ITIL Resources

An ITIL Training Course - Is it Really Meant For Me?

2009-02-05T06:09:00.001-07:00

By Robert K Norton
I had never really paid much attention to ITIL training, let alone any other type of training, until the other day when I walked into the office and saw a big notice on the training board announcing an ITIL training course was commencing in the afternoon for all staff.

As I read the notice, I realised my organisation had decided that they needed to be more serious about ITIL training. The Top Brass even believed that making a few team leaders aware of the pertinence of ITIL training was not enough; the entire organisation needed an ITIL training course. This meant all staff had to be involved, at every level within the organisation, as ITIL adoption and practice is a cultural change rather than just a change for one or two individuals.
If the grapevine was to be believed, it was an attempt to analyse the aptitude of all staff, and maybe plan some downsizing. I didn't know what to believe, but I knew I wasn't looking forward to the training. In the past I had always averted training courses as I was afraid of looking 'silly' in front of my peers, but today there was no getting out of it as the training had been scheduled for this afternoon.

The ITIL training course preliminary discussion meeting was scheduled at 4pm and everyone had to meet in the training room. As I knew so little about what to expect, I spent my lunch hour surfing the net, gleaning information about the up and coming training. In a short time I found a website that had a detailed page about ITIL. In fact it was through this source that I found out what ITIL stands for: Information Technology Infrastructure Library, which is a set of concepts and policies that help to manage IT. From a business prospective, best practices as advocated by ITIL, address service provision related issues and therefore justify the critical relevance attached to ITIL courses and certification programs.

To my surprise it all made sense and I found that ITIL was actually needed for a business but, because I was not directly related to the technical stream, I was still confused as to how an ITIL course would be of benefit to me. However, the prelim meeting clarified the doubts I had: there wasn't one defined ITIL training course module for all.

Depending upon your personal background and functionality, there are three typical training levels. The basic level, or the foundation, ITIL training course comprises of a general overview: covering the concept; objectives; benefits and terms needed to understand the essentials. This level of training meets with the processes associated within an ITIL framework, and that was the category I was enrolled in.

The next level of an ITIL training course is for practitioners. At this stage, learners are involved in discussions and edification programs, which enable a better insight to the basic ITIL best practice framework. The third ITIL training course level, or the highest level, is basically for Managers who have an adequate functional experience. This level of training focuses more upon developing the vision in relevance to ITIL alignment within an organisation.

With all the information I had, I realised that an ITIL course was not anything to be scared of. In fact, post the initial meeting, I was really interested in knowing more about the best practice framework, and the day became the start of embracing extended learning instead of running away from it.

So, if you're organisation is talking about an ITIL training course, welcome it with open arms because like me, not only will you expand your education but it could increase your confidence in the workplace (and maybe the chance of a promotion!).

Robert Norton wrote the Article 'An ITIL Training Course - Is It Really Meant For Me?' and recommends you visit http://www.afaprojects.com for more information on ITIL service management.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_K_Norton

Where's the Fit? ITIL and Project Management

2009-01-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

By John P Reiling
It is a great for professionals to strategically combine the related bodies of expertise. For someone involved with IT infrastructure projects, ITIL is a great complementary certification. What I find is that often the specialty knowledge drives the PRODUCT of efforts, but the project management skills drives the PROJECT that produces the PRODUCT. On solid technical teams, that second mindset is often missing.

Background When you get any level experience in the workplace, you realize that the world is a collection of operations and projects. We are always seeking to systematize where possible, to streamline operations, and to improve results. We are always trying to create a "business as usual", "runs by itself" environment, although in reality the full achievement of this is elusive. We are always cognizant of change in external conditions, and of the need to be proactive in changing our operations when necessary. This intersection of operations and project management, is, I believe, where ITIL and project management come together.

The IT Infrastructure Library® (ITIL®) describes a set of best practices processes for stable, high quality IT services. Project management, as a discipline, provides the capability to implement a defined change in a controlled way, so that cost, schedule, and quality of deliverable are as expected. It would seem that awareness of ITIL in an environment where it is embedded would be an input to project management. Likewise, project management is a great skill to use in implementing and continuously improving the best practices provided by ITIL.

PRINCE2 and ITIL PRINCE2 and ITIL originate from a single source, the OGC (The Office of Government Commerce) in the UK. While I do not have hard core statistics, ITIL seems to be more strongly on the radar screen in the United States than PRINCE2, probably in part because the PMI PMBOK is more heavily established. But the practice of ITIL does seem to draw on PRINCE2 to an extent due to its common origins, despite the fact that a project management framework such as PMBOK can, in my opinion, be just as effective.

Both ITIL and Prince2 have a mechanism for evaluating the change or project. The Post Project Review in Prince2 is the same as the ITIL Post Implementation Review. A successful review can therefore lead to the end of the project.

Where ITIL and Project Management Meet IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is all about providing service within the operations of IT in an organization. This includes management of the Service Lifecycle, Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, and Service Operation. It also means continual improvement of the whole set of services that are in place. Management challenges within this realm include Service Desk and Incident Management, Configuration and Release Management, Service Level and Capacity Management, Problem and Change Management, Continuity and Availability Management, and Financial and Security Management.

ITIL itself, as a discipline, takes care of the operations within the defined services realm. However, any changes to that services realm can and should be handled by applying a good project management discipline. The difference is that the ongoing operations will be concerned with maintaining and improving services as an in-place, as-is process. The project management discipline will be concerned with defining the beginning of an initiative, delivering the product of that initiative, and turning over the results of that effort to be incorporated into the operation before finally closing out the project.

The two disciplines have significant differences, and using the wrong one can result in lower effectiveness. In the case of ITIL and Project Management, both disciplines will provide inputs the other. For example, ITIL will provide the current situation to a project. It also provides certain procedures, like configuration management, that must be followed within the confines of the project. The results, or "product of the project", will become the key input to changes or improvements to be implemented within the ITIL implementation framework in the organization. The professional that understands both sides in depth will be quite valuable to the organization and will have a leg up in knowledge and credibility.

A Little about ITIL (ITIL certification, that is) ITIL certification has 3 levels: the Foundation Certificate, the Practitioner Certificate, and the Manager's Certificate. Project Management Training Online offers ITIL training that supports the Foundation Certificate.

In a nutshell, here is what these 3 levels are about:

The Foundation Certificate: There are no entry requirements, and the foundation test consists of a one hour long multiple choice examination testing a candidate's basic understanding of the principles and terminology of the IT Infrastructure Library. It is designed to provide familiarity with the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices for IT Service Management.

The Practitioner Certificates: This is aimed at those who are responsible within their organization for designing specific processes within the IT Service Management discipline, and performing the activities that belong to those processes. The Practitioner's Certificates focus on the depth of understanding and application of those subjects, treating each subject as a specialty. Prerequisites include the Foundation certificate and mandatory attendance at an accredited training course.

The Manager's Certificate: Aimed at managers and consultants, 2 - 3 hour examinations test the practical application of the theory of ITIL, and the exam is typically preceded by a 10-day training event other assessments may also be required. Candidates must hold the Foundation certificate and mandatory attendance at an accredited training course is required.

John Reiling is a certified Project Management Professional and experienced Project Manager. John's web site, Project Management Training Online provides online project management training for PMP exam prep and PDUs. John also writes regularly in his blog, PMcrunch.com .

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_P_Reiling

Picking the Right Service Management Software

2008-11-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

By Ethen Thomsson

There are many choices available when looking for a service management tool and it can be very difficult to determine ITIL requirements. Many companies are moving to ITIL 3 these days and most of the tools on the market, only supports ITIL version 2. This is the main reason why most companies, decide to change their tool.

Many organizations think it is important that the tool they choose is ITIL version 3 compliant or if it is only suitable for version 2, but when choosing Help Desk software, you should look into how much you can customize instead of it being compliant with ITIL 2 or 3. If you are able to customize your tool the way you want it, you can make your Help Desk solution fit any version of ITIL.

Depending on your current implementation and size of you company, many should aim for a open source help desk. This typically means you can customize it as much as you like, since it's the programming language that sets the limit and not the features in the actual product. One of the best free help desk solutions are called HESK and is a PHP Helpdesk solution, ready for implementation with your existing PHP intranet. The service management software can be modified almost without limitation and since its you that are designing it, you can save a lot of costs by not needing expensive vendor training.

If you are a mid-size company and looking for are more proven software with vendor support, you should take a look at the software called Heat Help Desk. This is one of the cheapest, yet very customizable and easy service management tools on the market. This software is very easy to implement and for smaller companies, it can be managed by a single employee.

A help desk resume, describing the best choices is easily found on the internet. You should read a few of the recommendations and decide what fits your company.

php helpdesk software is becoming an attractive solution for small businesses. A help desk resume can hopeful help you look beyond all the big companies and their fancy service management software solutions and make you conclude which software is right for your business.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ethen_Thomsson

PMP and ITIL - Framework Methodologies With Valuable Synergy

2008-11-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

By Paul T Rice

For a long time, IT professionals were apt to believe that ITIL and project management certification (PMP) were conflicting frameworks, and you were either certified in one or the other, but rarely both. The ITIL framework and project management framework both serve different purposes to be sure, but when combined within an organization, they ultimately create great synergy. The ITIL framework, a lifecycle that addresses the way an IT organization operates, is first and foremost business driven and answers the question "Are we doing the right things?" The project management framework addresses the implementation of projects throughout the organization, requiring that companies ask "Are we doing things the right way?"

