As I’ve already outlined in my Building Alignment Before Tools | TBM’s First Steps in ITSM post, getting started with Technology Business Management (TBM) isn’t about picking tools, it’s about aligning people. Once you’ve secured executive support and defined the need for TBM, the next step is working out how to build that alignment between IT, Finance, and the business. This post looks at how to approach that early work in practical terms, who to involve, what to cover, and how to keep the momentum going.
Who Should Be in the Room?
It’s not about volume, it’s about representation. You need senior sponsorship but also functional insight. Most early TBM efforts go further, faster when they include the following.
- Someone who owns or understands the IT budget structure
- A Finance lead familiar with cost allocations and reporting cycles
- A business liaison or business partner who can speak to how technology is consumed
- A data steward or architect who knows where the source systems live
- An IT Service Owner who understands how services are structured and delivered
Too often, early efforts are limited to IT and Finance leaders, leaving out the voices that deal with real-world complexity. Make room for those closer to the data and services.
What Should Early Sessions Cover?
Don’t try to fix everything in the first meeting. Focus instead on what alignment actually means in your environment. Start with,
- Cost definitions and terminology. CapEx, OpEx, allocations, shared services
- Data sources. Where they live, who owns them, how clean they are
- Reporting usage. What’s working, what’s missing, what no one trusts
- Known gaps. Areas where data or understanding is already a problem
- Initial service scope. Define a starting list of services to focus alignment efforts on without trying to cover everything at once
- Confirmed accountabilities. Who owns what across data, reports, and services
What Alignment Looks Like
True alignment shows up when IT, Finance and the Business can finish each other’s sentences. (sort of right) It doesn’t mean agreement on every issue, but it does mean shared language and mutual understanding. You’ll know you’re heading in the right direction if…
- There is a shared, documented definition of what a service is and how its cost and value are going to be measured
- Finance understands how IT classifies cloud spend and applies tagging across providers (Its not one big bucket)
- IT can clearly understand and explain the cost allocation approach used by Finance, including assumptions and drivers
- Both groups agree on the most pressing issues with current reports and where confidence is lacking
- Service owners understand how they will link reported costs to actual service performance and consumption patterns
- There is agreement on who is accountable for maintaining each key data source and report
- The group has a working understanding of which metrics matter most to the business and why
- Your starting point and destination is known (Break it down into phases. TBM isn’t big bang)
- Boundaries and exclusions to the scope of activity are crystal clear
This kind of alignment doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from repeated, focused conversation and a commitment to documenting what’s agreed.
Don’t Let Momentum Stall
A common misstep after these sessions is to let the effort fade into documentation or spreadsheet loops. The key is to turn insight into action, even if it’s small. Consider the following…
- Translate alignment outcomes into a simple visual roadmap with phases, not a one shot plan
- Finalise and circulate your service definition document with clear boundaries and exclusions
- Assign clear owners to maintain data sets, service definitions, and reports going forward
- Create a shared alignment register that tracks agreements, outstanding items, and decisions made
- Stand up a small TBM working group to keep sessions going and drive early use cases
- Develop a lightweight metrics pack that reflects what matters most to the business
- Start publishing service-level cost and value summaries, even if they’re basic
- Review and refine scope regularly, what’s in, what’s out, and what’s next
Keep the Focus Practical
Most importantly, early alignment should feel useful. If it feels academic, theoretical, or finance-heavy, you’ll lose traction. Stay rooted in real questions.
- What’s the full cost of this service, and what’s driving any changes?
- Are we allocating shared costs in a way that’s fair and understood?
- Which areas of spend are growing fastest, and do they reflect business priorities?
- What decisions are we struggling to make today because of unclear or missing data?
The point of TBM isn’t to build better spreadsheets, it’s to make decisions easier, faster, and more grounded in fact. That starts with alignment and ends with action.
FAQ Questions
Why is early TBM alignment important in ITSM?
Because it prevents costly misunderstandings between IT, Business and Finance later on. Getting aligned early ensures everyone is working from the same definitions, data, and priorities.
Who should be involved in early TBM alignment sessions?
Include IT budget owners, Finance leads, service owners, data architects, and business partners. You need people who understand both the numbers and the services behind them.
What should we focus on in our first alignment meeting?
Start with shared definitions, known data gaps, current reporting pain points, and a small, clear list of services. Keep it focused and document what’s agreed.
How do we keep alignment from stalling after the first session?
Turn insights into action. Create a roadmap, assign owners, and revisit progress regularly. Publish simple outputs like service cost summaries to keep the momentum going.
🔗 Further Information