One of the more thought provoking presentaions at the recent Project Challenge Show in Birmingham was by Dot Tudor of TCC. She firmly believes that there is too often a disconnect between IT project managers and IT service managers.
The following diagram emphasises the degree of overlap and inter-relationship between PRINCE2, DSDM and ITIL. Her presentation (follow link below) works towards an integrated roadmap.
By the way, this subject matter is being picked up by OGC so keep an eye open for the official book in due course!
>> View Dot Tudor’s presentation
>> Find ITIL training courses
>> Find PRINCE2 courses
>> Find DSDM Atern courses
Blogalot - May 2010
At the IT Service Desk Show in London Howard Kendal of SDI hosted a seminar with over 100 participants to identify “10 Killer Metrics”.
It was unscripted and quick – but the list is a pretty safe bet if you are looking to pick the 5, 6 or 7 which you want to highlight for your organisation.
1. Keep the Customers Happy
- customer satisfaction is the ultimate goal
- it will mean different things to different people/organisations
- there may be both “technical” and “psychological” measures
2. Who, What, Where? [Address and Kill Top Issues]
- Understand where the problems are coming from
- can education of users help to avoid repeat requests
- identify regular issues, address root cause, avoid fire-fighting
3. Staff Satisfaction
- a team enjoying their work will deliver better service
4. Utilisation/Efficiency
- less agreement on this one – and tricky to measure
5. Cost of Delivery
- yes, if you look at total cost of the service
- no, if you waste time over analysing every cost and benefit
6. Impact of System Changes
- keep track of how calls are driven by changes to systems
- these changes are within IT’s control so there can be important lessons
7. First Time Fix
- a more contentious suggestion – as quality must enter the equation as well as speed
8. Measure Against SLAs
- important but remember that SLAs define a “tolerance” and the goal will be higher
9. Calls Waiting/Abandoned Calls/Call Duration
- again, there are some trade-offs so one measure in isolation may be unhelpful
10. Calls Prevented
- prevention is better than cure but how do you measure
- the ideal scenario is no call as there are no issues
>> Find ITIL Training Courses
>> Find SDI Service Desk Courses
Blogalot May 2010
There were two excellent presentations at the April Service Desk & IT Support show which concentrated on Problem Management. Ken Goff made a compelling case for making it the number one ITIL priority. Don Page told us how to go about it.
Why make it your number one priority?
Ken brings years of experience – and a case study where a major organisation slashed the number of major incidents per month from over 50 to about 5. This was through a relentless focus on root cause problem analysis. The mix of Incident Management to Problem management personnel switched from 9:1 to 1:9.
His case study organisation was excellent at Incident Management. They acted fast and got systems up and running quickly. However, it was only when attention was turned to the underlying issues that service outages began to fall – and business financial performance improved.
It required a major change in mind set with drive from the most senior management levels. Delivery was by hundreds of people within the IT support team. The role of the Problem Management specialists was to facilitate rather than to do all the work. A key observation was that many people simply do not know HOW to analyse problems.
Practical Problem Solving
Don emphasises the importance of people and process (rather than technology or system).
Problem solving is not a natural talent. A survey showed that only 1% have any formal training. The most common mistakes are:
- quick assumptions
- failure to collect facts
- inaccurate or incomplete information
- failure to evaluate or reproduce the condition
- undue pressure for an immediate answer
The best starting points to avoid problems are:
- implement change control
- train customers
- train support personnel
- identify current business priorities
- record and document all service requests
When driving to the fix:
- define the problem first
- specify the solved state
- ensure the right people are on the team
- choose from corrective actions in a logical manner
- reconcile restraints and constraints
- prepare and implement plan
- review and adjust as necessary
Problem Management used to be highlighted as one of the fundamental ITIL processes. In terms of training and certification under version 3 it is grouped within Operational Support & Analysis.
>> Find TIL Operational Support & Analysis Courses
>> Ken Goff - KGM
>> Don Page – Marval
Blogalot - May 2010
Have you ever tried to explain what ITIL could do for your business?
There’s an excellent video which has been produced by a US ITSM company, CompuCom.
It certainly ticks all my boxes:
- No jargon
- Light hearted
- Professional
- Under 4 minutes
- FREE!
ITIL in the restaurant
It will be appreciated as much by those embarking on ITIL training, as by senior executives considering ITIL investment.
>> Watch the Video “ITIL - A Simple Explanation”
If you need more information about Training & Certification:
>> Download ITIL Qualifications Explained
Blogalot - March 2010
If you are looking to combine a professional qualification with a good music, good drink and friendly people, Focus can now offer regular Prince2 and ITIL training courses in the fine city of Dublin
We have teamed up with a local accredited training provider to provide courses in
- Prince2 Foundation Certificate
- Prince2 Practitioner Certificate
- ITIL V3 Foundation Certificate
- ITIL V2 Manager’s Courses
Contact Focus at enquiries@focus-on-training.co.uk, or visit our website www.focus-on-training.co.uk for more information
If you want to take the ITIL Manager route to ITIL certification you need to act now!
The OGC has announced the phasing out of the version 2 ITIL qualifications during 2010. The timing was decided after consultation with itSMF International.
