Codifying/Indexing Documents
When I deliver ITIL® courses, whilst not on course syllabus, I often stress the need to carefully plan an approach in terms of adopting a naming convention for documents. This is not about just keeping them organised and tracking previous versions but to establish relationships between these documents, and which can be cascaded, typically applying this to database format.
Let me explain,
When a manager is asked about restoring live services, questions such as, how do we go about restoring a live service? When handling service restoration, how do we ensure that we are productive and efficient? And, how do we identify improvements? I have noted from past experience that a typical response is often, "let's grab a coffee and I'll explain," which usually leads to a lengthy and unclear explanation. Ideally, we need someone who will demonstrate this instead of just talking about it.
Some might just reiterate the ITIL textbook, which isn't accurate as it reflects intentions rather than reality. Others might cite various documents like policies and procedures, which is more relevant but still doesn't truly relate to services. Moreover, finding those documents likely took them half a day!
We can infer from this situation that it lacks transparency and measurability, largely due to its invisibility or the ambiguity of its elements and therefore, can conclude that it is not open to audit and measurement. I should also highlight that those who resist the necessity of becoming open to audit and measurement remain stuck in the past. In today's world, IT is synonymous with business, and as such, it must be subject to thorough audit and measurement practices.
So, we need to name or more so codify our documents such as policies, practices, processes, procedures, value streams, etc., to become capable of forming relationships with business governance, expectations, and services.
While there are likely many good examples, this might help spark some ideas. Please share any suggestions or real-life examples you have. That said, I would codify using an alpha numeric approach, based on 4 levels:
Those High level resources In my case I would apply the elements of the ITIL four dimension model along with some adjustment and customisation.
Those Low level resources E.g., In my case, roles and responsibilities, governance, including each of ITIL practices etc.,
Resource Types In my case I would differentiate between policy and control, statements, processes and procedures, and guidance and informative..
The Unique Identifier
I hope this makes sense.