ITIL????

What is ITIL?

A brief history: In 1989, the Central Computer and Telecommunication Agency (a division of the UK government) published the first elements of what would later become known as the IT infrastructure Library, or ITIL. A series of best practice books, ITIL gained more widespread acceptance in the mid-1990’s, and has come to be adopted as the standard by many of today’s top IT businesses (an example: Microsoft chose ITIL as the basis for its Microsoft Operations Framework).

What does ITIL do?

ITIL is a series of best practice books that provide recommendations to IT organizations on ways to best optimize their delivery or management of IT services. ITIL provides a great foundation to systematically improve the delivery of IT services.

Why ITIL?

? ITIL is best practice in IT Service Management (A Set of Books developed by OGC, UK).
? ITIL is the most widely used best practice for IT Service Management.
? World’s de-facto standard best practice framework for IT service management
? Provides a systematic, process-based approach, supported by procedures for key ITSM processes.
? ITIL is the IT Infrastructure Library and ITIL® is a Registered Trade Mark and a Community Trade Mark of the OGC

Why should I study ITIL?

To Gain good IT Service Management Skills….

• ITIL certification will allow you to understand the common language of ITIL, understood by IT professionals worldwide, and will increase your standing within the IT community.
• ITIL gives you an adaptive and flexible framework for managing IT services and encourages you to use common sense rather than follow a rigid set of rules.
• To Improve your Employment Prospects.
• ITIL will create a common understanding between your IT staff, suppliers, contractors and users within the business by creating a common approach and language towards IT services.
• ITIL can deliver huge cost savings for an organization by promoting the optimum use of people, process and technology.
• Pro-active management and continuous service improvement will help to increase quality while reducing overall costs.

ITIL V2 - V3 Differences??

What are the differences between ITIL V2 and ITIL V3?
What has changed?

Amongst the key changes you’ll see in ITIL V3 is a wholesale shift towards a service-driven lifecycle approach and guidance which aims to be more prescriptive.
Where ITIL V2 outlined what should be done to improve processes, ITIL V3 explains clearly how you should go about doing it.
Another key ITIL V3 addition is demonstrating return on investment to the business. This was one of the most frequent requests from the industry consultations, carried out as part of the version three project.

Structural Changes:

ITIL V3 includes some significant structural changes. The library now consists of five volumes, these are:

Service Strategy
Service Design
Service Transition
Service Operation
Continual Service Improvement

The foundation level exam syllabus has been expanded to include content from all five volumes. The new library also includes greater detail on the key roles, and outlines the responsibilities attached to each, along with clear focus on the importance of communication throughout the lifecycle. Greater focus on the use of process models and the identification of the constituent parts is all new to version three. Finally Continual Service Improvement or CSI, explains the use of process improvement models and identifies metrics to support improvements.

ITIL Frequently Asked Questions - V2 vs. V3

What is the difference between V2 and V3?

Amongst the key changes you’ll see in ITIL V3 is a wholesale shift towards a service-driven lifecycle approach and guidance which aims to be more prescriptive. Where ITIL V2 outlined what should be done to improve processes, ITIL V3 explains clearly how you should go about doing it. Another key ITIL V3 addition is demonstrating return on investment to the business. This was one of the most frequent requests from the industry consultations, carried out as part of the version three projects.

If I already hold an ITIL V2 qualification how do I upgrade to V3?

Anyone who holds an ITIL V2 certificate will have the option to take a short bridging course and exam to bring them in-line with the new ITIL V3 qualifications.The ITILV2-V3 Bridging course has been developed and is running regularly.The Manager and Practitioner bridging course syllabi are still under development by the examination board.

How do I know whether I should go for V2 or V3?

ITIL V3 is an updated version of ITIL and ITIL V2 qualifications and exams will be phased out over the coming months. With this in mind anyone who is new to ITIL, contractors, consultants and those who are required to show they have the most up to date qualifications should undertake the ITIL V3 Courses. If your organization is operating under ITIL V2 guidelines, a more structured approach to the transition will be required and during this time it may be advisable to continue with the ITIL V2 Courses.

Will V2 exams still be available?

ITIL V2 exams will continue to be available until late 2008 through prometric centres or via an accredited training provider.

How much does the ITIL V3 foundation bridging exam cost?

It is not possible to sit the ITIL V3 foundation bridging exam on it’s own. You will only be able to sit it as part of an accredited training course.Be sure to check with your ITIL training provider that the cost of the exam is included in your ITIL Foundation V3 Bridge Course..

Will the Practitioners and Managers qualification remain the same?

