Thursday, May 29, 2008
Customers Report High Satisfaction With PinkATLAS
Nearly 90% Are Receiving The Value Expected Using The Online Tool
TORONTO, ON – Pink Elephant today released results of a PinkATLAS customer survey that showed high satisfaction levels, with nearly 90% reporting they are receiving the value they expected from the online tool.
The survey also revealed:
- The most significant value on investment (VOI) is improved efficiency, and improved IT operations
- The primary goals for using PinkATLAS are to either implement new IT Service Management (ITSM) processes or take existing processes to a higher maturity level
- The majority of respondents have been using the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), the most widely recognized ITSM best practice framework, for three years or less
- The most deployed ITIL processes are Incident, Change and Problem Management
PinkATLAS was launched publicly in December 2007 and is the world’s most comprehensive, online ITSM and ITIL knowledge database, used by over 50 companies worldwide. The product’s primary goal is to aid IT organizations’ ITSM initiatives by providing them with project and process design artifacts that will expedite the early stages of their ITSM projects.
PinkATLAS contains:
- 100s of sample process templates, policies, metrics and project plans for 12 ITIL processes, based on V3 (ongoing updates will include more processes)
- A knowledge database with dozens of white papers and multi-media files (podcasts, videos, etc.) for continuous learning in ITSM
- Browsable books, including the entire ITIL V3 lifecycle series and Van Haren Publishing’s complete ITSM library
- Direct access to a lifetime of implementation expertise from Pink’s expert consulting team through a unique Ask-The-Expert feature
View more information.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
ITIL Qualifications Board Releases Statement On V3 Scheme
Qualification Names Confirmed & Release Dates Set For Exams
TORONTO, ON – This week, the ITIL qualifications board announced the official release dates for ITIL V3’s Intermediate level course qualifications, and named the formal qualification titles.
Among the key updates:
- The Capability and Service Lifecycle course syllabi and exams within V3’s Intermediate level will be released to Authorized Training Organizations (ATOs) from October 1, 2008 through to January 1, 2009
- Those who successfully complete an Intermediate level course will be recognized with ITIL Intermediate certificates
- A candidate who has achieved the minimum accumulation of 22 credits across a selection of balanced V2 and V3 modules will be awarded the ITIL Expert Certificate
Download the official statement from the ITIL Qualifications Board (pdf).
As an ATO, Pink Elephant will have access to the new Intermediate course qualifications as they become available and will begin announcing public course availability starting this fall. To take Intermediate courses, candidates must have the Foundation Certificate In IT Service Management, earned through either the ITIL V3 Foundations course or the V2-V3 Foundations Bridging course.
View more information on the V3 certification scheme.
View how Pink Elephant’s ITIL courses guide you along the V3 certification path.
Monday, May 26, 2008
About Service Design
When you read the service design book, there are two major things to consider. The first relates to the processes involved in this phase of the lifecycle. The second relates to designing services. The two are entertwined of course but the proceses are also invloved in the ongoing management of services.
What is meant by designing a service? For one it means that when we look at a brand new service or mofification to an existing service we must look at five major aspects. They are:
■ Service solutions, including all of the functional requirements, resources and capabilities needed and agreed
■ Service Management systems and tools, especially the Service Portfolio for the management and control of services through their lifecycle
■ Technology architectures and management architectures and tools required to provide the services
■ Processes needed to design, transition, operate and improve the services
■ Measurement systems, methods and metrics for the services, the architectures and their constituent components and the processes.
(See Service Design book section 3.2 Design Aspects page 30)
An other aspect of designing services applies to the servies that your organization already offer; you need to reverse engineer them. By this I mean that you need to apply the concepts of service design to what you already do. In previous entries in this blog, I have provided explanation about the resources an capabilities, the utilitiy and warranty of a service ans the types of services.
It is not an easy exercise to do but it should be done and will be very useful to not only design your service catalog but change the culture of the organization to be more service centric as opposed to technology centric.
The processes from all five phases of the lifecycle are necessary to properly design services. But we don’t have all rpocesses in place you may say. I would challenge this. All organizations perform the activities of all processes in some way, shape or form. They simply are not done the way ITIL proposes or recognizable as such or have a different name or are part of a procedure instead of a process. The opportunity and the time and the resources to develop or redesign the processes “à la ITIL” will present themselves later.
There is a lot of talk about assessments and implementing ITIL-based processes. Start by reading up on the various processes and map the activities to the functional groups that you have. I know this is not the the perfect way of doing things but it is a start. Get the proverbial ball rolling, do something. Once you have the processes identified, see if any needs immediate attention.
Then look at the service you already ofer. For this talk to the business and ask them to identify the services they belive they are receiving from IT. Then ask IT what they think they are providing as services.
That’s a start. It is not the whole story. It will not be easy. But you need to start eventually so it might as well be noow (or as soon as humanly possible based on your resources and needs.
