ITIL is just a framework. Metrics, specific processes, service level standards are all part of the decision making necessary during the design and implementation process of that framework.

The real and achievable benefits come through formalizing work processes, establishing performance metrics and service level standards and improving documentation and control over the processes. You can do all that without ITIL, however, ITIL short cuts the 'wheel invention' by providing a decent framework and materials like policies etc. for a 'jumping off point'.

That being said, as I said before, it is just a framework. The benefits you target are set through an assessment of your current performance and either a benchmark standard (e.g. best practice) or an arbitrary standard you set though dialogue with your users and management.

ITIL is a means to that end. It does not get you there all by itself. Putting ITIL or any process in without establishing concrete, measurable goals and understanding current performance is like any paving over the cow path effort. All you will get is a lot of noise, incur some pain and maybe more automation of sameness.

Do your homework, understand your customers, set your performance goals and measurements then use ITIL as a framework to achieve those objectives.

posted October 31, 2007

Umberto - I think you have voiced one of the questions that consistently came up with ITIL v2 - in terms of 'yeah, that's all great but what are the benefits and how do I do it?'.

As Craig has rightly said below, it is a framework, and like all frameworks it's never a 'one size fits all' - you look at what it offers, and then you adapt it to your needs. ITIL v3 (or 'Refresh') goes a lot further along the route of 'how to' (from what I've seen so far)

As for the realisable benefits - well, that's kind of dependent on the maturity of the organisation to some extent. ITIL will help you put together a framework for joined up processes, where everyone is clear on who does what, when, and why - which is a significant competetive advantage in a lot of cases. The v2 and more so v3 give a lot of guidance on the pitfalls of implementation. Happy to discuss more if you wish.

posted October 31, 2007

As Craig has said, ITIL is just a framework. However, it is a framework that provides useful guidance on what is required to successfully deliver IT services to your customers. ITIL V3 has now focused the framework on lifecycle approach to delivering IT services focused on outcomes customer outcomes rather than on focusing on specific process areas (i.e. Service Support -- Incident, Change, Problem, etc.)
I have been involved in implementing ITIL in organisations over the past eight years and have actually seen real benefits within organisations but only when implemented with strong IT leadership and sponsorship and widely applied throughout the IT organisation (i.e. -- not just the Service Desk and Technical support teams but as a whole lifecycle approach as now described in ITIL V3).

The REAL benefits that I have seen organisations receive when implementing ITIL properly are:
-- common terminology used across the IT organisation and with others in the industry
-- clearer defined roles and responsibilities across the IT organisation
-- better information in the hands of the Service Desk to resolve customer incidents and restore services faster (when Incident, Problem, and Knowledge Management processes and tools are fully implemented and integrated)
-- better assessment of risk and impact of changes to the infrastructure (when integrated Change, Release, and Configuration Management processes and tools are implemented) and thus reduced likelihood of changes causing unanticipated issues and IT service outages.
-- better understanding of the IT Services performance and metrics which enables better relationship management with customers and service providers (i.e. setting realistic expectations, setting goals for improvement, tracking and communicating performance) when Service Level Management processes and tools are implemented.

And those are just the tip of the iceberg of the processes that could be implemented and should be implemented. As the IT organisation improves its ITSM maturity, further benefits can be realised when they integrate the other ITSM processes across the entire service lifecycle.

Below are links to organisations/websites with useful information and resources on ITIL and ITSM ISO 20000.

Links:

• http://www.itsmf.org
• http://en.itsmportal.net/index.php
• http://20000.fwtk.org/index.htm

posted November 1, 2007

It is a best practices for IT management support. All best practices can deliver great benefits to those who need it. Like any other solution, the success lies in how one understand, use, customize and expand it based on the unique needs.

You can set metrics like response time, average handling time, quality of responses, downtime, customer satisfaction and so on. People must embrace it perfectly; otherwise, any good practice will become a great pain.

Lakshman P also suggests these experts on this topic:

• Jawahar V
• Manoj V

posted November 3, 2007

ITIL is just the de facto worldwide reference. It is only Best Practices. you should use it but there is no point to be 100% ITIL certified, use what you need, what make your business more efficient. Keep it simple.

more info: www.itsmf.lu

Chris

posted November 7, 2007