The revised IT Infrastructure Library will offer the
enterprise an up-to-the-minute framework for maximising business
value of IT-based services
For years a common theme for consultants, analysts and others
has been the need for business-IT alignment, without it ever
seeming to be achieved. Maybe one of the reasons is because it is
the wrong goal. 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.
Service management is about having the right mindset and a focus
on delivering value to the enterprise. One key aspect is having the
right processes. This is where the set of best practice volumes
known as the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) comes in.
Originally produced by the UK government body the Central
Computer and Telecommunications Agency (now part of the Office of
Government Commerce) in 1990, ITIL has been adopted by enterprises
from all market sectors across the globe as the basis for their
service management solutions. It is important to remember that ITIL
is only an enabler, not a solution in its own right. Enterprises
need to adapt and adopt the guidance for their own
requirements.
Enterprises that have successfully introduced quality service
management solutions based on ITIL have seen real benefits in terms
of improved quality, greater customer satisfaction and reduced
support costs. All of which translate into hard business value and
a real return on IT investments.
In order for an approach to be recognised as best practice, it
needs to be kept fresh and relevant. ITIL has undergone one refresh
during its lifetime, which removed much of the civil service
jargon, reduced the amount of repetition and overlaps, and updated
the technology contexts. In 2004, it was decided that the time was
right to revisit the material.
Working closely together, the OGC and the IT Services Management
Forum (itSMF) embarked upon an exercise to find out the global
community’s thoughts on ITIL and how it could be improved.
An independent consultant, Sharon Taylor, was selected to lead a
scoping exercise. Various stakeholder groups were identified, and
via a series of workshops and surveys a large amount of data was
gathered.
The responses from all around the world were fairly consistent
in endorsing ITIL’s strengths. One of the clearest messages was,
“It is not very broken, so please do not fix it too much.” So
nothing is being changed simply for the sake of it.
Taylor has taken on the role of chief architect for the project,
and assisted by an International Advisory Group (IAG) of about 30
service management luminaries, she has scoped the future volumes to
be included in ITIL.
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, 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.
The authors of the material are currently being selected
following an open tender process, which saw 46 valid offers
received from a wide range of countries and market sectors. Authors
will work in pairs, supported by the IAG, with quality checks built
into the development process.
The itSMF will provide the quality assurance audience and the
final sign-off of the content will reside with the itSMF
International’s Publication Committee. This process will ensure a
much more timely delivery of a quality product.
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.
There is also a sub-project to review the associated examination
scheme, to see how that, too, can be improved to make it truly meet
the needs of the market place.
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.
Aidan Lawes is chief executive at IT membership organisation
the IT Service Management Forum