The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) may be a standard, consistent and repeatable way of managing IT services, but international expert Malcolm Fry warns that banking on ITIL alone is one of the leading causes for the methodology`s failure.
"What you do wrong is often more important than what you do right," says Fry, a UK-based executive advisor on ITIL to BMC Software and other major business software vendors and organisations.
Fry explains that while ITIL provides a framework for best practices in managing IT, it does not contain detailed process maps or provide work instructions. "One of the most common reasons ITIL fails is because business ignores other best practice frameworks."
Using a sporting analogy, Fry says ITIL is like a member of a rugby team, in which each member is working together at any given time to achieve a common business goal.
Fry explains that ITIL, business total quality management (TQM) processes and governance guidelines are a good starting point, but process building skills like those provided by the Six Sigma quality management methodology are required for successful implementation.
[VIDEO]"Six Sigma helps implement ITIL because it helps organisations define processes, assign ownership and create work instructions because failure to achieve these things is another common cause of ITIL failure."
Fry says ITIL, governance and TQM provide the starting point, something like Six Sigma provides the skill base required for implementation, and some kind of capability maturity modelling (CMM) is required to enable management to measure progress.
"Management needs a CMM model to see the maturity level for all the different processes as well as identify current positions and future goals.
"Finally, an end objective like achieving an ISO standard of delivery and quality is needed to tie everything together."
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