For the client, there is also the urge to keep the consultant engaged as a subject matter expert, disinterested party, and dependable provider of ideas and action.

And yet, for any rollout and enterprise-wide adoption of ITIL disciplines, there comes a time when client and consultant must go their own way. This article discusses when, why, and how such a severing of this business relationship should take place.

Out After the Start?

There a several key phases to almost any ITIL engagement, beginning with a maturity assessment. Many organizations opt to use a third party to conduct this analysis as it is oftentimes necessary to solicit the unvarnished opinions of an unbiased external party.

These assessments typically produce a series of rankings based on the CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) model, ranging from a score of 0.0 (a process so totally without maturity it constitutes chaos and little value to the enterprise) to one of 5.0 (a process boasting of near metaphysical perfection such that people, task, tool, and management are seamlessly interwoven and all elements of Continuous Improvement Program are evident).

Needless to say, most processes, at least those initially surveyed by consultants, tend to cluster at the lower scores. This reflects both the reality that self-assessment is relatively new to most organizations and the fact that low scores create compelling opportunities for consultants.

It’s kind of like driving your car into a service station and asking them to look under the hood. Chances are they’ll find something wrong.

Are you ready to go it alone?

The goal of all this assessment effort is to determine how to achieve operational maturity, the realization of which should generate tangible benefits and save direct costs. Any consultant worth their salt will have already factored in their own fees into the overall ITIL implementation ROI. All that is left is for the organization to determine whether the efforts and expertise of the consulting firm can be provided from within.

In order to determine whether a rapid exit for your consultant is merited, ask yourself the following questions that indicate your preparedness for transformative self-improvement:

For the client, there is also the urge to keep the consultant engaged as a subject matter expert, disinterested party, and dependable provider of ideas and action.

And yet, for any rollout and enterprise-wide adoption of ITIL disciplines, there comes a time when client and consultant must go their own way. This article discusses when, why, and how such a severing of this business relationship should take place.

Out After the Start?

There a several key phases to almost any ITIL engagement, beginning with a maturity assessment. Many organizations opt to use a third party to conduct this analysis as it is oftentimes necessary to solicit the unvarnished opinions of an unbiased external party.

These assessments typically produce a series of rankings based on the CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) model, ranging from a score of 0.0 (a process so totally without maturity it constitutes chaos and little value to the enterprise) to one of 5.0 (a process boasting of near metaphysical perfection such that people, task, tool, and management are seamlessly interwoven and all elements of Continuous Improvement Program are evident).

Needless to say, most processes, at least those initially surveyed by consultants, tend to cluster at the lower scores. This reflects both the reality that self-assessment is relatively new to most organizations and the fact that low scores create compelling opportunities for consultants.

It’s kind of like driving your car into a service station and asking them to look under the hood. Chances are they’ll find something wrong.

Are you ready to go it alone?

The goal of all this assessment effort is to determine how to achieve operational maturity, the realization of which should generate tangible benefits and save direct costs. Any consultant worth their salt will have already factored in their own fees into the overall ITIL implementation ROI. All that is left is for the organization to determine whether the efforts and expertise of the consulting firm can be provided from within.

In order to determine whether a rapid exit for your consultant is merited, ask yourself the following questions that indicate your preparedness for transformative self-improvement:

For the client, there is also the urge to keep the consultant engaged as a subject matter expert, disinterested party, and dependable provider of ideas and action.

And yet, for any rollout and enterprise-wide adoption of ITIL disciplines, there comes a time when client and consultant must go their own way. This article discusses when, why, and how such a severing of this business relationship should take place.

Out After the Start?

There a several key phases to almost any ITIL engagement, beginning with a maturity assessment. Many organizations opt to use a third party to conduct this analysis as it is oftentimes necessary to solicit the unvarnished opinions of an unbiased external party.

These assessments typically produce a series of rankings based on the CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) model, ranging from a score of 0.0 (a process so totally without maturity it constitutes chaos and little value to the enterprise) to one of 5.0 (a process boasting of near metaphysical perfection such that people, task, tool, and management are seamlessly interwoven and all elements of Continuous Improvement Program are evident).

Needless to say, most processes, at least those initially surveyed by consultants, tend to cluster at the lower scores. This reflects both the reality that self-assessment is relatively new to most organizations and the fact that low scores create compelling opportunities for consultants.

It’s kind of like driving your car into a service station and asking them to look under the hood. Chances are they’ll find something wrong.

Are you ready to go it alone?

The goal of all this assessment effort is to determine how to achieve operational maturity, the realization of which should generate tangible benefits and save direct costs. Any consultant worth their salt will have already factored in their own fees into the overall ITIL implementation ROI. All that is left is for the organization to determine whether the efforts and expertise of the consulting firm can be provided from within.

In order to determine whether a rapid exit for your consultant is merited, ask yourself the following questions that indicate your preparedness for transformative self-improvement:

Based on answers to the above, most organizations are not able to dismiss their third party ITIL experts immediately. So the challenge that faces them is how to know how to let them go "when the time is right."

Saying Goodbye

Positioning your organization to effectively and non-disruptively transition from your consultant is a task that should be anticipated and planned for while still deep in the throes of dependency.

Before agreeing to extend any contract with your chosen third party services firm, ensure language is inserted that specifically addresses their obligations with regard to creating a situation where you are no longer dependent on them for assistance.

Items in a relevant scope of work should include the need to:

It is important to note that this is the most important turnover item and also the one least likely to occur, as it requires the consultant to document unpleasant and unflattering truths about the organization they have served.

Also, such a document might be used to prevent the consultant from obtaining future business in other services categories, merely because they had the audacity to voice uncomfortable truths. Yet, with all that said it is critical that this document be delivered.

Some find this task remarkable easy and others not so. Common practice is to give the consulting firm advance notice and to request that all the items discussed above are completed in detail to meet contractual expectations. Either way, their departure should not disrupt the progress, momentum, and perception of success in the overall internal ITIL implementation. If it does, the departure was either premature or insufficiently scripted.