Measuring Your Pilot Project - ITIL Configuration Management

The pilot does not need to have the same set of measurements as the overall configuration management service. The pilot has a shorter term and thus must be measured in weeks rather than months. Data accuracy, for example, is a long-term measure that normally takes months to establish.While accuracy should never be neglected, it isn’t normally the kind of measure that will demonstrate success of a pilot. Focus instead on the benefits your organization is hoping to get from configuration management. If you’re hoping to see less failed changes, create a measurement related to how the availability of configuration data affects your success rate. If the goal is to improve your compliance posture, choose your pilot accordingly and create a measure around how configuration data helps improve compliance.

Don’t get overly ambitious with measurements. Three or four solid numbers can be enough to demonstrate the success of a pilot. Although they aren’t as powerful as the numbers, if the comments you get are positive, they will build confidence more quickly.