Stay tuned.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Plascar Expande Operacao No Pais E Investe Na Melhoria De Processos De TI
Pink Elephant foi a empresa escolhida para promover serviços de Consultoria e capacitação ITIL
São Paulo – A Plascar, unidade da companhia Permali do Brasil Indústria e Comércio Ltda - subsidiária da International Automotive Components Group Brazil -, atua no setor automotivo e tem como atividade-fim a industrialização e comercialização de partes e peças para acabamento interno e externo de veículos. Sua constante preocupação com a qualidade a permitiu atender montadoras do Mercosul e a exportar para México, Canadá, EUA, Austrália e Europa. Nesse sentido, a área de TI também está acompanhando os passos da empresa rumo à excelência e vem capacitando sua equipe no modelo ITIL com a Consultoria Pink Elephant. A meta é conquistar o Certificado de Qualidade ISO 20.000, que atesta qualidade de processos.
Um valor considerável está sendo investido na capacitação, treinamento e consultoria para implementação das melhores práticas de TI dentro da organização.
Segundo José Carlos Lopes, gerente de TI da Plascar, a somatória do conhecimento de Governança Corporativa de TI com a rápida expansão da Plascar resultou na escolha da ITIL como framework a ser implementado. “Para nivelamento do conhecimento iniciamos o treinamento de toda a equipe por meio do ITIL Foundation e de um plano de treinamento para este semestre de praticantes e managers. Logo de cara nossa equipe de TI composta por 20 pessoas ficou bastante animada, pois na primeira prova do Foundation já conseguimos 18 certificações”, celebra Lopes.
Segundo Lopes, a expansão da companhia impulsionou a busca imediata por maior organização e melhorias dos processos. “Com o crescimento da empresa, tanto em números de colaboradores quanto de unidades, não é tão simples dividir os setores e a infra-estrutura da área de TI”.
“Escolhi a Consultoria da Pink Elephant devido à sua tradição com o modelo ITIL, participando desde o início da elaboração da biblioteca em conjunto com o Governo da Inglaterra. Pude comprovar a alta qualidade de seus cursos e o conhecimento da equipe consultora sobre Governança”. “A Plascar já tem, entre tantas outras, a Certificação ISO 14000, agora o próximo passo é a Certificação ISO 20000”, prevê Lopes.
Sobre a Plascar
A Plascar é uma unidade de negócio da Permali do Brasil Indústria e Comércio Ltda., uma subsidiária integral da International Automotive Components Group Brazil, LLC. A Plascar atua no setor automotivo e tem como atividade operacional a industrialização e comercialização de partes e peças relacionadas ao acabamento interno e externo de veículos automotores. A Companhia detém a tecnologia do “Woodstock” (composição de farinha de madeira e polipropileno) para uso na fabricação de laterais de porta e porta pacotes.
A Companhia é líder de mercado, atende montadoras do Mercosul e exporta para o México, Canadá, EUA, Austrália e Europa. Atua no mercado original, atendendo também o mercado de reposição para sistemas de iluminação e sinalização. Mais informações acesse ao site: http://www.plascargroup.com.
Sobre a Pink Elephant
Fundada em 1979 na Holanda e com sede em Toronto no Canadá, a Pink Elephant passou por várias etapas antes de ser conhecida mundialmente com empresa líder no segmento de Gerenciamento de Serviços de TI. Concebida inicialmente como uma empresa de outsourcing, se juntou em 1987 ao CCTA (atual OGC) órgão do governo inglês para desenvolver o modelo ITIL. Desde então, a Pink Elephant se mudou para o Canadá e é reconhecida globalmente como a empresa que introduziu o modelo ITIL na América do Norte.
A Pink Elephant é uma empresa de consultoria e educação para a área de Tecnologia da Informação. Esta companhia atua em três importantes frentes de negócios: Educação (Treinamento), Eventos (Conferências e Seminários) e Serviços(Consultoria). Esses três produtos se complementam e estão centradas na divulgação e implementação das melhores práticas de ITIL, objetivando uma melhor gestão da área de Tecnologia e, consequentemente, da empresa-cliente como um todo.
Atualmente, a Pink Elephant possui operações no Canadá, Estados Unidos, México, Brasil, Reino Unido, África do Sul, Austrália, Nova Zelândia, Hong Kong, Malásia, Singapura e Arábia Saudita. No Brasil, iniciou suas operações em Julho de 2005 e conta com escritórios em São Paulo e Brasília. Mais informações, acesse ao site: http://www.pinkelephant.com
Contato com a imprensa:
Assessoria de Imprensa da Pink Elephant
Capital Informação
Luciane Bernardi - .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Tels: (11) 3926-9517 ou 3926-9518
Fax: 3845-0111
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, May 15, 2008
More Keepin ‘Em On The Farm
Unless you are a silver-tongued devil, I’m guessing you won’t be able talk the upper management folks to raise the wages way up there to be comparable to some of the 2nd and 3rd level support groups in the rest of IT. So another way to reduce the amount of turnover and keep people at the Service Desk longer before they start sniffing around for higher paying, less stressful jobs is to create several pay tiers at the Service Desk. What to name the various tiers is not as important as having 3-5 levels or tiers, each having a higher pay range. For example:
Tier 1: Pay range $X - $Y
Tier 2: Pay range 15% higher than Tier 1 range
Tier 3: Pay range 15% higher than Tier 2 range
Lead: Pay range 15% higher than Tier 3 range
Supervisor: Pay range 15% higher than Lead range
Having tiers like this will give the analysts a feeling that they have the ability to progress from one level to the next all the way to the top if they have some longevity beyond the usual analyst lifecycle. They will feel there is a long term relationship possible with your Service Desk.
