ITIL not 'Best Practice'? Reply

[VaioBoyAus]

Originally Posted by The Skeptic

"I'm a bit baffled by what is missing from ITIL that it would need to qualify as a blueprint.

The problem, my learned colleague, is with definitions you see my definition of blueprint is "a detailed outline or plan of action: eg a blueprint for success". ITIL provides the detailed outline, but (and there always is one) doesn't provide the plan of action.

This leads to the demise of many organisational transformations to ITIL. It all gets too hard and too expensive and the real Business Driver is lost. The ITIL books give us guidance, they say that project management is the means to the end - which to me devalues ITIL - Organisational transformation is the real means to the end.

Part of the implementaion must be change to the organisational culture to ensure long term sucess, this makes it Transformation not an Implementation.

As you say in another post, please allow me to paraphrase, a well written Business Case will garner support and the appropriate (using the term loosely) resources to deliver the desired business outcome.

I recently went for an interview where they quizzed me on my ITIL Masters Certification and asked me what I thought would be the duration of an ITIL implementation project - my response was anything up to three to five years depneding on your current organisational maturity. This did not curry favour with the questioner, we are going to do it in 6 months and we have to be succesfull. This led me to ask the question "You just stated that you have different process ses on different Customer Accounts in Different States, have you commenced the program already and standardise your Work Instructions so you have repeatable processes in the different service and support teams?". The response to this was frown and "every one will use the same process set, we don't have the runway to do all that soft stuff and change peoples' thinking - they do it or they go."

This turned me off the role instantly - if they are not going to bother to advise their employees of the WIFM (whats in it for me) and set themselves up for failure in the long run. The implementation will work in the short term but the real benefit will be lost as people take the easy way by reverting to their old habits and ITIL gets its name in the mud because the organisation didn't change.

Now off my high horse and in to the saloon for a cold Blonde :-)

[The Skeptic]

We are, then, in agreement. The problem is always one of terminology. Naturally I prefer my own use of the term blueprint, as in a lifeless drawing that assumes the engineering expertise to bring it to life, but with your usage as in "blueprint for success" then i agree with you totally. I love "this makes it Transformation not an Implementation". My main catchcry these days is People Process Things ("Technology" is too narrow: people fixate on forms and documents too). Everyone seems to want to skip the People bit, and most IT techoes (= most IT people) want to skip the Process bit too.

P.S. we had better explain to non-Australasian readers that a cold Blonde is a malted beverage not a Scandinavian of your acquaintance.

[The Skeptic]

Waaay back up the top this thread was discussing Asia. CIO Asia magazine picked up on it (and picked on it) and I replied.

those of you who have travelled the region, play "Spot the Culture". Which country (or countries - there may be multiple correct answers) is this?

• A formally agreed and signed contract is an excellent starting point for negotiations
• A problem is only a problem when it cannot be ignored any more
• Never answer in the negative to a superior. Better to remain silent
• Never give bad news. Better to remain silent
• Completing a task and appearing to have completed a task are effectively the same thing
• The committee may meet on Tuesdays but the real decisions are made at lunch/golf/karaoke on Fridays
• You only need take direction from someone who is hierachically superior to you
• Nobody made the decision, we all just agreed
• No point planning for the future; what happens happens

yes I know "USA" or any country can be the correct answer to all of them at times, but as a generalisation these are regional behaviours more prevalent in Asia than the West. They are becoming less common with Westernisation but anyone who has done business there will agree - I think - that they are still very real. they are often endearing, too, but I put it to you that they don't help adoption of ITIL, or that the ITIL that happens in Asia will be different.

The original point was that the white British colonial slant of ITIL (none of USA, Canada, SA, Aus, NZ will like being refered to as British colonies but you know what I mean), even more so in version 3, diminishes its effectiveness for Asia. I stand by that.