Book

Humanising IT: The Experience Distortion of IT Service Management

2026

Synopsis

Katrina Macdermid’s Humanising IT challenges the traditional, process-centric framework of IT Service Management (ITSM) by arguing that the industry has become overly focused on technical metrics and rigid workflows at the expense of the human experience. Macdermid introduces the "Experience Distortion," a phenomenon where IT departments believe they are delivering high-quality service because they are meeting Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and technical benchmarks, while the actual end-users remain frustrated or dissatisfied. The book posits that hitting a target on a dashboard does not necessarily equate to providing value, and this disconnect creates a widening gap between IT providers and the people they serve.

To bridge this gap, the book advocates for the integration of Design Thinking principles into the ITSM lifecycle. By shifting the focus from "inside-out" processing to "outside-in" empathy, Macdermid suggests that IT professionals can better understand the emotional and functional journey of the user. This approach moves beyond the "break-fix" mentality of frameworks like ITIL and encourages service designers to consider how technology impacts human behavior and productivity. The goal is to evolve ITSM into a practice that is not just about managing infrastructure, but about facilitating meaningful outcomes through human-centric design.

Ultimately, Macdermid calls for a cultural shift within technology organizations to prioritize "Human Experience" (HX) over mere technical efficiency. The synopsis emphasizes that when IT services are designed with genuine empathy and a deep understanding of the user’s perspective, the "distortion" is removed. This leads to services that are more intuitive, less prone to "shadow IT" workarounds, and more aligned with the actual needs of the business. The book serves as a manifesto for tech leaders to stop hiding behind tickets and spreadsheets and start engaging with the human element of the digital workplace.

What specific aspects of user experience or service design are you looking to improve within your own framework?

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