The UK Office of Government Commerce (OGC) is responsible for the management and distribution of materials on the ITIL framework. The OGC also controls another framework called PRINCE2, a project management framework used primarily in the Europe. Both the ITIL framework and the PRINCE2 project management framework follow a lifecycle approach to their respective subjects.

In the US, the Project Management Institute manages the PMP certification which does have overlap with the PRINCE2 project management framework. The PMP certification is based on content contained in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), a book published by the PMI. The PMBOK is organized around nine knowledge areas that are utilized throughout a project's existence.

If you're in the "ITIL and PMP both say too much of the same thing, so why learn both?" school of thought, think again. Combining the ITIL framework and the project management framework allows you the ability to execute projects with a higher level of quality, as they both provide a detailed set of instructions on how IT organizations should operate. Despite minor structural differences, the combination of both the ITIL framework and the project management framework can be highly beneficial for any IT organization, and there is a genuine hope that IT professionals will begin to understand why they need to be certified in both ITIL and Project Management.

ITIL and PMP Framework Similarities

While ITIL addresses how IT organizations as a whole should operate, PMP addresses how individual projects within the organization should be executed. PMP applies to projects throughout the entire organization not just IT. Both frameworks rely heavily on process and the use of tools to enable consistent execution of processes. The ITIL framework and the project management framework support each other in a way that propels services and operations to a greater level of proficiency.

Furthermore, both frameworks address the need to manage quality, risk, and accountability. Most importantly, however, both ITIL and PMP consistently help improve efficiency and usefulness within the organization. ITIL describes the ideal end state that an organization would like to achieve. There are those who believe that if the ITIL framework behaves according to the ideal model, all will go according to plan. Unfortunately, this utopian IT end result is not realistic in the business world - and an organization must implement a framework that allows for individual projects to be completed over months' time in order to get to the desired end result.

Differences between ITIL and PMP

The differences between the ITIL framework and the project management framework are inconsequential when compared to the overall effectiveness of combining the two. Similarities aside, project management is not specific to IT. The PMP framework, focusing on effective execution of projects, can be applied to any area of any organization. Unlike ITIL, the project management framework does not operate on a lifecycle approach, but is organized into nine key knowledge areas: project integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communications, risk, and procurement management.

As previously mentioned, rather than analyzing the breakdown of each project, the ITIL framework examines the whole picture - a key difference. By taking a larger view of services in the organization as a whole via a lifecycle approach, ITIL sets out to examine service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation, and continual service improvement. Take, for example, an organization that is building and deploying an email service - on one level, ITIL will evaluate what is needed; PMP will then take this information and further break it down into easier-to-manage increments.

Project Management Approach to Implementing ITIL

How can ITIL be effectively implemented using the principles found in the PMBOK? I have considered this question several times in my experiences as a PMP and an ITIL Service Manager. Working with organizations to determine the most effective way to implement the ITIL Service Management framework, I have learned that a series of projects that are executed through a Program Management Office is the most effective way. The challenge is to identify projects that bring measurable, incremental improvements that will help drive organizational change.

The Continual Service Improvement Model of ITIL provides the structure for developing a roadmap for ITIL implementation projects. The roadmap will then allow you to navigate the complex interactions between the processes. Several books have been published on the subject of effective ITIL implementations. Most of these materials are consistent in their approach: start by creating a stable environment where you can control the impact of changes and shorten the duration of outages.

An example of a first step project might be as follows:

Project Definition: "Develop and implement an Incident Management Process Project."

Project Scope Statement: Interruptions and diminished quality of services have a negative impact on business productivity. Service Management application tools will allow us to manage outages more effectively and capture metrics that measure the impact of outages. Package implementations of this type require extensive process development prior to deploying software. To this end, we are developing an incident management process in line with the ITIL framework to enable the internal service desk to improve its ability to restore normal service in the event of an outage.

The project management framework will then be used to complete this ITIL-driven project.

Effects on IT Businesses

If you want your organization to be truly effective, certification in both the ITIL framework and the project management framework will help your company prosper. Implementing various levels of checkpoints along the way ensures that you keep your services up-to-date and performing satisfactorily to meet customer need and demand. Ignoring one framework can make projects harder to carry out, thus wasting much needed time, money, and skills.

ITIL and PMP can have a strongly positive impact on how IT departments support the business - organizationally-speaking and otherwise. At this point, however, many IT organizations are still slow to understand the power that both the ITIL framework and project management framework (when combined) have on ensuring that projects are finished and implemented in a timely manner. When you choose to integrate two highly efficient measures of accountability and risk management, you choose to have an organization that not only runs smoothly but is ahead of the competition at every turn in the road.

Paul T. Rice, the Director of Training Services at Fruition Partners, is an IT consultant and professional instructor with over 18 years experience managing large IT projects, developing effective teams, and providing Strategic Consulting and Education services to many Fortune 500 IT leaders globally. He is an ITIL Implementation consultant for Fruition Partners, and among the businesses he works with, WestLake Training and Development, an information technology training company, has benefited from his knowledge as an accredited IT instructor, an ITIL Service Manager, and a subject matter expert in Applications Management.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_T_Rice

ITIL v3 - What You Need to Know about the New Version of ITIL Methodology

2008-11-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

By Jill Knapp

The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) v3 was released in June 2007, seven years after the last critical ITIL methodology update. With this new update has come a renewed interest in the ITIL framework in general for businesses in the IT field, as well as concerns about what this means for those who were using v2. Before a discussion of the revised ITIL methodology can begin, however, it is important to understand some basic concepts of ITIL, including its benefits.

What is ITIL?

The ITIL methodology was conceived in the 1980s by the United Kingdom's Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA), when the organization realized that a more systematic approach to managing the IT infrastructure on which it had become dependent was required. The CCTA has since changed its name to the OGC (Office of Government Commerce), and in addition to creating the ITIL framework, has continued to champion additional products and services that have become standard in both the private and public sectors.

According to the official website, "ITIL is best practice in IT Service Management, developed by OGC and supported by publications, qualifications and an international user group." (1) The library "consists of a series of books giving guidance on the provision of quality IT services, and on the accommodation and environmental facilities needed to support IT." (2)

How Does Use of the ITIL Framework Benefit Businesses Overall?

Over the past 20 years in which the average person has been using computers in the workplace, the nature of end-user complaints has not changed much. To this day, many users feel that technology is confusing, systems are sluggish and inefficient, and response time from support personnel is inconsistent and slow. Typically, IT managers solve these problems by purchasing more tools and hiring more support people, which doesn't always address the root cause.

The ITIL methodology is different. Instead of a solution that involves further financial investments in tools and personnel, which ultimately will give the IT department more issues to manage and juggle, ITIL divides the work into repeatable processes and activities. With this approach, results are measured and then improvement targets are set for efficiency and effectiveness for those activities. Essentially, the ITIL framework provides the structure to work smarter, not harder.

The ITIL framework also represents a solid investment for businesses because it is completely scaleable and entirely platform independent. Therefore, the ITIL methodology can be applicable to both global businesses running the latest and greatest technology as well as to smaller institutions that may be running older systems on a smaller scale.

How Does ITIL v3 Differ from the Previous Version of the ITIL Methodology?

The previous version of the ITIL methodology (v2) was released in 2000, but the sweeping and fast-paced changes to the way businesses leverage technology (Internet applications, e-business, distributed systems, etc.) since that time meant that it was in critical need of an update. In June 2007, the newest version of the ITIL framework was released; v3 takes advantage of the dynamic nature of the web and, in addition to its five core print books, it also provides web-only components and tools. The hope is that the new ITIL framework will make future revisions less cumbersome, as the material on the web can grow more organically than it would be able to if it were only in print form.

At its core, version 3 of the ITIL methodology covers a much broader angle than v2, and it adds service strategy and service lifecycles into the mix to better fit more mature IT organizations. Where the previous ITIL framework focused primarily on processes, v3 now revolves around services and has more emphasis placed on strategy and operations management. As a result, support and delivery processes are now divided over the lifecycles of service design, transition, and operations.

What Does the ITIL Methodology Used in Version 3 Bring to the Table?

Essentially, v3 is much more strategic and aims to reach a new, different audience than earlier releases of the ITIL framework. In v2, the ten processes of the Service Support and Service Delivery books had more of a "bottom up" focus; organizations implemented the modules which offered the most immediate relief, typically starting with support processes and gradually adding delivery processes. But the new ITIL methodology focuses much more heavily on the alignment between IT and business, with a "top down" perspective. A, B, and C level executives will find great value in this new version of the ITIL framework.

In addition, previous versions of the ITIL framework did not have as broad a focus as v3 does. V2 covered processes and the supporting activities for those processes, but it did not offer quite the extended view of how IT fits in with the business, and more specifically, why it needed to. The release of the latest ITIL methodology acknowledges that for businesses to get to the next level, they need to partner with IT to design services.

Version 2 of the ITIL methodology is still viable and will continue to provide usefulness; and some organizations will choose to "not fix it if it ain't broken." However, v3 adds a new, emphatic layer of strategic insight, which mature organizations will find exceedingly valuable.

Are There Any Inherent Challenges with Version 3 of the ITIL Framework?

It is important to note that there is some consensus among industry leaders that the newest ITIL methodology has been found to be more challenging to implement in smaller environments. For this reason, retaining knowledgeable consultants with experience in implementation of the ITIL framework is always a good idea for any organization seeking to improve its IT Service Management capabilities. While ITIL v2 certifications will continue to be considered valid, it is highly recommended that v2-certified individuals enroll in update or bridge courses offered by qualified providers in order to ensure that their knowledge remains up to date.