No, the ITIL Qualification structure has completely changed and ITIL managers and practitioners will be required to take a bridging course and exam in order to be eligible for the new ITIL Diploma certificate.The courses and examinations for ITIL managers and practitioners to bridge to ITIL V3 are still under discussion by the examination board and are expected to be realsed over the coming few months.

Can I take the V3 exam in a prometric centre?

Prometric do not yet offer ITIL V3 exams, although they hope to have them available from early 2008. In the mean time you can still sit an ITIL V3 foundation exam through an accredited training provider as part of an ITIL V3 Foundation course.

What is an ITIL qualification?

The ITIL Certificates are designed as - IT Service Management - qualifications . They are aimed at all personnel who wish to become familiar with the best practices for IT Service Management, as defined in the OGC IT Infrastructure Library guidelines.

What does having ITIL Certification mean?

The holder of the Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management should be aware of the techniques, processes and functions in the core ITIL publications of Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation and Continual Service Improvement. He or she should be able to relate this knowledge to wider IT issues and to their own work environment.

How do I get recognised in ITIL?

To get recognised in ITIL as an individual you need to achieve certification by taking an ITIL examination through a recognised exam centre. There are Several Levels to ITIL Certifictions and which one aim to reach will depend on your current career level and your aspirations for the future. For companies wishing to adopt ITIL, the route tends to be slightly different. The biggest decision is deciding if ITIL is right for you and that requires an investment of time, collecting and reviewing information from the marketplace.

Why do I need an ITIL Qualification?

The majority of people that consider ITIL as a qualification do so for career and personal development reasons. Often this is driven by a change of job or career, where you notice that to get to the top of the CV pile, you need to have an extra qualification like ITIL (even if you have been involved in service management successfully for many years without it). In many advertised positions ITIL has become a prerequisite.The majority of companies that implement ITIL also encourage their employees to take the exams. If your staff has accredited ITIL qualifications, then you can present your company as using ITIL. This works particularly well where you tender for or supply to any large IT organizations or outsourcing companies.

Can I use the ITIL Manuals only to study?

For foundation level you can, as the ITIL manuals contain pretty much everything you need. However it is hard work, and often your own interpretation of ITIL may be different to that required. If you are working on a shoestring budget, then this may be the only option open to you, but with all the extra study involved, your time may be better spent learning using an accredited course. For the intermediate or diploma levels in is compulsory to attend an accredited training course.

What languages are the ITIL examinations available in?

The Foundation examinations are available in English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese and Russian. The Practitioner examinations are available in English only. The Service Manager examinations are available in English, German and Russian.

If I take ITIL Foundation in another language do I still have to learn the ITIL terms in English?

Yes, you do. In the examinations you will find both the English as well as the Spanish terms. The ITIL terms can be found in the exam requirements.

How long do I have to wait for the results of my multiple choice examinations?

For each multiple choice exam, every candidate receives the result paper and certificate within four weeks after the examination session.

How can I specify how my name should be printed on the certificate?

At the start of the examination session one fills in the Personal Data Form. On this form there is an item where you can specify exactly how your name should be printed on the certificate.

What happens if I fail an exam?

In the unfortunate case you failed an examination; you can take part in another examination session. This does not necessarily have to be at the same examination centre. For the retake of a ITIL Foundation examination you could for example turn to one of the Prometric Testing Centers. There is no limit to the number of times you can retake the examination.

Will I have to update my Foundation certification with the release of ITIL V3?

Yes, if you hold an ITIL foundation certificate from any of the previous versions of ITIL you need to attend a one day course with an examination in order to update it to an ITIL V3 qualification. This will be essential for anyone wishing to go onto the higher levels of ITIL.

ITIL Frequently Asked Questions -

Where did it come from- ITIL?

A brief history: In 1989, the Central Computer and Telecommunication Agency (a division of the UK government) published the first elements of what would later become known as the IT infrastructure Library, or ITIL. A series of best practice books, ITIL gained more widespread acceptance in the mid-1990's, and has come to be adopted as the standard by many of today's top IT businesses (an example: Microsoft chose ITIL as the basis for its Microsoft Operations Framework and they do have a seperate framework deifned).

What does ITIL do?

ITIL is a series of best practice books that provide recommendations to IT organizations on ways to best optimize their delivery or management of IT services. ITIL provides a great foundation to systematically improve the delivery of IT services.

How can ITIL be useful to an IT organization?

