An ITIL glossary
Hi readers! We are not answering a question today. With encouragement from Aidan Lawes I am making my contribution to the worldwide body of ITIL knowledge by assembling a glossary of some of the...
Great paper on failure of complex systems
It is not often you read something that completely changes the way you look at IT. This paper How Complex Systems Fail rocked me. Reading this made me completely rethink ITSM, especially Root Cau...
What ITIL V3 says about the distinction between a Call and an Incident
A hundred users call up and say they can't get emails. One incident or 100? Fundamental and simple question. Go check ITIL for the answer. I'll wait. read more
Excellent customer service: weapon or burden?
How often is excellent customer service a competitive weapon and how often is it just an unnecessary cost burden on the organisation? read more
When Best is Too Good - Copper Instead of Gold - focused excellence as a differentiator
A leading cultural assumption in the business world is that anything we do should be benchmarked against world’s best practice. But why pay for gold when copper will do? Don’t aim for best when t...
Why forums are dangerous
Forums are often full of total newbies trying to find out, and only slightly-less-newbies answering their questions. I know blogs like The IT SKeptic are nearly as dangerous for their self-appoin...
OGC gives us an ITIL V3 maturity assessment standard, but they won't publish
A recent blog set me thinking. Since OGC have now set a standard for assessing software products against ITIL processes, that should also form the basis of ITIL maturity assessment too. All we awa...
ITIL's online presence is a dog's breakfast
TSO and APMG both maintain websites "on behalf of" OGC. TSO also maintains their own commercial site with a confusingly similar name to their "on behalf" one. Neither of them provide any user commu...
About the ITIL V3 Books
Last updated 8th May 2009 Well, there are five books in ITIL version 3 and they are called.... Plenty of places to find that boring stuff. Start with Wikipedia. Which format to buy read more
Checklist ITIL environment health check
14 questions for an ITIL environment health check read more
10 Things I don't get either
Oh this is great skepticism about IT in general: 10 Things I Just Don't Get About Tech by Thomas Wailgum. read more
Operating the Cloud: the people and process questions
Cloud computing is a popular topic right now. Some see it as a saviour technology for cost cutting but there is too much thought given to how you will connect at a technical level with a Cloud serv...
ITIL101 for software vendors
We recently discussed how too many software vendors stretch the facts when claiming ITIL support. Giving them much benefit of the doubt, we thought they might be confused. if so, here is ITIL101...
How much good user feedback is lost by the Service Desk?
I'm a good citizen of the internet communities I inhabit. If something is not useful to me or could be improved, then I generally use the written contact mechanism to let them know. I'm a smart g...
Batten down the hatches
I see a lot of fiddling while the economy burns. In fact there appears to be an air of "phew that's over". The recession drops off the media's radar thanks to their infantile attention spans. Pl...
APMG has our full support
I remember seeing an Aussie comedy TV show once (The Games as I recall?) where it suggested that a public statement by the Prime Minister that "So-and-so has our full support" meant they would be o...
Deming cycle diagram the wrong way round
Here is an amusing thing: all those diagrams of the Deming Cycle turn the wrong way. read more
The IT Skeptic's Rogues Gallery
Readers of this website can be assumed to have a certain non-conformist spirit and at least a modicum of independent thought, so "Rogues Gallery" is an appropriate name for images of readers. Send...
Those who would promote CMDB should promote CMDB
Much of what we read about CMDB is actually singing the praises of asset management, network discovery or other simpler technologies. Other benefits attributed to CMDB actually come from process i...
5 questions for John M. Willis
John M. Willis, a.k.a. Botchagalupe, or possibly a close associate of Botchagalupe, asked me to answer five questions which he posted on his blog, and to ask five questions in return. Here are my ...
Thoughts on itSMF Singapore conference
The itSMF Singapore conference is over and I write this en route to Bangkok for the Thai annual conference (a tough gig I know). The highlights for me were meeting Sharon Taylor, and a panel discu...
How to assemble all the ITSM reference library you need for $211
With seemingly everyone gouging the ITIL user these days, is there an alternative for those of us who can't just (or just can't) get the boss to pay the exorbitant prices? You bet. read more
ITIL snake oil
Once upon a time IT Service Management was a movement dedicated to improving the levels of service delivered by IT. And ITIL was a body of knowledge put together by the government as a public serv...
