Implementing the ITIL framework

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Choose the process After you've performed the gap analysis, it will become obvious which processes will be more difficult to improve. Most organisations choose not to improve all ten processes simultaneously. Determining which process or processes to begin with is sometimes a difficult decision, but this is where a consultant's experience can pay off. The client will expect advice about which process can most easily be brought to the defined, controlled state. If the Incident Management process hasn't reached a controlled state, or a three on the PMF scale, I recommend starting there. The goal of Incident Management is to restore normal operation as quickly as possible. Therefore, Incident Management is a foundation process on which many of the others will depend. Problem Management, Configuration Management, and Change Management may be the next processes for you to consider. In my company's case, we determined that we could move our Incident Management process to a more controlled state with little effort due to its state of process maturity, so it was one of the first processes we set out to improve. Begin a project Develop a project plan for how an IT process can be changed to adopt the best practice standards. (A formal project management methodology like PRINCE2, Projects in Controlled Environments, is very complementary to ITIL because it has similar origins.) Our organisation uses The Project Success System, a project management methodology from Young, Clark, and Associates (YCA), for all development projects, and we chose to use it for our ITIL implementation as well. The project plan should allow for the development of multiple drafts of your deliverables and several checkpoints for review by the organisation to ensure that they buy in to the new way of managing IT services. During the course of your project, you'll identify process activities that should be monitored and measured. Your selection of these activities will be dependent on the goals for the process and will support the organisation's desire to meet the ITIL best practice criteria. Measure Once the project has concluded and the changes to the IT process have been implemented, it's time to take measurements of various tasks -- which ITIL helped you identify -- throughout the process. For example, you might want to measure the percentage by which the helps desk's response time is reduced. By measuring these tasks, you'll be able to determine whether the process will reach the desired results. If the results aren't being achieved, now is the time to make some adjustments to the newly revised process. If you're satisfied with the results, perform another self-audit to ensure that the process has reached a defined, controllable state of maturity. Continuous improvement No process is ever perfect, so explain the importance of continuous improvement efforts. As the process is tested over time, employees will suggest further refinements. Likewise, when you select another process to work on, there will be a natural tendency to revise processes -- even those that have been deemed to be in control. The overall implementation of ITIL best practices isn't something that can happen overnight. In most cases, adopting these best practices will require a culture change for the organisation, in addition to the anticipated changes to the process itself.
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