Withdrawal is phased by product:
- V2 Foundation to cease 30 June 2010
- V2 Manager to cease 31 August 2010
- V2 Practitioner to cease 31 Dec 2010
- Foundation Bridge to cease 31 Dec 2010
All of the above will be available for re-sits until 30 June 2011.
This basically means that to achieve ITIL Red Badge you need to be preparing for the final rounds of exams in April or July. Remember it requires just two courses (beyond Foundation) and you can then use the ITIL Manager’s Bridge to upgrade to the Version 3 ITIL Expert qualification at a later date.
>> ITIL Manager Training Courses
>> Download Guide “ITIL Qualifications Explained”
>> Buy the latest ITIL manuals
Blogalot - December 2010
The role of Senior Responsible Owner was first proposed for IT enabled projects in the McCartney Report in 2000. A recent “Lessons Learned” bulletin from the OGC highlights ways in which to make the SRO role more effective.
1. Better understanding of the role
2. Selection of the right people to act as SROs
3. Giving SROs real accountability
4. Giving SROs business authority to resolve issues
5. Ensuring SROs have relevant delivery skills & experience
6. Ensuring adequate commercial awareness
7. SROs dedicate sufficient time to the role
8. Improved continuity through the project lifecycle
9. Improved tools, guidance & development opportunities
10. Adequate supporting resources
Lessons Learned:
1: Incorporate performance in the SRO role in individual performance targets
2: Involve PPM Board Champions and CIOs in the selection of SROs�
3: Appoint SROs for a minimum period and link any changes to project milestones
4: Encourage inexperienced SROs to undertake a appropriate training
5: Encourage SROs to gain assurance experience by taking part in Gateway Reviews
6: Use mentors external to the project to provide advice and support
7: Support SROs in attending networking events for the wider SRO community
It all feels a bit like motherhood and apple pie - but we shouldn’t knock the concept of SRO. Recognition of the importance of accountability has been a major step forward for the public sector over the past decade, even if there is still a significant way to go. The growing breed of professional PPM and Service Management professionals with best practice qualifications such as MSP and ITIL should improve the pool of SROs available during the next decade.
>> OGC Lessons Learned Bulletin
>> SRO Purpose, Role and Characteristics
>> MSP Training
>> ITIL Training
Blogalot - December 2009
You may have noticed that the British Computer Society has re-launched itself as “BCS - The Chartered Institiute for IT”.
Nice words. There’s a lot of talk about “Enabling the Information Society”. There’s a push to give greater recognition to the high level Chartered IT Professional qualification. There are 2 branded taxis which you might notice in London! And there’s a much improved website.
For IT Professionals one of the key ways in which BCS makes a difference is their ISEB collection of vendor neutral IT training and certification. This includes exams and qualifications in areas such as Business Analysis, Systems Development, Software Testing and IT Service Management.
BCS has partnered with Focus to make it easier to find and buy convenient courses which lead towards ISEB qualifications.
>> See Video About ISEB
>> ISEB and Focus
>> ISEB qualifications - on the BCS website
>> ISEB certification tracks - on the Focus website
Blogalot - October 2009
The OGC which produces best practice guidelines such as PRINCE2 and ITIL has been sponsoring articles which demonstrate linkage between leading management methodologies. Two recent publications focus on Six Sigma.
They are thought provoking but there is a danger that too much time is spent trying to reconcile management processes, terminology and training which do not need to be reconciled.
Six Sigma’s strength as a quality management approach is the emphasis on process users, and the application of rigorous statistical methods to drive out waste and improve performance.
The DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control) and DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyse, Design, Verify) Six Sigma cycles can be applied very appropriately to many IT Service Management activities. Indeed they offer the opportunity for significant rigour at the ITIL Design and the Continual Process Improvement stages. Six Sigma is at its most valuable when applied to high volume repetitive processes.
The fit between Six Sigma and PRINCE2 is a bit more tenuous. Six Sigma is about the efficiency of ongoing processes; PRINCE2 is about discrete management activities with a start, middle and end. However, many organisations will find PRINCE2 provides a rigorous framework for project implementation, and Six Sigma delivers measurable benefit from improving ongoing processes - so both are highly desirable. Moreover PRINCE2 would be no bad way to run a Six Sigma implementation, which can be complex and involve staff from many strands of a business.
You can find the OGC articles on the Best Management Practice website:
>> Integrating Six Sigma and PRINCE2 - Mike Ward
>> Integrating Six Sigma and ITIL - Jack Probst & Gary Case
What do you think? Is integration necessary or realistic?
>> PRINCE2 Training
>> ITIL Training
>> Six Sigma Training
Blogalot September 2009
More Training Courses Funded by Grants and Loans
As the recession bites, Focus has seen a significant increase in the number of training courses for project management and IT professionals supported by a variety of government initiatives.
We’ve added several pages to our website to help explain what help is (or is not) available.
>> Funding for Individuals
>> Funding for Businesses
>> ELCAS Enhanced Learning Credits for the armed forces
We find a lot of inconsistency across the country and we’re sure that many people are not aware of the possibilities. Let us know if you come across other funding sources which we have not mentioned.
Blogalot July 2009
ITIL, PRINCE2 | admin, May 13, 2010 3:40 pm | 
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