ITIL V3 Live is ... still coming, and VERY expensive
I see the long-awaited "ITIL portal" is showing off. It will go live on 10th November. So if you were wondering what ever happened to the promised process maps for ITIL, or where you could get wo...
Google Trends is always interesting
I got whipped in the stock market bubble like many people, so I'm the last to read too much into graphs any more, but nevertheless I always find Google Trends interesting. read more
HP cuts 24,600 over three years - there's a way to boost morale and customer focus
Don't expect laser focus from your HP providers over the next three years, they'll all be wondering if they have a job. 24,600 don't. And that's the official number starting out. read more
Do we have to do ITIL to do Service Management?
[Extensively revised 16th September 2008] Of course not. To look and listen around the IT industry these days one would think so, but there is actually more than one game in town. read more
hey all you nerds in itSM
Apparently Don Tennant thinks ITSM is less than fascinating and even has a bit of fun at our expense. The thing that most impressed me about the video was that nobody actually hit him. read more
Why is Project Management almost invisible in ITIL V3?
Why is Project Management all but invisible in ITIL V3? [Updated: I missed some references] read more
Solid Harmony: mentions of PRINCE2 in ITIL V3
Further to my post about the invisibility of Project Management in ITIL V3, it is interesting to see that there is even less mention of PRINCE2 in particular, despite it being ITIL's stable-mate at...
ITIL for small business could be called BILL: the Business Infrastructure Library of Least practice
I did some work a while ago on SM in SMEs (that's Service Management in Small to Medium Enterprises of course: SMISME? SM4SME [the one I use]? SMESM?). When seen through the distroting lens of SM...
COBIT rivals ITIL
[Updated: duh! how could I have forgotten ValIT?] Those who say "COBIT is the what and ITIL the how" either haven't read COBIT, are oversimplifying or are being excessively polite to ITIL. read ...
A new look for the IT Skeptic, and a note on Excessive Technical Fastidiousness or ETF
Welcome to the new-look IT Skeptic. Nothing major: I took advantage of some standardisation of the underlying infrastructure to do some minor decorating, avoiding ETF. read more
The hot internet topic of IT jobs
Apparently the IT job market is a great generator of traffic. So much so that any story will do. Up one day, down the next. read more
Free IT magazines
Question for readers: am I being oversensitive on your behalf or do they have a damned gall? There is a company that wants to pay me advertising revenues to promote free magazines and white papers...
IT Legends, a writing competition for IT people - tell us the legends of your IT past
Introducing a new series of posts: The Legends of IT , written by you. Tell us the great Legends from your IT past, and vote on the Legends of others. Best Legend will receive a Christmas present o...
Google rots your brains
I found a fascinating article from the ever-interesting Nicholas Carr (remember "IT Doesn't Matter"?) on how Google is making us stupid. read more
More on the privacy issue from Wharton U
Further to my Big Uncle series on privacy, here's an interesting quote from Privacy on the Web: Is It a Losing Battle? read more
Dipity Timeline Created
a back-of-an-envelope re-analysis of Forrester and BMC's own CMDB research
Several readers argue well that ROI is not the right measure for a CMDB, but nevertheless management want to know what they get for their money, and BMC's own research suggests "not much". read more
Introducing Real ITSM, the new ITSM body of knowledge from the IT Skeptic
Overwhelmed by ITIL V3? In order to make your ITSM life easier, the IT skeptic has created a body of knowledge (BOK) called Real ITSM and the associated philosophy of Realitsm. The official Intro...
Confusion between CMDB and Configuration Management
As it becomes clearer that CMDB is a flawed concept, I'm seeing occurences of folk talking about CMDB as a process rather than a thing. It isn't. CMDB is the (nutty) thing. Configuration Mana...
The CMDB as a dead elephant, it cannot be done ... NOT
[The following post appeared as a comment on this blog on the original "dead elephant" article, but I like it so much I've moved it up to a posting: "work with your supplier like your business did ...
