ITSM: Articles, Literature and Websites
I'll use this blog to list any interesting articles, literature and websites I come across.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Thursday, December 9, 2010
ITIL: Incident versus Problem Management
ITIL: Incident versus Problem Management
I've noticed that although ITIL has been around for more than 20 years, there's still a lot of confusion about what Incident Management is all about and how it differs from Problem Management.
I hope that the following list, which I'll keep adding to, will help you to understand and if necessary "sell" these differences. Given more time I'll start categorizing them under People, Processes, Products, and Partners (or feel free to do this for me).
Feel free to dispute any item on this list, and also feel welcome to send me more recommendations to be added to this list. It's only a start and I won't rest until I've found at least 100 differences between these two processes!
I've noticed that although ITIL has been around for more than 20 years, there's still a lot of confusion about what Incident Management is all about and how it differs from Problem Management.
I hope that the following list, which I'll keep adding to, will help you to understand and if necessary "sell" these differences. Given more time I'll start categorizing them under People, Processes, Products, and Partners (or feel free to do this for me).
Feel free to dispute any item on this list, and also feel welcome to send me more recommendations to be added to this list. It's only a start and I won't rest until I've found at least 100 differences between these two processes!
| Incident Management | Problem Management |
|---|---|
| Mainly reactive | Mainly proactive |
| Strong focus towards business and user community | Strong focus towards IT and technology experts |
| Uses the Known Error Database (KEDB) | Populates the Known Error Database (KEDB) |
| Restores services as quickly as possible | Less emphasis on speed, more emphasis on finding real solutions |
| Not responsible for creating known error records | Responsible for creating known error records |
| Predominantly applies temporary fixes, also known as workarounds or band-aid fixes | Is all about finding more structural permanent solutions |
| Typically deals with single individual incidents | Performs analysis on large volumes of incidents to detect trends and/or patterns |
| Applies a high level of people language | Applies a high level of technical language |
| Has a strong relationship with SLAs | Has a strong relationship with OLAs and contracts |
| Processes reoccurring incidents | Eliminates reoccurring incidents |
| Frequency and impact of related incidents typically not taken into account when prioritizing a (new) incident | Frequency and impact of related incidents typically taken into account when prioritizing a (new) problem |
| Users are able to generate incidents | Users are not able to generate problems |
| Increases support costs due to the repetitive nature of resolving repetitive incidents without providing a structural long-term solution | Reduces support costs with resolving repetitive incidents in a structural long-term manner |
| incident records may be the same | problem records should be unique |
| The focus is short-term | The focus is long-term |
| Escalates incidents to other teams (still part of the incident management process) to ensure timely service restoration | Submits change requests into the change management process with proposed solutions that eliminate known errors |
| Does not influence the number of incidents that are reported by users | Does influence the number of incidents that are reported by users |
| Investigation and diagnosis are often performed in parallel | Investigation and diagnosis are often performed sequentially |
| An incident can be closed although it may be unclear what has caused it (the so called root cause is often unknown) | Problems cannot be closed without a clear understanding of its root cause |
| Major incident reviews are not mentioned as part of ITIL's incident management process flow (incident model) | Major problem reviews are mentioned as part of ITIL's problem management process flow (problem model) |
| Many incidents may be linked to the same problem | Many problems are typically not linked to the same incident |
| Not responsible for maintenance of the Known Error Database (KEDB) | Responsible for maintenance of the Known Error Database (KEDB) |
| Doesn't improve the overall stability of the IT infrastructure | Does improve the overall stability of the IT infrastructure |
| Able to boost user satisfaction short-term | Able to boost user satisfaction long-term |
| Process members often "static" | Process members often "dynamic" |
| Most effort comes from lower (and typically cheaper) level support teams | Most effort comes from higher (and typically more expensive) support teams |
| Incident resolution techniques are more repetitive across incidents | Problem resolution techniques are more unique for each problem |
| Often includes full-time roles | Often includes part-time roles |
| Often performed with use of internal resources | Often performed with the support of external resources |
| Predominantly operates at a user level | Predominantly operates at an enterprise level |
| Has access to many effective commercial of the shelves (COTS) incident management systems | Has access to fewer effective commercial of the shelves (COTS) problem management systems |
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
ISO/IEC 20000 series: Writer's Blog Block :-)
Mmmm... I'm still pretty blank and busy, so I thought what the heck let's use this month's blog for a bit of an update and research on the various ISO/IEC 20000 standards, available and under development.
