ITIL BENEFITS WHERE'S THE BEEF? - CHRIS PFAUSER AND CINDY LACHAPELLE
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ITIL Benefits Where’s the Beef? Chris Pfauser and Cindy LaChapelle
These strictly localized efforts are generally doomed.
Introduction
By definition, ITIL requires an integrated, enterprise-
wide approach – the point is to understand how
Many organizations that have invested
problems in one specific area permeate throughout
significant resources into ITIL-based an organization, and to then use that analysis to take
process improvement struggle to quantify corrective action. If a narrow pilot study can’t
the benefits of the changes they’ve address those big picture questions, or clearly
implemented. While their assessments communicate achievements, skeptical business units
question the value of the overall framework.
indicate that they have indeed raised their
level of process maturity, quantitative At the other extreme, organizations bite off more than
measures of the impact of that maturity in they can chew. Amidst much fanfare that sets a high
terms of cost savings or value to the bar of expectation and projects significant results,
business remain elusive. these initiatives endeavor to roll out all ITIL
processes concurrently across the entire enterprise.
When reality sets in and the complexity of
Compass analyses suggest that ITIL
implementing changes and gauging cause/effect
initiatives often fail to meet expectations impacts across a global organization become
largely because of the way they are apparent, the initiative quickly loses momentum.
designed and implemented, and how their This all-at-once approach not only fails to deliver
impact is measured. An effective approach benefits, it can actually result in a regression and
decline in overall process maturity. And again, the
to ITIL is characterized by a manageable yet
viability of the ITIL framework is called into question.
scalable implementation, a focus on people
and skills issues, and ongoing measurement
Act Local, Think Global
that takes a comprehensive view of the
enterprise-wide impact of process maturity. An effective ITIL implementation creates a seamless
organization unrestricted by pockets of non-standard
This article examines common problems as activity. As such, an ITIL initiative typically requires
well as leading practices and success addressing four types of organizational "silos:"
factors related to implementing ITIL Geographic silos – still a reality for most IT
initiatives and gauging the benefits of organizations – hinder process consistency.
process maturity. Group-based silos, comprised of multiple
development and/or support teams, provide
Fall Small or Bust Big redundant services that lead to higher costs,
conflicts, and project delays.
ITIL process maturity initiatives are often confined to
Technology silos add complexity and inhibit
individual business units or infrastructure towers. The
change, as applications running on multiple
idea is to conduct a “pilot study” that can then be
distributed platforms require managing
more broadly rolled out. In practice, however, such
dependencies between the platforms and
initiatives often lack a well-defined long-term plan for
synchronizing work on each platform.
extending process improvement, as well as specific
goals or milestones to track. Equally important, Functional silos, put in place to address
many pilot initiatives don’t contain an effective complexities related to project management,
mechanism to assess and communicate the impact architecture, database administration,
and benefits of process changes. testing, and other areas, can impede
coordination and communication.
ITIL BENEFITS CHRIS PFAUSER AND CINDY LACHAPELLE 1Top-performing businesses address the silo A successful ITIL initiative must therefore minimize
challenge by applying focus and detail on the one direct contact between end users and the second-
hand, coupled with a holistic perspective and a long- level support teams where the heroes generally
term plan for extending ITIL across the enterprise. reside. This enables the business to retrain end
Specifically, an effective approach is characterized users to use the ITIL process for reporting, tracking,
by a phased, process-by-process implementation and managing incidents. The hero, meanwhile, plays
that begins with one ITIL process – Change a central role by re-directing end users back to the
Management, say – and extends from the IT Service Desk for initial troubleshooting.
organization across the business. It’s imperative to
include applications in the implementation, as AD/M Implementing this process change presents an
change activity has a significant impact on the overall obvious challenge: on the one hand, by reducing the
IT environment. hero’s individual visibility and prestige, ITIL-required
change is likely to make him or her feel marginalized
Once the initial process is rolled out, integrated, and (or worse, threatened); on the other, securing the
assessed, a second ITIL process (Incident hero’s support and buy-in to champion the initiative is
Management, perhaps) can be similarly rolled out, essential.
followed by a third (Release Management) and so
forth. Through this approach, repeatable best- Giving the hero a stake in the success of the initiative
practice processes and a supporting knowledge base is imperative to addressing this challenge. One
can be established to facilitate communication approach is to offer clear performance incentives for
between group members and across groups. process adherence that leads to a measurable
improvement in criteria such as incident resolution
For each phase, training for IT staff and business time. Incentives can also foster collective effort:
users should be included to build understanding and Operational Level Agreements (OLAs), for example,
set expectations, as should clear milestones to be can encourage heroes to rely on other teams and
achieved and communicated. recognize that they as individuals do not always have
to be solely responsible for problem-solving.
