SCP Community Discusses Evolution of Certification Program
by Greg Coleman, Vice President Certification, Service Strategies Corporation

Service Strategies was pleased to host two SCP Development Roundtables in March and early April. The sessions were designed to provide a forum for discussing issues that affect the evolution of the Support Center Practices (SCP) Certification program. The SCP program is updated annually to keep pace with the ever changing requirements in the technology support marketplace. Representatives from both SCP sponsor and certified support organizations were invited to attend. The participants shared their thoughts and ideas and offered feedback on industry issues that should be discussed during the course of the 2004 program development cycle.

The agenda for the two sessions included a program status update, review of the sixth edition program, upcoming events, discussion of topics for future development sessions and a discussion of the SCP onsite audit process. Industry issues, trends and topics that impact the services delivered by technology support organizations were also discussed, including:

• Service Deflection Practices and Measures
  
• Financial Measurements for Service Operations
  
• Customization of SCP Program Criteria
  
• Evolution of Certification Maturity Models

Currently, four additional SCP Development Roundtables are currently planned for 2004. Service Strategies will be inviting representatives of both sponsor companies and certified organizations to participate in the Development Roundtable sessions throughout 2004. The dates and locations of the upcoming sessions are as follows:

• Bracknell, UK May 26, 2004
  
• San Jose, California June 23, 2004
  
• Sydney, Australia September 2, 2004 (tentative)
  
• Savannah, GA October 4, 2004

The one-day Development Roundtables will be followed by Best Practice Certification Showcase events. These events bring together the SCP community to share the practices and discuss the challenges they face in delivering world-class support to their customers. To register for either the Development Roundtables or the Best Practice Showcases or for more information please visit www.servicestrategies.com, email us at scp@servicestrategies.com or call us at 858.674.4864 or toll free at 800.552.3058.