Conclusion

The release of v3 of the ITIL methodology opens up a great time for executives and IT professionals to begin to explore ITIL in general or to update their certification. Because ITIL v3 focuses on different areas than v2, the new information can be of great benefit to businesses. In addition, ensuring that those in the IT industry have a solid understanding of the latest ITIL framework will lay the groundwork for a speedy adoption of future releases.

1. http://www.itil.co.uk/faqs.htm#11, accessed June 11, 2007.

2. http://www.itil.co.uk/about.htm, accessed June 11, 2007.

About the Author

Jill Knapp is a senior consultant and trainer for Quint Wellington Redwood, a trusted training partner for WestLake Training and Development. Her IT career spans the Big 5 Consulting, Medical, Legal, Financial, Pharmaceutical, dot.com, Fortune 500, Entertainment, Publishing and Retail industries, with consulting expertise in Service Desk implementations, process redesign, outsourcing and technical writing. When she's not traveling for work, Knapp is traveling with her big band, The Industrial Jazz Group. For more information about ITIL training courses offered by WestLake, please visit http://www.westlaketraining.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jill_Knapp

Lessons Learned For Successful ITIL Projects

2008-10-30T13:23:00.000-06:00

By Brad Harris

In today's business environment, businesses depend on ready access to information in order to make a profit. This is nothing new; much has been written in the past on the need for IT to align with business strategy. Many organizations have taken measures to try and attain this alignment, with sometimes mixed results. Among these is the implementation of ITIL service delivery processes. While these can certainly help enable alignment, much planning and insight is necessary in order to make this happen.

ITIL is a set of processes aimed at effectively managing an IT organization. This process framework was developed in the UK by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). Details of ITIL will not be discussed here as there are several sources of this information available, such as Wikipedia. Having been involved in attempted and actually implementation of ITIL processes, we have some lessons learned which can help increase the probability of success.

#1) Identify the goal of any ITIL efforts Why are you considering ITIL? What is broken? How will you know when it's been fixed? There can be many reasons for implementing some or all of the ITIL processes. Better financial accountability, better change management, more timely incident management, better configuration controls - these are all examples, but your organization must be crystal clear on its reasons in order to measure success and focus efforts on the real problem.

#2) By-In of senior leadership is imperative While senior leaders may not directly manage the project, their complete by-in is imperative to success. Staff in the organization must understand that ITIL is supported at the highest levels. Compliance with processes and procedures and support of ITIL must also be reinforced in the evaluation and compensation system.

#3) Educate your staff Many times staff charged with implementation of ITIL is educated and certified, but the rest of the operational and support staff is not. This leads to confusion and miscommunication between staff. Many times conflict can also arise when staff do not understand how the ITIL process work or what the benefits are. To avoid this, it's important that leaders ensure all involved staff receive ITIL Foundations training at a minimum.

#4) Invest in necessary tools The organization should be prepared to invest in the tools necessary to support ITIL. A solid CMDB, for example, is a must. Most ITIL processes interact with the CMDB. It's critical, therefore, that a functional CMDB exist which is populated by robust and well-understood processes. There are obviously many other things to consider when implementing ITIL to facilitate greater business-IT alignment. The list of lessons learned in this article, however, should help any organization start the project on solid footing.

For more information on ITIL implementation and cost-effective assistance, visit Innovative Technology Management Solutions (ITMS) at http://www.innovativetmsolutions.com or email us at info@innovativetmsolutions.com

ITMS provides businesses with access to world-class IT professional services and consulting via an innovative "subscription-based" model that makes these available to even small businesses.

Copyright 2008, All right reserved, Innovative Technology Management Solutions

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brad_Harris

What Exactly Is ITIL Lite

2008-10-06T08:35:00.000-06:00

By Danielle J. Baker

I often hear people use the term "ITIL Lite." But what exactly does it mean? The phrase is often used within the context of trying to gain the benefits of ITIL without making the necessary difficult choices and sacrifices; thus, deviating from the core principles of IT Service Management. In this sense, ITIL-Lite is the shortcut taken whenever the organization is not able (or at least does not believe it is able) to get the requisite level of buy-in to fully implement the best practice concepts as defined in the Library.

In most situations, the following scenario exists: someone (usually a mid level manager) within the organization that has achieved some level of ITIL certification (usually Foundation) has the revelation that the way forward is with Service Management. Unfortunately, due to having just enough knowledge to be dangerous, a grandiose implementation plan is hatched. After all, how can anyone argue against the "common sense" of Service Management?

On paper, everything looks great; finally, a solution to all that ails IT.

Sometime shortly after the project is launched (assuming it was launched as a project,) the realization sets in that people don't always embrace change simply because it is the right thing to do. After all, ITIL looks very good on paper but it's "really just theory" and "it doesn't work for very complex organizations". Or, maybe, "our IT organization is very unique".

Somewhere amid the haze of chaos which inevitably ensues from unplanned organizational changes, the brilliant concept of ITIL-Lite emerges. If ever there was the hope of a successful application of the ITIL concepts, all is now lost.

This genius is crafted as a compromise between what is viewed as the theoretical ideals of the "ITIL Methodology" in the "uniqueness multi-layered complexity" of the IT organization in question.

The promise, of course, is that all the required hard work and discipline associated with realizing the benefits of Service Management can be bypassed without sacrificing the quality of the outcome. What's missed here is the point that this is contrary to best practice. Best practice is best practice because it has been proven. It is not based on conjecture or theory but on the examples taken from those that worked diligently to put in the time and effort to define objectives, create buy-in, and deliver the value promised to the organization.
In doing so, they realized that it's not possible to simply skip activities and levels of maturity in exchange for expediency and achieve the same level of quality.

As a practical matter, neither can you cherry pick the most palatable elements of best practice. But alas, eventually the realization sets in that it just doesn't work that way. The ITIL model is an integrated one. There is purpose and thought behind every activity and process flow. This is a lesson most organizations who attempt an implementation without the right amount of planning learn in the most disappointing of ways.

Often, even the generic "improvement in quality" or "increased value" is never realized. This is mostly due to the fact that it was never very clear why it was being done in the first place. No one really ever knew where you were supposed to end up. This is best known among Service Management professionals as the classic case of "ITIL for the sake of ITIL." The objective of such an undertaking is never explicitly identified before undertaking this effort.

If you don't know where you're going, anywhere will do. And that's just where most organizations end up. After all of the hype, time, cost and effort associated with such an endeavor the let down has far reaching effects. One of the greatest dangers lies is the resulting loss of faith in ITSM as a really effective and realistic set of best practices.

Eventually, the consensus becomes that Service Management just doesn't work for most organizations. Over the next couple of weeks, I will continue to explore some of the causes of these issues for IT organizations as well as the implications for the Management Consulting profession.

The follow up topics will include:

* Lack of appropriate level of management buy-in * Process implementation pitfalls * No internal implementation knowledge * Mistrust of consultants * Unaware of the limits of the knowledge of most consultants * ITIL for the sake of ITIL * Inability to differentiate practice from Best Practice

Danielle J. Baker IT PROCESS IMPROVEMENT PROFESSIONAL
Master Certified ITIL Service Management Specialist with advanced knowledge and practical experience in leading the end to end design, delivery and management of customized ITIL based best practice solutions for Fortune 500 companies across multiple industries.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Danielle_J._Baker

Enable Continuous Improvement of IT Services through ITIL

2008-10-02T16:06:00.000-06:00

By Arno Esterhuizen

One of the major benefits, if not THE benefit of process orientated approaches to managing your IT services and infrastructure is that it enables continuous improvement.

This means that you are never totally satisfied with the current state of affairs and that you always want to improve your services. I mean, it is the way life is to always set higher standards or aim for higher goals, otherwise life can become a little boring.

The reason why ITIL enables continuous improvement is that it allows you to measure all work that is done. That is why it is so important to record everything. Technical people normally hate it to do documentation and even worse, they hate it to document everything they do, while they have more important stuff to attend to like fixing a critical server. The benefit of having everything recorded outweighs the hassle of recording it by far. Unfortunately it usually takes a while to realise these benefits which make it even more difficult to get the techies recording the stuff. There are of course several positive ways of getting them to do it, but I will not go into all of that right now.

Anyway, now that you have everybody following a strict process and recording everything they do, you can start measuring everything. By measuring it, you can make informed decisions and take actions to improve it.
If you don’t measure it, you cannot manage it. If you cannot manage it, you cannot improve it. Not having a process and tool to measure your IT department’s performance, is like an athlete not having a stopwatch to measure how fast he goes around the track. The athlete will not be able to know his weak points where he needs improvement, if he does not measure his performance. He will also not be able to know if his performance improves or degrades over time, without using a stopwatch and recording the times.

If something as simple as running around a track uses a system of measuring and recording to continuously improves, why are so many IT departments not doing the same thing?

Once you have a mature process and are able to measure the output of the process, you can start to apply quality improvement methodologies. A well known methodology is the Deming cycle, which is a continuous circle of planning, doing, checking and acting. First you plane the process that needs to be followed, and then you get the people to follow it (do). When people follow the process you can measure it (check). The measurements will be used to make informed decisions to act upon to ensure continuous improvement.

To conclude, managing IT services without a structured process based approach like ITIL, is like an 800m athlete not knowing how far 800m is and without a stopwatch.

Arno Esterhuizen
http://www.itilforums.com

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What is Missing in Your ITIL Service Desk Solution to Help Improve Business Efficiency?

2008-09-28T13:51:00.000-06:00

By Robin Yearsley
From my IT Service and ITIL Coaching work with many clients over the last 10 years, I can easily site the following 'top 5' challenges and 'missing' components that I have seen time and time again.

