Winter 2007/2008 quick poll:

How much does your IT organization focus on process?

My IT organization doesn’t really focus on following documented process and procedures.	(50)	71%
Most parts of our organization have at least some key processes and procedures that are documented.	(61)	22%
We have made widespread efforts to document key processes and procedures, and IT staff generally follow them.	(64)	4%
Executive management clearly communicates expectations and demonstrates through actions, that following process and procedures is “how we do things here”.	(20)	3%

Read the Visible Ops Blog on this topic.

Spring 2007 quick poll:

Are there negative consequences for people in your IT organization who make unauthorized changes to production systems (ie don't follow documented change process)?

My organization doesn't have defined consequences.	(97)	71%
Consequences are defined but not consistently enforced.	(30)	22%
Consequences are enforced consistently, but don't get widespread visibility.	(6)	4%
Consequences are enforced consistently, and everyone finds out when it happens.	(4)	3%

Read the Visible Ops Blog on this topic.

The current reality is that many organizations don't have a process culture in IT (an early finding from our next study). So dropping controls into an environment where IT professionals are not accustomed to strictly following documented process and procedures – is bound to achieve mixed results. Bottom line – enforcing use of documented process and procedures means that everyone needs to know what happens when they decide not to play along.