PinkLink

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Service Management Concepts Made Easy

Part 1:  Utility vs. Warranty

If you’ve read ITIL V3’s Service Strategy book, you will have been exposed to many best practices that IT organizations need for IT business alignment.

Some of the concepts written in the book seem fairly complex, but in this latest article, Pierre Bernard, Pink’s Manager of Education & Product Portfolio, provides easy to understand terms, using real life scenarios to help readers better visualize the meanings.

In part one, Pierre explains utility and warranty in relation to a product or service, and how, taken together, they help to create value in the eyes of the customer. 

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Top Ten Reasons To Apply Continual Improvement Out Of The Gate

Over the years organizations implementing ITIL have approached Continual Service Improvement from many different perspectives.

- Some organizations launch their Service Improvement program with a plan to phase in Continual Improvement after implementing their first round of formal process improvements

- Other organizations begin applying Continual Improvement as soon as they deploy newly designed Service Management processes

- And others talk about it, but don’t actually implement any type of Continual Improvement practice. These organizations have a very short minded goal of developing and implementing some ITIL processes and magically they all work well and never need to be revisited. Of course, this is a huge risk

However, many organizations can increase the effectiveness of their Service Management Improvement programs by applying Continual Improvement from the beginning.

Read the article. 

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Connecting The Concepts:  From Configuration Item To Release Policy

"Everything is inter-connected.  You cannot develop one process while ignoring the others.  You cannot build your component hierarchy without understanding your services, just as you can’t build your Release Types without understanding your Change Models.”

Your Release Management Process Project team is struggling with the definition of the Release Policy. Through discussions, two views of the Release Policy have come up:

- One Release Policy for each IT service
- One generic Release Policy

Which view of Release Policy will be more effective with your Release Management Process design?  Is one better than the other?  What does ITIL say?  These are all very valid questions that many organizations ask themselves.

The intent of this white paper is to provide insight into the various concepts required for an efficient Release Policy. We will travel through various processes, revisiting some key concepts and linking them together in a more comprehensive and cohesive manner. Both IT and not-IT examples will illustrate some key concepts and how the concepts are linked together. 

Read the white paper.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

The Rise & Re-Integration Of The ERP Empire

"In many of the organizations that participated in the online survey, a common pattern can be observed that shows why ERP groups are generally early adopters of formalized process in general and turn to ITIL specifically.”

In February 2007, BMC and Pink Elephant conducted online research, contacting over 54,000 people to determine where IT Service Management is headed in terms of global adoption. The results of this survey were released in a joint white paper in the July issue of PinkLink. Pink Elephant has also posted this white paper online.

This white paper builds on the survey results and examines the business reasons for the rise and separation of the SAP organization from the general IT function in the 1990s and early 2000s. Read some of the surprising findings from Pink Elephant’s Director or Product Strategy and author of this paper, Troy DuMoulin.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

How Do The New ITIL Certification Credits Work?

"Now that the new certification scheme has been announced by APMG and the OGC, what does it mean?”

Read Read this article from Pierre Bernard, Pink Elephant’s Manager of Education Products and member of the international ITIL certification panel. You’ll find out more about navigating through the new ITIL certification scheme and the prerequisites for attaining the new ITIL Diploma. 

Balancing Process Formality With Innovation

Adoption of Service Management is about establishing a consistency and balance of service delivery that is in line with the expectations of providing a utility of service that does not place the business at risk, while at the same time exploring new opportunities to leverage information technology.

Read this article, which explores answers to the following questions:

- How much process formalization is necessary or beneficial?
- At what point do we cross a line with control and formality and begin to stifle innovation and creative thought?

Friday, May 04, 2007

ITIL V3 The Past & The Future: The Evolution Of Service Management Philosophy

The launch of ITIL V3 is just around the corner!  And, the future of IT Service Management (ITSM) looks brighter than ever! 

