Category: ITIL Basics

There’s been a great deal of discussion recently about the phrase “Change Control” – especially  with ITIL4 switching from Change Management to Change Control in the initial release of the foundation book. I wrote about it in What’s with Change Control in ITIL4. But shortly thereafter, it somewhat unceremoniously changed to Change Enablement. Akshay Anand …

Ever wondered who’s ‘doing ITIL’? Who has a successful ITSM program leveraging the ITIL framework guidance? ITIL in the real world A while back I started a list of “who’s doing ITIL“. My intent was to create a resource that could be used by ITSM practitioners to help in their case for ITIL. Sometimes skeptical …

Everyone’s heard that IT causes the majority of incidents when changes go wrong, but is it really true? Are 80% of all incidents change-related?

Far too often the first question when changes go bad is “did it go to CAB”. The question is not only the wrong one, but reveals some poor thinking behind the question.

Knowing you need a service catalog and getting your organization to have one are two very different things. Here’s some practical advice for getting started with a basic service catalog (even if you don’t have a full ITSM program!)

Hate CAB? You’re in good company if you do. I’ve never met someone who actually likes coming to CAB. What I come across far more often is people who hate ‘CAB’, and would rather do just about anything to avoid it.

What are we supposed to talk about at CAB? What should be on the CAB agenda?

In case you missed it, a new ITIL® qualification was announced March 13th. It’s goal is to equip practitioners with the knowledge and skills needed to successfully “adapt and adopt” ITIL in the real world. The question is: What’s it mean to me; should I care? In Why I don’t Care ITIL Has Been Sold …

Misunderstandings make for good TV entertainment, but in ITSM, it’s not so funny. A RACI chart is a quick and easy way to create clarity. I have no clue who first created the RACI chart, but like most common sense, it likely was born out of necessity. I picture a  struggling team trying to figure …

Trying to implement ITSM processes “by the book” is destined to fail. Practitioners must adapt best practices to meet the organization’s unique challenges. The Practitioner’s Dilemma Many newly trained and highly motivated folks head back to the office intent on trying to implement ITSM processes. Makes sense, right? But I’ve seen a wake of disaster …

Feeling like the lone ITIL prophet, without honor in your home town? Knowing how much IT Service Management can help, but feeling it will never happen because of the huge gap between ‘here’ and ‘there’? Been there. Why IT’IL never work You’ve been to ITIL training. You know how it’s supposed to work. But there’s …

CAB is arguably the most widely adopted ITSM process, but its value goes far beyond Change Management. CAB rallies people  around a common cause; the perfect antidote for silos and fragmented service delivery. Didn’t see that one coming In What is an ITS CAB: A Simple Explanation I talk about CAB evaluating changes for business …

Often times people confuse ‘Standard’ and ‘Normal’ Change in IT Change Management. There’s an important concept that gets missed when they’re mixed up. This article will help you keep them straight.  Scope of Change Management First things first. Change Management is a control process. In addition to its widely understood role of evaluating changes for …

If you’re in IT, fixing the same issues again and again may not mean you’re insane, but it’s definitely driving your customers crazy! Stop the Insanity with Problem Management! Most organizations start looking at formal Problem Management when there’s a highly visible problem that they just can’t seem to fix. Customers are frustrated and complaining. …

Looking for a working definition of an ITSM Service? Is it Customer Service, or something more? Read on for a straight-forward explanation. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve seen a lot of “Service Management” discussions lately where it’s clear those talking don’t share the same understanding of “service”. Unfortunately, it’s more than simple semantics. Service …

Just because every now and then, you call an IT issue a “problem” and resolve it, does not mean you’re doing problem management! — Joe the IT Guy Problem Management Myths Joe the IT Guy recently wrote about Problem Management: No Problemo on his blog (I highly recommend stopping by. Great stuff). While writing What is …

When Devo unleashed their infamous “When a problem comes along, you must whip it”, they did more than coin an icon of 80’s pop music. Let’s move ahead with Basic ITSM Problem Management. The Problem with ‘Problem’ So, what exactly is a ‘Problem’ In ITSM, a Problem is the underlying cause of one or more …

The value of ITIL Incident Management is not restoring service. You heard me right. If you’re focusing on how quickly you resolve Incidents, you’re missing the point. Don’t believe me? Read to find the real value of Incident Management. Goal of Incident Management If you’ve been in IT for more than a few minutes, you’ve …

Like it or not, customers evaluate IT on two things: How well you fix things that break, and how well you get me things I need. This article focuses on making happy customers through Basic ITIL Request Fulfillment. Incidents and Requests Incidents and Requests are often lumped together in the Service Desk as “calls” or …

Thinking about ITIL Incident Management? You know how Incidents are handled has an enormous impact to customer satisfaction. This quick-start summary will tell you what you need to know to get started. I’ve Fallen and I can’t get up When things stop working, customers call Service Desk to get it fixed. Incident Management is the …