Results

The focus group data was investigated to determine the information the focus group provided. The data was analysed to identify it as relative to the characteristics incident managers display while working to restore service when unplanned outages occur. It was also interrogated to determine its revelation, if any, to the approaches incident managers use to solve problems while working to restore service when unplanned outages occur. The data was investigated in three ways. A thematic analysis of the data identified themes that were revealed as important to the actual description of incident management. A content analysis of the data was also performed. Both the thematic analysis and content analysis were performed using Nvivo™, version 7, qualitative coding software that supports data display and data analysis. The analyses and results of each analysis are discussed in the following sections.

3.1.4.1. Thematic Analysis – Characteristics

Thematic analysis revealed that effective incident managers are decisive and firm; they have the confidence and the courage to make decisions quickly; they benefit from investing time with others with whom they frequently work. The following extracts from focus group participants highlight the themes identified when analysis was completed. For ease of reference, incident managers who participated in the focus group are identified as IM_n (where

n is an identification number of the participant), Technical Support Specialists who participated in the focus group are identified as TSSn, Corporate Managers who participated in the focus group are identified as CM_n.

Thematic analysis revealed that effective incident managers require information about who to engage for assistance, as well as to whom the event of the unplanned outage, and its impact, must be communicated. Effective communication is their greatest asset.

[CM1]: Well, sure, because what it says is the incident manager has to be able to talk to the propeller heads with enough technical knowledge to convince them that you're not a blooming idiot and then you have to go back to business and talk to them about either dollars lost or time to restore. So, I've got to be able to take what the technical problem is and see what the impact is on the business and then communicate to each group and that's a very different framework.

Incident managers need to have both a strong technical understanding, and an understanding of the needs of non-technical people, so they are able to translate a technical issue into an assessment of user impact, and accurately estimate the duration of an unplanned outage. The focus group cited the importance for effective incident managers to build relationships, maintain focus, be organised, coordinate different teams, delegate, demonstrate leadership, listen, use intuition, have a sense of urgency, and have a customer focus. Three themes that were identified are Communication, Leadership and Relationship Management. They need to spend time building relationships and finding out "who‘s who in the zoo", so when a crisis occurs they know exactly with whom to speak. In terms of abilities, communication skills are key. Incident managers need to have both a good technical understanding, and an understanding of the needs of non-technical stakeholders, so they are able to translate a technical issue into an evaluation of the user impact, and an approximation of "how long" an outage will last. This was discussed as an unusual characteristic of an IT person as they are not known for their people skills.

[TSS₂]: . . . I normally find you need to take a leadership role and lead them through it. They have the answers but they're not going to step forward as an individual representing their [company] . . . and take on a Pyrux-related incident because they don't have the authority or they've been instructed not to. . . . So you need to lead them through. They have the answers but you just need to bring the pieces together and you need to be decisive. You need to make a decision and not all decisions are going to be right but making decisions is better than sitting there just staring at the roof . . . done what I was being paid to do and once I cottoned onto the fact that, by definition, Australians won’t answer the question you asked, I started to give them the choices of yes and no because it helped a lot. And now it just speeds stuff up.

[CM2] And the role that I’m in now, you would put the most responsibility on to develop that relationship.

The focus group participants revealed that communication and leadership were two significant characteristics that must be displayed by incident managers during unplanned outages. Moreover, the high-pressure nature of the role–being purely reactive to an unplanned event that causes negative impact to the company–was perceived as simply part of the job and not a noteworthy characteristic of the role.

The importance of the role of incident managers was expressed by those with whom they work more frequently than by incident managers, themselves. The corporate managers and the technical support specialists with whom the incident managers work through unplanned outages to restore service both viewed incident managers as vital to the restoration of service, more for their ability to facilitate the work that needed to be done by others and keeping working groups engaged through long outages than by any other manner.

3.1.4.2. Thematic Analysis – Approaches to Solving Problems

Thematic analysis revealed that incident managers sought either the root cause of the unplanned outage in order to eliminate it permanently or investigated alternative ways to restore service. Citations extracted directly from the focus group transcript are provided, each indicative of the thinking used by focus group members when discussing how they perceive the goal they need to achieve and the approaches they use to do so.

[IM₃]: It’s good about how you ask questions. Because, for example, I know, technically, I know very little about ACD switch technology. But I know a lot about mainframe technology. So if somebody talks to me about mainframes, lpars, swapping memory, db2 upgrades, table locks, I’m with them 100%. You tell me about the call routing and the switches over in the network and how the billing gets done, I’m just not that strong, but I ask the same question. Pretend I’m your great grandmother. And just, like, really, really picture her. Now, tell me what the problem is.

[IM1]: . . . if that outcome's not put on the table to say we're all in this teleconference or all in this meeting to come up with a solution of getting the service back on line, then we'll all work our separate agendas and we'll all be putting in bits of irrelevant info or bits of useless . . .

