The Technology Doesn't Matter

CHAPTER 7IT Service Delivery

I love air travel. I love being in airports. Is that weird? I don't just mean that I enjoy travel or that I appreciate the fact that traveling by airplane allows me to get away to far-flung interesting places I would never otherwise see. I'm also not the least bit interested in the feats of engineering and laws of physics that make an individual airplane fly. (I prefer not to think about that part, actually. It kind of freaks me out.) What I really love is stepping into an airport and being part of the massive system with the thousands of individual processes that make it possible for millions of people, and their luggage, to go from point A to a very distant point B every day.

Almost 3 million people travel by airplane every single day. They order tickets. Some check bags. They check in. Each one has to be screened at security. They all need to find their gate. Some will need assistance getting to the gate. Boarding begins. All of these processes, and many more, are necessary just to get the person into the plane.

Think about the variations to these processes. There's a straight, uncomplicated ticket purchase for one person. Then, there's the family traveling with children and all their concerns. The executive assistant ordering tickets for others. Purchasing tickets with reward points. Redeeming a voucher from a previously canceled flight.

Then there's the security screening process. There are now so many different lines to choose from (TSA Pre-Check, ...