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From ITIL v2 to v3 – where to start?
Posted in ITIL Compliance & Accreditation on 08 February 2010 by
ITIL v2 and v3 have been peacefully coexisting since the release of the new version in 2007, but with the forthcoming phasing out of v2 starting this year, many organisations are starting to plan their transition towards v3. It is always hard to switch from the comfort of a widely-practiced and familiar method to a new version of it, and although most organisations seem to understand the tangible benefits of the enhanced discipline, the question remains: where do you start?
The problem, in fact, is often not why but how to carry out the transition - moving your organisation from operating in a v2 world to working more strategically in a v3 mindset requires a scale of undertaking that can be difficult when locked into busy operational roles.
So what is the first step?
As with all investments, you have to target what will give you the best ROI. This means building on the investments you have made in V2 and using them as a launch pad into V3 while introducing only the V3 processes, which tangibly increases the value of the existing processes in place.
For many organisations, the first step forward is to close the front door of Service operations to Projects, throwing rubbish into BAU. To do this, the ideal move is to take a step back in the V3 lifecycle, into the Service Transition Planning and Support process.
Service Transition Planning and Support is a new V3 process which deals with the softer side of managing the transition of a service from Project to Operations. It enhances the effectiveness of Change, Configuration, Incident and Release Management from version 2 by acting as the gatekeeper for BAU, ensuring their requirements are addressed before the Project is dropped on them. It also helps Projects successfully navigate the engagement into Operations and those same processes. Too often Projects and Operations work to two different agendas - V3 now gives us a process to bind the two together.
Starting the implementation of v3 through the Service Transition Planning and Support Process, then, is the ideal approach for a better understanding of the new and improved processes while easing the stress of getting accustomed to novelty. An integrated approach such as the one presented in this section is important for a better alignment of the organisation's Service Transition plans with those of the customer and supplier, bringing business value as it improves the organisation's ability to handle high volumes of change and releases across the whole of its customer base.
Will Sanderson, Service Management Consultant
T: +44 (0)20 7353 4313 F: +44 (0)20 7353 4314
Plan-Net Plc,
Hamilton House, 1 Temple Avenue, London EC4Y 0HA