ITIL for dummies?

[mtmandersen]

I too, like many others are new to ITIL. I have read Service Delivery and Service Support v2 so many times I could quote text! But now I am becoming quite frustrated.

I am a supervisor who manages the help desk at a hospital. My Director wants me to implement ITIL - his way. The only training I've had is reading the books and researching on the internet.

I am being asked to create specific processes and at this point I am lost.

Here is where I am hoping someone can help.....I have developed an Incident Mgmt processes already, so now I need to start on Problem Mgmt. Specifically a process to define how incidents will be reviewed for underlying causes. This should include all incidents - not only major ones. We are currently using Track It 7 to manage our inventory and all work order requests. I have only one reportable field left to use. Do I collect symptom codes, cause codes or resolution codes??

Is there anyone who can make a suggestion??

[Fabien]

I don't think anyone can answer this question as such. I think you need to define your primary objectives for Problem Management, how you see it applied, who is going to be involved, etc.

Track It will allow you to do Problem Management. So my suggestion is to step away from the tool for a second and plan your next step with the end in mind.

Everything in ITIL process implementation is "keep the end in mind".
_________________
BR,
Fabien Papleux

Accenture
Technology Consulting | Service Excellence
Red Badge Certified

Twitter @itilgeek

[tphinsee]

You and I share similar stories. I am currently a Track-It 7.0 System Administrator and Project Manager for 200 technicians, 7000 nodes across 6 hospitals. In November 2006, I too was given the challenge of re-aligning our IT department to that of ITIL (ITSM) framework. We embarked upon a huge project which included an evaluation of 15 different ITSM vendors and we have since narrowed our search down to 2 remaining vendor solutions which have aligned their solutions with ITIL framework. Spending time with each of the solutions has made the whole concept of ITIL so much easier to understand.

As a start, you may want to contact your Track-It vendor (Numara) to discuss their ITIL solution Footprints - it is really good. I am actually going to be engaged in a conference call in the very near future with an existing Footprints customer who has migrated from Track-It to Footprints. Also keep in mind that before you install an ITIL solution, you must develop the processes and procedures, and your CIs.

Best of luck to you. Please let me know if I can direct to you reference at Numara for guidance in your area.

[mtmandersen]

Thanks so much for your feedback - it is appreciated.

I have tried to look to the future and build the process with the end in mind - but when I do that it is realized (by others) that we dont have the tools to implement - so back to the drawing board!!

I have looked into Footprints as well. We are a not-for-profit hospital implementing an EMR so the funds are not available for this.

Based on the parameters placed on the project - I am set up to fail.

[Mark-OLoughlin]

Focus on what is important to do at the start and work from there.

What I mean is do you require a good Service Desk structure in place now and a single point of contact etc for all IT calls or do you need to get control on the change activity that is going one and perhaps causing other issues, outages etc.?

If you try to do too much to begin with you may fail. You can still implement processes without having the latest and greatest tools though you do need something that covers the basics. Use ITIL as a guide to say develop the Service Desk process and see what you can automate if anything with your current tool.

For small desks I have seen people use spreadsheets. Its not ideal but worked for them to ensure calls were recorded. This was a team receiving low number of calls. In developing the Service Desk process we were able to identify the gaps between the process and what was in place and were able to present this to management who took a more serious look at our request for a better tool.

To recap, identify one or two areas to start with and work from there. This can be asertained by what is most important to achieve right now.

Best of luck.

[Timo]

I agree with Mark. Start small and think big. One of the primary causes for failed ITIL implementations is trying to do too much at once.

For a lot of organizations ITIL represents a significant culture change and everybody from executives to staff need to be eased in with quick and relatively painless wins that lead toward achievement of a bigger strategic objective.

I know it probably doesn't not help you much in terms of a specific problem at hand, but it is hard to provide a concrete advice in your case other than a generic approach.

best of luck,

Michael