The IT Skeptic - PRINCE2

the ITIL Squeeze in 2015

skeptic — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 20:58:43 +0000

AXELOS are doing a few troubling things lately, that may or may not point to an ITIL Squeeze in 2015 as AXELOS seek to capitalise on their purchase of ITIL (and the rest of the Best Practice por

Axelos release roadmaps for ITIL and PPM PRINCE2

skeptic — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 00:29:30 +0000

Axelos today released their roadmaps for the development of their ITIL and PPM products.

AXELOS are on a roll with ITIL and PRINCE2

skeptic — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 21:59:02 +0000

The latest (October 9th 2013) newsletter from AXELOS shows they are saying and doing all the right things.

Some thoughts on the Capita JV

skeptic — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 01:54:50 +0000

As many readers will know, The UK Government and a British outsourcer called Capita have formed a joint venture (JV) to own and sell the whole "Swirl" best-practice portfolio, which includes ITIL and PRINCE2. The company (which remains nameless) exists from 1st July, and will be fully operational from 1st January 2014. This is the end-game (end of days, some would say) of a journey to commercialise these frameworks that started with the mysterious disappearing 1.1.1 five years ago. OGC was run by two of the highest-paid civil servants in Britain: you don't put highly-paid execs into a tiny backwater like OGC unless it is to return a profit.

Having met Peter Hepworth (JV CEO) and Chris Barrett ("opening batsman", read: running PR interference until the JV gets a formal PR voice of its own) at the SDI13 conference in Birmingham, I thought it was time to write down a few thoughts I have over the JV.

The future of ITIL and PRINCE2

skeptic — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:08:24 +0000

The Capita/UK Govt JV is having a planning session on 23rd May. This is your opportunity to suggest agenda items. Don't mess about with paragraph numbering or translating into Bulgarian. Here's what I suggested.

How do we feel about ITIL being a commercial product?

skeptic — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:14:08 +0000

ITIL has been sold (and Prince2 - the following discussion applies just as much to all of the "Swirl" products sold). It is a commercial product. No more half-way house with OGC outsourcing publishing and accreditation: they've gone the whole hog and flogged the Swirl suite off for the corporate shilling. (First example of this in the UK Government apparently and supposedly a model for more.) How do we feel about this new situation?

A bulletin from the castle

skeptic — Mon, 13 May 2013 21:20:36 +0000

I wrote last week about how we are in the dark over the new joint venture between her Majesty's UK Government and Capita owning the "Swirl portfolio": ITIL, Prince2 and assorted other IP products.

A bulletin (pdf) has fluttered down from the castle wall today.

ITIL, Prince2, Capita and the Cabinet Office - in the dark

skeptic — Thu, 09 May 2013 05:27:44 +0000

Lots of people are asking what the IT Skeptic makes of the recent announcement of a joint venture between the Cabinet Office and Capita to exploit the Best Practice Library. They're asking why I haven't made any comment yet. Two reasons: (1) I was off-grid for 10 days and (2) we haven't been given any information useful enough to draw many conclusions. Clearly the behaviour I call "Castle ITIL" will continue: you will be informed when they are good and ready to announce by decree, and until then the castle gates remain firmly shut. But I have been able to glean a few things...

British Government Cabinet Office is selling ITIL and Prince2

skeptic — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 19:25:35 +0000

Well its official, they are selling ITIL (and Prince2 and MSP and all the "Swirl" suite). Tweet this. The rumours had been coming thick and fast but now the Cabinet Office has let a tender. A restricted tender: chances are if you are reading this you can't bid.

Muddled Management of Portfolios

skeptic — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:11:27 +0000

Like most people these days I seldom truly read a book - properly. I read in fits and starts, I speed read sections and skip others entirely. So perhaps I missed something, but I had hoped the new book Management of Portfolios™ would be about portfolios in general not project portfolios in particular. It's not. it's all about projects. How can one OGC product so utterly disregard another?

Free PRINCE2 practice exams - a list of sources on the internet

skeptic — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:33:01 +0000

the rising anger at OGC and APMG over ITIL and Prince2

skeptic — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 20:12:57 +0000

There is rising anger at the attitudes and tactics of OGC and APMG over ITIL and Prince2. Most people can't speak out because APMG hold them to ransom over their livelihood. But a few do.

OGC fix their trademark guidance for ITIL, Prince2 etc

skeptic — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:22:26 +0000

There seems to be a little common sense filtering through with OGC's trademark enforcement. [Update: no there doesn't. Stories coming in of obviously silly threatening letters being sent to owners of products - mostly books - that have ITIL in the name. One of the tales is in the comments below.]

One reason why OGC has to make some serious money out of ITIL and PRINCE2

skeptic — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 20:47:30 +0000

Ever wonder why OGC is so commercially-motivated? It's unusual for a government department in a country with a committed goal to put publicly owned data into the public domain. For one clue, check out this list from the BBC of the UK's highest paid civil servants.

Is TSO operating without a license to enforce copyright for PRINCE2?

skeptic — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:31:42 +0000

Is a British Government website inaccurate or is ~~APMG~~ TSO operating without a license?

OGC stay one step ahead of government policy in their commercialisation of ITIL. Better news for PRINCE2

skeptic — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 02:47:21 +0000

Playing "bush lawyer", I have been tracking down the terms under which OGC control the copyright to ITIL (discussed here recently). And it makes an interesting little story: ITIL was almost free. And I think maybe PRINCE2 is.

Prince2 2009 plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

skeptic — Sat, 02 May 2009 10:01:50 +0000

Sadly PRINCE2:2009 seems to be a scripted repeat of ITIL V3. Wholesale change is passed off as a minor revision. The public are assured that older certifications will still be of value and that the new certification is no big deal. Your Highness, don't alarm the peasants.

We went through exactly the same crap with ITIL V3, the - haha - "Refresh".

BOK revisions breaking out all over: PMBOK 4th Edition

skeptic — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 23:22:24 +0000

We had ITIL V3 in 2007 (and 2008 and 2009 if you are talking exam syllabus), and PRINCE2:2009 (why not PRINCE3? - it was a sweeping rewrite). Apparently we have also just had PMBOK 4th Edition.

In both cases of ITIL V3 and PRINCE2:2009, OGC/APMG have cavalierly assured users there was little difference and they should happily continue to pay for the old exams up until the time it is no longer convenient for the training companies for users to pay for the old exams. And of course in both cases this was crap, with the new syllabus being totally different.

The new PMP exams are due June 30th. How different will they be?

PRINCE2 2009 refresh spookily familiar to ITIL users

skeptic — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 06:40:44 +0000

PRINCE2 gets a new version this year. For those who went through ITIL V3 Refresh, it is deja vu all over again.

Solid Harmony: mentions of PRINCE2 in ITIL V3

skeptic — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 20:18:38 +0000

Further to my post about the invisibility of Project Management in ITIL V3, it is interesting to see that there is even less mention of PRINCE2 in particular, despite it being ITIL's stable-mate at OGC. Not much walking across the corridor here! Of course, the North Americans were in control of writing much of ITIL V3 and none of it is actually done at OGC any more.