ITIL Practitioner level is being developed to help organizations and individuals increase the value they obtain from using ITIL by offering additional practical guidance to adopt and adapt the framework to support the business. It will be the next step after ITIL Foundation for professionals who have already learned the basics of IT Service Management (ITSM) and the business value of well-designed and delivered services.
Addressing the demand from ITSM practitioners and organizations of all sizes worldwide, the first ITIL Practitioner exam will be available globally by the end of 2015 and will equip ITSM professionals with added practical guidance to enhance leveraging ITIL in line with their organizations’ business goals.
Key points of ITIL Practitioner
Providing practical guidance on how individuals can leverage Continual Service Improvement (CSI) to maximize the benefits of adoption and adaption of ITIL.
Aiming to improve the capability of individuals throughout the business, to adopt and adapt ITIL in their day-to-day roles to generate maximum business benefits.
Making use of technological capabilities, such as automation, real-time reporting and Cloud computing, to increase the quality of service design and the efficiency of service delivery.
Leveraging other frameworks and good practices and methodologies – such as Lean, DevOps, Agile and SIAM – to further enhance the value of ITSM.
There is a well known saying that describes the difference between a specialist and a generalist?
A specialist knows more and more about less and less until eventually he or she knows everything about nothing.
A generalist knows less and less about more and more until eventually he or she knows nothing about everything.
So let’s compare the Specialist with the Generalist?
Specialists typically make more money because they are seen as IT Service Management Subject Matter Experts who are sought after for the value they can deliver.
Specialists get famous faster for the contribution they make to the IT Service Management community and body of knowledge.
Clients trust Specialists more as they have proven experience and credentials that back up previous projects that have been successfully delivered.
Specialists develop deeper skills because they correctly identify which skills will be in demand 2-3 years ahead of need and get involved in the early adopter phase of new initiatives e.g. ServiceNow “Outside the Walls”
Generalists are seen as individuals who are adept at understanding the wider context and what the Business aims to achieve. It is perceived that generalists are better at putting the pieces together to make sense of how it all works so that they are better able to navigate uncertainty.
One way to think of a world of specialists, according to Vikram Mansharamani all the specialist content in the world is meaningless without putting it in the proper context — and that context tends to be provided by generalists. A great generalist’s breadth of knowledge helps link new breakthroughs and technologies to existing ideas.
“Fundamentally, we’re focused on learning animals or generalists as opposed to specialists. And the main reason is that when you’re in a dynamic industry where the conditions are changing so fast, then things like experience and the way you’ve done a role before isn’t nearly as important as your ability to think.
So generalists, not specialists, is a mantra that we have internally that we try to stick pretty closely to. Specialists tend to bring an inherent bias to a problem, and they often feel threatened by new solutions.” LINK
It is generally accepted that new ideas and innovation are the result of connectedness and collaboration across a wide body of knowledge that is not limited to a particular area of specialisation.
Looking ahead a combination of knowledgeable specialists and generalists is required to help shape the future direction of the practice for the benefit of all practitioners for example the itSMFBig4 Agenda item Service Management of the Future for the benefit of practitioners at all levels.
What is driving the introduction of the new ITIL Practitioner qualification given that it introduces a new exam in an already congested certification scheme such that a new Training Navigator is required?
The 2014 ITIL exam results LINK to PDF to view table above indicate that we may have reached saturation point for ITIL examinations.
I have been at several events where I am consistently told that we were told to complete ITIL Foundation training.
I will never forget the animated CIO who told me that “We do ITIL” because he had sent 500 individuals across the globe on ITIL Foundation training.
What do I think is the ITIL Practitioner qualification Revenue Opportunity?
Axelos is working on an Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme which will create and establish lifelong personal brand value by enabling individuals to stay current in their knowledge and protect the investment they have made in the AXELOS Global Best Practice qualifications.
Global delivery will continue to be overseen by global strategic partners and Axelos recently announced that the big six Examination Institutes (EIs) APMG, BCS, CSME, EXIN, LOYALIST, PEOPLECERT have extended their contracts for a further three years from January 2015.
This video clip describes the all in $250 price for the ITIL Foundation Course & ITIL Exam Bundle linked to LOYALIST Certification Services.
The new ITIL Practitioner qualification must be immersive so that virtual study groups can be formed to discuss and agree Continual Service Improvement plans that deliver quick wins and chart the 60, 90, 180 day view.
These virtual study teams will connect via Mobile App, e-Learning, Simulation, Gamification and SocMedia.
My rough order of magnitude estimate for 2016, when the new ITIL Practitioner qualification is introduced, is a conservative 200,000 individuals will take the exam so if the ATOs have designed a low cost offering yet charge a £600 combined course and exam bundle that equates to a £120M training market just for one new course.