What's available at this moment:
ISO/IEC 20000-1:2005 ITSM -- Part 1: Specification (16 pages)
ISO/IEC 20000-2:2005 ITSM -- Part 2: Code of practice (34 pages)
Australian equivalents:
AS ISO/IEC 20000.1-2007 ITSM - Specification
AS ISO/IEC 20000.2-2007 ITSM - Code of practice
More ISO standards:
ISO/IEC TR 20000-3:2009 ITSM -- Part 3: Guidance on scope definition and applicability of ISO/IEC 20000-1 (32 pages)
ISO/IEC TR 20000-4:2010 ITSM -- Part 4: Process reference model (30 pages) "Just released (25/11/2010)!"
ISO/IEC TR 20000-5:2010 ITSM -- Part 5: Exemplar implementation plan for ISO/IEC 20000-1 (38 pages)
All standards are available as downloadable PDFs and cost between CHF 86.00 and CHF 124.00.
It seems unlikely that the new -1, -2, -3, -4, and -5 standards will be adopted by Standards Australia. After all, adding AS to the existing ISO standards doesn't really impact a lot on the contents if these contents stay untouched.
What's in development at this moment:
ISO/IEC FDIS 20000-1:YYYY ITSM -- Part 1: Service management system requirements (26 pages)
ISO/IEC FCD 20000-2:YYYY ITSM -- Part 2: Guidance on the application of service management systems
My question to ISO on when the new ISO/IEC 20000-1 and ISO/IEC 20000-2 standards will be released received the following response:
"We don’t have an exact date. Probably at the beginning of the 2nd quarter 2011.
To be notified of any change in the stage code of standards and other deliverables, you can subscribe to the RSS Feed: http://www.iso.org/iso/rss_feeds"
Other remarks relating to the 20000-X series of standards:
Withdrawn standards (20000 series): None
Project deleted (last 12 months) (20000 series): None
IT Governance standard (okay, I know, it's not a 20000 one!):
Another interesting standard is ISO/IEC 38500:2008 (Corporate governance of information technology). Good reading, but don't expect the world as yet - it's only 15 pages, but it does include some likable models!
Acronyms:
AS, Australian Standard
DIS, Draft International Standard
FCD, Final Committee Draft
FDIS, Final Draft International Standard
IEC, International Electrotechnical Commission
ISO, International Organization for Standardization
ITSM, Information Technology Service Management
JTC, Joint Technical Committee
TC, Technical Committee
TR, Technical Report
TS, Technical Specification
Interesting websites:
http://www.iec.ch
http://www.iso.org
http://www.itil-officialsite.com
http://www.itsmfi.org
More specifically:
http://www.iso.org/iso/standards_development/processes_and_procedures.htm
http://www.iso.org/iso/standards_development/processes_and_procedures/how_are_standards_developed.htm
http://www.iso.org/iso/standards_development/processes_and_procedures/stages_description.htm
http://www.iso.org/iso/standards_development/processes_and_procedures/stages_description/stages_table.htm
Etc.
What's available at this moment:
ISO/IEC 20000-1:2005 ITSM -- Part 1: Specification (16 pages)
ISO/IEC 20000-2:2005 ITSM -- Part 2: Code of practice (34 pages)
Australian equivalents:
AS ISO/IEC 20000.1-2007 ITSM - Specification
AS ISO/IEC 20000.2-2007 ITSM - Code of practice
More ISO standards:
ISO/IEC TR 20000-3:2009 ITSM -- Part 3: Guidance on scope definition and applicability of ISO/IEC 20000-1 (32 pages)
ISO/IEC TR 20000-4:2010 ITSM -- Part 4: Process reference model (30 pages) "Just released (25/11/2010)!"
ISO/IEC TR 20000-5:2010 ITSM -- Part 5: Exemplar implementation plan for ISO/IEC 20000-1 (38 pages)
All standards are available as downloadable PDFs and cost between CHF 86.00 and CHF 124.00.
It seems unlikely that the new -1, -2, -3, -4, and -5 standards will be adopted by Standards Australia. After all, adding AS to the existing ISO standards doesn't really impact a lot on the contents if these contents stay untouched.
What's in development at this moment:
ISO/IEC FDIS 20000-1:YYYY ITSM -- Part 1: Service management system requirements (26 pages)
ISO/IEC FCD 20000-2:YYYY ITSM -- Part 2: Guidance on the application of service management systems
My question to ISO on when the new ISO/IEC 20000-1 and ISO/IEC 20000-2 standards will be released received the following response:
"We don’t have an exact date. Probably at the beginning of the 2nd quarter 2011.
