Lean and Kanban for IT Operations: What are our skills?

How much can we do versus what can we do
In order to understand our capacity, that is how much work we can absorb, we might measure how many work items we generally complete in a particular time period.

However, we know that not all the work items in IT operations are the same and not everyone can do any particular type of work at the same level of proficiency.

To truly understand what we can do, we need to have a clear view of the skills within our team.

Who should I talk to if I want to learn about X?
I normally frame this in terms of skills development.  If I'm stuck or want to learn about a particular technology or technique, who should I talk to?  If I want to best contribute to the team, what skills are we the weakest at?

What I like to use to help with this is a skills matrix, also known as a cross-training matrix.

For example,

What to do

• Determine your skills criteria.  Keep this simple and concrete:
• Level 0: Insufficient knowledge
• Level 1: Knowledgeable but no capability
• Level 2: Can perform but needs review
• Level 3: Can perform to standard
• Level 4: Can teach to standard; improves the standard
• Identify the key skills.  But don't include everything.  That's just distracting.  Instead focus on skill constraints based on holes in team capability and where you have only 1 or 2 experts.
• Assess the skills to fill in the matrix.  I tend to just do this as a self-assessment and then peers tend to correct each other.
• Adjust over time.  As the skills in the team evolve, the matrix should evolve too.