ITIL v3 closer to the real world? No way
I enjoyed a recent blog post ITIL® v3 One Year On from John Griffiths at Fox IT, except for one point. ITIL v3 closer to the real world? No way. read more
Defining terms in Root Cause Analysis - let's be clear what we mean
We have a great discussion going regarding Root Cause. As usual so much comes down to precise definition of terms. What does Root Cause mean? read more
Root Cause Analysis can't be done by machines
Vendors are making a fuss about their Root Cause Analysis (RCA) features in their tools. People Process Things once again: who says Root Cause is in the technology? read more
An apology to itSMF
When I wrote about speaker eligibility for the upcoming itSMF International Chapter Leadership Conference (CLC), I got mad and I allowed that to cloud my judgement and affect my language. I was ru...
Model of Change
Something different today: some ITSM philosophy for your consideration... and debate. A thread of discussion on this blog makes it clear that there are differing perspectives of Change. In order t...
itSMFUSA declares who it thinks was Julie Linden
This post has been podcast Computerworld has revealed The U.S. chapter of the IT Service Management Forum has filed a defamation lawsuit against a former executive director, alleging that he attemp...
ITIL V3 Intermediate exams - the money engine wins again
With the release of the new format for ITIL V3 Intermediate exams, once again APMG and the ITIL Qualifications Board have opted for maximising profitability and sellability of product for the ITIL ...
Results of IT Skeptic survey on CMDB penetration
We had a survey of implementation of CMDB in organisations. As we always say the results are invalid in that the sample is self-selecting (a) because they are IT Skeptic readers and (b) because t...
The IT Skeptic's Rogues Gallery
Readers of this website can be assumed to have a certain non-conformist spirit and at least a modicum of independent thought, so "Rogues Gallery" is an appropriate name for images of readers. send...
email is not communication
Radical concept: to roll out new processes you need to talk to people. Firing emails at them does not count. read more
I'm using ITIL V3 Service Transition and Service Operation the most
The IT Skeptic asked a while ago about which books folk use most. I looked at my ITIL books and I can see I'm using ITIL V3 Service Transition and Service Operation most, based on the highly s...
Am I wrong about CMDB?
It may surprise you that someone as pig-headed as the IT Skeptic ever has doubts, but I do wonder if I am right about the impracticality of building a CMDB (let alone a SKMS). AFAIR, only one rea...
The community must police digital theft on the internet
It occured to me today that defending your digital IP is like having a puppy [warning: yet another puppy analogy]. read more
How to win your ITIL business case
We have been discussing ITIL busines cases. In a previous post we talked about presenting any business case strategically. In this final post we apply that to ITIL. Make sure the way the case is ...
ISO38500 may be too late; the word "governance" is rapidly equalling "management"
The word "governance" is in danger of total debasement. ISO38500 may be only half-cooked but that is because it arrived just in time... or perhaps too late. read more
Be a good netizen: report those Crap Factoids
We haven't seen any Crap Factoids at the IT Skeptic for a while. We know they are out there. If you see one (on any IT topic), please let us know in the interests of the mental health of the IT c...
What is the big deal about ITIL Manager/Expert certificate? Wait until ITSM is a degree-level course.
Certifications in the IT industry are so wimpy that ITIL Manager's looks tough. But stack it up against any undergrad or postgrad IT degree and it is just a test. Perhaps one day soon there will ...
Vendors involved in itSMF: good for ITIL or not?
Do some vendors push the envelope of what is acceptable behaviour for those involved in itSMF? You bet. So how do we deal with this for the best interests of ITIL? Not by banning vendors, that...
ITIL business case: does it stack up?
In previous posts the IT Skeptic covered some basic principles of business case design. Let us apply those principles to a business case for an ITIL project. The previous posts said the strengt...
Who Left ITIL in Charge of Legitimizing IT Practitioners?
There is an excellent blog post by Terry Doerscher over at planview.com that asks the question "Who Left ITIL in Charge of Legitimizing IT Practitioners?". It is a great read. So who did? read more
While ITIL V2 CMDB was silly, ITIL V3 SKMS is totally absurd
At the request of a fellow skeptic, I am asking readers to name one, just one, example of an ITIL V3 Service Knowledge Management System, SKMS, in the wild. Not the beginnings of one or part of on...
