The CEO of the itSMF recently published an interesting article in the UK publication, Computer Weekly. Aidan Lawes' article is entitled, "A new ITIL for the integration age", with the basic premise of the article to highlight the point that ITIL best practice can assist in integrating IT Service Management with the Business and ‘alignment’ is actually the wrong goal.
Lawes states, “We should be striving for integration, not alignment. I do not believe that there is such a thing as an “IT service” any more; rather there are business services, which are wholly or partly enabled by technology. This means that those responsible for managing technology components need to understand exactly what end-to-end business processes are underpinned by them, and the scale and importance of those processes to the overall business operations and goals. Only then can the appropriate management approach be decided, which is where service management comes in.”
Lawes also mentions a very valid point and one that I know has frustrated IT Sevice Managers about ITIL for some time, he says, “In order for an approach to be recognised as best practice, it needs to be kept fresh and relevant.” This is particularly relevant when it comes the fast moving IT industry.
Some specfic references were also provided about the forthcoming ITIL refresh which positions some of the changes that we are about to see:-
Lawes states, “The core volumes will be reduced from seven to five.
- The new core volumes will be organised in more of a lifecycle approach, with working titles as follows: service strategies, service design, service introduction [note: now renamed service transition], service operation and continuing service improvement.
- Information about individual processes, previously contained within a specific volume, will now be found across several volumes, reflecting the relevant aspects at the particular stage of the lifecycle.
- In addition to these core volumes, there will be supporting books, brochures, documents and other information. Much of this will be aimed at specific target audiences such as business managers or CIOs, and provide the appropriate messages about value propositions.
- It is expected that aside from core material, further complementary material will be generated. Much of the complementary information will be quite dynamic in nature, requiring regular updating. To ensure that the latest information is available to the community, much of this material will be web-based and freely available.”
So, what about concerns that your current investment in ITIL will be wiped out or significantly eroded by the introduction of the refresh?
Lawes reiterates what Sharon Taylor and the refresh team have always maintained, “For enterprises that have invested, or are investing, in ITIL-based improvement programmes, the refresh should have minimal impact. Most of the core process definitions will not change at all.”
Resources:-
Aidan Lawes is chief executive at IT membership organisation the itSMF.
Learn more about the ITIL Refresh HERE.
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