Suitably Skilled and Experienced Service Desk Staff.

Pro-active and Pragmatic Second Line Support Teams.

Demand Management and Workload Forecasting Functionality.

Clear, at-a-glance, heads-up summaries - for all 'open items'.

Sound Workflow Linked to CMDB Information.

I appreciate that items [1] and [2] above are not strictly 'tooling' functionality, but they are essential solution components that are required to drive Service Desk efficiency and therefore help improve business efficiency.

Here are some observations to help drive efficiency for each of the challenges...

1. Suitably Skilled and Experienced Service Desk Staff.
* Thorough induction and education program on joining
* Appropriate ITIL Training such as ITIL Foundation
* Performance goals, measurements and feedback

2. Pro-active, pragmatic second line support teams.
* Ensure that 'bottlenecks', delays and un-helpful second line support personnel are removed/re-educated to provide maximum real-time assistance for the front line service desk team
* Instill quality reporting on 'what really matters', but from an end-to-end customer perspective, for example measure 'mean time to closure' for tickets and then focus *hard* on reducing this over time.

3. Demand Management and Forecasting Functionality.
* Implement true workload and demand management functionality, based on historical data, to predict the organizational workload currently placed on various people and teams. For example - at any given time, how many incidents require effort - and so - how many resources should be made available to protect/meet SLA's in this process area.

4. Clear, at-a-glance, heads-up summary of all open items.
* Solutions should provide real-time, at a glance, displays of all appropriate items such as #incidents, #problems, #requests, #changes etc. Not just the volumes and current status - but how long is left before a pre-defined internal check-point is going to be breached. Those approaching pre-defined SLA targets must be re-prioritised and action taken to avoid failure.

5. Sound workflow linked to CMDB information - providing real-time information and an accurate service picture.

* This is perhaps the most under-used and ironically - the most challenging to set-up quickly; implement the Service Desk Solution to leverage the data available within the CMDB to provide real-time updates on the current and planned status of CI's that matter most to incident, service request, problem and change management.

Running through all of the above is the central theme of removing reliance on, and interventions by, human beings (the Service Desk team) and driving automation.

ITIL V3 provides some good approaches for delivering these types of improvements (within the Service Design and Continual Service Improvement books) but alas, I believe, is still lacking in Service Desk tooling and the general solution area.

To learn more about the many benefits of online ITIL Training and to access your free ITIL V3 resources and mindmaps - please visit:

http://www.ITILTrainingZone.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robin_Yearsley

ITIL - Understanding and Using IT Service Management

2008-09-24T16:04:00.000-06:00

By Alan Calder

'ITIL' is a term that is fast gaining currency around the IT world. It is often wrongly described as 'IT governance' - in fact, on its own, it certainly isn't this. ITIL is a collection of best practices that helps companies implement an IT Service Management culture. However, its growing popularity reflects the substantial impact it can make on a company's IT and business performance and the fact that, in combination with other frameworks, it is a vital ingredient in creating true IT governance.

What is IT Service Management?

Today's businesses are increasingly delivered or enabled using information technology. Business and IT management need guidance and support on how to manage the IT infrastructure in order to cost-effectively improve functionality and quality. IT Service Management is a concept that deals with how to define and deliver that guidance and support. In common with other modern management practice, it views things from the customer's perspective, i.e. IT is a service that the customer or consumer receives. It can be made up of hardware, software and communications facilities, but the customer perceives it as a self-contained, coherent entity.

So what is ITIL?

Standing for 'IT Infrastructure Library', ITIL is a set of best practices that are at the heart of the IT Service Management approach. It provides guidance on how to manage IT infrastructure so as to streamline IT services in line with business expectations. ITIL is a best practice framework, presenting the consolidated experience of organisations worldwide on how best to manage IT services to meet business expectations.

ITIL was originally developed during the 1980s by the UK's Central Computer and Technology Agency (CCTA), a government body, which created ITIL version 1 as an approach to incorporating various vendor technologies and serving organisations with differing technical and business needs. CCTA has now become part of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), which, as official publisher of the ITIL library, updated it, published version 2 and continues to develop and support it.

ITIL has since become widely adopted across the world in both public and private sectors and is recognised as best practice, being deployed in organisations of all shapes and sizes.

What makes up the ITIL Library?

ITIL documentation consists of seven 'sets' or 'volumes': Service Support, Service Delivery, ICT Infrastructure Management, Security Management, Planning to Implement Service Management, The Business Perspective and Applications Management.

Of these, Service Support, Service Delivery and Security Management are considered the central components of the ITIL framework, covering vital issues such as Incident Management, Configuration Management, Change Management, IT Service Continuity Management, Availability Management and IT Security Management.

Learning about ITIL

The seven ITIL volumes are published by The Stationery Office, the official publisher of the UK government. In addition, to gain an overview and a sense of how to navigate these, it is helpful to consult one of several recommended introductory texts. 'Foundations of IT Service Management Based on ITIL - An Introduction' is widely accepted as the best starting point and self-study guide. 'Implementing Service and Support Management Processes - A Practical Guide' is a thorough and comprehensive handbook on the subject, while the 'itSMF Pocket Guides' provide a good overview of each of the ITIL components.

Getting certified

Part of the reason for the recent growth in ITIL awareness is the publication in December 2005 of a new global standard to which businesses can become certified. ISO 20000 (or ISO/IEC 20000:2005, to give it its correct name) is closely based upon the pre-existing British standard BS15000 - in fact, it is virtually indistinguishable. The standard comprises two parts: ISO/IEC 20000-1 is the specification for IT Service Management against which an organisation's practices can be certified; ISO/IEC 20000-2 is the 'code of practice' that describes best practices and the requirements of Part 1.

BS15000 has become widely used around the world since it was published in 2003 and was adopted virtually unchanged as the national standard in Australia and South Africa. A number of companies across the USA, Europe and Asia have already become certified as BS 15000 compliant. We also recommend several excellent books that provide guidance on achieving BS15000/ISO 20000 compliance.

Upon the publication of ISO 20000, BS15000 was withdrawn and individual standards and certification bodies are drawing up their own formal transition programmes for conversion to the new standard. Companies already holding BS15000 should encounter no difficulty in converting their certification to the new standard, as this should be one of the considerations addressed by the individual certifying bodies.

Practitioners can also pursue a structured programme of ITIL examination and certification, comprising the ITIL Foundation Certificate, ITIL Practitioners Certificate and ITIL Managers Certificate. Examinations and certification in Europe are managed through two independent bodies: EXIN, the European Examination Institute for Information Science; and ISEB, the Information Systems Examination Board. Between them, these two organisations control the entire certification scheme. In the United States, HDI is a principal organiser of examination and certification, and it and similar organisations provide coverage elsewhere around the world. These organisations ensure that personal certification is fair, honest and independent of the organisations that provide the training, and accredit training suppliers to bring about a consistent quality of course delivery.

ITIL and IT Governance

When combined with certain other frameworks, ITIL makes a major contribution to the creation of effective IT governance. ITIL processes can be mapped to CobiT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology) processes, and the two frameworks complement each other nicely: if the CobiT control framework tells the organisation 'what' to do in the delivery and support areas, ITIL best practices help the organisation define 'how' to deliver these requirements. Similarly, ITIL works very effectively with ISO 17799, the international code of best practice for information security, providing guidance on how to manage the various processes that ISO 17799 prescribes.

By drawing upon these three complementary frameworks as appropriate to its needs, an organisation can establish an IT governance regime that delivers real and lasting competitive advantage to its business.

Alan Calder is CEO of IT Governance Limited, an authorised international distributor of ITIL books (published by TSO on behalf of the Office of Government Commerce) and of British and international standards published by BSI. The seven ITIL volumes are available at http://www.itgovernance.co.uk/catalog/23, while introductory books may be accessed at http://www.itgovernance.co.uk/catalog/7. All items may be purchased online for worldwide delivery. For more information visit http://www.itgovernance.co.uk/itil.aspx

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Which ITIL Process Should We Implement First?

2008-09-20T16:02:00.000-06:00

By Arno Esterhuizen

The following question is usually debated a lot amongst IT managers. “With which process should we start when implementing ITIL?” Everybody has their own views, but here are my takes on it.

Some consultants sat that one must start with Service Level Management. Theoretically, it would be the perfect option, but how are you going to negotiate SLA's on your MTTR (Mean Time To Repair) if you are not measuring your MTTR through Incident management. This way you will get an idea of your capabilities and of what a realistic MTTR would be for your support teams. It may however be a good idea to start with a Service Catalogue, but that is only one aspect of Service Level Management and not a process.

A lot of people state that one must start with Configuration management. Again, I think that it would be perfect in theory, but in practice it is a different story. How will you keep your CMDB up to date, if you do not have a mature enough Change management process to keep the data up to date? A discovery tool will help, but there is still information that may need manual updates via Change management, e.g. costs, locations, user’s asset tag nr's etc. Configuration management is also one of the most difficult processes in to implement and show immediate benefits for. It is usually better to start with something easier and something that will show immediate benefit with minimum effort.

The best place to start in my opinion is with Change Management. Gartner reports that 80% of infrastructure failures are caused by changes. So, if you can have ALL your changes under control as soon as possible, a lot of these failures will be prevented. That is definitely a quick win and quick wins is what you want to keep the motivation of support teams up and keep upper management committed to your project. It may be a while to realize the benefits of Service Level Management or Configuration Management.

A good one would also be Incident Management, it is a fairly easy process and you should also be able to gain early benefits.