To be notified of any change in the stage code of standards and other deliverables, you can subscribe to the RSS Feed: http://www.iso.org/iso/rss_feeds"
Other remarks relating to the 20000-X series of standards:
Withdrawn standards (20000 series): None
Project deleted (last 12 months) (20000 series): None
IT Governance standard (okay, I know, it's not a 20000 one!):
Another interesting standard is ISO/IEC 38500:2008 (Corporate governance of information technology). Good reading, but don't expect the world as yet - it's only 15 pages, but it does include some likable models!
Acronyms:
AS, Australian Standard
DIS, Draft International Standard
FCD, Final Committee Draft
FDIS, Final Draft International Standard
IEC, International Electrotechnical Commission
ISO, International Organization for Standardization
ITSM, Information Technology Service Management
JTC, Joint Technical Committee
TC, Technical Committee
TR, Technical Report
TS, Technical Specification
Interesting websites:
http://www.iec.ch
http://www.iso.org
http://www.itil-officialsite.com
http://www.itsmfi.org
More specifically:
http://www.iso.org/iso/standards_development/processes_and_procedures.htm
http://www.iso.org/iso/standards_development/processes_and_procedures/how_are_standards_developed.htm
http://www.iso.org/iso/standards_development/processes_and_procedures/stages_description.htm
http://www.iso.org/iso/standards_development/processes_and_procedures/stages_description/stages_table.htm
Etc.
Friday, October 29, 2010
PMI: Writer's Blog Block :-)
Writer's Blog Block :-)
I just noticed that PMI's Project Management has:
5 process groups
9 knowledge areas
42 processes
206 inputs
179 tools & techniques
132 outputs
That’s a whopping 573 items to know for the CAPM/PMP exam! This number is excluding definitions, terminology and acronyms.
I just noticed that PMI's Program Management has:
5 process groups
12 knowledge areas
57 processes
273 inputs
255 tools & techniques
187 outputs
That’s a whopping 789 items to know for the PgMP exam! This number is excluding definitions, terminology and acronyms.
I just noticed that PMI's Portfolio Management has:
2 process groups
2 knowledge areas
14 processes
58 inputs
48 tools & techniques
40 outputs
That’s a whopping 164 items to know for the "undefined" exam! This number is excluding definitions, terminology and acronyms.
Yeah - why not total the whole thing!
12 process groups
23 knowledge areas
113 processes
537 inputs
482 tools & techniques
359 outputs
That’s a whopping 1526 items to know for the key PMI exams on project, program and portfolio level! This number is excluding definitions, terminology and acronyms.
My unscientific and nonacademic conclusion is: Don't become a program manager LOL!
I just noticed that PMI's Project Management has:
5 process groups
9 knowledge areas
42 processes
206 inputs
179 tools & techniques
132 outputs
That’s a whopping 573 items to know for the CAPM/PMP exam! This number is excluding definitions, terminology and acronyms.
I just noticed that PMI's Program Management has:
5 process groups
12 knowledge areas
57 processes
273 inputs
255 tools & techniques
187 outputs
That’s a whopping 789 items to know for the PgMP exam! This number is excluding definitions, terminology and acronyms.
I just noticed that PMI's Portfolio Management has:
2 process groups
2 knowledge areas
14 processes
58 inputs
48 tools & techniques
40 outputs
That’s a whopping 164 items to know for the "undefined" exam! This number is excluding definitions, terminology and acronyms.
Yeah - why not total the whole thing!
12 process groups
23 knowledge areas
113 processes
537 inputs
482 tools & techniques
359 outputs
That’s a whopping 1526 items to know for the key PMI exams on project, program and portfolio level! This number is excluding definitions, terminology and acronyms.
My unscientific and nonacademic conclusion is: Don't become a program manager LOL!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
EDUCATION: Blended Intelligent Training and Education (BITE)
Blended Intelligent Training and Education (BITE)
Make sure you have at least one "Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster" (Adams, 1952) or preferable as many as possible without ending up in Lala-space (surely a very likely space that's an outcome of "elasticated string-theory" (Pratchett, 2010)), before you even consider the infinitesimal - yes extremely unlikely - possibility of reading on! For those that do: be prepared for the unexpected!