The CMDB Federation proceeeds at its usual glacial pace
The CMDB Federation was formed in April 2006 by CMDB vendors so they could tell people they were moving towards a common standard of interoperability, known in the CMDB world as "federation", so th...
The grey area between governance and management
The IT Skeptic adheres to a purist usage of the word "governance" which aligns closely with the new ISO38500 standard. The word is often used to mean management: running a business unit or functio...
Free ICT Governance collection of articles for download
The latest issue of a Spanish IT magazine looks at ICT Governance, and it is available for download in English. read more
Which ITIL3 books do you use most? Is there a useful subset?
[Bumping this back to the top - any more comments folks?] In my summary of ITIL Version 3, I predicted: Even though OGC are trying to make ITIL3 more integrated than ITIL2, it is a good bet that u...
OGC rebranding comes apart, so to speak
Here at the IT Skeptic website we try to maintain the highest standards of decency and decorum but this one is irresistable. For your amusement, the less easily offended readers should read on. re...
Minor crap factoid spotted: "nearly half consider ITIL very critical to achieving their goals"
The IT Skeptic's Crap Factoid Early Warning Service lists the following Crap Factoid as mild, so Chokey the Chimp is staying at "high" risk, but watch out you don't step in this one. Relatively ha...
Get IT Skeptic widgets
Help yourself to widgets if you would like to post them on your own website. All widgets are available as Java or Flash (or... or... or... lots of options!). Examples: Java read more
ITIL V3 Key Element Guides now available
In the unlikely event that a reader is not on TSO's mailing list, you should know that ITIL V3 Key Element Guides are now available after itSMF IPESC review. These are the pocket versions of the f...
DNS problem fixed on www.itskeptic.org
I found a DNS error for this site today. So if you have been experiencing problems accessing itskeptic.org, I hope they will be a thing of the past. I'd like to say a special thankyou to Deaf-Lla...
The future of IT is Governance, Service and Assurance: The Seventh Vision revised
Several readers of The IT Skeptic have asked where is the IT Swami and in particular where were his New Year's predictions for 2008? Now we can reveal all. read more
Application Management
Application Management process is fully described under the organization but it is not mentioned as a process.
definition of incident
SO book describes incident in a strange manner. The definition is incorrect and contains a short description of the process as well. The process description contain also events. It looks like the a...
itSMF International launches new website
Recovering from the embarassment of their previous host withdrawing services, the itSMF International has launched their new website after a couple of months of a shaky temporary arrangement. read ...
ITIL Certification: a technique for passing multiple-choice exams
This post has been podcast Multiple-choice exams test how well someone can do multiple-choice exams. Depending on how well written the qustions are, they might also test some understanding of the ...
ISO20000 gives ITIL the balls it needs to be successful
[Today as a change we have a guest blog post from Don Page. Don is a long-time ITIL person who has contributed much over the years. This post originally appeared as a comment on this blog, but I ...
how to treat hosted applications in the ITIL service catalogue
Here's one that a colleague wrestled with recently at a client site: how to treat hosted applications in the service catalogue. read more
In 2008, do you want this blog to continue to report on Service Management politics, scandals and dirty deeds?
* Yes * No opinion * No
Three months later, APMG accreditation still suspended
The IT Skeptic broke the news that APMG had been suspended by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service. Three months later, APMG accreditation still suspended. This is obviously not a brief tiff t...
ITIL Version 3
On these pages you will find a summary of what the IT Skeptic knows about ITIL Version 3, kept up to date as facts unfold. read more
ITIL vs. COBIT, ISO20000 et al, and itSMF's role in promoting them.
itSMF exists as a marketing arm of the ITSM industry, by definition. An open market is a wonderfully self-levelling system: money flows where the potential money is. So itSMF forms a very good in...
What I did in my summer holidays
Regular readers will be aware that the IT Skeptic takes a break this time of year and goes camping with the son and heir in Kaitoke: a place best known to the world as Rivendell, for you LOTR fans....
The blogging bubble
Blogging is developing into this incestuous industry of bloggers writing about blogging and each other. The resulting spiral has the industry rapidly disappearing up its own fundamental orifice. ...
