ITIL – any good?

Discussion in 'Service Management Frameworks' started by Sparky, Sep 28, 2010.

  1. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    I’ve been asked to look at some of the ITIL processes for our helpdesk as calls have increased significantly and we have taken on some additional support contracts as well. This sometimes causes issues, especially at busy times.

    As much as I like the technical side of things (would rather be getting stuck into Exchange 2010) this is a project for me to implement and then review later on.

    Anyways, for those who have taken on this ITIL jazz was it just a load of BS or was there some merit to the whole thing.
     
    Last edited: Sep 28, 2010
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  2. JK2447
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    JK2447 Petabyte Poster Administrator Premium Member

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    I didn't like it at first, now I can't really imagine how I'd go about things without doing it the ITIL way. When you first get into it it seems very alien IMO but its a great framework and works especially well for something like a helpdesk IMHO. My mate Bri is heavily into it and will no doubt give you a succint reply but for what its worth, its adopted by every major firm I've come into contact with so .....

    You'd be looking at sending the desk staff on the ITIL Foundation course no doubt.
     
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  3. onoski

    onoski Terabyte Poster

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    It's a principle and if implemented according to ITIL standards would be very beneficial for what you're trying to achieve in terms of incident management, service level agreements etc.

    At work we have adopted ITIL processes, now a change has to be raised and pre approved before a server can be restarted or shutdown etc.

    Best wishes and lets know how you get on:)
     
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  4. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    Cheers mate. It’s probably best for us to take a step back from the technical stuff for a few weeks and get this put in place to keep things steady for our existing customers.

    What courses should I be looking at to implement all of this for the helpdesk? Just the one you have listed or is there another one.
     
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  5. JK2447
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    JK2447 Petabyte Poster Administrator Premium Member

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    We all got sent on the foundation mate as it gives staff an overview of the whole thing. You will definitely benefit from it and customers love frameworks like this because they will go through the same process every time they call up. I feel it shows you are keen to have structure to the way you work, and not just your own style, which may be great by the way, but can vary depending on how each member of staff interprets how you want things done. What we all found was that it slowed us down at first, only a tiny little bit, but in hindsight I think it just takes a bit of getting used to, once you've followed the framework it becomes second nature. Critical incident management, major changes, cab meetings, problem management etc etc all becomes very structured and everyone knows the script so in theory should approach things in the same way.

    **Edit: Bri feel free to step in at any time and decipher what I'm trying to say :)
     
    Last edited: Sep 28, 2010
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  6. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    Cheers for the help guys. :biggrin
     
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  7. Kitkatninja
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    Kitkatninja aka me, myself & I Moderator

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    I agree with most of what's been said apart from the standards parts. ITIL is not a set of standards but a set of best practices.

    We started to implement ITIL, but we ended up implementing parts of FITS instead at our place. FITS is based on ITIL, however the emphasis is different, ITIL is geared up towards the business process, whereas FITS is geared up towards the end user.

    Disadvantages... Increased upfront/initial workload.

    Advantages... A uniformed/standard way of working within your department (not to be confused with saying that ITIL itself is a standard). Decreased ongoing running workloads, due to:

    1. Servicedesk (single point of contact)
    2. Knowledge based
    3. Configuration Database

    Then there's other sections that link in with the servicedesk/helpdesk...

    -Ken
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2010
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  8. Bri1981

    Bri1981 Byte Poster

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    Hiya mate, get through the foundation first then if you want to go further there are a couple of intermediate courses that might be beneficial to you. There is Service Operation and Continual Service Improvement from the Lifecycle pathway (these courses are more theory based and a in my opinion a bit dull) then you have Release, Control and Validation (RCV) as well as Operational Support and Analysis (OSA) from the Capability pathway, these are much more practical and easier to work through and understand I think.
    However there is a fair bit of overlap between the Lifecycle and Capability modules

    Details of each below (copied from the art of service website):
    Lifecycle
    Service Operation
    The Service Operation Lifecycle Program provides a comprehensive study of the ITIL v3 phase of Service Operation and where it fits into the greater Service Lifecycle.

    Within Service Operation, the following processes are explored:

    * Event Management
    * Incident Management
    * Problem Management
    * Request Fulfilment

    Continual Service Improvement
    The Continual Service Improvement Lifecycle Program provides a comprehensive study of the ITIL v3 phase of Continual Service Improvement (CSI) and where it fits into the greater Service Lifecycle.

    Within CSI, the following processes and concepts are explored:

    * 7 Step Improvement Process
    * Service Measurement & Reporting
    * Service Level Management
    * CSI Methods & Techniques
    * The Deming Cycle
    * Organizing for CSI
    * Technology considerations
    * Implementing CSI
    * Access Managenent

    Capability
    OSA
    The ITIL v3 Intermediate: Operational Support & Analysis Capability Program is intended for professionals who will participate in managing, organizing and optimizing the operations of the Operational Support & Analysis (OSA) processes in an IT Service Organization which has implemented, or started to implement, IT Service Management. The target group consists of team leaders, supervisors, and managers wishing to develop and extend their skills in planning, implementing and improving OSA processes, including:

    * Event Management
    * Incident Management
    * Problem Management
    * Request Fulfilment
    * Access Management

    RCV
    The ITIL v3 Intermediate: Release, Control & Validation Capability Program is intended for professionals who will participate in managing, organizing and optimizing the operations of the Release, Control & Validation (RCV processes in an IT Service Organization which has implemented, or started to implement, IT Service Management. The target group consists of team leaders, supervisors, and managers wishing to develop and extend their skills in planning, implementing and improving RCV processes, including:

    * Service Asset & Configuration Management
    * Change Management
    * Release & Deployment Management
    * Validation and Testing
    * Evaluation
    * Request Fulfilment
    * Knowledge Mangement


    I would go for the OSA course (I am working through this at the moment), loads of usefull stuff in there as well as all the relevant KPI's. The Knowledge Management, Request Fulfilment and Service Asset & Config Management processes from RCV are also good reading.

    Any other questions give me a shout and I can send you some stuff if you want.

    Cheers
     
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  9. onoski

    onoski Terabyte Poster

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    You're correct it's best practice and not a standard, got my phrase wrong. Thanks for highlighting this:)
     
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