Introduction
I've thought hard and long, about 5.39124(27)x10-44 seconds (that's called Planck time for those that want to do a bit of research on this number) about reading - oops writing - this paper. I have no - I'll repeat - NO - intention to be serious in any shape or form, except for those occasions where seriousness can't be avoided, and I'll do my utmost best to avoid them for the sake of human existence and survival of our species. If you're still reading, then somehow I've caught your attention and it's time to start adding some knowledge transfer into this text, as this text is all about the art and science of transferring knowledge and skills in new and hopefully somewhat challenging and thought provoking ways. Personally I believe that education as we know it, is about to receive its biggest shakeup we've seen (or actually not seen, but should have seen) in the last century or so! Being somewhat sensitive to the many educational "omens" that seem to float in the air around me, and poke me in the back when I'm not paying enough attention to them, the signs are clear: this article wants, no even better, demands to be written.
Past: The era of lemmings!
I guess from the early 1900s until the 1950s/1960s most educational systems would submerge (feel free to read drown/suffocate) their students into a drone, military-style like system, where you would sit, pay attention, somehow absorb the materials and keep your mouth zipped. The teacher/educator/lecturer was Om (The God of all Gods) on his/her throne and "deserved" utmost respect from their loyal students (feel free to read "fear 'motivated' slaves"). Questioning the skills, knowledge and/or attitude of Om would be blasphemy, or at least a "crime" to which death was the only penalty that would lead to your salvation. Yeah, I know, I'm exaggerating just a wee bit, but I hope it's getting the message across. It wasn't all that bad, and I'm sure 'most' students survived their educational journey with quite some knowledge and skills sledge-hammered into their brains, ready to conquer the world. A large chunk of knowledge, skills and attitude transfer was uni-directional (including attributes like values, respect, rights and responsibilities) moving down from Om to its army of trustworthy followers. Surely, some type of resistance was to be nothing more than expected. The time of being a lemming, being drilled for 12 hours a day, was soon to become history, something that happened to others in the past.
Present: Chaos rules!
Future: The student decides!
Why BITE?
What is BITE?
Emotional intelligence (EQ)
ICT's critical role
From teacher to coach/mentor
Engagement is key!
Conclusion
Literature
Online references
Make sure you have at least one "Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster" (Adams, 1952) or preferable as many as possible without ending up in Lala-space (surely a very likely space that's an outcome of "elasticated string-theory" (Pratchett, 2010)), before you even consider the infinitesimal - yes extremely unlikely - possibility of reading on! For those that do: be prepared for the unexpected!
Introduction
I've thought hard and long, about 5.39124(27)x10-44 seconds (that's called Planck time for those that want to do a bit of research on this number) about reading - oops writing - this paper. I have no - I'll repeat - NO - intention to be serious in any shape or form, except for those occasions where seriousness can't be avoided, and I'll do my utmost best to avoid them for the sake of human existence and survival of our species. If you're still reading, then somehow I've caught your attention and it's time to start adding some knowledge transfer into this text, as this text is all about the art and science of transferring knowledge and skills in new and hopefully somewhat challenging and thought provoking ways. Personally I believe that education as we know it, is about to receive its biggest shakeup we've seen (or actually not seen, but should have seen) in the last century or so! Being somewhat sensitive to the many educational "omens" that seem to float in the air around me, and poke me in the back when I'm not paying enough attention to them, the signs are clear: this article wants, no even better, demands to be written.
Past: The era of lemmings!
I guess from the early 1900s until the 1950s/1960s most educational systems would submerge (feel free to read drown/suffocate) their students into a drone, military-style like system, where you would sit, pay attention, somehow absorb the materials and keep your mouth zipped. The teacher/educator/lecturer was Om (The God of all Gods) on his/her throne and "deserved" utmost respect from their loyal students (feel free to read "fear 'motivated' slaves"). Questioning the skills, knowledge and/or attitude of Om would be blasphemy, or at least a "crime" to which death was the only penalty that would lead to your salvation. Yeah, I know, I'm exaggerating just a wee bit, but I hope it's getting the message across. It wasn't all that bad, and I'm sure 'most' students survived their educational journey with quite some knowledge and skills sledge-hammered into their brains, ready to conquer the world. A large chunk of knowledge, skills and attitude transfer was uni-directional (including attributes like values, respect, rights and responsibilities) moving down from Om to its army of trustworthy followers. Surely, some type of resistance was to be nothing more than expected. The time of being a lemming, being drilled for 12 hours a day, was soon to become history, something that happened to others in the past.
Present: Chaos rules!
Future: The student decides!
Why BITE?
What is BITE?
Emotional intelligence (EQ)
ICT's critical role
From teacher to coach/mentor
Engagement is key!
Conclusion
Literature
Online references
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
ITIL: H2I - Chapter the Fifth - Parlez vous francais?
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to ITIL – EXAM Preparation Guide
Each framework, methodology and standard comes with its own peculiar language, and so does the ITIL framework. If you want to speak ITIL, then you first need to learn the language, and please believe me when I say it's not as difficult as learning Japanese when your first language happens to be English (or Dutch like mine).
