies its resources."
Access to resources: "When the consumer utilizes the provider's resources."
Transfer of goods: "When the consumer acquires ownership of the service provider's resources."
What digital products did you use today? Did they save you time or money, or allow you to accomplish something you couldn't have done without access to technology?
Digital technology
"Digital technology is technology that digitizes something or processes digital data."
"Digitization is the process of transforming something from analogue form to digital form, by expressing the information in binary digits."
Digital technology includes information technology and parts of operational technology that have been digitised.
From an ITIL 4 perspective, information technology is "the application of digital technology to store, retrieve, transmit, and manipulate data (data processing), often in the context of a business or other kind of organisation". Operational technology is "the application of digital technology for detecting or causing changes in physical devices through monitoring and/or control".
Very early in my career, I worked with an organisation where staff would print out 'important' emails so they could guarantee access...
