The IT Skeptic - OGC

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?

where did OGC go?

skeptic — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:43:10 +0000

ITIL v3 2011 is released and the little wanker* is no more. I am referring of course to the onanistic logo of the OGC that has appeared on the books for a couple of years. The IT Skeptic is reliably informed that the new edition of ITIL has no mention of our beloved OGC anywhere.

Ructions in Castle ITIL over Licensed Software Assessors for the ITIL Software Scheme?

skeptic — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 04:26:41 +0000

Idly browsing the other day in another context, I noticed a most peculiar omission on the "ITIL Official Website" (that always strikes me as such a pompous name)...

Response from British Government to appeals for Free ITIL

skeptic — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 01:10:23 +0000

The response to calls for an open ITIL has been disappointing, but perhaps should have been expected. It amounts to a single-digit salute from the Brit. Gov.

Why Free ITIL?

skeptic — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 21:49:36 +0000

Further to my recent post on Free ITIL, several people are still asking "Why?", so let me elaborate a little on why it should happen and why you should support the idea.

The online world is used to free content. In many minds, this has come to mean free as in free beer not free as in free speech, i.e. gratis not libre. This is unfortunate but not part of the discussion today. Here we are talking about free libre content. It is how the 21st Century world will work.

Free ITIL®

skeptic — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:25:44 +0000

I bet you came looking for free sources of ITIL. Come on, admit it.
We don't condone content piracy here. The following links will show you some legitimately free ITIL resources:

ITSM library for $211

Free V3 training

Free V3 exams

Free V3 books

Free Service Catalogue

Pass the V3 Foundation in free and easy steps

And while you are browsing, check these out:

The Standard+Case model

All about ITIL® Version 3

V3 process list / xref

V3 role list

V3 policy list

V2 to V3 diagram

Questions for ITIL vendors

Request classes

Checklists

The Free ITIL Movement is an informal community for those who wish to support the following proposition:

We the supporters of the Free ITIL Movement call upon the Cabinet Office of Her Majesty's UK Government to honour the spirit of the government's policy on transparency and public data, and the letter of the United Kingdom Government Licencing Framework (UKGLF), by releasing the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) under the terms of the Open Government Licence (OGL).

ITIL publisher TSO and accreditor APMG have their contracts extended two years by OGC

skeptic — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:23:06 +0000

OGC has renewed the outsourcing contracts for TSO to publish ITIL books and APMG to accredit ITIL training. And if I have this right, TSO defends the copyright and APMG defends the trademarked brand. The renewal is for two years - it could have been renewed from one to five years. It just feels odd being part of a supposed professional community and this is all we hear. This must be what it was like being a resident of a medieval estate: the news filters quietly down from the castle long after all is done and dusted.

Merry Christmas from the British Government? Is ITIL public domain?

skeptic — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 11:24:16 +0000

There is a quiet revolution going on within the British Government right now. And it might just have handed the ITIL community a Christmas present: an open licence for ITIL.

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.

The bull in a china shop

skeptic — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 18:14:22 +0000

I flushed out some interesting feedback by talking favourably about OGC's IP protection. ITIL depends on volunteers and it is a fragile arrangement. When those volunteers' first direct official contact ever with OGC or TSO or APMG is not a certificate of appreciation but rather a cease-and-desist letter from a lawyer, that does not contribute to good will. Nor does it create the impression that we're all in this together, creating a body of knowledge for the public good. (When are you ever going to say thank-you, OGC?)

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.]

TSO embraces open public information

skeptic — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 19:48:38 +0000

I like to think I'm skeptical not cynical but some days it's tough. This latest initiative from TSO, OpenUp, has got me (and others) plunging into cynicism.

How does OGCs MoV stack up against ValIT?

skeptic — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 22:18:26 +0000

[Ooops I used the wrong licensing terms so part of this post has been deleted. Sorry about that, my mistake]

OGC have launched Management of Value™, another framework. It looks from the little information available to be comparable to ISACA's Val IT.

Inconsistency in ITIL product compliance?

skeptic — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 02:06:24 +0000

Reading an official OGC webpage today, it seems to me to imply that products certified by OGC before a certain time were assessed to a laxer set of criteria than more recent certifications. What do you infer when you read the following?

Dirty Deeds reprise - ITIL is clearly a commercial product not a community work

skeptic — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:08:55 +0000

Why did OGC get control of ITIL licensing content back from the British Government agency (OPSI) that is tasked with making government IP freely available to the public or at least free from monopolistic trading on it? Did TSO spit the dummy at the competition for their ITIL product sales? Or is it just that OGC are tasked with becoming a profit centre instead of a body for the public good? And where does that leave all the volunteers who so willingly contribute to the promotion and translation of ITIL? Who are they working for? We've had our share of commercial dirty deeds in ITIL's past but this latest lot may be the most troubling. (and check out this amazing video from the 1970s: AC/DC in their early days on Australian TV)

It's official - ITIL is a commercial product

skeptic — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:43:47 +0000

It is clear from reading a recent complaint report from the British Government agency OPSI (the Office of Public Sector Information,
part of the National Archives) that OGC and Van Haren Publishing aren't best mates any more. VHP allege a number of non-competitive practices, most of which OGC managed to duck as being outside the scope of OPSI's remit. Read the report yourself for the detail, but I take some interesting points from it:

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.

How many ITIL Examination Institutes is enough?

skeptic — Sun, 02 May 2010 19:44:12 +0000

In an announcement last week, APMG have appointed a ninth Examination Institute. Readers will recall these are the companies that are licensed by APMG and in turn accredit all the 350+ training organisations delivering ITIL training. The EIs also administer the exams using standardised question content but their own tests and their own delivery systems.

Why the difference in numbers between PinkVerify and OGC ITIL product certifications?

skeptic — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:04:58 +0000

There appears to be more vendors certifying their products against more processes on PinkVerify than the OGC scheme. Why is that? What can OGC learn from Pink about making it easier for vendors? or does it show that PinkVerify is too easy? Does it matter?

OGC and TSO release ITIL V3 Update scope and development plan

skeptic — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:12:36 +0000

Fresh out of the pan today, the Scope and Development Plan: ITIL® V3 Update is released. (Thanks Liz for the tip!) I'm getting ready to leave for the Pink Elephant conference in Las Vegas (see you there! Come to my sessions, or see me in booth 203), so I may not get time to comment on this document. We all welcome your comments - leave them here.