I also need to say that the "common language" that the ITIL framework provides is probably one of its strongest features and to a large extend this has contributed to its enormous ongoing success and popularity. ITIL is the IT department's Esperanto, and this Esperanto is actually spoken by millions!
You can use the ITIL language when communicating with your direct peers, other internal functions, partners and suppliers and who knows maybe even other alien civilizations (yeah, I would like that). I guess many struggle to see the difference between an incident and a problem, or a problem and a known error. A common reference (or glossary of terms) is exactly what many organizations need to start communicating effectively. Ik bedoel, als ik in Nederlands ga schrijven kunnen jullie mij niet meer volgen, hence I write this text in English - a language used to communicate globally. English is not my first language, nor is ITIL, but both work really well when communicating to a specific targeted audience - like you, my loyal readers and followers.
So, where was I? Ah, yes, ITIL language! For me the ITIL language consists mainly of the various definitions, terminology and acronyms, although I seem to have the nasty habit of also adding my personal mnemonics and phrases. Many organizations are now using mnemonics like PICSAR, VRAMS and SPASMS when talking ITIL, I think that's pretty cool considering I only created them to make it easier for the students to memorize ITIL "stuff" so they could pass the ITIL Foundation exam. Phrases like "ITIL is VITAL!", "Making it better together!", and "Making a difference!" also seem to stick with most students, as they have the potential to influence the current culture and mindset. Yes, communication and language have the potential and power to change the very nature of your culture and subsequent actions.
Anyway, getting back on track, here's a list of definitions, terminology and acronyms commonly used in ITIL-speak:
You'll need to study the various definitions, terminology and acronyms as shown above when preparing for the ITIL v3 Foundation exam. The easiest way to learn about them, is to follow the set of YouTubes I've specially created for this purpose, so I don't believe it's necessary to go into full detail here. What is important is to get a good feeling of which ITIL volume/s the item relates to, and as such I hope the following paragraphs will support you in achieving this.
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAQVJIKD2yQ&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=40
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHCZG60A0JM&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=30
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy, CSI
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y13BGSObkPU&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=22
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oFu-3dmzU8&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=36
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCPpjCvUf7Y&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=32
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g0LvVTForo&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=33
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXbrNT0iVk8&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=28
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rMhBA2D4VU&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=34
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kwm-SlOX1A&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=39
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrVkNcS8xGs&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=42
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHSo3CDVeJM&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=41
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBEOjTJSQ80&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=46
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0OI3RvaKuc&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=47
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KTsV-Yut1M&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=27
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfl7z3jqRNs&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=44
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMngLrTFcis&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=50
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc86HkhFCbg&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=37
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOiP9FB4QPc&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=18
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy, CSI
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRoH9tKg3ZQ&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=23
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RppFmg6WP_E&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=49
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy, Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfsHFPYU-QI&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=20
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9Ytv72bC5o&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=35
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-zF6RURFgY&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=29
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMATi0-iGRM&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=31
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhy2VvIvBkQ&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=26
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy, Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xXuhbcBUfY&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=19
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXRQ1kpxXn4&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=24
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WBIun4sB74&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=43
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqi3Vrlc8Rw&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=38
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwBfy5mIU7c&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=25
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN8AuF5iVNE&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=48
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: CSI
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSvbkp2zW4w&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=21
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKlpHIA4nhQ&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=17
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUCWD3Gqhh4&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=45
Live long and prosper
Nanoo... Nanoo...
IsleBeeBach
Each framework, methodology and standard comes with its own peculiar language, and so does the ITIL framework. If you want to speak ITIL, then you first need to learn the language, and please believe me when I say it's not as difficult as learning Japanese when your first language happens to be English (or Dutch like mine).
I also need to say that the "common language" that the ITIL framework provides is probably one of its strongest features and to a large extend this has contributed to its enormous ongoing success and popularity. ITIL is the IT department's Esperanto, and this Esperanto is actually spoken by millions!
You can use the ITIL language when communicating with your direct peers, other internal functions, partners and suppliers and who knows maybe even other alien civilizations (yeah, I would like that). I guess many struggle to see the difference between an incident and a problem, or a problem and a known error. A common reference (or glossary of terms) is exactly what many organizations need to start communicating effectively. Ik bedoel, als ik in Nederlands ga schrijven kunnen jullie mij niet meer volgen, hence I write this text in English - a language used to communicate globally. English is not my first language, nor is ITIL, but both work really well when communicating to a specific targeted audience - like you, my loyal readers and followers.