Announcing the IT Skeptic Awards for 2007
This blog entry has been podcast The IT Skeptic is pleased to announce our annual New Year's awards, inaugurated last year. These awards are presented to deserving figures and organisations in the...
A dozen IT Service Management and ITIL Forums
There are a large number of ITIL forums on the Web these days, of varying levels of participation and insight. The IT Skeptic thinks their value is strictly limited but for what it is worth here a...
Is ITIL Version 3 "Strategy Generation" a mystery process?
Perhaps readers can help out one of your fellows who is stuck on the ITIL Version 3 process "Strategy Generation". read more
Great myths of ITIL #1: "You can't manage what you can't measure".
"You can't manage what you can't measure". Who on earth came up with that one? One of my big concerns about the application of ITIL is it's emphasis on KPIs. Useful but dangerous. read more
Important ITIL certification news: APMG's accreditation by UKAS has been suspended
Can any reader offer something more substantial than speculation to explain why The APM Group has had their accreditation by the UK Accreditation Service suspended? APMG are the accreditor of all e...
Waiting for ITIL3 training may not have been the right decision
Nobody has called me out on the disconnect between my past strident criticism of the training industry for flogging ITIL2 training as ITIL3 loomed, and my advice now to go for ITIL2 training and no...
Don't swim against the tide: ten alternatives to itSMF for ITIL practitioners
Learn to live with the fact that itSMF serves the ITSM industry not the practitioner community. Consider whether you also need to be a member of an another organisation committed to representing y...
the dropping of ITIL Version 2 certification, training, and publications
If the criticism of ITIL version 3 certification that you see on this blog and others concerns you, consider this. read more
trial ITIL versus a placebo
This article has been podcast If there is an eccentric company owner out there who would like to contribute to business science by conducting a controlled experiment on your company, please contact...
How long can they beat the CMDB drum? What is the next fad?
CMDB can't be done - not with a reasonable investment of resources. But not to hear the vendors (of software and consulting) tell it. read more
a scout hall built between a pub and a brothel
My son has been playing Club Penguin. This is a wonderful kids' website that manages to be fun, social, slightly edifying and quite safe. To find such a nice thing on the internet is a pleasant ch...
itSMF risks instability and constitutional crisis through high-handed elimination of election candidates
[updated]On contemplating the recent nominations for the itSMF International Board and Chair, I wonder if any other readers share my concern that 5 out of 12 candidates were eliminated on a techni...
What I know about the candidates for itSMF International Chair and Board
[Updated]There is no such thing as truly independent people in any sphere of business. Just so you all know, here’s what I know about affiliations of the candidates for itSMF International Chair a...
itSMF International has announced the results of election nominations
itSMF International has announced the results of election nominations for the Chairman and Board of itSMF International. read more
IT operations can learn from lean manufacturing
This article has been podcast Keep an eye on Lean. It is the next big thing (fad or real change?). I always watch what is coming across from manufacturing to IT because - in the service managemen...
itSMF International secret rules revealed
Where directors are the elected representatives of paying members, those directors ought not to be setting their own rules and policy without the consultation of members. In the interests of assist...
Top 10 reasons NOT to implement CMDB
This article has been podcast OK I'll bite. One of the nice folk at Evergreen, Jill Landers, posted "Top 10 reasons to implement a CMDB". I'll do the right thing and not quote it in full here so ...
itSMF USA board election irregularities: the IT Skeptic unlocks the original posts
[UPDATED] Now that itSMF USA has confirmed "clear evidence" of voting irregularities in the last Board elections, I think it is time to reveal the original postings on this blog by Dr Linden, and t...
A nice skeptical ITIL cartoon
This work is © Copyright Paul Wilkinson 2007. I will pass on any requests regarding its use. read more
Tell us what you think about the new ITIL Version 3 books, and see what others thought
* Better than anything else out there\n* Great, excellent, better than I hoped\n* Good enough, about what I expected, will do the job\n* Disappointing, lacking, not what I hoped, will be hard to us...
How to tell whether your IT vendor is a product vendor or a consultant
In the new world of ITIL Version 3, skills in business and IT consulting become preeminent and the technology even more secondary. People who buy technology solutions to process problems will eve...
