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

Reflections on Fusion 2011

While the itSMF/HDI Fusion 2011 conference has come and gone, I thought I would share my perceptions on the state of service management in North America.  

There were lots of questions about the updates in ITIL 2011, although I did not find it to be the predominant theme of the week.   Leadership, organizational change management, service catalogs/ portfolios, business relationship management and metrics seemed to generate the most interest and buzz.

For the past seven years, presentations about operational processes such Incident, Change, Problem and Config were center stage.  And while those processes are still critical and addressed, it is gratifying to see a bit of a paradigm shift;to more emphasis on leadership, people and relationships.  Everything else is just theory.

Here are  some of the underpinning messages from Fusion 2011

• Leadership is vital to service management success
• Everyone can be a leader and change agent
• People execute process – not tools or flowcharts
• We work with Human Beings, not Human Doings (Deborah Monroe)
• Attitude, Behavior and Culture (ABC) is the number one success or failure factor (Paul Wilkinson)
• Don’t hinder creativity. If you want to grow your business, grow your people (Erik Wahl)
• Be an opportunity manager, not a crisis manager (Daniel Burrus)
• Good governance is better than good technology (Glenn Leclair)

Ironically, these same messages are at the core of the ITIL 2011 update.  The “new” processes are very people and relationship focused: strategy management, design coordination, transition planning and business relationship management.   The Service Catalog takes on a more prominent role as the “glue”  that holds the service lifecycle and business relationship together.  Metrics are being gathered and analyzed for continual service improvement.   Is this being driven by the challenges of managing services in the Cloud?  I’m not sure, but I like the way the winds are blowing.

Are we there yet?  No.  But as a whole we are definitely moving up the maturity ladder.  Can’t wait to see what happens in 2012.

Fusion Conference 2011 is Almost Here!

It is hard to believe that the Fusion conference is just a week away at the Gaylord National in Washington, DC. There are several innovations this year that promise to make it a standout event including the partnership between itSMF and HDI.  This relationship is particularly significant as it represents an evolving trend of unification within the industry. 

The agenda this year places a stronger emphasis on topics such as the Service Catalog, governance and organizational change management.  The tracks offer opportunities for a variety of roles, sectors and areas of interest:

• The People Factor
• Business Services and IT Processes
• Service Operations
• Service Catalog and Portfolio Management
• IT Governance and Security
• The Executive View
• The Government View
• The Beginner’s View

ITSM Academy is presenting at two sessions.  Michael Cardinal, a Senior Instructor, will be delivering Session 303: Effective Questioning for ITSM on Monday, September 26^th at 3:00 p.m.   Asking the right questions at the right time to the right audience is a learned skill and Mike will be offering practical techniques for becoming a proficient questioner. 

I am very excited to be discussing the value of having two distinct but related Service Catalogs in Session 605: The Best of Both Worlds: Creating a Business Service Catalog and Technical Service Catalog on Tuesday, September 27^th at 2:45 p.m.     Too many organizations struggle with the proper scope of service definition (either too technical or not technical enough) and I will be presenting ITIL's very flexible and practical solution.

Looking forward to seeing you there.  Please stop by our booth 720 to say hello.

New Foundation Processes - Design Coordination and Transition Planning and Support

Two of the new processes we are covering in ITIL 2011 Foundation are Design Coordination and Transition Planning and Support.

These processes have very similar activities, and those activities can be compared to the role of a conductor for an orchestra. The conductor is responsible for:

• Interpreting the piece – these processes determine the strategy for the associated lifecycle stage
• Deciding on tempos – these processes determine the rigor and therefore speed associated with performing the stage activities
• Basically getting every musician in the orchestra on the same page with every single note of the piece(s) they will be performing – these processes ensure that all of the functions and processes engaged in a lifecycle stage are on the same page with every single new service or change to an existing service that they are handling

Thanks to one of our brilliant instructors for the analogy!

The Importance of Leadership Skills

I recently led the first launch of our newest workshop, ITSM Leadership Skills.  This course was developed in collaboration with PeopleTek, a well respected and recognized executive coaching provider.

The ITSM Leadership Skills workshop addresses the softer skills that are critical success factors for continual service improvement.  Unfortunately, until now these skills were mostly overlooked in the service management classroom.

Topics covered in this workshop include

• Identifying and leveraging strengths
• Vision, Mission, Goals and Measures
• Planning projects
• Managing change
• Enhancing communication
• Managing conflict

Several of the attendees in our first session commented that they had prior experience with many of these topics.  They were grateful for the opportunity to be reminded of their importance while gaining new perspectives and appraoches for being a great leader.   It's so easy to get lost in the mechanics of designing new processes and services; it's just as easy to overlook the human factor.

PeopleTek promotes the belief that everyone is a leader. I agree.  Their definition of a leader supports that view:  To take people where they have not been and would not go on their own.  

Ask yourself:  Who are you leading today and where are you taking them?

The 2011 Edition of the ITIL Library

It was recently announced that the 2011 Edition of the ITIL Core Library will publish on July 29, 2011. Notice that I did not refer to the new release with a new version number - and with good reason. All future revisions to the ITIL publications will be referenced by the year that it was published. ITIL will finally just be ITIL.

If you regard the 2011 ITIL update as the equivalent to the revision of a college textbook, you'll understand why this is not a big deal. Academic textbooks are revised on a regular schedule without much fanfare or impact on prior or future students. Past attendees do not retake their final exams or replace their textbook. Just a normal course of continual improvement. Do you base your decision on whether to take a college course on the edition of the textbook being used? Not really. What's important is the relevancy of the topic.

The 2011 ITIL Edition was approached in much the same way - improve the inconsistencies, formalize a few processes that were referenced in the 2007 edition but did not follow the same format and flow, clarify some concepts based on reader feedback. No major new revelations. Just a normal course of continual improvement that should be introduced without much fanfare and will have no impact on prior students. Past, present and future attendees will essentially share the same knowledge.
Please do not believe anyone that advises you to retake your exam, replace your textbook, change your tool, revise your implementation strategy or base your education plan on which edition of the books are being used.

There are no plans to "bridge" anyone or anything with this release. A change log will be made available that compares the two editions. Webinars, articles and opinions on the revisions will abound. In fact, the first set of FAQs is now available at:

http://www.best-management-practice.com/gempdf/ITIL_UPdate_FAQs_Summer_2011_June11.pdf

ITIL is just ITIL.

Service Manager Bridging Options After June 30, 2011

Tomorrow (June 30) is the final day for taking (or re-taking) the V2-V3 Manager's Bridge exam as a fast track to ITIL Expert.  It is also the last day for re-takes of the ITIL Foundation Bridge exam.  

If you are an ITIL V1 or V2 Service Manager and missed this opportunity, all is not lost.  There is an ongoing bridging path for Service Managers that requires only three additional certifications and reduces the number of required credits from 22 to 10:

ITIL V3 Foundation (2 ) +

Service Strategy -OR- Continual Service Improvement (CSI) (3 ) +

Managing Across the Lifecycle  (5)

= ITIL Expert

 To qualify, you must present a valid Service Manager Certificate (both exams).  No substitutions of the above are allowed except for the choice of Service Strategy or CSI.   You cannot self-study for Service Strategy, CSI or MALC unless you are a trainer accredited through an Examination Institute. 

Since the updated bridging path has no end date, I hope that eventually all V1-V2 Service Managers will find their way to becoming ITIL Experts.