In a perfect world, there would be a button to press that instantly implements all aspects of ITIL into your organization. When you find that world, let us know. Until then, Greg Sanker is being a realist, and ITIL is a greater challenge to make work in the world he knows.
Worlds Collide
ITIL is so mammoth that to actually apply more than a few parts of it to an organization can be a Herculean task. Equally painful, there will always be a bunch of people who do not even “get” ITIL. Sanker pitches a curveball however when he says that ITIL is not supposed to work—at least, not in isolation. He finds that, like maps, ITIL is only a tool that can be used correctly or poorly by the person using it. In the case of ITIL, your knowledge and experiences with ITIL will shape your degree of success.
How does this actually occur? According to Sanker, it happens one step at a time:
In IT Service Management, this means making small improvements in areas where you can. What can you control or influence? Whatever team you’re part of, say, Service Desk, or Network Operations, think about what parts of ITIL might help improve service. Maybe, say, Incident Management, or Problem Management.
But don’t implement ITIL or adopt Service Management. Focus instead on using the guidance to improve service in your sphere of influence. Work for just one thing: increase the value of what you do for your customers.
That’s it. Do that.
In the hands of the right person, ITIL processes can be successfully implemented in the business to great effect. But it really does have to center around you and your efforts. Striving to incorporate the whole, unadulterated beast of ITIL into the business will never succeed. You can read Sanker’s original post here: http://itsmtransition.com/2014/06/itil-doesnt-work/