So, where was I? Ah, yes, ITIL language! For me the ITIL language consists mainly of the various definitions, terminology and acronyms, although I seem to have the nasty habit of also adding my personal mnemonics and phrases. Many organizations are now using mnemonics like PICSAR, VRAMS and SPASMS when talking ITIL, I think that's pretty cool considering I only created them to make it easier for the students to memorize ITIL "stuff" so they could pass the ITIL Foundation exam. Phrases like "ITIL is VITAL!", "Making it better together!", and "Making a difference!" also seem to stick with most students, as they have the potential to influence the current culture and mindset. Yes, communication and language have the potential and power to change the very nature of your culture and subsequent actions.
Anyway, getting back on track, here's a list of definitions, terminology and acronyms commonly used in ITIL-speak:
- Alert
- Availability
- Business Case
- Change types
- Configuration Item (CI)
- Configuration Management System
- Contract
- Definitive Media Library (DML)
- Event
- Impact, Urgency and Priority
- Incident
- Known Error
- Known Error Data Base (KEDB)
- Operational Level Agreement (OLA)
- Problem
- Release policy
- Release Unit
- Resources, Capabilities and Assets
- Risk
- Service Assets
- Service Catalog
- Service Change
- Service Design Package
- Service Knowledge Management System (SKMS)
- Service Level Agreement (SLA)
- Service Portfolio
- Service Provider
- Service Request
- Seven R’s of Change Management
- Supplier
- The role of communication in Service Operation
- The role of IT Governance across the Service Lifecycle
- Utility and Warranty
- Workaround
You'll need to study the various definitions, terminology and acronyms as shown above when preparing for the ITIL v3 Foundation exam. The easiest way to learn about them, is to follow the set of YouTubes I've specially created for this purpose, so I don't believe it's necessary to go into full detail here. What is important is to get a good feeling of which ITIL volume/s the item relates to, and as such I hope the following paragraphs will support you in achieving this.
Alert
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAQVJIKD2yQ&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=40
Availability
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHCZG60A0JM&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=30
Business Case
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy, CSI
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y13BGSObkPU&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=22
Change types
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oFu-3dmzU8&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=36
Configuration Item (CI)
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCPpjCvUf7Y&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=32
Configuration Management System
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g0LvVTForo&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=33
Contract
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXbrNT0iVk8&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=28
Definitive Media Library (DML)
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rMhBA2D4VU&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=34
Event
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kwm-SlOX1A&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=39
Impact, Urgency and Priority
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrVkNcS8xGs&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=42
Incident
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHSo3CDVeJM&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=41
Known Error
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBEOjTJSQ80&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=46
Known Error Data Base (KEDB)
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0OI3RvaKuc&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=47
Operational Level Agreement (OLA)
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KTsV-Yut1M&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=27
Problem
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfl7z3jqRNs&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=44
Release policy
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMngLrTFcis&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=50
Release Unit
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc86HkhFCbg&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=37
Resources, Capabilities and Assets
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOiP9FB4QPc&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=18
Risk
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy, CSI
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRoH9tKg3ZQ&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=23
Service Assets
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RppFmg6WP_E&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=49
Service Catalog
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy, Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfsHFPYU-QI&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=20
Service Change
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9Ytv72bC5o&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=35
Service Design Package
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-zF6RURFgY&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=29
Service Knowledge Management System (SKMS)
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMATi0-iGRM&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=31
Service Level Agreement (SLA)
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhy2VvIvBkQ&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=26
Service Portfolio
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy, Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xXuhbcBUfY&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=19
Service Provider
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXRQ1kpxXn4&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=24
Service Request
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WBIun4sB74&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=43
Seven R’s of Change Management
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Transition
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqi3Vrlc8Rw&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=38
Supplier
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Design
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwBfy5mIU7c&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=25
The role of communication in Service Operation
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN8AuF5iVNE&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=48
The role of IT Governance across the Service Lifecycle
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: CSI
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSvbkp2zW4w&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=21
Utility and Warranty
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Strategy
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKlpHIA4nhQ&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=17
Workaround
Predominantly covered in the following ITIL volume/s: Service Operation
YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUCWD3Gqhh4&p=017C0B75EE2FA714&index=45
Live long and prosper
Nanoo... Nanoo...
