ITIL in a Recession

This is the title of a recent paper by Shirley Lacey.

Perhaps not surprisingly her answer is YES for the following reasons….
1. ITIL helps you reshape and resize your IT services to meet changing business needs
2. It can help you make informed cost-benefit evaluation of IT services
3. Service Strategy & Service Design publications will help guide your approach to outsourcing and offshoring
4. Move into growth segments by changing and developing your services
5. Some organisations which have achieved ISO/IEC 20000 have reduced cycle time for change by 50%
6. Structured service management reduces risk as you move to new technologies such as cloud computing
7. When organisations merge or form alliances, ITIL provides common language and approaches  

What do you think?

>> Download the article
>> Find information about ITIL training

Blogalot July 2008

Effective Information Security Management (ISM)

Applying ITIL, ISO/IEC20000 and ISO/IEC27000

A new paper by Jim Clinch provides a useful overview of the best practices and standards relevant to those looking to improve standards of information security in their organisations.

It’s good on explaining where information security fits within ITIL and it explains what’s in the pipeline as regards the ISO/IEC 27000 family.

Jim argues for a business-based approach, and provides a checklist of 9 steps:

1. Produce, maintain, distribute and enforce an Information Security Policy
2. Understand the current business security policy and plans
3. Understand and agree current and future business security requirements
4. Implement security controls that support the Information Security Policy
5. Document all security controls and their operation, maintenance and associated risks
6. Manage suppliers and contracts in respect of access to systems and services
7. Manage all security breaches and incidents
8. Proactively improve security controls and security risk management
9. Ensure security aspects are integrated into all other ITSM processes

>> ITIL Training Courses
>> Information Security Training
>> Download Jim’s Paper - ITIL v3 and Information Security (PDF - 1.89Mb)

Blogalot June 2009

ITIL Implementation – Top Tips

In just 20 years ITIL has come to guide the IT service management practices which underpin the performance of successful organisations worldwide.  Not surprisingly those organisations which have not adopted ITIL are looking to do so – and those that have are looking to extend or enhance their ITIL processes. This article looks at what determines whether an ITIL project succeeds or fails.

The experiences of more than 10 organisations were presented at the 2008 itSMF Conference in Birmingham.  The projects ranged from application of specific ITIL tools such as Service Catalogue through to trans European ITIL adoption by a major financial institution with the goal of achieving ISO/IEC 20000.

1.   Start Right

First and foremost understand where you are now and develop a vision of where you want to be.  Use customer surveys and ITIL maturity assessments to objectively define gaps. Develop a vision  which is meaningful for your organisation and which can be clearly articulated and communicated. Refer to the “Continual Service Improvement” element of ITIL; this is precisely where the alignment of IT Services and Business Needs should take place.

2.   Organisational Change

Recognise that adopting ITIL is as much about organisational change as it is about processes and technology.  This is not surprising; IT services are increasingly at the heart of how organisations deliver to their external customers – and are also central to how organisations themselves operate.  ITIL projects which are simply based on mechanistic adoption of new processes or software systems will have limited impact.  Real success comes when ITIL touches hearts and minds – both within and beyond the IT community.

3.  Engagement

Organisational change demands engagement.  You have to look beyond the ITIL core reference manuals for creative ways to win support and commitment.  Effective communication is essential. Engagement also applies to external providers.  When analysing, communicating and driving change make sure that third party providers and advisors are also involved.

4.   Share

A theme of successful ITIL adoption is an increased willingness to share.  A structured approach to IT services means less duplication of services and roles.  It means use of a common language.  It means working to meet wider organisational goals.

5.   Right People

Your project will fail if you do not have the right skills and right experience in the right place. All of the projects reviewed involved redeployment and training of those involved.  One pushed IT personnel out amongst the operational teams to break down barriers and improve response. Most involved the appointment of owners for all key ITIL processes affected.  All used ITIL training to ensure a common language and understanding of best practice.

6.   Momentum

There is a natural cycle to most initiatives where early enthusiasm fades once the easier wins have been banked, more intractable tasks loom, and other competing projects appear.  There is no easy answer.  Do publicise successes unashamedly.  Do ensure there is a senior management champion who can maintain project profile.  Try to avoid breaks in the implementation programme.

7.   Project Management

Project Management goes hand in hand with most of the rest of these tips and failure to take a structured approach to ITIL implementation is inexcusable.

The approach you adopt may be PRINCE2 or your own equivalent.  The key point is that there is a clear definition of business case, responsibilities, resourcing, work plans, stage reviews, risk, and escalation procedures.

8.   Business Relevant Results

Some of the projects examined put a strong reliance on ITIL maturity assessments.  These can undoubtedly be helpful but only in conjunction with before and after measurement of criteria which have real impact on the business.  These will include activity specific measures such as Service Desk rate of first time fix, and customer rating of satisfaction with IT.

9.   Best is the Enemy of Better

For those new to ITIL there is a temptation to want to adopt every process in the book.  In the real world, resources are limited and there will be a better return in some areas than in others.  Those nearer the start of an ITIL journey are typically starting with Service Desk and processes such as Incident, Problem and Change Management.  Also increasing in popularity is creation of a Service Catalogue as part of the task of “understanding what we’ve got”.

10.  Business As Usual

Look beyond the project.  In several of the case studies below care was given early in the project as to how improved service provision would be carried forward into BAU.  This is an unglamorous part of the work and one which is often ignored.  Improved service levels and efficiencies start to decay once the energy associated with the project is withdrawn.