"ITIL is intended to assist organizations to develop a framework for IT Service Management." The key drivers of that sentence are "assist" and "framework." ITIL's biggest strength is that it provides an internally consistent framework around which IT organizations can structure their service management. The problem that many organizations run into is that they approach ITIL as a complete solution rather than as an aid to an end objective.

How do you use ITIL?

ITIL currently consists of set process which can be customized as per the project or company requirements as it provide a baseline / guidelines to customize the process.
IT organizations can use recommendations to optimize and/or simplify their IT service management infrastructure from:
IT Service Support, IT Service Delivery, Planning to Implement Service Management, Application Management, Infrastructure Management, Security Management, Software Asset Management, and the Business Perspective.

What kind of issues is addressed by ITIL?

Issues pertaining to Operations / Management / Services which can be mapped to ITIL process shall be addressed.
Some of the Process which can be mapped to our services / operations are:

Change Management
Change Management provides a consistent approach to evaluating and implementing any change to the IT infrastructure. It details processes that allow users to assess the impact, risk and resource requirements associated with proposed changes.

Problem/Incident Management
Problem management occurs in the form of the identification, investigation and classification of problems. It is a key role in IT Service Management. Problem management pro-actively reduces incident volumes and continually improves the underlying IT infrastructure.

Incident Management records, classifies, tracks and closes all incidents in a controlled and consistent manner. This allows operational service levels to be restored as quickly as possible and helps reduce the number of new incidents.

Service-Level Management
This aims to ensure a satisfactory quality of IT service provision by setting realistic and agreed targets between provider and customer. A process of monitoring, reporting and reviewing of actual service levels highlights any problem areas and facilitates continuous service improvement.

Continuity Management
This process ensures that major failures of technical equipment or facilities associated with IT Service provision are managed efficiently and service levels are restored back to an acceptable level within agreed timescales.

Configuration Management
This provides the crucial foundation for Incident, Problem and Change Management. It records, audits and tracks all configuration items in the IT infrastructure and their relationships from purchase to obsolescence.

Release Management
Release Management offers a systematic framework for large or critical hardware roll-outs, major software roll-outs or bundled sets of changes. It takes into account all technical and non-technical aspects of a release from initial release policy and planning through to development, testing and controlled implementation.

Capacity Management
This process aims at aligning IT service level provision to the current and future business needs. It is concerned with optimizing the usage of existing IT resources as well as ensuring new resources are made available in a timely and efficient manner.

Financial Management
Also known as Cost Management, this process provides essential management information on IT asset and service costs. Through a process of budgeting and accounting true costs are revealed and the value of IT to the business can be demonstrated.

Availability Management
Availability Management ensures that all IT systems and services are functioning as required and that availability is sustained in a reliable and cost-effective way. With the supply and provision of information companies need to consider security management as well to prevent unauthorized use of information.

Security Management
Based on ISO 17799 (a code of practice defined by the International Organization for Standardization), the ITIL security management process is split into two segments: a realization of a basic level of security, and a realization of the security requirements defined in existing service level agreements. The processes defined in the ITIL security segment are centered around achieving those two goals.

Help Desk Management
The Service Desk function is the face of IT to its users and therefore of vital importance in any organization. Service Desk staff log, resolve or escalate and close all incidents. They also increasingly provide more high-level first line support as well as initiatives for service improvement and cost reduction.

What is Prometric and what is its role?
Thomson Prometric is a worldwide provider of computer based examinations. The - ITIL Foundation examination is one of the examinations available in the Prometric Authorized Testing Centers.

What is the difference between EXIN and ISEB?
It is of same value; ISEB and EXIN are accredited as Examination Institutes by the Office of Government and Commerce (OGC) and meet regularly to ensure that the ITIL Foundation qualifications are broadly in line with each other.

What is ISEB?
The Information Systems Examinations Board (ISEB) is a division of the British Computer Society. ISEB was created in 1990 from the Systems Analysis Examinations Board (which was set up in 1967). ISEB administrates examinations and issues certificates in a variety of subjects in the field of information systems engineering. A list of qualifications can be obtained from ISEB.

How can ITIL be useful to an IT organization?
Quoting the ITIL website, “ITIL is intended to assist organizations to develop a framework for IT Service Management.” The key parts of that sentence are “assist” and “framework.” ITIL’s biggest strength is that it provides an internally consistent framework around which IT organizations can structure their service management. The problem that many organizations run into is that they approach ITIL as a complete solution rather than as an aid to an end objective.

Are there support groups for ITIL?
Yes. The official group is the IT service management forum (ITSMF). There are also a myriad number of groups that use and/or comment on ITIL.