2011 in Review

Can you believe that we are nearing the end of 2011?  I certainly can’t – it is unfathomable that 12 months have passed since my last year-end review.  But here we are again looking back on the year past and facing forward to 2012.

For service management, 2011 was a milestone year with the release of the updated ITIL publications.  No longer being referred to by version number, ITIL 2011 demonstrated the value of continual service improvement by normalizing the structure of all the processes and clarifying key areas such as Service Strategy.   Part 1 of ISO/IEC  20000 was also updated in 2011.

Other significant observations in 2011:

• Many organizations have implemented the core processes (Change,Incident) and are now maturing into Service Strategy, Service Design and Continual Service Improvement
• Service Strategy 2011 is infinitely more accessible and reflective of the real world
• There are a lot of questions about managing cloud services
• More organizations are developing (or have developed) service portfolios and catalogs
• Executive sponsorship can still be elusive despite the proof that strong service management leadership is a critical success factor in high performing organizations
• We are still struggling with the design of meaningful service management metrics
• More organizations are developing process templates to ensure integration and consistency

My predictions for 2012 trends

• ITIL 2011 will be fully integrated in January when all exams except for MALC will be based entirely on the updated guidance.  MALC will follow in May.
• ISO/IEC 20000 education will be in higher demand as ISO/IEC 20000 certification becomes more of a competitive advantage for many providers
• ITIL and other service management frameworks will gain even greater importance as more organizations move to cloud environments (think about Supplier Management and the warranty processes).  
• The definition of a “service” will become clearer, paving the way for service portfolios and catalogs
• There will be a solid case for formal leadership skills development and education 
• Service Strategy, Service Design and Continual service improvement will surpass Service Operation and Service Transition as key focus and learning areas