ITSM Uncovered

In early 2008 I attended the ITIL version 2 to version 3 Foundation bridging course. For those who may not be familiar with what this is or do not understand the significance of the course, allow me to explain. Many people have been certified as an IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) professional at one level or another. This past year the ITIL Governing body release a complete re-write of the IT Infrastructure Library in its 3rd version.
One of the main concerns for the industry has been what happens to those certified as ITIL Version 2 Professionals. The solution was the development of a course designed to bridge between the two programs at the ITIL Foundation Level, the entry point to the entire Certification process. Not the full blown Foundation Certification but basically a "This is what is new/different in version 3" course. The idea is that if you attend the one day course and pass the certification exam, your Foundation Certification becomes a version 3 Certification. Thus allowing you to traverse the new ITIL version 3 certification ladder. For me, I think the course was well worth it.

I will say that despite previous notions, from the average individual who has not "Lived" ITIL as I have, but has only a Foundation Certification obtained from some point in the past, this course is a must, as there are many changes in the basic concept as compared with v2. In addition, items like terminology and structure of ITIL have also taken a new look and feel. There is however, a caveat to that statement so please read the "Suggestions for '09" below.

The major shift in my own logic, in terms of this course, is not how each ITIL Process has shifted into more a modular representation, but that the overall emphasis, at least from what I gathered from this course, is that the concept of service is pushed to the forefront and in some ways more-so than process.

My general take away was that when we were used to saying "Process BEFORE Tools" should actually now be "Service BEFORE Process BEFORE Tools." This became evident to me as the day progressed. Having a strong background In the IT Service world, digesting Service Strategy, Design and Transition, winding up with Service Operations was a flow that made sense to me, more so than what I got out of the original version 2 Foundation Certification course.

As with the v2 Course, this Bridge Course saw the introduction of several new concepts (Service Assets, Utility vs. Warranty etc.) as well as terminology, definitions and the major focus on the Service Portfolio.

It was clear that this course WAS NOT a course designed to provide the full explanation and content of a Foundation Certification (as expected), but an attempt at showing you what is different in v3. For that reason the course served its purpose.

Course/Session Review

The actual course itself was interesting. Everything you needed to know crammed into a single day. Oh, and you have to take an exam at the end to upgrade your certification which you won't find the results on for another 2 or 3 weeks. The course began like any other, books provided, introductions conducted then mentally, it felt as if we were scalped and a ton of information was flowing directly into our brains.

We started the day with Service Strategy. Here is where the bulk of change occurs between v2 and 3. From that point it was onto Service Design and part of Service Transition before breaking for lunch. The afternoon finished up with Service Transition and moved into Service Operations. At the end of Service Operations we were supposed to move into the practice exam which was cut due to some miss-communication with the Examiner who showed up early and administered the exam about an hour earlier than planned.

My personal opinion is that the pace was extremely fast and difficult to absorb in the morning session, thus a bit overwhelming. I started following with the presentation pages in the book, taking notes at a fevered pace. I quickly found that I was unable to keep up with the nuances of what the instructor was saying because I was trying to take notes on material that was flying at me fast. Finally, I gave up and simply began highlighting key areas in the book that he pointed out while focusing on what he was saying to absorb his descriptions of these v3 topics. Thank goodness module covered at least provided a short test on the material that we went through first answering individually, then walking through the answers as a group.

I think one day for this course is too short and should be split up to alleviate the stress and sense of being rushed into a certification at the end of the day. There was no real time to review notes or content to prepare for the exam. If the content could be presented on one day and the exam the next morning then at least one could have the time overnight to brush up new material provided.

Suggestions for '09

Unlike the v2 Foundation Certification process, I believe organizations will need to be focused on providing training based on operational roles. It has to be from a cost management perspective. There are still organizations out there offering certification for the sake of certification. Practical application is king and the ability to manage demand as it applies to actual work needed to be performed will further demonstrate the ability reduce costs and deliver results. The Bridge Course is a very valid course for those certified in ITIL Version 2, but not necessary for everyone.

The Foundation Certification as a whole will shift from v2 to v3 at some point regardless. But for now it appears as if the industry is still working out the main certification process for all areas of ITILv3. If you want a head start, the Bridging Course is a safe bet. Anything above that, for me, I would prefer to wait a bit until the dust settles and all of the bugs in v3 Certification are worked out.

Working in the field of IT Service Management there are numerous training courses, seminars, webinars and other methods of trying to describe the concept of ITSM. One of the most interesting ways to try and convey the broad goal of ITSM is through the use of simulations.

In the fall of 2006 I had the opportunity to attend the ITSMF conference in Charlotte, NC. During this conference I had the opportunity to meet the sales team from a company called G2G3. Their goal is to develop simulation training tools designed to demonstrate the complexity of operating an efficient technology organization. More importantly, through the use of ITIL based best practice, they apply the various ITIL roles and functions in a non-IT capacity.

I had the opportunity this past week, to be the intro speaker for a training course that utilized the G2G3 simulation product using the theme of managing an F-1 Racing Team. I had never personally attended one of these coursed before and upon watching this one in action realized the true value in this type of training.

Watching how Incident, Problem, Change and Configuration Management practices were applied to managing an F-1 team was quite fascinating. What was even more impressive was watching the various groups in the class work in independent functions and roles while the light-bulbs flickered on as the connection with our own IT functions began to become apparent.

If you have the opportunity to attend simulation based training and the G2G3 folks are involved, I highly recommend it, you not only begin to see the big picture, but you can have quite a bit of fun in the process. That is, until the facilitator hits the "EVENT" key on his laptop which triggers the next incident.