From this perspective, a pilot-based approach can be
effective, if implemented within the context of a long- Ongoing communication builds awareness of the
term process improvement plan that includes benefits and impacts of ITIL-based changes, thereby
ongoing measurement and communication of building support. Clearly defined roles and
benefits. This makes it possible to combine a responsibilities clarify ambiguities about who does
phased or step-by-step implementation, while at the what and when. By linking the communications effort
same time gauging the enterprise-wide impact of the to executive support and enlisting senior
changes. management to tout achievements and results, the
initiative gains credibility and attention.
The Hero Issue
Measuring Early and Often
Many businesses rely on their IT “heroes” – talented
and skilled IT staff who resolve difficult issues and Process maturity assessments can take two
provide direct, ad hoc support to users. As valuable perspectives. One is to chart the progress made in
as these heroes are, they can be anathema to ITIL’s meeting the criteria of a particular level of maturity.
process-oriented culture. For one thing, heroes tend The second is to measure the operational impact of
to have their own ideas regarding best practice – that the enhanced process maturity in terms of cost
may or may not align with ITIL standards. Users, savings, increased productivity, or improved quality.
moreover, quickly learn to ignore process and
procedure and go directly to their local hero, knowing
their problem will be resolved.
ITIL BENEFITS CHRIS PFAUSER AND CINDY LACHAPELLE 2The second perspective – gauging the payback of Analyzing the volume and nature of recurring
the initiative – is where organizations tend to incidents – before and after the initiative – enables a
stumble. One challenge is isolating cause and effect measure of the improvement’s impact.
linkages. The impact of improvements in Release
Management, for example, can be difficult to Moreover, analyses that compare a particular
quantify, because improvements in that area can environment against a reference base of leading
have a far-reaching trickle-down effect. Moreover, to practice can identify where higher levels of maturity
gain a full view of the impact of an ITIL-based correlate to improved performance. Such an
initiative, the linkages and interrelationships between assessment can help define process maturity
different processes must be assessed. For example, investment priorities, based on where the highest
poor performance in Release Management and return is most likely.
Change Management will generate a higher volume
of incidents. A lack of root cause analysis capability Long-Term View
in Problem Management, meanwhile, will have a
long-term impact on Release Management That said, it’s important to note that ITIL process
performance. maturity isn’t designed to produce significant
quantifiable cost savings. No data exists to show a
One recent positive development is that Version 3 of clear correlation between ITIL compliance and cost
ITIL includes enhancements in terms of savings, and there’s no “ITIL Maturity Equals x%
recommended quality measures before, during, and Savings” formula. The ITIL framework is designed to
after implementation that were lacking in previous improve quality and efficiency by enhancing an
versions. For example, the types of measures organization’s ability to manage activity within the IT
recommended for Change Management include: function, as well as the IT function’s interface with the
business.
Number of incidents caused by unsuccessful
changes As such, while total costs might not change, or while
Number of incomplete impact assessments savings might not be measurable in concrete dollar
terms, ITIL process improvement can allow IT to
Reduction in cycle time during each stage of spend less time fighting fires and more time providing
change process value to the business by developing new applications
Number of normal changes and emergency and deploying new technologies. Moreover,
changes enhancing the productivity of users by reducing
downtime is certainly a valuable benefit, but, again,
A detailed benchmark analysis of the operational
difficult to put a number to.
environment can decompose and identify the specific
downstream changes that result from specific In this context, a longer, big picture view of ITIL is
process enhancements. Ideally, efficiency, most effective – one that recognizes that, ultimately,
productivity, and service availability are baselined implementing rigor and discipline will deliver benefits
before the ITIL initiative begins. This baseline can to the business.
then be used to more accurately quantify
improvements resulting from process changes. The Chris Pfauser – who holds a Foundations-Level
baseline may also identify gaps in the current state V.3 ITIL Certification – and Cindy LaChapelle are
environment that need to be addressed. Compass Principal Consultants specializing in
process improvement and performance
With this measurement framework in place, the management issues. Regional Consulting
impact of ITIL-based changes can be more Director Kathy Rudy and Principal Consultant
accurately gauged. For example, the implementation Bob Mathers contributed to this report.
of ITIL Incident and Problem Management disciplines
should reduce the volume of repeat incidents.
ITIL BENEFITS CHRIS PFAUSER AND CINDY LACHAPELLE 3Birmingham
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