IsleBeeBach
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
CHANGE MANAGEMENT: Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll
Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll (SDRR)
When reality becomes somewhat unreal
Well, for what it's worth, I just couldn't come up with an original title, so I went for one that has a higher likelihood of actually attracting some "not-your-average-day-management-article-browsing" readers. I would love to write a real essay on sex, drugs and rock and roll, and one-day I probably will, but not right now. No, this time I feel it's appropriate to highlight change management as part of project management. What is change management? Why do we need it? What's the approach that PMBOK and PRINCE2, as leading project management frameworks, take towards managing change so ultimately project chaos can be avoided or at least reduced to acceptable levels? So I sincerely apologize for altering your reality and not meeting your expectations by discussing SDRR to a level that suits your immediate needs. Please bear with me and things may yet turn out to be more exciting than the eye reveals, or actually your mind reveals, at first glance.
When reality is described by a single word
For some people everyday reality seems to consist of work-eat-sleep-and-multiply, and 'no' I won't go into any specific sequence of aforementioned activities, but believe that drugs and rock n roll may have either a stimulating or inhibiting effect on one or more of these reality-creating components. I told you I would try to keep it a bit exciting, as I would like to meet at least some of your expectations that were set by this article's oh-so promising and inviting title! For many other people, especially those involved in running, managing or supporting projects, everyday reality may well be described by a single word, which is 'CHAOS', utter and complete chaos! I bet some of you are showing the first glimpse of a smile on their face, and are thinking "Yeah - I know where this going!" Come on, it all started so well... New - really cool leading edge - project... lots of commitment, involvement and excitement... lots of promises being made... great schedule... abundance of resources... fantastic team... nice budget... it all seems too good to be true.
When reality starts to sink in
Yeah, we've all been there and we've all gone through the same pain and pleasure of running projects. Initially everything runs according to project management plan, but then these peculiar messages start to penetrate your shield of near project management perfection, such as:
Don't you love it when a plan comes together (Hannibal, The A-Team), and don't you hate it when it doesn't? Well, speaking from experience, when working in project management space better straighten your expectations starting right now: Murphy's law (when things can go wrong - they will go wrong) ensures that project management plans never come together, unless you actively stay right on top of them for 200% of the time!
When Murphy takes over your reality
There are at least two important factors that make Murphy's reality a very real and tangible one. I'm not saying they are the only two factors, but I have all reason to believe they are in the top-5 and they won't be giving away their position any time soon. I believe the first factor to be communication related and the second one to be scope related, although I ultimately believe that scope issues (we're going to talk about scope-creep in more detail) can be avoided by investing enough energy and time in the way we communicate.
Now before I start divulging my communication and scope related secrets and humble opinion, I feel it's appropriate to give you a bit of an idea where and if these topics are covered within the two leading project management frameworks: PMI's PMBOK and OGC's PRINCE2. Although some claim these frameworks are as different as chalk and cheese, I don't share this opinion and actually feel they're quite similar on the inside although they appear to be quite different on the outside. Both frameworks use the concept of a project (management) life-cycle that reflects the project's "natural" evolution.
When different realities turn out to be quite similar
PMI's PMBOK presents 5 so called process groups, which are:
OGC's PRINCE2 presents 7 individual processes, which are:
Surely you're able to pick up the similarities between these two very "different" approaches. Both frameworks also refer to a number of concepts that are important to our understanding of project management. Whereas PMI's PMBOK refers to so called knowledge areas, OGC's PRINCE2 prefers using the terminology themes.
PMBOK's nine knowledge areas:
PRINCE2's seven themes:
I guess however you twist and turn this they do seem quite similar to me, and are even in perfect balance when taking the somewhat unscientific (and that's an understatement) approach of 'dumping' these items on both sides of the scales (5+9 versus 7+7). Yeah, go weird, just add a third framework of 14 items and 3x14 = 42, which as always is the answer to life, the Universe and everything else (read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams). Where did I get stuck in this text... Oh... yes... communication and scope!
WORK IN PROGRESS - SHOULD BE FINISHED SOON :-)
Live long and prosper
Nanoo... Nanoo...
IsleBeeBach
When reality becomes somewhat unreal
Well, for what it's worth, I just couldn't come up with an original title, so I went for one that has a higher likelihood of actually attracting some "not-your-average-day-management-article-browsing" readers. I would love to write a real essay on sex, drugs and rock and roll, and one-day I probably will, but not right now. No, this time I feel it's appropriate to highlight change management as part of project management. What is change management? Why do we need it? What's the approach that PMBOK and PRINCE2, as leading project management frameworks, take towards managing change so ultimately project chaos can be avoided or at least reduced to acceptable levels? So I sincerely apologize for altering your reality and not meeting your expectations by discussing SDRR to a level that suits your immediate needs. Please bear with me and things may yet turn out to be more exciting than the eye reveals, or actually your mind reveals, at first glance.
