Just Do IT(IL)

All fine in theory, but what about the budget? How can ITIL succeed without resources available to support it?

To his great pleasure, Martineau discovered that a lot of basic ITIL actions don’t require money. Take, for example, the reorganization of the department: MyFamily didn’t have its structure set up with separate service-support and service-delivery sections. Further, the functions performed by each area didn’t match the ITIL model.

To remedy this, Martineau simply appointed directors of service-support, service-delivery and security and made each adhere to their specific tasks per ITIL.

"Instead of having a steady stream of territorial disputes, we used the model to show who does what and end conflict about responsibilities,” said Martineau. “That didn’t cost me a penny yet it brought greater efficiency.”

In addition, he bought a collection of ITIL manuals and scheduled two-hour lunchtime meetings every Monday. At these events, he took IT staff through a chapter or two at a time and had them discuss how it might apply, and how it could be harnessed.

This, he said, served to demonstrate that he wasn’t trying to shove ITIL down their throats. “We used them to find a common vocabulary and to isolate best practices that might apply to us.”

Process Makes Perfect

While Martineau is happy with the software tools that assist his ITIL endeavors, he stresses that process implementation is senior to toolset. He stresses that CIO’s and IT managers should look at how they can use ITIL now rather than waiting for consensus, or just sitting around until the day when a PO is finally approved.

“You don’t need the boss to sign off on a check to implement ITIL,” said Martineau. “And if you throw a tool at a broken process it just doesn’t work. But getting a process in doesn’t cost a thing.”