When Change and Incident management are well on their ways you can start to look at the other processes, especially on the Service Support side.

Oh yes and obviously you will need a Service Desk right from the start...

My take on where NOT to start...

Problem Management - Can't have it without Incident Management

Configuration Management - CMDB will be out of date in no time without Change Management.

Service Level Management - Can start certain aspects, but no baseline without Incident and Change Management to negotiate SLA's with the customer.

IT Service Continuity Management - Difficult and expensive, no quick wins, good to have the CMDB first... Don't get me wrong, it IS important, but not my suggested place to start.

Release Management - You preferably need Change Management first.

Available & Capacity management - Possible to start with, but no real quick wins and more difficult...the ITIL books really get theoretical on these processes.

These are only my views and every IT department will have to look at what’s best for them.

Arno Esterhuizen
http://www.itilforums.com

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Easing The ITIL Configuration Management Database Headache

2008-09-17T16:01:00.000-06:00

By Arno Esterhuizen

The definition of a Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is a repository of information about all the items that makes up the IT infrastructure (Configuration Items), attributes about these configuration items and the relationships between them.

A CMDB can be very beneficial to all IT staff by providing them with a high level overview and detailed information on how the whole IT infrastructure fits together. This makes troubleshooting easier, improves planning for changes etc. As a matter of fact it assist all other ITIL processes in analysis and planning.

The only problem is that the idea of creating such a database and keeping it up to date may seem like a very daunting task and too expensive for the benefits to deliver a proper return on investment. This does not have to be the case if a project to implement the CMDB is planned properly and the correct people structure to accomplish this and maintain this is put in place.

I think a lot of CMDB implementations fail as IT management just appoints a Configuration Manager who they make responsible for the accuracy of the CMDB. Then they buy an expensive tool to discover everything, sit back and hope it will all work out. Eventually they will only discover that their CMDB just consists of a bunch of useless and out of date information that nobody can benefit from.

A pragmatic way to implement a CMDB is as follows.

First of all we get all the stakeholders together in one room. They should include representatives from the Service Desk and all technical teams as these are the people who will use the CMDB and who will benefit from it. Use input from these people to compile a list of outputs that you want from the CMDB. For example as a technical team leader I would like to have the infrastructure I am responsible for to be documented in detail, so that when a new person starts in my team, I can refer that person to the CMDB to understand how everything fits together.

Once you know what you want out of the CMDB, you can start to list all the requirements.

What attributes of CI’s do we need to store?
To what level of detail will we go? E.g. Do we need to track a keyboard’s serial nr?

Do we need to create an entry of a SQL database job as a CI in the CMDB? This level of detail might be necessary if that database job is in any way important to the correct operation of the IT infrastructure.

Once you know what you want, you can go and hunt for a tool. The tool must adhere to all you requirements or should be customizable to adhere to your requirements. It would be a good idea if your CMDB tool integrates with your Helpdesk and Change management tools.

A very important step that normally gets neglected and which I think is probably the most important factor when implementing the ITIL Configuration Management process and a CMDB is to have the right people in the right positions. These people need to be trained properly in Configuration Management and the CMDB tool. This Configuration Management team should consist of the following people.

The Configuration Manager who is ultimately accountable for the Configuration Management process and for the accuracy of the CMDB. Like any manager, this person should manage the process and should not be doing the groundwork like capturing the CI information into the CMDB. This position could be a full time or part time job depending on the size of the company.

The Configuration Manager should be assisted by a Configuration Librarian who could be one or more people who will be responsible for the Definitive Hardware Store and the Definitive Software Library. They need to make sure only authorized software and hardware is installed into the IT infrastructure.

The people responsible for capturing the data into the CMDB will be the technical staff who will be using the CMDB as well. The technical team who is responsible for looking after the network infrastructure should in principle document their infrastructure. Instead of documenting it in Word or Visio, why not use the CMDB tool. The only people who can document the infrastructure which includes all Configuration Items and their relationships are the people who know it. They are also the people who will be doing changes in the infrastructure and thus the people who should update these changes in the CMDB. For each CI in the CMDB whether it is a server or a file share, there should be a record of an “owner” of that CI. This owner will be held responsible for the accuracy of the information of the specific CI in the CMDB.

By making the actual people who has the information that needs to go into the CMDB in their heads responsible for the accuracy of the information in the CMDB, the process becomes more manageable. Specific people are now held responsible and blame cannot be passed on to somebody else. These will also be the people who will benefit from the information in the CMDB, so making sure it is accurate is also an incentive to them.

The Configuration Manager should launch regular audits by third parties to verify the accuracy of the CMDB and whether the process works.

Making specific people responsible for specific CI’s in the CMDB, breaks this seemingly big and difficult task in to smaller more manageable tasks. If this is managed properly it should give you a valuable CMDB without breaking the IT budget.

Discuss this article at the ITIL forums

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Why Even A Little Bit Of ITIL Does You Good

2008-09-14T15:59:00.000-06:00

By Kevin Morley

Even now, almost 20 years since ITIL was first created, there are still huge misconceptions about it; what it is, what it can do and what the benefits are. One of the most common fallacies is that ITIL is an 'all or nothing' endeavour and that to take advantage of the ITIL approach, an organisation must implement all elements across all aspects of the Service Desk. Not true! Having implemented over 500 ITIL-compliant service desks, I'm here to tell you that even a little bit of ITIL does you good.

ITIL is such a helpful, logical and systematic approach to dealing with IT service issues that even adopting single elements can bring significant benefits. In fact, this is the most common and successful approach for many companies who choose to pick off the 'best bits' according to what may be most relevant to them; incident, problem or change management for instance.

The groundswell of support for ITIL is growing internationally, but for many ITIL just sounds like hard work, a lengthy process working with a dusty engineering approach with dubious payback! It's true that the IT Infrastructure Library was originally collated for an engineering community, but it has moved on massively since then. All public sector organisations across the UK are working towards adopting the framework over the coming months.

For other organisations, it's usually pain, or even a disaster, that forces the change. A company may find that it can't restore files from a back-up as either they weren't done, or they weren't tested appropriately for instance. Or they may find that support demands have outgrown their current infrastructure and documented processes of some kind are called for. The service desk consultants may find that they're spending all their time providing reactionary support, and are unable to be proactive, to analyse the root cause of problems and fix them, let alone work on interesting and challenging projects.

But, the ITIL path cannot be embarked upon lightly; it does call for commitment from all staff and certification can be a considerable expense. One of the most common reasons for ITIL to flop is that companies fail to allocate sufficient time or effort or have unrealistic expectations. We're all still waiting for that magic wand that can cure all IT woes; ITIL isn't it.

But it is undeniably the key to multiple benefits. In my experience effective processes for problem management can result in around 60% improvement in service, as the time to resolve issues is slashed and it becomes possible to recognise trends and patterns to avert future incidents. Getting a grip on change management can be equally dramatic as the number of successful changes increases and roll-back procedures are laid out in advance rather than being developed on the fly.

Kevin Morley

CRMWorks - http://www.crmworks.co.uk

CRMWorks are one of the leading helpdesk software firms in the UK. They specialize in helpdesk software and IT service management

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Morley

ITIL Can Help Companies Improve Storage Processes

2008-09-11T15:57:00.000-06:00

By Ann All

Lots of folks seem to have high expectations for the newly updated version of the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL).

In an interview with IT Business Edge, ITIL: Change Is Gonna Do You Good, Mark McManus of Computer Economics says that Version 3 of ITIL, released in late May, "provides a more practical approach to ITIL implementation" and one that should more clearly illustrate ITIL's benefits to business folks.

Buy-in doesn't appear to be as big of an issue for IT - though there are some interesting exceptions. For instance, a Forrester Research analyst notes in a recent internetnews.com article that there seems to be little interest in ITIL in storage circles, though the two are "an excellent mix."

After all, the analyst says, storage often suffers from a lack of consistent processes - which is exactly what ITIL delivers. ITIL can help streamline storage management by eliminating the duplicative processes that are common in many organizations.

The key challenge in marrying the two, says another expert in the article, is that vendors typically market their products as standalone storage management solutions - while ITIL would likely dictate that storage management be integrated into Service Delivery and Service Support processes. This could change, however, as major storage vendors like EMC and CA move to incorporate ITIL into their products.

An InfoStor Magazine article notes
href="http://www.infostor.com/display_article/300566/23/ARTCL/none/none/ILM-isn't-just-about-storage/" target="_blank">parallels between ITIL and information lifecycle management (ILM). ITIL's Service Management components address several key storage concepts, including availability, capacity and performance.

Like ITIL, the toughest part of ILM is an upfront, business-focused analysis, the InfoStor article points out. Yet neither initiative is likely to be successful without it.

As McManus points out in his interview about ITIL:

You really need to sit down and do an assessment of where you are today. You can't fix it if you don't know where you are today. Companies that have been successful have done a good assessment of their current IT and business processes, and identified the most serious deficiencies so they can tackle those in a prioritized manner. Lacking that good planning and project management will be a killer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ann_All

ASL ITIL for Enhanced Application Management

2008-09-06T13:50:00.000-06:00

By Pat Moore

The emergence of ASL (Application Services Library) has spawned a potential compliment to the ITIL framework, and is catching the attention of ITSM professionals. Touted as another “standard” public domain framework sponsored by The ASL Foundation, it provides a collection of best practices for managing application development and maintenance. But how does it fit into the “big picture” of ITIL?

Although ASL is based on the processes and service concepts of ITIL, the two frameworks differ in their approach to controlling and supporting the technical infrastructure. ASL stresses different functional competencies and introduces additional processes that support the AM framework, in addition to providing more detail surrounding the ongoing management and support of business systems and services.