The next step is to write job descriptions for each level with clear requirements for each that will stimulate the analysts to aspire to the higher tiers.
Link personal goals for each analyst to tier requirements to give incentive for progress from one level to the next. But keep in mind that the personal goals of analysts must map to the goals of the Service Desk which must map to the goals of IT which must map to the goals of the company. Therefore all employees will be able to easily see how what they do directly affects the success of the company. This linkage is important.
In my next blog I will discuss other ways to give your analysts a sense of belonging that will make them more likely to stick around awhile.
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Tuesday, May 13, 2008
How Do You Keep ‘Em Part Deux
How do you keep em? Let’s be honest, in most organizations the Service Desk has the lowest pay range of any group within IT. So to even get really good experienced people to work at the Service Desk is the first challenge. It would be nice if you could attract the best possible candidates, but you are more likely to attract younger people, fresh out of school with little practical experience. But since they have little experience they are more likely to be willing to work for the lower pay range you can offer since this may be the first or one of the first full time jobs they have had since graduation.
Getting them up to speed will be your first task. To supplement their knowledge and train them to be effective may take months. And when you consider the life span of a Service Desk analyst may only be as short as 18 months (according to several studies I have seen), you aren’t getting much longevity from the average staff member. Eighteen months!?!? Mamma Mia, that isn’t much time!
So you may need to design more than one tier at the Service Desk if you have any hope of getting them to stick around longer. How does that work? Sorry, it’s late and I am tired. More coming soon…
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Monday, May 05, 2008
Pink Leads Industry’s First V3 Managers Bridging Course; Achieves 77% Pass Rate
TORONTO, ON – May 5, 2008 – Pink Elephant today announced that the very first public ITIL V2-V3 Service Manager Bridging Course, delivered to 13 participants in February, 2008 in Las Vegas, achieved a 77% pass rate – a double-digit lead over the industry average of 60% (based on data from APMG, official ITIL accreditor.
Since February, Pink Elephant has maintained a pass rate for the course that is at least 10% above the industry average. An 80% passing grade on a 90-minute, 20-question exam is required to receive the course’s certification – ITIL Expert.
“Before the public launch, six members of our education team successfully completed the course pilot, offered only to an elite group of Authorized Training Organizations,” says David Ratcliffe, Pink Elephant President. “We’re proud to say that our instructors, the world’s first ITIL Experts, taught the first group of very enthusiastic IT practitioners to outstanding results. This is an impressive achievement, considering it was the first test in the market for quite a challenging course.”
The V2-V3 Service Manager Bridging Course is a five-day program that provides a very intense and focused exploration of the new and modified topics in ITIL V3. The course is intended for those who hold a pre-V3 Managers Certificate in IT Service Management, or who have earned at least 10.5 ITIL V3 credits through a combination of V2 Practitioner courses.
Pink Elephant also leads in industry pass rates for other V3-based certification courses. The company’s pass rate for ITIL V3 Foundations is 90% compared to the 80% industry average; participants who have taken the V2-V3 Foundations Bridging Course through Pink have enjoyed a 92% pass rate compared to the 75% industry average.
Pink Elephant has also trained more than 100,000 IT professionals in ITIL – more than any other organization worldwide.
View more information about ITIL V3 credits and how Pink Elephant’s courses help participants advance within the certification scheme.
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Manager Bridge Course In Malaysia
This week I am delivering a Manager Bridge course in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the group we have people from Malaysia (of course), Australia, India, Thailand and Indonesia. Let me tell you that they were ecstatic to hear the exam is multiple choice.
It is great to see that there is a lot of interest about V3 and the Manager Bridge certification. It is also good to hear that other training organizations are delivering this course and the Foundation course in the area and all over Asia actually.
The only troubling thing I find is that there are rumors that the exam for the Manager Bridge is unbelievably difficult and the pass rate is dismal. The truth is otherwise. Yes the exam is difficult; it’s not supposed to be easy. I should know; I did it twice (and passed both times). It made me think and no I did not get perfect scores. As I am a senior examiner with APMG I can not tell you the pass rate at this time (non-disclosure agreement obliges) but I can tell you that we were informed that the pass rate is very satisfactory.
APMG and the examining institutes will eventually publish pass rates but for now, please ignore the rumors.
until next time