Is ITIL V3 Foundations designed to suit the needs of the students or the trainers?
[Updated] ITIL V3 Foundations is clearly designed to meet business requirements of those who will be selling it. Does it also meet the needs of those paying good money to attend? Let the debate b...
ITIL on eBay: an IT Skeptic Special Report
Here was I worrying about whether I had enough ®s on my ITILs, while out there on eBay there are people perpetrating the most appalling copyright violations and abuses of trademark. Here are a cou...
Dirty deeds done dirt cheap. More on ITIL V3 discounting and how TSO screws itSMFI screws local itSMF...
The backstabbing and undercutting going on over the ITIL V3 book sales is good news for consumers, but less so for local itSMF chapters, or for those who'd like to see the ITIL world as a respectab...
Don't get het up about ITIL V3 qualifications scheme; it is still a work in progress
A posting on the UK itSMF member's forum by Sharon Taylor, Chief Examiner, resolves a few issues with the ITIL V3 qualifications scheme, including the 21.5 credits issue. It also states that "this...
"Good IT Service Management is simply not possible without” a CMDB? Balls!
I just read Larry Cooper’s article in the latest DITY newsletter: A CMDB Runs Through IT. Larry’s assertion is that “Good IT Service Management is simply not possible without” a CMDB. My reaction...
Personal attacks will be edited.
Allow me to remind readers that this blog exists to debate facts, events and statements, not personalities. if you are incapable of civilised debate, go somewhere else. The web is full of safe pla...
The little spot of bother at the itSMF USA
The little spot of bother at the itSMF USA is in the public domain now. The good news is that the Board acknowledge there might be an issue here and it bears looking into. The bad news is they ch...
Sorry for any inconvenience
My apologies to anyone getting "phantom" email notifications of updates to the site. read more
everything the IT Skeptic can find out about ITIL Version 3 on one page
The IT Skeptic is now collecting everything I can find out about ITIL Version 3 on one reference page. It will apppear on the RSS feed whenever it is updated, or else if you register you can subsc...
ITSM skepticism becomes a crowded field
Oh my! another entrant in the ITSM skeptic stakes: Ian Clayton at ITSMI is now blogging. Given the other blog I mentioned today, it is getting to be a busy field. read more
A visualisation of how ITIL Version 3 transforms ITIL version 2
If you are a visual person like me you may find this diagram helpful in understanding just what ITIL Version 3 means, what has changed. read more
An Alternative to ITIL
I've never seen ITSMBOK™ but readers might like to check out this webinar to learn more about a 550 page book that seems to be an alternative set of guidance (and an alternative organisation ITSMI™...
Announcing the IT Skeptic's ITIL Pipe - an ITIL newsfeed
Using Yahoo's new beta tool Pipes, the IT Skeptic has built his own custom ITIL news feed. You can share this feed to bring you your daily ITIL news if you wish, simply by subscribing to the RSS ...
Today’s shock joint announcement from Microsoft and IBM throws ITIL Refresh into doubt
This article has been podcast read more
Software branding seems to be in the hands of imbeciles.
What is it about these big software companies and their inability to come up with decent branding of their products (and companies)? read more
Rediscovering the Big Iron
Virtualisation, CMDB, autodiscovery, swappable CPUs, intelligent media devices, systems and availability management, capacity modelling... The mainframe worked all this out decades ago. Here's a ...
Irrational exuberance in the IT industry: CMDB is going nuts
Everybody is piling into the CMDB frenzy now, including dodgy journos and madly re-inventing software companies... and this blog. ITIL may not be a fad but the IT Skeptic thinks CMDB now is one. r...
For a monthly newsletter, The Skeptical Informer is
* too short\n* just right\n* too long\n
The Service Delivery Tool gap?
A recent article raises the interesting question of why there are far more Service Support tools than Service Delivery tools. The IT Skeptic knows why. The underlying assumption of the article th...