In order to alleviate some confusion, service managers should first review the overlap between ASL and the ITIL Application Management component. While ITIL’s current Application Management publication provides a framework surrounding application development and service management, ASL adds more depth to the collaboration required between customers, systems and the service providers optimizing service provision. In effect, ASL more explicitly outlines the process interdependencies between the infrastructure, applications and the business.

However, specific to the application realm, ASL also adds some practical guidance for management of the lifecycle through its recognition of a paradigm shift in focus from application development to software maintenance. ASL sites the traditional focus on systems development efforts (e.g. SDLC) but acknowledges more recent attention to the management, maintenance and enhancement of information systems aligned with service and process perspectives. According to the ASL Foundation, “Current research has shown that on average, the majority of costs are incurred during the maintenance and enhancement stages.”

So, just how much has the focus shifted? From the ASL perspective, quite a bit: roughly 80% of AM efforts may lie in the maintenance of systems. This is powerful insight into where the majority of value added activities should fit relative to the overall application lifecycle. Moreover, exacerbated by the trend of outsourcing non-core competencies (e.g. internal application development), ASL looks more realistically at the activities that focus on optimizing service to the customer and in direct support of overall business objectives.

While ASL does not replace the ITIL Application Management framework, it compliments the service manager through its broader perspective into the dependencies associated with the functional and technical aspects of optimized service provision. That being said, the evolution of ITIL and ASL as a partnership should continue, but the framework documentation itself could more collaborative, reduce redundancy and more clearly articulate AM best practices to the ITIL community.

Bottom line: ASL takes a deep dive into the management of the application lifecycle and integration with the ICT infrastructure. By providing additional processes that support the AM framework and stressing the shift from development to management, maintenance and enhancement, ASL advances the application services framework with additional detail to better serve the business.

Patrick Moore is a independent consultant and technology writer residing in Los Angeles, CA USA. Patrick can be reached at moorep@itilworx.com. ITILworx (http://www.itilworx.com) is an IT process improvement resource focusing on IT Service Management (ITSM), the ITIL framework and related information and software solutions. ProcessWorx (http://www.processworx.com) provides tools and software solutions for IT Service Management based on the ITIL framework.

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ITIL Bridging Courses Explained

2008-09-03T13:47:00.000-06:00

By Steve Twine
Fast Track to IT Success

ITIL training underpins the world's most successful framework for IT Service Management. Pulling together the best practice methods from public and private sectors ITIL is pivotal in ensuring efficient service delivery and in meeting IT Governance objectives.
Re-launched in 2007 in the form of Version 3, ITIL now includes a host of new training courses and qualifications, including various bridging courses which are now available. For those with existing ITIL certifications a bridging course will allow you to upgrade your knowledge and fast track your Version 3 qualifications. This article explains who these courses will benefit and how they work.

1. ITIL Version 3 - What Makes it Different?

The latest version of ITIL builds on its existing well established approaches but interprets them in the context of service lifecycle. It recognizes the shift that has occurred over the last few years as IT and IS operations have become integral to all modern organisations, rather than existing as a bolt on function.

The earlier editions of ITIL were defined by a number of key processes and for the most part, these remain important within the new structure. The new aspects of ITIL V3 reflect a change in the role of IT within modern organisations:

• Service strategy as the central driver
• Emphasis on service rather than process
• Dynamic service portfolio rather than linear service catalogue
• Integration (not just alignment) of IT with the rest of the organisation
• The cycle of 'Continuous Service Improvement'

2. The ITIL Qualification Structure

There are four levels within the new ITIL scheme comprising:
• Foundation
• Intermediate (Service Lifecycle & Service Capability)
• ITIL Expert
• Advanced Service Management Professional

The improved ITIL qualifications scheme introduces a new credit system. For example, to achieve the ITIL Expert qualification, candidates must achieve at least 22 credits, two of which can be gained at Foundation level. Credits are awarded for both ITIL V2 and V3 training courses.

Those people with an existing ITIL certification can undertake a bridging course which brings you up to date with the new aspects of ITIL.

3. ITIL Foundation Bridge

The ITIL Foundation Bridge course is for anyone who holds an earlier version ITIL Foundation certificate and who wants to obtain Version 3 certification. It provides an intensive overview of the new and modified topics in ITIL Version 3. Firstly, the Service Management Lifestyle is introduced (Strategy, Design, Transition, Operation and Continual Improvement), followed by the contribution of ITIL processes to each of the 5 elements.

The course assumes a level of knowledge of the basic ITIL concepts and processes. If this is not the case then a 3 day ITIL Foundation V3 course should be selected.

Acquiring the Version 3 Foundation via this route (or by taking the full Foundation exam again) is mandatory for those seeking the new Intermediate and ITIL Expert qualifications. It is not necessary for those eligible to bridge via the Practitioner or Manager Bridge routes (as explained below).

The exam is a 20 question, closed book multiple choice paper which takes 30 minutes to complete. The pass mark is 65% and successful candidates are awarded 0.5 credits under the ITIL qualification scheme bringing their foundation credits to 2.0 (1.5 credits are given for the Version 1 or 2 certificate).

4. ITIL Manager's Bridge

The ITIL Manager's Bridge training course is for those who hold an earlier version ITIL Manager's certificate and who wish to pursue the Version 3 ITIL Expert certificate.

This course also covers the new and modified topics in ITIL Version 3 and explores the new elements under the following headings:

• Service Management as a Practice
• The Service Lifecycle
• Generic Concepts & Definitions
• Key principles and Models
• Processes
• Functions
• Roles & Organisation
• Technology & Architecture
• Implementation Considerations
• Complementary Industry Guidance (other frameworks)

The course lasts between 4 and 5 days with the exam taken on the final day. The exam itself comprises a 20 question closed book, scenario based, complex multiple choice paper. It takes 90 minutes and the pass mark is 80%.

It isn't necessary to upgrade your Foundation certificate before following this route. Successful candidates achieve ITIL Expert certification without the need for further study under the Version 3 scheme.

5. ITIL Practitioner Bridge

If you already have substantial certification under the ITIL Practitioner certificate level there is a third bridging route. The pre-requisite is that you hold a minimum of 12 credits from Version 1 or 2 certificates in non duplicated areas (3.5 credits for 'clustered' practitioner certificates and 2 credits for 'single' practitioner certificates).

Candidates following this route first complete the Manager's Bridge course through an accredited training provider then undertake the new 'Managing through the Lifecycle' course.
Focus on Training specializes in the provision of best practice training for the Project Management and IT Service Management sectors. Focus is an active member of the IT Service Management Forum which plays a central role in updating and disseminating the ITIL framework through its international network of 6000 organisations and 70,000 IT professionals.

http://www.focusprojects.co.uk

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What can ITIL Foundation Certification do for you?

2008-08-30T13:45:00.000-06:00

By Lalit Wason

Join the one of the fastest growing communities of IT professionals around the globe by obtaining your ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management. ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) is a consistent and comprehensive documentation of best practice for IT Service Management, developed by OGC. It is a series of documents that are used to aid the implementation of a lifecycle framework for IT Service Management. It outlines an extensive set of management procedures intended to support businesses in achieving both high financial quality and value in IT operations. ITIL is now a worldwide phenomenon used by organizations of all shapes and sizes, so a growing army of ITIL certified professionals is required by the industry.

Whizlabs ITIL Certification preparation kit support individuals to prepare and pass the ITIL certification exams. Whizlabs ITIL Preparation Kit consists of 5 full length ITIL practice exams with explanations for every question. Also the ITIL practice exam questions are very close to the real ITIL certification exam questions.

Objectives of Whizlabs Certification Preparation Kit:

• Assess your current knowledge and skills of ITIL.
• Gain confidence in finally taking the exam.
• Provides are real exam environment simulation.
• Prepare yourself for the EXIN ITIL Foundation examination.

The Whizlabs Certification Preparation Kit comprises of:

• 5 Full Length Simulated Tests: 200 Unique Questions spread across 5 mock exams. Mock Exams are based on the certification exam pattern and are used to practice for the actual exam.
• 100 Quiz Questions: Interactive Quiz allows you to revise and reinforce your understanding of the concepts under strict time-regulated conditions.
• Quick Revision Tips: You would get Quick Revision Notes to help you revise just before the main exam.
• Detailed Explanation with Every Question: For each and every question you would find exhaustive explanation elucidating the correct answer.
• Tips N Tricks: Tips N Tricks is a bunch of pointers to follow and pitfalls to avoid, while preparing and taking the exam. The user can prevent mistakes by taking the smartest route to success already discovered without reinventing.
• Comprehensive Reports: to assess and gauge your progress over time and in each exam objective. By judging where you are weak you can keep your preparation on track and pay more attentions on the required objectives.

For guaranteed success in ITIL certification Buy Whizlabs ITIL Preparation Kit. We give Unconditional Test PASS Guarantee or full money back and 50% discount on any certification preparation kit of your choice. You may begin with trying out our FREE ITIL TRIAL DOWNLOAD.

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DACA-ITILv3 - Does Anyone Care About ITIL?

2008-08-27T13:43:00.000-06:00

By Patrick Gray

Insofar as I can discern from the gushing press coverage about ITIL v3, ITIL will save your organization, allow CIO's everywhere to retire early, and bring about world peace in our time. Delving deeper into ITIL, one half expects heavenly light to radiate upon their head, and hear a choir of angels as all questions about the meaning of life and the universe are answered in an explosive epiphany.

