Consider this scenario. You are given an assignment to build and integrate a system that is based on several complex technologies, many of which are new to you. Imagine having to learn these technologies armed only with a stack of thick and highly detailed textbooks. To make this experience even more real, pick up several instructional books right now. Go through some of the indexes.
As you will see, there’s a lot of material that’s covered in these books. How do you gain the knowledge you need in your required timeframe? There’s not enough time to read and digest all the material, and there’s often no need to read everything. So how do you determine what you need to know? How do you translate the theoretical information in the books into the practical knowledge you need to implement the system? What happens when you have a question related to interpreting the material?
This kind of scenario may be familiar to you if yours is one of the many IT organizations that have chosen the IT Infrastructure Library® (ITIL®) to provide service management guidance. ITIL recommendations will help you manage IT based on business priorities, an approach known as Business Service Management (BSM). The five core ITIL Version 3 (V3) books cover a broad range of complex topics in considerable detail. So, how do you shrink the learning curve to fit your required timetable — without jeopardizing your success?
Many IT organizations have turned to educational services to gain the knowledge they need in the timeframe they require. One such organization is CARFAX, Inc., the leading provider of vehicle history and used car information. According to Robert Stinnett, senior IT analyst at CARFAX, “Education is undoubtedly a central pillar of success for ITIL and BSM. Realizing value with BSM and ITIL requires educating staff on a new way of thinking and approaching IT.”
Regardless of where you are in ITIL adoption, whether moving further ahead in V2 or transitioning to V3, your commitment to ITIL still represents a major effort — an effort that requires knowledge in several areas, including change management; release and configuration management; incident and problem management; asset management; and knowledge management.
A fast and cost-effective way to acquire knowledge is through training. Formal training brings a programmatic approach to ITIL that can speed the adoption process dramatically by shortening the learning curve.
ITIL includes five core books on the following topics: service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation, and continual service improvement. The ITIL books present guidelines, not implementation details. They tell you what you need to do in considerable detail, but not how to do it. It’s up to you to translate the guidelines into the actual implementation of processes, and that presents a challenge. Meeting that challenge involves addressing a number of key areas that include process, technology, and people.
Process: You have to select the processes you need to meet your service management goals and objectives, and then translate the process guidelines in the ITIL books into actual implementable processes. That requires establishing roles and tasks for each process, as well as integrating interdependent processes. In many areas, the guidelines are open to interpretation, so different people in your organization may have various interpretations of the same guidelines. You have to determine the correct interpretations.
Technology: Once you have selected the processes and defined the associated roles and tasks, you then have to address the supporting technology. That means selecting and deploying the BSM solutions and tools you need to implement and enforce the processes across the organization.
People: Addressing the process and technology dimensions of ITIL is complex. The greatest challenge in ITIL adoption, however, is addressing the people dimension. It’s the people on your IT staff who must perform the ITIL processes, and use the supporting solutions and tools. You need to motivate and inform people to get them to embrace ITIL-based best practices. Different people have varying needs depending on what they already know, their role, their objectives, their personality, and their learning styles. Some may just need deeper technical confidence in how to do something. Others may require practical advice on what to do and when to do it. People want to understand the why. They may ask, “Why should I do things differently? How will that help achieve my objectives, my team’s objectives, and my company’s objectives?”
Different Organizations Require Different Approaches Because of the vast amount of material covered by ITIL, organizations utilize differing approaches to meet the ITIL challenge. Some have ITIL initiatives that are driven from grass roots by local managers. Others take a top-down approach, with senior IT managers leading the charge to ITIL adoption. Many bring in consultants to help.
The vision for ITIL adoption will also differ. That vision is shaped by a number of factors, including business strategy and goals, IT strategy and goals, makeup of the IT organization, and current service management maturity level. Differences will also occur in the path to ITIL adoption. Few, if any, set out to adopt ITIL in total, at least not in one huge bite. Most select the practices and processes they need to achieve their particular service management goals and objectives. They then follow an incremental path in adopting and implementing those practices and processes. The path taken will vary depending on a number of factors, including business priorities, current pain points, and available IT resources (budget, staff, and currently installed service management solutions).
Companies also differ in their position along the path they have chosen. Some are in the planning stages, but have not yet begun the journey to ITIL. Many are just launching ITIL initiatives. Others have implemented certain aspects of ITIL and are looking to move further along the path. Some are well along the ITIL V2 path and are looking at the implications of moving to ITIL V3. Still others have experienced slowdowns in progress along the path and need to reenergize their initiatives.