The IT Skeptic - Comments for "Define ITIL for the IT layman"

I read recently someone

Visitor — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:55:15 +0000

I read recently someone describingITIL as being more like the "Pirate Code" - a set of guidelines (for all you Pirates of the Carribean lovers).

The alignment thing

buraddo — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 02:01:17 +0000

How about;

"An attempt by a select few individuals to define a single set of requirements for people and process to deliver IT, no way based on real world implementability or practicality because organizations are a infinitely complex ecosystem which cannot be serviced by a static construct such as a book !" :) Just kidding

How about "A 'set of books' that attempts to document a set of 'guidelines' for the 'people and processes' required to match a organizations 'need for IT' with the 'resources available' to deliver."

Further definitions;
1) need for IT - defined in terms of quality, amount and type
2) guidelines - guidance which should not be taken as absolute or definitive
3) resources available - quality, quantity and type (people, technology, funding)

Tried to steer away from that "alignment" work you hate so much skep..

Brad Vaughan
http://blogs.sun.com/buraddo

Well said

IT Governance Blog — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:23:51 +0000

Really well said Charles! I'm glad a found this website tonight, some great thinkers on here.

Bill

And also...

doc — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 21:09:41 +0000

Sorry, I forgot to mention: the way I see it, ITIL is all about customer satisfaction, or quality perception. As all service business should be.

ITIL & Techies

doc — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 21:00:42 +0000

I agree, the focus should be moved to people and processes, since usually involved people tend to solve everything with technology. And all three - people, processes and technology - should matter.
Paper and pen, spreadsheets, post-its - are also technologies. It's only sad that most of the ITIL implementations first revolve around tool choice, and only later processes and people problems are considered. At the end of the day, it's not important what you do, but who implements your tool.

Consultant-babble

Lukas — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:17:49 +0000

Agreed that a definition beyond the consultant babble is required however we live in a world where consultant babble is what, generally, achieves CxO buy in. A clearer definition of what and how is something the organisation should establish within it's own context. Often what and how changes as the organisation maturity increases.

The platform independent part of IT

Charles T. Betz — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:07:52 +0000

One way I frame it when speaking professionally:

ITIL (or ITSM) is about technology concerns that don't change with technology advances. In fifty years, we may all be on optical-bus quantum computing communicating over wireless analog networks. Ethernet is a thing of the past and no-one remembers Unix. But we will still be assessing technology changes for risk, resolving incidents, managing capacity, and trying to financially account for it all. That is the essential value proposition of ITSM.

Charles T. Betz
http://www.erp4it.com

Returning your quibble

skeptic — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:18:36 +0000

Returning your quibble: Name one technology that is "mission critical to effective ITIL". Many technologies make the process more efficient. A few make them more effective. None are critical to achieving basic effectiveness. You can run ITIL with a good notebook, spreadsheet or pad of Post-It Notes.

Sure it is harder. It might be more error prone. You probably would struggle to get to maturity five :-D But no technology is critical to the ITIL processes.

the plain English test

skeptic — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:13:00 +0000

It might explain COBIT and ITIL but it fails the plain English test. Consultant-babble if you ask me, sorry. Same as "seeks to make the IT organisation more responsive to the business needs and to help demonstrate value". What IS ITIL? What does ITIL DO?

COBIT Definition

Lukas — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:31:47 +0000

I like the definition which is provided with COBIT - “the framework for the leadership, organisational structures and business processes, standards and compliance to those standards, which ensures that the organisation's information systems support and enable the achievement of its strategies and objectives."

I don't believe it is COBIT specific in the least; in fact it applies to any framework such provides governance.

Layman definition

Neil Hepburn — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:51:37 +0000

Great explanation.
Just a minor quibble: Instead of "nor can it be implemented with technology", I think what you mean is "nor can it be implemented with _just_ technology", since there a lot of tools that are mission critical to effective ITIL. That said, you're point is taken that it's a governance framework and not a set of technologies.

you have left out that ITIL

Visitor — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:11:17 +0000

you have left out that ITIL seeks to make the IT organisation more responsive to the business needs and to help demonstrate value (which is what service management is all about, IMHO)