On the surface, the promise of ITIL seems fair enough. Rather than reinventing the wheel in designing and managing an IT organization, ITIL promises a compendium of ready-made "best practices" that can be applied to any organization, cutting costs and increasing efficiency. Like most methodologies du jour, it has been successfully implemented with dramatic results at several sample companies, which soon become fodder for case studies and are held up as proof that with a quick sprinkle of the magic methodology, your company too can become an industry darling.

Best Practices?

Nearly every industry has fallen victim to promises of "best practices" at one point or another. Usually concocted and hawked by consultants and toolkit vendors, the sales pitch claims that the finest thinking from an industry is compressed into a set of guidelines that can be applied anywhere, if you merely purchase the associated methodology and consulting services. While I have spent the preponderance of my career in IT, the only true best practices I have come across are not sticking your finger in the power outlet in the server room, and looking both ways before you cross that busy street between the office and the nearest coffee shop. The notion that a magic bullet exists in the form of some "best practice" is foolish on several levels:

It takes the focus of the CIOs job from understanding a business' strategy and facilitating its implementation through technology, to pitching the C-suite on the latest snake oil, and overseeing its application.

If the methodology is successful, it is presumed that the methodology itself carried the day. If it fails, most CEO's assume it is clearly the CIO's fault rather than inherently flawed assumptions that are part of any toolkit approach, since the methodology has worked at other example companies.

Buying tools or methodologies that have a proven track record at increasing efficiency and cutting costs is wonderful, but when it is the cornerstone and raison d'être of the CIO, one has to wonder what the CIO is doing in a strategic role in the first place.

Best practices based on a packaged methodology often serve as a distraction to the real work at hand. Several manufacturing companies that are now out of business or have been acquired by a competitor spent years going after ISO certifications and awards rather than using their supply chain to dominate their market and win new customers.

These factors are combined with an additional, perhaps even more subtle nuance. The companies that are the poster children for a particular methodology or certification are often successful companies to begin with. GE has long been an outstanding company, and it can be easily argued that purported glories of Six Sigma are as much a result of that success as a contribution to it. Other companies that religiously applied Six Sigma did not become the next GE if some fundamental aspect of their business remained flawed.
So, what of ITIL?

How should a savvy CIO react to all the hoopla about ITIL? The simple answer is, just like any other tool, be it software, hardware, methodologies or human resources. Rather than rushing out to learn every detail of the latest and greatest version of ITIL, immerse yourself in your company's business. Learn the nuances of its products, what competitors in the industry are doing and what markets the company plays in today, and where it wishes to dominate tomorrow. Perhaps ITIL is a tool that can create a lean and mean IT organization, freeing the CIO to focus on using IT to enter a highly competitive new market. On the other hand, ITIL may be a distraction that shifts the IT organization's focus away from building systems to support, for example, a critical new product launch.

In summary, the CIO is the organization's ultimate architect when it comes to technology. He or she should be translating the vision and strategy of the company into an IT "blueprint" that will facilitate that vision rather than obsessing over which hammer and nails are used to build what is detailed in that blueprint.

Patrick Gray is the founder and President of Prevoyance Group, located near Charlotte, NC. Prevoyance Group provides Strategic IT consulting services, helping clients deliver measurable monetary returns from their IT organization. Past clients include Gillette, Nissan, Pitney Bowes, OfficeMax, SAP and several other Fortune 500 and 1000 companies. You can subscribe to our award-winning monthly newsletter that one Fortune 500 CIO described as "The perfect compliment to a morning cup of coffee" at http://www.prevoyancegroup.com/subscribe

For a limited time, we are also offering a free whitepaper based on Patrick Gray's new book: Breakthrough IT: Supercharging Organizational Value through Technology. You can download the whitepaper at http://www.prevoyancegroup.com/whitepaper

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Two Critical Success Factors in an ITIL Implementation

2008-08-25T13:41:00.000-06:00

By Arno Esterhuizen

Any IT manager who wants to pursue the IT Service Management journey by implementing the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) needs to understand two very important factors well in advance.

• The first factor is to have dedicated, trained and committed process owners.

If you want to have a successful Incident Management process which is under continuous improvement, you will need somebody who is ultimately responsible for it’s success and who can dedicate the time and focus to drive it and to make sure it actually happens. A lot of organizations makes one of the following mistakes:

• The process owner is non-existent which means there is nobody dedicated to drive a particular process.

There is a process owner, but he or she is bogged down in day to day reactive activities or other "more important" business-driven projects and thus have no time for unnecessary "red tape" like ITIL.

• There is more than one process owner for a particular process - a classic mistake. The idea of ITIL is to have a single consistent process throughout the organization and having two head cooks in this "process kitchen" is sure to mess up the cake. Who will ultimately be responsible if there is more than one owner? Major companies who have successfully implemented ITIL have only one process owner throughout the company, even if there are numerous divisions spread across the globe. This ensures that the process is consistent throughout all divisions and helps the break down barriers between departments and divisions.

The primary problem here, is that companies do not want to spend the money on dedicate resources for process owners. Obviously a process owner can have a split role, doing other work as well, especially in smaller companies. As long as that other role is not of a reactive firefighting nature. One person can also be made responsible for more than one process. Although these processes should be of similar focus. The Change, Configuration and Release roles can be shared by one person in small companies for example. I believe in a large corporate these roles should be fulfilled by dedicated people, and companies who does not fill these roles are not serious enough about ITIL and is most probably lacking the management commitment.

Which brings us to the second, but probably the most important critical success factor, namely management commitment?

If you are responsible for an ITIL implementation, make sure you have commitment from the top; otherwise ITIL might just become another failed IT project throwing time and money down the drain.

And management commitment does not mean, "the manager says his committed". The manager must walk and talk ITIL and continuously show his commitment. In practical terms this means empowering staff through professional training, tools etc., appointing the right people in the right roles and managing by means of ITIL, e.g. demanding the right reports and taking action...
Kotter's 8 steps to organizational change is actually a good guideline for top management to follow.

Management commitment is probably the most important success factor for ITIL, but in my experience, probably also the most difficult to find. That is why a lot of ITIL implementations just become a black hole sucking up money.

I think there are a lot of IT managers that is under this misconception, that ITIL is a silver bullet to fix all their problems. Just install ITIL (almost like installing a new technology) and everything will be OK. What they do not understand is that ITIL is a major organizational change, including a culture change. We used to focus only on technology, but now we have to focus on the customer.

Another reason for low management commitment is also that ITIL is usually an internal IT department endeavor and not a direct requirement from the business. ITIL is a methodology for improving IT and not as such the business.

To overcome this, an ITIL project should become a business requirement and commitment is needed from all the way to the top, from the CEO.

Arno Esterhuizenarno@itil.co.za http://itilblog.blogspot.com

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ITIL - Elegant Guidelines to Simplify IT Management

2008-08-22T13:39:00.000-06:00

By Thejendra Sreenivas

The advancement and easy availability of new and useful technologies today have enabled thousands of organizations worldwide to implement and become heavily dependent on technology for their business needs. Information technology (IT) has invaded and proved its immense benefits even in the smallest of organizations. Nowadays it is not possible to run any organization, small or big, without the use of some computer or telecom related technology. Today many organizations can easily afford to buy the necessary computers, software, telecommunications, etc, for running their businesses. But they do not understand the need for managing their IT implementation or ongoing maintenance properly due to numerous reasons, including lack of appropriate knowledge. For example, a small industry's business owner may buy a single computer initially for general use. After seeing the benefits of using computers, he may immediately decide to buy 25 more for his staff. Within a short time his business will be computerized, and very soon IT support headaches will enter the business. Using a computer may be easy, but maintaining a computer system is a complicated task. Users may suddenly experience crippling virus attacks, equipment failures, software licensing issues, data corruption, data loss, backup issues, upgrade issues, and so on. They may not be in a position to support and maintain a computer network for its smooth functioning. Overnight, a smart purchasing assistant may undergo a crash course in computer maintenance, or buy a book called 'Computer Maintenance for Laymen,' and soon will be given the responsibility for technical support of the business along with his other responsibilities. This is how IT departments start in thousands of organizations. However, this sort of approach will lead to major and uncontrollable issues later.

As mentioned earlier, no modern organization can run its operations or survive without using one or more computers, software, telecommunications, Internet and so on. In view of the technical complexities involved there will be several IT related issues and risks that can cause minor to major irritations, or even bring an organization to halt abruptly. If an important computer system stops working then businesses have to virtually close down as it is not possible to switch over to alternative manual processes for any length of time. Secondly, today's computer systems and networks are extremely complicated for any business people to maintain or support them on their own. Using information technology is a Catch-22 situation. You cannot live with IT, nor can you live without IT. Hence a specialized technical support team having knowledge of IT service management is required to understand how the systems work and how to baby sit them. Today a professional technology support department is as essential as a qualified finance department or a senior management to any organization. From a nuts and bolts perspective, IT service management means the 'techies' (employed or outsourced) in the organization professionally managing and maintaining the computers, networks, telecommunications, data storage, retrieval, e-mail systems, databases, etc, owned or used by your business. Unless the technology you use for your business is managed in a proper way your organization can get into serious trouble. The following examples show the pinpricks and hair rising issues organizations can face without a professional IT service management.

1.Your end-users don't know whom to contact when their computers and other IT equipment become sick.

2. Your techies attend end-user calls occasionally if they can, when they can.

3. Business managers do not understand why their IT infrastructure is always having disruptions of a similar nature.

4. Monday morning chaos. All computer systems down for some reason. Your techies probably performed some maintenance activities over the weekend.

