Glossary

There’s been a great deal of discussion recently about the phrase “Change Control” – especially  with ITIL® 4 switching from Change Management to Change Control in the initial release of…

But there is no joy in Mudville- mighty Casey has struck out. Ernest Lawrance Thayer penned those infamous words to describe the shocking strikeout of the odds-on favorite of The…

There’s no doubt about it; we’re in the Age of Agile. We’re kind of late into it, yet, I’m frequently asked how we can ‘agilize our ITSM.’ Why isn’t ITSM…

If there’s one thing that describes successful organizations in our time, it’s “agility” – the ability to quickly detect and rapidly act on change in ways beneficial to the organization. …

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?

Calls are not all created equal.  Read how Basic IT Request Fulfillment can help you  stop ‘taking tickets’ and start actively managing excellence in  customer service. Life is like a…

 “Best practices can only make you average. They stifle creativity and encourage ‘inside the box’ thinking.” I hear this all the time. But the truth is, best practices are what…

“IT is becoming more integrated into the business of organizations, and more integrated with the work of their staff and customers. As a result, the pace and frequency of change…

I’ve helped a lot of organizations improve their Change Management capability. When coming in from the outside, it’s important to quickly size up the culture and context to the best…

If you’re  one of the countless ITSM practitioners who  work daily in organizations large and small, in countries around the world, listen up. You know how hard, lonely, and thankless …

I expect excellence in myself and others. Excellence is relative to my current ability; always striving for continual  improvement. Excellence is pushing the limit of my current ability, the undying…

 Here are my top 5 lessons learned implementing IT Change Management that will save you endless heartache. Having recently implemented a Basic IT Change Management Process, I’m sometimes asked about…

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

Fusion 15 is the premier ITSM conference – Part HDI conference, part ITSM conference, and new this year, DevOps Fusion. So much opportunity; so little time. Without a plan it’s easy…

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…

Your boss says he wants you to implement IT Change Management. Google it (which is probably why you’re reading this now) and you get countless pages of mind numbing details.…

Keeping your IT infrastructure stable while making necessary changes feels a bit like walking a tightrope without a net. A near-impossible feat requiring nimble balance The art of Tightrope Walking…

Apple has a reputation for the right products at the right time. What can IT learn from Apple about creating raving fans by reducing Time to Value? Christopher Meyer did…

IT Change Management is usually thought of as a back office function that minimizes the chances of screwing things up while making changes. When done right, it does a lot…

Organizational Management of Change is a lot like quitting smoking.  Most of us know a current or former smoker, and how hard it is to quit. What can we learn…

Implementing IT Change Management doesn’t need to be as overwhelming as  it may it seem at first glance.  In this article, I’ll show how to begin a basic IT Change…

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…

Implementing Basic IT Change Management is a great place to start, but eventually you’ll need a more business-value focused process. In this article I’ll tell you how to  take the…

Have a basic IT Change Management process, or planning to implement one? Change Management should implement changes faster and reduce the risk of business impact. I’ll show you how the…

You know selecting the right trainer is important, but how do you sort through the hype and get the best fit? Here’s 7 sure fire ways to pick a Great…

Thinking of CSI as a merely a process not only misses the point, it’s also hazardous to real improvement. CSI is NOT a process! CSI is Not a Process ITIL…

Everyone knows a Configuration Management Database ( CMDB ) is a good idea. We’ve known that for years. And yet, in many years of ITSM practice, I’ve rarely seen a…

Change Management has again returned to the headlines, though you may not have heard it that way. Two years ago in Change Management in the age of DevOps, I wrote…

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…

With business moving at the speed of light, IT must match pace with implementing IT Changes. What can IT Change Management learn about going fast from the world of auto…

Is there really anything wrong with “un-managed” changes? Or is Change Management a contrived problem trumped up by ITIL zealots to sell training and consulting? My daughter is playing Marian…

Ever see a “low risk” change cause major issues? “We’ve done it before and never had any problems” doesn’t cut it in the aftermath of a business-impacting incident caused by…

 In IT, there are times for incremental improvements and other times when you just gotta start a revolution. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, the difference between the podium and obscurity…

Building Ownership and Accountability are critical to successful IT Service Management, however building these in public sector organizations presents unique challenges.  Here are 10 ways to build accountability in the…

ITIL is designed to maximize business value, so why is it so often viewed as a process-improvement effort? IT Service Management can be polarizing, almost a religious experience –  it’s…

What do unicorns and rainbows have to do with IT Strategic Vision and Service Management? It’s an interesting tale, and if you read on, I’ll make it worth your while.…

If you’ve been working on IT Service Management for some time, you’ve undoubtedly had times when you are just exhausted. Not sure you can take another step. Sound familiar? So…

Successful IT Service Management is a different way of thinking, not just a different way of doing. We’ve heard for years about IT silos, and that they’re good and bad….…

As a technology powerhouse, Intel is in the perfect position to re-engineer their IT processes. Why then did they chose to adopt an ITSM framework? Intel CIO Kim Stevenson recently…

Every year there’s a flurry of predictions for the coming year. This year, I decided to make my own list, from the neutral vantage point of an ITSM practitioner. I…

I’d rather drop a bowling ball on my tongue than endure another marathon meeting about the target maturity level of an ITSM process! If you find yourself muttering colorful metaphors…

What if I told you there’s a way to effectively manage changes without CAB reviewing each one? Would you be interested? Yeah, you and everyone else in the IT world.

In this third and final installment in the Killing CAB series, I’ll be talking about Change Models – perhaps the most widely overlooked method of streamlining IT Change Management. It’s…

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’,…

I don’t try to be controversial, but this whole metrics and SLA thing is problematic. To be blunt: so many organizations measure and report on a great many things, most…

Earth to IT: we don’t care about your stupid internal bickering and blame games. We expect you to work together to help us solve our business problems. Your customers are under…

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…

This year I accepted a CIO position at a state (government) agency. It’s been a great year of learning and growing, not the least of which being that the organizational…

Forgone IT maintenance comes at a cost. For most companies, it’s a never ending battle. Here’s five tips for getting out of technical debt.

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…

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…

The value of IT 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?…

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…

Transformation is hard; transformation without knowing your values is impossible. Implementing Service Management demands changing behaviours and cultures, and that is never easy. It’s not enough to want to change,…

Knowing your core values are critical to IT Transformation. I was faced with a hard question – why, exactly do I believe in implementing Service Management? Why change what’s working?…

When your Service Management program faces opposition, credibility makes all the difference between success and failure. So, here you have it; The blunt truth your mother didn’t tell  you about…

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…

Thinking about IT 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…

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…

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…

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…

The Change Advisory Board (CAB) is arguably  the most widely known ITSM activity. It’s also widely misunderstood. Here’s the quick lowdown on CAB. What is CAB? CAB – known formally…

IT has been calling Change Management by that name for decades. In the latest update to the de facto ITSM framework – ITIL®, the practice has unceremoniously been renamed to…

I’ve seen several articles recently railing against the very idea of best practices. In this article, I’ll take a closer look at where this criticism is coming from and take…

Feeling like the lone IT Service Management prophet, without honor in your home town? Knowing how much Service Management can help, but feeling it will never happen because of the…

Does lack of clear Ownership leave your organization spending a lot of time trying to determine  who makes decisions? Do they suffer from decision deja vu, again and again?  Ownership…

Here we go again. Announced this week – Axelos – the company who owns ITIL is being sold to PeopleCert. Industry response varied greatly, but nearly eclipsed another significant announcement.  IT…