Note
Additional information on what causes ITIL projects to succeed or fail can be found at:
http://www.focus-on-training.co.uk/wp_itil_implementation/

Blogalot - 19th January 2009

itSMF Project of the Year 2008

A highlight of the annual itSMF conference is the competition for the best IT Service Management Project of the Year.  It attracts projects from all types and sizes of organisations - from both the UK and overseas.  The 4 short listed projects were presented to a plenary session of the itSMF annual conference in Birmingham on 11th November. In each case the teams were able to deliver real value to their organisations through broad adoption of ITIL techniques. Three of the projects also culminated in ISO/IEC 20000 certification.

Winner

Jean-Luc Gérardy explained how the European Central Bank undertook a 3 year journey to achieve ISO20000.  As a young and fast changing organisation there had been rather more emphasis on design than operations. The start point was to apply ITIL principles to a core set of key services, including the service desk. Maintaining initial enthusiasm was a challenge as the project was broadened out and a systematic approach to continual improvement adopted.  Jean-Luc feels strongly that whilst not the ultimate aim, ISO20000 was important in convincing senior management that world class standards were being achieved - and as a motivator for all the staff involved. 

Runners UpSimon Adams of Lloyds TSB led a project called “Leap into Lean”.  Building on an already structured service management environment, the campaign aimed to develop a culture of continuous improvement.  It was all about doing the small things a little bit better. “Improve 100 things by 1%”.  The project was strongly promoted across the business and a significant increase in employee engagement scores was recorded.  Savings of over £1m have been banked and next year the project will concentrate on the more challenging (but bigger) wins.

Peter Wang of the Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan had also adopted ITIL on the way to achieving ISO20000 earlier this year. Innovative aspects of this project included real time monitoring and display of SLAs - including visibility via PDA. The project has transformed IT service quality from “fire fighting” to a situation where there are very few major incidents.

Allied Irish Bank’s Olympus Programme was all about operational excellence through IT Service Management.  ITIL was an important tool and ISO20000 a significant milestone but fundamentally this was a change management programme - which will be continuing.  As such it was vital that the project achieved “buy-in” from both senior management and staff.  The former came easily but it required a major communications initiative to achieve the latter.  One significant measure of success has been a 50% reduction in Service Outages between 2005 and 2008.

Blogalot
www.focus-on-training.co.uk

Why “Best Practice”?

There is an increasing array of Best Practice Guidance, Qualifications and Training.  It covers everything from very specific skill sets  (eg ISEB Software Testing), through to management methodologies (eg PRINCE2 Project Management) and Personal Skills (eg ILM Coaching & Mentoring). 

The Credit Crunch and its fallout will prompt fundamental reviews of how organisations operate.  Terms such as “Best Practice” and “World Class” will come to the fore over the coming months as organisations seek to ensure they are working in the most efficient way - and that they are adhering to appropriate standards of management and governance.

For individuals, maintaining and developing qualifications has a major impact on job prospects.  In this period of uncertainty and change it’s the right time to invest in Best Practice skills training.

Businesses

1. Don’t Re-invent the WheelJust 10 years ago most project based businesses had developed in-house methodologies for project management - drawing on their own experience of successful and unsuccessful projects.  Many have now switched to a methodology based on a generic standard such as PRINCE2. Many of the core governance and planning processes will be similar.  However the advantages of a technique such as PRINCE2 are compelling:
- It draws on the experiences of many more projects and businesses and is regularly updated
- There is a large pool of project managers familiar with the approach
- There is a widely available training and certification scheme  

2. Concentrate on Business Critical

There are many aspects of management and individual performance that could be targeted for Best Practice approaches.  At time of limited resources make sure that training and development funds are concentrated on areas which are essential:

- Project & Programme Management where effective delivery of benefits to time and budget is essential
- IT Service Management which forms the backbone of most modern organisations
- IT Technical training which is essential to deployment of new technologies which will differentiate your business

3. Ensure Critical Mass

Best practice approaches depend on significant teams (or the whole organisation) working in a co-ordinated way.  There is limited value in an isolated group of 3 or 4 project managers working to a PRINCE2 methodology if other project team members are not briefed and if senior managers do not understand their role within the wider process.

1. Understand where you are going

There are different reasons you may choose to follow Best Practice approaches:

- Extend your range of skills to enhance career/job prospects

- Obtain certification for existing skills (to strengthen your CV and personal credibility)

- Enhance your personal efficiency and provide a shared team approach and language

Where do you want to be in 12 month’s time?  What training or qualifications will help you get there?  If you have been a project manager with a long-term employer but want to be able to prove yourself to new employers then obtaining PRINCE2 certification may be a very wise move.  If formal recognition of existing skills is less important then broaden your horizons: an IT specialist might develop ITIL skills as a route to broader business management responsibilities.

2. Prove You Can Put it into Practice

Attending a course and passing an exam is only the first step. Your current or future employer will be much more interested in how you have been able to take the principles learned and use them to deliver benefits for your organisation.

3. Refresh and ExtendThe business environment is constantly changing and skills learnt 5 years ago will be of limited use today.  Keep refreshing and extending your Best Practice skills both through training and practical application.  Increasingly there is linkage between the Best Practice approaches which makes this easier.  For instance ITIL approaches underpin the ISO20000 certification for service management quality.  Likewise there is increasing commonality between PRINCE2, MSP (Managing Successful Programmes) and M_o_R (Management of Risk).

Blogalot
www.focus-on-training.co.uk