Successful ITIL implementations start by understanding your baseline and the objectives you’re hoping to achieve.
Assessing Resources and Capabilities
As part of the roadmap to ITIL implementation, it is vital that an assessment takes place to determine the baseline of the current levels of resources and capabilities in the organization as well as the requirements for successful implementation.
For example, you could have unlimited financial backing, state-of-the-art infrastructure and high-end applications; however, without the required capabilities to manage, control and maintain these resources, the desired service value will not be achieved.
The focus on capabilities within an organization is the difference between delivering services and delivering services with value.
Aligning Capabilities to Objectives
We need to leverage our experience, knowledge, processes and management to get the best out of our capabilities. It is crucial that we have capabilities that are aligned to the organizational objectives.
Looking back at the example earlier, we could have the money, applications and infrastructure, but we need the processes and skilled staff to manage this. However, it is possible that the processes and skilled staff themselves could cause more harm than good. Therefore, we need to adopt techniques that can assist an organization in maturing its management and organization (structure and authority), processes (specific, clear to customers, measurable and responsive to triggers), and people and knowledge (skills and experience).
Tips to an Actionable Roadmap
The following are three tips to get you started on your roadmap to ITIL implementation:
- Encourage training to help staff learn about best practice. It doesn’t have to be expensive. When was the last time you arranged any form of mentoring, shadowing or short-term assignments to other areas for your team?
- Practice what you preach. If we want our staff to adopt best practice, then we need to set a good example.
- Knowledge management should not be confused with documentation. Knowledge management is about ensuring that the right level of information is captured and presented to the right audience; decisions are made more effectively and efficiently as a result of the knowledge available.
In summary, it is important to remember that it’s possible to have the best capabilities for the wrong project. The ITIL implementation team should consist of individuals selected not only on their experience, skills and knowledge, but also on how they best fit the project and deliverable you’re looking to achieve.
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Hitesh Patel's Next Blog - ITIL Implementation: Integration of Three Key Elements