When reality is described by a single word
For some people everyday reality seems to consist of work-eat-sleep-and-multiply, and 'no' I won't go into any specific sequence of aforementioned activities, but believe that drugs and rock n roll may have either a stimulating or inhibiting effect on one or more of these reality-creating components. I told you I would try to keep it a bit exciting, as I would like to meet at least some of your expectations that were set by this article's oh-so promising and inviting title! For many other people, especially those involved in running, managing or supporting projects, everyday reality may well be described by a single word, which is 'CHAOS', utter and complete chaos! I bet some of you are showing the first glimpse of a smile on their face, and are thinking "Yeah - I know where this going!" Come on, it all started so well... New - really cool leading edge - project... lots of commitment, involvement and excitement... lots of promises being made... great schedule... abundance of resources... fantastic team... nice budget... it all seems too good to be true.
When reality starts to sink in
Yeah, we've all been there and we've all gone through the same pain and pleasure of running projects. Initially everything runs according to project management plan, but then these peculiar messages start to penetrate your shield of near project management perfection, such as:
- Could we move that wall here, rather than having it over there?
- Someone decided to start painting two weeks ahead of schedule!
- The customer approved this extension yesterday? Why didn't anyone inform me?
- What do you mean our key architect just changed jobs?
- When did management decide to cut the budget by 20%?
- No, I can't have this test finished by tomorrow and I don't care that you're behind on your own schedule! Just let me do my work!
- Who decided to use a different supplier? Their components don't have the quality we need to finish this job according to the customer's requirements.
- Why are we three weeks behind schedule and $50,000 over budget? Doesn't anyone here keep anything under control anymore?
- Who decided the team could do overtime? This means we're going to blow our budget bigtime!
- What do you mean the customer decided to delay payments until March?
Don't you love it when a plan comes together (Hannibal, The A-Team), and don't you hate it when it doesn't? Well, speaking from experience, when working in project management space better straighten your expectations starting right now: Murphy's law (when things can go wrong - they will go wrong) ensures that project management plans never come together, unless you actively stay right on top of them for 200% of the time!
When Murphy takes over your reality
There are at least two important factors that make Murphy's reality a very real and tangible one. I'm not saying they are the only two factors, but I have all reason to believe they are in the top-5 and they won't be giving away their position any time soon. I believe the first factor to be communication related and the second one to be scope related, although I ultimately believe that scope issues (we're going to talk about scope-creep in more detail) can be avoided by investing enough energy and time in the way we communicate.
Now before I start divulging my communication and scope related secrets and humble opinion, I feel it's appropriate to give you a bit of an idea where and if these topics are covered within the two leading project management frameworks: PMI's PMBOK and OGC's PRINCE2. Although some claim these frameworks are as different as chalk and cheese, I don't share this opinion and actually feel they're quite similar on the inside although they appear to be quite different on the outside. Both frameworks use the concept of a project (management) life-cycle that reflects the project's "natural" evolution.
When different realities turn out to be quite similar
PMI's PMBOK presents 5 so called process groups, which are:
- Initiating process group
- Planning process group
- Executing process group
- Monitoring and controlling process group
- Closing process group
OGC's PRINCE2 presents 7 individual processes, which are:
- Starting up a project
- Directing a project
- Initiating a project
- Controlling a stage
- Managing product delivery
- Managing a stage boundary
- Closing a project
Surely you're able to pick up the similarities between these two very "different" approaches. Both frameworks also refer to a number of concepts that are important to our understanding of project management. Whereas PMI's PMBOK refers to so called knowledge areas, OGC's PRINCE2 prefers using the terminology themes.
PMBOK's nine knowledge areas:
- Project integration management
- Project scope management
- Project time management
- Project cost management
- Project quality management
- Project human resources management
- Project communications management
- Project risk management
- Project procurement management
PRINCE2's seven themes:
- Business case
- Organization
- Quality
- Plans
- Risk
- Change
- Progress
I guess however you twist and turn this they do seem quite similar to me, and are even in perfect balance when taking the somewhat unscientific (and that's an understatement) approach of 'dumping' these items on both sides of the scales (5+9 versus 7+7). Yeah, go weird, just add a third framework of 14 items and 3x14 = 42, which as always is the answer to life, the Universe and everything else (read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams). Where did I get stuck in this text... Oh... yes... communication and scope!
WORK IN PROGRESS - SHOULD BE FINISHED SOON :-)
Live long and prosper
Nanoo... Nanoo...
IsleBeeBach
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