Metrics and Measurement

Greetings folks, things have been a bit quiet here, work is keeping me busy and I've been spending my free time researching the whole ITIL thing.*

* I did manage a trip to Nairobi and had time for a little fun at Nairobi National Park. The obligatory event photos are on Picasa.

During my first trip to Eldoret in September 2009, I met with a few of the IT staff at AMPATH and we discussed their issues. Time and again, I was told that they spent so much time with end-user support and had not enough time on implementing new projects. Projects are always the fun part of work and generally most IT folks want to do more project work than anything else.* I asked if they had some metrics on exactly how much time they were spending on end-user requests, incidents and problems. They lacked this information and so I suggested that they try to focus on this a bit, explaining that it is easier to request more help if you have data to support the request.

* Of course, the "anything else" part is normally the customer facing tasks that end-users really appreciate. The trick is to convince the IT folks that the "anything else" bit is really really important, happy end-users is critical. The technology stuff, while fun to work and play with, really doesn't mean much if it doesn't serve the needs of end-users or worse if the end-users cannot make use of it.

One key aspect of ITIL is metrics, measuring what we do and being able to use that to better manage things and improve.* This is one of the many areas where we will invest time and energy. We need to develop good metrics on the core things that we do, we need to better understand how well we perform, how much time is spent on various tasks, and we want to use the data to improve what we do. In addition, the data is critical for senior managers, to help in their understanding of the scope of IT.

* A key message in one of the ITIL publications is "if you don't measure it, you can't manage it; if you don't measure it, you can't improve it; if you don't measure it, you probably don't care; if you can't influence or control it, then don't measure it".

I recognize that collecting and reporting the data will create addition work for the IT folks, but I honestly believe this is an essential part of our work. If they need more help or resources, the only way to get those things is to provide some sound documentation to back up that need. I generally hate bureaucratic stuff, but I am willing to do such things when there is a sound rationale for it and if there is some potential benefit, I figure most people operate the same way.

A Taste of Home

Late last week a group from the Regenstrief Institute came out to Eldoret to lead an OpenMRS training this week. The crew were kind enough to bring out a trunk filled with a bunch of things. Included in the trunk were some things I had left behind (e.g. my soccer cleats), some things that I needed more of (e.g. work shirts, sneakers), and some creature comforts (e.g. maple syrup and Oreos).

On the subject of Oreos, you can get them here, but they are different enough that it made me miss the originals.* The world is definitely smaller and you can get a lot of American things in Eldoret. The folks who have been part of AMPATH for many years really appreciate how good things are these days. However, when those American things are just not quite the same, well I get a little homesick.

* Okay, so Oreos may not be healthy for me, but they make a great treat with my cup of tea after dinner.

It is interesting how you appreciate the little things in life, things most people take for granted. It is important to realize that things are just that, things. What got all that stuff to me were my friends and colleagues. To that end, I really appreciate the kindness of my friends who helped in getting all the stuff out to Indianapolis and my colleagues who brought a little taste of home to Western Kenya.  Asante Sana!