Reader Question: We've been working on ITIL for about 18 months, with different process teams working on incident, problem and change. We’ve made progress improving things, but not enough. What can we do in the new year to get more out of our efforts?

Third Sky Expert Answer:

Lou Hunnebeck, Vice President ITSM Vision & Strategy, Third Sky

Yours is a common story. Starting a new year is a good opportunity to look back at your efforts objectively and resolve to do better! The first thing I would suggest is to go back to when you started working on ITIL and remind yourselves of what your underlying goals and objectives were. Too often organizations lose sight of their bigger objectives as they get lost in the details of their individual efforts.

Are your original objectives still relevant and appropriate for where the organization is now? If so, evaluate your actions in relation to the objectives. Where your efforts have failed to reach the stated goals, perform an analysis to determine how, and more importantly, why you have been less than fully successful.

Common reasons for slow progress include:

• Lack of true leadership commitment
• Lack of internal ITIL expertise
• Insufficient time available to key program resources
• Overly ambitious goals compared to available time, funding and commitment
• Lack of attention to organizational change management
  
  

When you have been honest with yourselves about what has been holding you back, your 2012 plans can be adjusted to produce more focused and tangibly valuable results. Use SMART objectives and drive towards each one in a deliberate and organized way.

And, of course, you can always ask us for help… Happy New Year!