Some things are more important than ITIL
If it seems the IT Skeptic has been a bit quiet in January this is why: read more
You don't need a weatherman... watch everyone scramble aboard ISO20000
"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows" [Bob Dylan]. Watch all the key ITIL players rapidly embracing ISO20000. When ITIL is just one more IT-geek thing we reminisce about ...
collecting examples of terminological debasement
Maybe I'll start collecting examples of terminological debasement, such as this struggle against the effect: "...something referred to as Enterprise 2.0. read more
Is Microsoft attempting to patent CMDB?
A recent patent application appears to indicate that Microsoft is applying to patent CMDB. This issue is not attracting the outrage that it ought to. Next time you see your Microsoft rep, ask him...
The project 80/20 rule
This is not original (and I forget the source sorry) but it is too good not to share: To complete 80% of the project takes 80% of the time. To do the other 20% takes the other 80% of the time.
Busines cases are so simple: give the decisionmaker what they want
When you are building a business case for ITIL (or anything), it doesn't matter if it is intangible Value or $$$Return that the proposal is offering if that is not what the business wants at this t...
a lot of motherhood considerations presented as a model
Look at this. Pure gold skepticism - a man after me own heart the key problem with ITIL is that it is a lot of motherhood considerations presented as a model. Look, I’m all in favor of deliverin...
ITIL reduces costs by up to 48% - another crap factoid to beware of
Time and again the analysts come up with these numbers using totally unscientific methods and before you know it they are gospel and popping up everywhere like bird flu. I'm not sure who's worse; ...
ITIL in Asia
The IT Skeptic is writing for ITSMWatch now. A recent discussion in that forum led to the IT Skeptic expressing opinions on ITIL in Asia: read more
The cure for the common cult of "ITIL by the book"
What a great line: "the cure for the common cult". Oooh, I wish I had thought of that, but I didn't. It comes from a recent article by Brian Johnson, one of the original authors of ITIL and an oc...
The pressure on ITIL's future notches up
Further to my "Is ITIL dead in the water?" blog entry about ISO/IEC 20000 developing a life of its own and the center of gravity moving to the USA, the plot thickens. This press release, release...
ITIL's CMDB can't be done, no-how
This discussion of CMDB and its total impracticality has got legs. Let me reinforce two points please: (1) CMDB can't be done because of the data and regardless of the implementation and (2) I'm ...
Living without CMDB
This article has been podcast CMDB is positioned as the key underpinning foundation to ITIL: Configuration Management provides the foundation for successful IT Service Management and underpins ev...
VOIP and the anti-competitive behaviours that would logically induce in a telco
These are ugly times for telcos, a topic I look forward to exploring a little more on this blog. Today's topic is VOIP and the anti-competitive behaviours that would logically induce in a telco. ...
Life beyond ITIL
Sorry about the lack of heavy entries lately folks - a trifle busy right now. I'll get time to work on "living without CMDB" soon I promise. The observant ones amongst you will note the banner at ...
Do unto yourself before others do unto you
Joe at Evergreen makes a great point Whether it’s ITIL or some other initiative or project, eventually someone in the organization (usually someone with authority) will ask the proverbial "so what"...
Many ITIL projects are overcapitalised renovations
I have been discussing ITIL ROI with the Spanish ITIL community, via Antonio Valle's blog with the magnificent name "Gobierno de las TIC. Conocimiento Adquirido". I was asked the question “How is ...
The Emperor has no clothes. Where is the evidence for ITIL?
This article has been podcast Since this is a skeptical blog, it is high time we examined the evidence. Where is the evidence for the benefits of ITIL? There isn’t any. Not the kind of hard empi...
The march of ITIL zealots
Today let's look closer at the recent survey I quoted previously. We will discuss the lack of decent empirical evidence for ITIL in a subsequent blog. Vendor surveys are a poor substitute (I know...
Is ITIL Best Practice?
“Best” is a brave word. “Best” leads with the chin. The following is reprinted with permission: All the published ITIL documents define ITIL as Best Practice. (Do you recall how Winnie the Pooh ...
ITIL the fad
One of the big dangers ITIL faces is being taken for a fad due to the wild enthusiasms it is generating. OK the word “wild” hardly applies to service management professionals but you know what I ...
Fads in IT
The IT industry is certainly prone to its fads. This is a reflection of the immaturity of the whole industry (as compared to say most branches of engineering. You don’t see civil engineers coming...