5. Businesses cannot commit about their products and services to their external customers.

6.Your end-users do not know if all IT services will be available for them every day to complete their activities.

7. Viruses, crippling and lengthy IT shutdowns, etc, are common.

8. End-users always face shortage of computers, disk space, data corruption, data loss, etc.

9. Business managers do not know why they need to shell out another bag of cash for some software the IT department needs.

Though organizations are free to have their own proprietary flavors of technical support suiting their needs, it is always better to adopt some international best practices as they prevent organizations from reinventing the wheel. This is where ITIL or the IT Infrastructure Library will help. However, as soon as the word ITIL is mentioned, many overloaded and overburdened IT departments and businessmen start imagining all sorts of scary views like it is a bureaucratic process, it is very complex, it must be highly theoretical, etc., which can only add to their woes rather than reduce it. The fear is understandable because ITIL was created by a government organization (Office of Government Commerce, British Government, UK), unlike something like six sigma that was created by a fortune 500 organization led by a glamorous CEO. After all governments worldwide are known for their lethargic, obscure and bureaucratic processes that only delay and make things complex. However as you can never judge a book by its cover, you should not judge ITIL by who created it. Also many businessmen, IT departments and managements of small and medium organizations live in the misconception that ITIL is beyond their expertise or affordability, and perhaps applicable only to large organizations. But ITIL is not the scary stuff as most businesses imagine. Actually ITIL is a lot of practical IT management common sense and not just some impractical theories. And nor is it some costly and complex rocket science that can only be handled by specialists and magicians. ITIL can be implemented by practically any modern organization (small, medium or big) to bring some law and order to their IT infrastructure. By implementing ITIL you can avoid or eliminate all the troublesome issues mentioned above and bring a very high degree of stability and predictability to your IT infrastructure. ITIL offers value and return on investment to every business owner, service provider, CIOs, CTOs and a CEO as mentioned below.

1. Proven and tested processes. No need for businesses to re-invent the wheel for implementing IT services in their organizations. Covers end-to-end.

2. Non-proprietary practices. ITIL is owned by the Office of Government Commerce, but does not require a license to practice and it is independent of any commercial solution or platform.

3. Improved quality of IT service for business functions. Reduced downtime, improved customer and end-user satisfaction.

4. Measurable, controllable, recoverable.

5. ITIL is scalable. It can be adapted for any size of organization.

6. Proactive rather than reactive. Clearly-defined roles, responsibilities and activities.

7. Greater understanding of IT and its limitations by the business. Business will understand IT better and vice versa.

8. There is also a range of accredited ITIL training and education courses. This means there are plenty of support services, training institutes, tools and consultancy services that can help your organization's IT departments.

9. Return on Investment (ROI). ITIL helps IT organizations demonstrate their return on investment and measurable value to the business, and also cut IT costs. This helps establish a business case for new or continuing investment in IT.

10. ITIL also helps in outsourcing. ITIL is widely practiced among many industry service providers and they can easily help your organization's IT departments.

11. Continuous improvement, stability, and trouble prevention.

12. Improved business image. Businesses will also learn what to commit (and what not to commit) to their external customers.

To conclude ITIL can help you tackle one of the most feared expressions in modern times and that is, ''The computer is down" as humorously quoted by Normal Augustine, a famous US aircraft businessman.

Thejendra BS is an IT manager and author of Practical IT Service Management - A Concise Guide for Busy Executives (based on ITIL v3). Visit http://www.thejendra.com to buy this extremely popular book used by more than seven thousand organizations worldwide to understand how to successfully implement ITIL.

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ITIL V3 In a Nutshell

2008-08-19T13:32:00.000-06:00

By Will Edwards
The big change in ITIL V3 is the new concept of the Service Lifecycle; and fundamentally it's a change of structure for the guidance itself. The new ITIL books are organised into the sequence of a Service Lifecycle, so services are conceived, designed, transitioned into the live environment and then operated for their useful lives; during which time, we seek to continually improve them.

There are 5 books that comprise the new framework. Let's take a quick look at each of them ...
Service Strategy - the first book in the guidance is concerned with the subject of devising a strategy for successfully marketing the IT Services that the operation will produce and deliver - the conception of a service.

Service Design - the second book deals with all aspects of design; not solely with designing services, but also with the design of infrastructures, tools, processes and measurement methods.
Service Transition - is essentially about change. It deals with the issues surrounding the successful release and deployment of changes into the live environment; providing useful advise on how to improve transition methods and cope with the management of high levels of change.
Service Operation - is the stuff of Incident and Problem Management - keeping things running as smoothly as possible in the operational environment.

Continual Service Improvement - the CSI book deals with the subject of continually improving, not just services, but every aspect of the Service Management discipline; dealing with every phase of the lifecycle.

There is no question that the new ITIL books represent an important milestone in the development of the framework (by the way, if is not - strictly - a methodology). They are much better organised than their V2 counterparts ; they are easier to read; and the guidance itself is very comprehensive.

ITIL V3 is here to stay!

A free, comprehensive online reference for ITIL V3 is available here ...

ITIL Talk - Click Here to Learn ITIL V3 - FREE

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ITIL V3 - A Set of Best Practices for Managing Your IT Services

2008-08-18T14:14:00.000-06:00

By Alan Koch
Looking for ways to enhance customer service and cut waiting times for responses, ITIL V3 has emerged as a vital methodology for businesses looking to revamp their service processes. Boasting great success overseas and two revisions later, the ITIL framework, or Information Technology Infrastructure Library, now has U.S. companies eyeing the methodology and learning what it can do for them. In a nutshell, the framework helps regulate and monitor services that are provided to customers in addition to devising new ways to meet customers' needs. ITIL V3 is not a standard, but it is supported by a standard (ISO 20000) and a certification scheme from the International Standards Organization (ISO).

While in use for over two decades in Europe, however, the ITIL framework has only recently become popular in the U.S. Proponents of the framework believe that the methodology can bring much needed maturity to all information technology companies and businesses by meeting needs that may be going unrealized. In order to understand the necessity and comprehensive aspects of a business' service cycle that the ITIL framework covers, the background of the framework, as well as the usefulness of each of the ITIL V3 components, must be examined.

Background on the ITIL Framework

Developed in the 1980s by the United Kingdom's Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) after realizing a lack of a methodical approach to the IT infrastructure, ITIL has since permeated Europe's business and service sector. The CCTA, now called the OGC (Office of Government Commerce), continues to work with ITIL by continuously enhancing it as well as creating new programs.

Recently, however, global companies have begun importing the useful framework into their businesses in the U.S. and have been pleased with the results and feedback. The ITIL framework, generally referred to as a set of best practices for managing information technology services, ensures that companies have a system for meeting or anticipating a customer's needs. The most recent revision of the methodology, ITIL V3, was released in June 2007 and has steadily grown in popularity with U.S. companies.

The Usefulness of the ITIL Cycle

The ITIL V3 cycle, fed by Business Value, consists of Service Strategy, which spurs Service Operation, Service Design, and Service Transition. Encompassing the cycle is the Continual Service Improvement element. Many U.S. businesses working with the ITIL framework now understand the usefulness of the framework and how it can help manage business solutions and keep track of customer service.

Service Strategy, sometimes referred to as the hub of ITIL V3, is used to establish a plan for providing customer service. From this point, three sets of processes work to turn these plans into action. Service Design develops and creates services to bolster the plan, and includes purchasing appropriate software or systems and tailoring them to the company's specific needs. When this new system of software is ready to use, Service Transition ensures that it is implemented correctly by performing control checks or tests. Service Operation processes requests from a company's customer base and addresses failures in the system. The largest part of ITIL is Continual Service Improvement, which is the process that constantly monitors and regulates services in addition to making improvements if needed.

ITIL Certification

Many IT companies are now sending eager learners to study the ITIL framework so that the methodology can be incorporated into their systems. Effective management of a customer base is something both small and large companies are always searching for, and many will find it useful to train a select staff in the specifics of ITIL V3. Students of the ITIL framework now receive a certification based on their level of learning and knowledge.

The most basic certification, Foundation, demonstrates that an individual has a fundamental understanding of the principles and terminology of the methodology. Foundation must be achieved before higher certifications can be acquired. Practitioner certification comes in different levels depending upon the ITIL V3 processes that an individual uses. This level denotes a high level of knowledge in one part of ITIL. Expert (formerly called Manager) indicates the highest level of certification achievable and demonstrates a concentrated and comprehensive discernment of the framework.

The Best Way to Manage Your IT Services

The ITIL framework offers businesses one of the fastest turnaround times for responses. The methodology after all was designed with customer service in mind. ITIL V3 is a smart system for businesses because it separates issues, examining each process closely, leaving results that are measured and setting improvement targets to guide the way. Due to the nature of the ITIL framework, it is not meant only for large, global corporations, but smaller businesses that might be using older systems.

The latest revision of the software, ITIL V3, and its predecessors are commonly referred to as a set of best practices for managing information technology services. If you need an efficient way to manage your customer service base and cut response time in half, perhaps the ITIL framework can impact your company much as it's done for many other U.S. businesses in recent years - by revolutionizing the way that companies interact with customers on a more personal level.

Alan S. Koch is a certified Project Management Professional and Scrum Master as well as a published author. At WestLake Training and Development, he consults, trains, speaks, and writes on effective IT Service Management in addition to instruction on traditional and agile Project Management methods. With a strong focus on learning through hands-on exercises, WestLake is dedicated to delivering instructor-led information technology training courses. To learn more about information technology training, please visit http://www.westlaketraining.com

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