TSS₃. . . keep track of the various threads or trains of thought that are going on, because as you begin working on an incident there could be possibly several different root causes.

[TSS₂]: I must convince my team that we’re making progress.

And twenty hours in and if you still have no idea what the root

cause is, it’s just human nature, they just start to lose enthusiasm, lose interest, and just say, “I give up.” Everything we achieve is a win. If that is getting hold of a log file and sending it over the US that’s good. We've got acknowledgement that they’ve received it and they’re looking at it. You must keep them “we are still” no matter how bad the situation, no longer how long we’ve been at it, we’re making progress. You’ve gotta make the team realise we are moving forward, we’re not moving back.

The thematic analysis did not indicate that a combination of the two approaches was ever used or that neither approach was ever used. Additionally, whether incident managers opted to identify a root cause or opted to eliminate the unplanned outage without concern of its root cause, specific steps were followed to attain their respective goals. As well, specific types of questions were asked of parties engaged to restore service.

3.1.4.3. Summary from Thematic Analysis

Thematic analysis revealed that effective incident managers displayed three specific types of characteristics. These were being communicative, having strong relationship management abilities, and having effective leadership abilities. These characteristics were revealed through their repeated citation by most members of the focus group as to their importance and their use in the success achieved by incident managers. Additionally, whether incident managers opted to identify a root cause or opted to eliminate the unplanned outage without concern of its root cause, specific steps were followed.

Furthermore, thematic analysis revealed that part of the role of an incident manager includes solving problems and helping others solve problems. It is through effective problem solving that service restoration is attained. Only two approaches to solving problems were revealed in the thematic analysis. These include the use of a problem-focused approach to solving problems, in which permanently eliminating the root cause of the failure that caused the unplanned outage would restore service. Alternately, there was the use of a solution-focused approach to solving problems, in which any avenue through which progress could be made was acknowledged and that the restoration of service was the only requirement of the incident manager who used this approach to solve problems and restore service. The analysis did not indicate that a combination of the two approaches was ever used or that neither approach was ever used.

3.1.4.4. Content Analysis – Characteristics

Content analysis–the summarizing, quantitative analysis of messages that relies on the scientific method and is not limited as to the types of variables that may be measured or the context in which the messages are created or presented (Neuendorf, 2002)–verified the themes revealed in the thematic analysis. It also revealed additional characteristics of

effective incident managers–Administration, Decision Making, and Entrepreneurship. The occurrences of characteristics, by use of a noun or adjective (or a diminutive) used by participants in the focus group are cited in Table 3-4.

Table 3-4. Context Analysis from Focus Group-Behavioural Characteristics Content Analysis Results from Focus Group Transcript – Behavioural Characteristics

Characteristic Citations Percentage of Use in Relation to all Characteristics

Communicative 44 27.33

Leadership 34 21.12

Decisive 30 18.63

Administrative 22 13.66

Entrepreneurial 8 04.97

Relationship Management 8 04.97

Authoritative 4 02.48

Credible 3 01.86

Motivating 3 01.86

Facilitative 2 01.24

Offensive 2 01.24

Pleasant 1 00.62

It was revealed through the content analysis that administration, decision-making, and being entrepreneurial were important characteristics displayed by successful incident managers. The results were confirmed by counting the frequency of use of each of these words (and their derivatives and diminutives).

The focus group successfully laid a foundation to investigate questions that could be answered by many incident managers to understand the characteristics displayed that would result in success. By using the textual data from the focus group transcript and identifying the characteristics that were revealed in the thematic and content analysis, it was found that there was a varying degree of frequency in which six characteristics (as well as their diminutives and derivatives) were cited. The count revealed the frequency of the specific characteristics cited by the focus group participants as important to the success of incident managers. All were revealed by the focus group as important characteristics displayed by successful incident managers.

3.1.4.5. Content Analysis – Approach to Solving Problems

Identifying only two approaches-to-solving problems in the thematic analysis, a content analysis was performed to determine if other approaches could be identified. Content analysis was performed on the approaches content of the focus group transcript; however, this analysis confirmed the problem-focused approach to solving problems and the solution-focused approach to solving problem that were revealed in the thematic analysis. The focus

group identified a problem-focused approach as the more common used to restore service (91 percent versus eight percent).

Table 3-5. Content Analysis from Focus Group: Solving Problems Content Analysis Results from Focus Group Transcript –

Approaches to Solving Problems

Approach to Solving Problems Citations

Problem Focused 31

Solution Focused 3

3.1.4.6. Summary from Content Analysis

Content analysis revealed that effective incident managers displayed three specific types of characteristics. These were being administrative, being decisive, and being entrepreneurial. None of these had been revealed in prior analysis of the focus group transcripts. Additionally, the approaches to problem solving that are used by incident managers confirmed the findings in the thematic analysis, insofar as only two types of problem-solving approaches are used. These are the use of a problem-focused approach or a solution-focused approach.