So what is changing?  By now, most people know there will be five books; however, what about basic fundamentals, terminology, or overall approach?  If these questions are on your mind, you’ll want to read our exclusive whitepaper ITIL V3 The Past & The Future: The Evolution Of Service Management Philosophy written by ITSM guru Troy DuMoulin.  This paper identifies and interprets some key evolutions in ITSM philosophy and compares V2 to V3.

The details will give you a clearer picture of what you can expect moving forward.  It’s a must-have resource if anyone is working in IT Service Management!

Read the article

Thursday, April 05, 2007

The Three Qualities & Customers Of The IT Service Catalog

Have you ever stopped to consider that ITIL is a Service Management Framework?

This sounds pretty basic and you may be wondering what is meant by this obvious statement.

Consider that if ITIL is a Service Management framework, this means that all of the processes have only one goal: to plan for, deliver and support IT services!  This being the case, then perhaps the Service Catalog is much more that an a la carte menu for the business customer.  Rather, the Service Catalog is the cornerstone or foundation for any ITSM initiative!

Read the article and learn about the three qualities and three key customer groups of the IT Service Catalog.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Using A Process-Oriented Architecture To Improve IT Service Delivery

An IT organization needs clearly defined and documented processes in order to operate more efficiently in today’s fast-paced and complex world. The processes also need to be connected and working together; but, having a process framework requires a thorough understanding of the components of a generic process as well as understanding how processes can help an IT organization perform better and deliver quality services to the business.

Read this article and learn about the critical components of a process that contribute towards meeting the needs of the business, including:

- The process owner
- Process goal
- Quality parameters and KPIs

Monday, February 12, 2007

Employee Compliance A Key Factor For ITIL Process Implementation

Major projects, including ITIL implementations, fail because new processes, procedures and standards are not fully entrenched within an organization’s culture. To completely cement organizational-wide change, new ways of doing business must not only be understood, they must also be adhered to. That’s where employee compliance comes in.

Employee compliance is gaining ground within business culture around the globe. What is employee compliance? Why is important? What are its ties to ITIL process implementation? And, how can it protect your organization? Discover the answers to these questions in a white paper authored by ITSM guru, Troy DuMoulin.

Read the white paper.

Monday, January 15, 2007

The Federated Configuration Management Database (CMDB)

The emerging capability of federating data sources is the biggest boon and the largest potential pitfall that has arisen for the discipline and process ITIL calls Configuration Management! On the surface this may appear to be a contradictory statement. However, as is the case with all good intentions, it all comes down to the application. First and foremost, database federation is an absolute must for a successful Configuration Management Database (CMDB) implementation.

Read this latest white paper from Pink Elephant and learn about:

- The definition of CMDB federation
- Three applications of CMDB federation
- Which application of the term is the most appropriate for long-term success

Monday, December 04, 2006

Process Owners - ‘Architects’ Of ITIL Project Success

Read this paper developed by Pink Elephant’s Troy DuMoulin and published in the latest issue of Business Trends Quarterly, and learn about why the success of ITIL projects hinges on the process owner. Plus, in cases where there is ownership for multiple ITIL processes, discover what combinations work well and which represent a conflict of interest based on the process objectives.

Process Owners - ‘Architects’ Of ITIL Project Success

Monday, November 06, 2006

ROI VOI Feasibility Analysis

This article was featured in our November issue of PinkLink.  In this latest white paper, ROI and VOI are examined in the context of the ITIL Support and Restore Processes (Incident and Problem Management, plus the Service Desk). The paper also discusses the components of a feasibility analysis that is required to support the process improvement business case. 

ROI VOI Feasibility Analysis

Friday, October 06, 2006

Service Level Management Articles

Here are articles on Service Level Management:

- Establishing The Key Role Of Service Level Manager
- Planning A Successful Survey
- Service Level Management - A Process, Not A Document
- What’s The Big Deal About A Service Catalog

Thursday, October 05, 2006

The Problem With Problem Management

Did you really implement Problem Management or just improved on mangaging incidents?  Learn six of the biggest difficulties associated with implementing and managing an effective Problem management process and tips on how to avoid them.

The Problem With Problem Management