itSMF

itSMF International secret rules revealed

Where directors are the elected representatives of paying members, those directors ought not to be setting their own rules and policy without the consultation of members. In the interests of assisting the itSMF International on its road to transparency, here is the itSMFI Memorandum of Association [838kB pdf]. There are several points of note that I hope may get discussed at the upcoming itSMFI AGM.

Visions of the Future of ITIL: First Vision

On a freezing Southern midwinter solstice night last month, beside a driftwood bonfire on wild Pukerua Bay beach, New Zealand, the IT Swami gazed into the future to give us his “Southern New Year” predictions for the IT Infrastructure Library. I was shivering as I wrote so some of my notes are a little illegible but here is the first of his visions that I recorded:

itSMF USA board election irregularities: the IT Skeptic unlocks the original posts

[UPDATED]
Now that itSMF USA has confirmed "clear evidence" of voting irregularities in the last Board elections, I think it is time to reveal the original postings on this blog by Dr Linden, and to make a few observations. Some readers may resent this issue taking blog space, but I feel it links in to two issues that are important to the IT Skeptic: governance of ITIL and hence ITIL's future, and the influence of vendors in an increasingly commercialised movement.

Where to officially report ITIL book errors: "behind a locked door marked BEWARE OF THE LEOPARD"

ITSM View has drawn our attention to the official "Change Control System" for ITIL (and presumably other) documentation on the Best Practice site owned by OGC, APM Group, the Best Practice User Group, itSMF and TSO. He has done a great public service by doing so, because nobody else has, least of all the ITIL books themselves.

itSMF can be forgiven a little shaky governance

I guess ISACA are the governance gurus and itSMF can be forgiven a little shaky governance right? Why should every chapter bother with published accounts? In a tough year, of course an international team needs to meet face to face every quarter – there is only so much you can do with teleconferencing. Is there a best practice for a Board to extend its tenure, or even try to avoid elections entirely? And what’s a wobbly election process between friends?

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap. More on ITIL V3 discounting and how TSO screws itSMFI screws local itSMF...

The backstabbing and undercutting going on over the ITIL V3 book sales is good news for consumers, but less so for local itSMF chapters, or for those who'd like to see the ITIL world as a respectable place.

I can confirm that TSO sold direct to one or two of the Big Four vendors, causing orders with itSMF to be cancelled. The discount was reportedly 40%.

Now TSO doing the dirty on itSMF is good for consumers. With a bit of luck TSO might get into a price war with their own channels. It is not much sillier than what is going on now.

Financial transparency of the itSMF: let's have some.

This article has been podcast

The IT Skeptic estimates itSMF International, the "not-for-profit" governing body separate from the 40+ local chapters but owned by the members, turns over somewhere approaching a million dollars annually. They do this without any public reporting of their finances, as far as I can tell.

itSMF UK CEO discusses itSMF on the IT Skeptic's blog - come read and participate

Keith AldisThis is much too important to leave buried in the comments on this blog where only some readers venture: the CEO of itSMF UK, Keith Aldis, and a number of my readers are currently debating the purpose and governance of itSMF. Come read the discussion and contribute if you wish.

The itSMF does not exists to represent the interests of its members - they say so themselves

Look, let's get this clear once and for all: the itSMF does not exists to represent the interests of its members. Many people seem to be under that illusion. I have said this before: the itSMF is not an ITSM practitioners' society, despite the "forum" in its name. Its purpose is not to give the ITSM community a voice, or to represent or certify ITSM professionals (though I think it should be). Read the itSMFI website.
In the old days the itSMFI website actually had a page describing itSMF and ITSM. it said:

The little spot of bother at the itSMF USA

The little spot of bother at the itSMF USA is in the public domain now. The good news is that the Board acknowledge there might be an issue here and it bears looking into. The bad news is they chose ITIL's big party day to do so.

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