ISO 20000 Part 3 Available New!
(Dec 2) The "Guidance on scope definition and applicability" is newly published. ISO/IEC TR 20000-3:2009. Click here to buy from ISO website for around $110.
Top-of-the-Tree ITIL Qualification
(Nov 27) APMG has at last, 2 years after announcing it would be created, finally published the approach to achieving the ITIL V3 Master Certificate qualification. Not to be confused with the V2 ITIL Managers Certificate (known as ITIL Masters in N. America), this is the qualification that sits above the ITIL V3 Expert Certificate. Candidates who must already hold ITIL V3 Expert will have to submit a proposal on what and how they will address a real-life issue with ITIL and then prepare and submit a Work Package for assessment which involves supporting the Work Package at an interview. I assume the "Masters" name has been chosen to make it seem like a Masters Degree. There is no way this will be even mildly comparable to a year's postgraduate study at university and the writing of a 15-20,000 word dissertation. I note that one N American IT professional on Linkedin already states they are an ITIL V3 Master (presumably V3 Expert) - so plenty of confusion soon, I think. Click here for details on OGC ITIL official site.
ISACA publishes Risk framework
(Nov 25) The Risk IT Framework that complements COBIT and Val IT has been published by ISACA. It is freely downloadable to all if you register (also free). Click here to access at ISACA's website.
ITIL V3 Intermediate Capability Handbooks
(Nov 6) OGC has published (6 Nov '09) the first two of 4 books that are based on the content of the ITIL V3 Intermediate Capability Certificate Courses. These are titled Operational Support and Analysis (OSA) ITIL V3 Intermediate Capability Handbook and Release Control and Validation (RCV) ITIL V3 Intermediate Capability Handbook . Intended as both practitioner guides and exam support books, these are cheap at £9.95 and until the end of November you can gain a 20% discount by entering IT20 as the discount.code during online checkout at the OGC bookstore. Shipping worldwide is possible, too. Click here to link to OGC website.
OGC announces ITIL V2 Sunset
(Oct 30) OGC has announced that ITIL V2 exams will sunset on 30 June 2011. ITIL V2 Foundation exams will go on 30 June 2010, ITIL V2 Manager exams on 31 Aug 2010 and ITIL V2 Practitioner exams on 31 Dec 2010. The V2 managers Bridge will be last to go on 30 June 2011. Resits have a slightly longer period. Click here to visit OGC website to read the announcement.
Extra IT Gov Guidance from ISACA
(Oct 14) ISACA is planning an updated version of the IT Governance Implementation guide that will be titled "Implementing and Continually Improving IT Governance". It will include tools and materials as a zip file. The book will be based on a lifecycle approach. The model used will be familiar to many ITIL-aware ITSM staff - the Continual Service Improvement Model, although the model is presented in a different way and much of the terminology is different. Read more in Gary Hardy's article in the COBIT Focus Newsletter for Oct 09.
New edition ITIL V3 Books planned
(Sep 11) OGC has announced that the ITIL V3 core books are to have new editions (i.e. significant improvements but not a new version). Major changes planned are: Service Strategy will be simplified to improve accessibility, all books will be in plain English and idiom-free, common treatment for all processes, roles and responsibilities will be clearly explained. Additionally, the 312 entries in the OGC's Change Control log for V3 Core books will be addressed. Our view: Most of this was specified in the guidance for the original V2 Refresh project (that came to be called V3). Somehow this got diverted by the writers of the books and we got Lifecycle over-hyped at the expense of care with process definitions. Click here to view on OGC's website.
ITIL V3 Small-Scale Implementation
(Sep 9) OGC has published (28 Aug) the long-awaited V3 version of a popular V2 book: "ITIL V3 Small-scale Implementation". Designed for smaller organisations it shows how to combine roles in order to successfully implement ITIL V3 in smaller and medium-sized businesses. Click here to link to OGC website for information.
ITIL and Six Sigma
(Sep 9) OGC has published a whitepaper that discusses the relationships between ITIL V3 and Six Sigma. Written by two of Pink Elephant's consultants it shows the synergy between the 2 approaches. It is freely downloadable from the OGC website here.
IT Unified Compliance Framework
(Aug 14) Need to understand all the relevant compliance regimes, frameworks and standards in your country or zone that IT needs to obey/use? Then IT Unified Compliance Framework (IT-UCF) is for you. Developed by Network Frontier LLC, it tracks and maps IT controls across international regulations, standards and best practices. Over 400 such authority documents are tracked (yes, really, apparently the world has over 600 such documents) and their content harmonised into 1250 controls in a hierarchical structure. It is a creative masterplan for IT controls and a big step on the road to integration of the plethora of standards and controls. Click here to view on the IT-UCF website.
ITIL V3 Pins (Badges)
(Jul 24) If you have passed ITIL V3 exams via ISEB you can now request online your lapel pin (free). There are pins for Foundation, Lifecycle, Capability, Expert. The Master pin exists but you cannot gain the qualification at the moment. Click here to register and obtain your pins.
MOF/COBIT/Val IT synergy
(Jul 15) Microsoft has published "MOF to COBIT/Val IT Comparison and Cross-Implementation Guide: How to Leverage MOF in a COBIT/Val IT Environment". Microsoft has signed an agreement with ISACA to use COBIT and Val IT content in its documents and frameworks. Essentially, they see Val IT as strategic, COBIT as tactical and MOF and ITIL as operational. The new report includes basic mapping of MOF to Val IT and MOF to COBIT. Later a MOF to ITIL mapping will be published. This looks a smart move as it will encourage the take-up of MOF which has many free resources. Watch this space as Microsoft is also a key player in IT-CMF, "the periodic table of frameworks" that will unify frameworks. ITIL devotees needn't despair- it is still there! Click here to download from Microsoft's website.
Business Case for IT Governance
(June 21) ISACA has published a 32 page guide: Building the Business Case for COBIT and VAL IT: Executive Briefing. This will be useful to senior IT Service Managers who are planning an Enterprise IT Governance project and need to gain senior management support. Click here to download (free to all) from the ISACA website.
100% pass again.
(June 18) Once again, all 100% of delegates who attended a COBIT Foundation Course in May taught by Dr Geoff Harmer, our principal COBIT lecturer, passed the COBIT Foundation Certificate.
COBIT User Guide for Service Managers
(Apr 6) IT Governance Institute (ITGI) has published this guide with the endorsement of itSMF International. At 51 pages it is compact yet explains the need for IT Service Management good practice (2pp), discusses the role and its activities (4pp); then shows how COBIT and ITIL support governance of IT Services (using COBIT's Business Goals to IT Goals to IT Proceses approach a