So metrics drive behaviours and maximizing training revenues is the key driver for Axelos growth plans which is OK as long as the IT Service Management community profit for contributing their ideas, know how to ITIL Practitioner training content and share in the rewards.
In 2014 the need to attend the premier annual conferences [ITSM14, SITS12, FUSION14, LEADIT14, NowForum…] to hear from the “opinion formers” has been less of a priority given the increasing power of individual practitioners to openly share their proven solutions to business issues with whoever is interested across any channel of digital interaction (e.g. webinar, slideshare, blog, video clip etc.)
It was perceived that the format of the UK ITSMF conference was a little tired because the focus was more on Theory (Shoulds and Oughts) with some degree of proven implementation guidance from the practitioners who have delivered outcomes that address real business challenges.
ITSM14 has become a meeting place to connect with colleagues either on the exhibition floor or dance floor with the dinner and industry awards ceremony the main event.
The highlight of the conference was the announcement of the ITSMBig4 Agenda for 2015.
“The Big4 Agenda refers to the set of key professional issues members have indicated they are facing, and the programme of information and activities being delivered by ITSMF UK to help deal with those issues.
In 2014 the Agenda items were Back to Basics (reliability), Skills, Managing Complexity, and Agile ITSM.
At the 2014 Conference four new items were agreed for the 2015 Agenda:
COLLABORATION – how do we work with others?
SERVICE MANAGEMENT OF THE FUTURE – what do we need to look like?
CAPABILITY FRAMEWORK – how do we build it?
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE – how do we ensure it is relevant?
we need to have a clear agenda, so as soon as one thing is done, we’re starting the next.”
John Windebank & Rosemary Gurney (Chair & Vice-Chair ITSMF UK) led the discussions on the recently announced ITSMF UK Big4 Agenda topics for 2015
LINK to Twitterchat compiled by Jane Suter @Jane_RTC
Started, Stalled or not Sustained
It was deeply disappointing that community initiatives launched in 2013 were not further developed or sustained in 2014. I did not envisage the level of change resistance and negative knock-back for the inaugural SM Congress core values and declaration.
Charles Araujo, the driving force behind SM Congress, provided an update in March LINK however there has been radio silence since.
The ITIL Manifesto is a SM Congress look-a-like and states the following:
“A community driven effort (with the knowledge and support of the Intellectual Property holder Axelos Ltd) to add structure to existing or new ideas on how ITIL is viewed/used/adopted and to create a manifesto which formalises these principles”.
Here is what the AXELOS declaration has to say:
“The Manifesto, which began life as a Google document before moving to Tricider, has been created to capture the thoughts of the ITSM community and is designed to gather ideas about ITIL – what it should be and what it shouldn’t be – as well as understand the core values of the proposition”. LINK
So as we enter 2015 the community is still fragmented playing into the hands of For Profit (AXELOS ITIL Manifesto) vs Non-Profit (ITSMF and the ITSMBig4 Agenda) with these initiatives covering the same ground and some industry experts Claire Agutter @ClaireAgutter involved in both initiatives.
Tomorrows Future Today – TFT14
Thanks to BrightTALK for hosting these events and for enabling the community to hear directly from Subject Matter Experts. You can peruse an extensive set of TFT Summer webinars here LINK
TFT14 saw a marked increase in submissions but did not have the same impact as TFT13 because viewer expectations had already been set very high and the wow factor had lessened second time around.
Having said that this slide presentation by Jon Hall (BMC) titled “The end of ITs monopoly on trust vital lessons from the consumer space” is worth a look LINK
In addition the Taking Service Forward – Adaptive Service Model has not been sustained.
It was lauded as “Future best practice for governing, managing, providing and consuming services will be dynamic, emerging, empirical and holistic. Bodies of knowledge will continually emerge based on input from real people consuming, brokering or providing real services”.
In May I tweeted the following question:
@TSF_ASM It has been over a month since the last tweet. Are you guys still part of the #Axelos roadmap? http://t.co/iviUIuRVAq #stalled
With respect to the Supplier / Product provider agenda ServiceNow continue to lead the Market.
One example is the NowForum London event which transferred to the Excel centre to accommodate the huge numbers of attendees. Registration at this event is complimentary with KPMG and Accenture as “big time consulting’ premium sponsors recognising the opportunity to generate leads.
How to Navigate the ServiceNow Smartphone Interface
The Service-Oriented Enterprise with ServiceNowLINK
“Every department in the enterprise is a service provider. While service relationships are well defined and automated within IT, they are often inefficient, unstructured or non-existent in other enterprise service domains. Georg Maureder, Solution Architect EMEA at ServiceNow will tell you how savvy IT leaders view this as an opportunity to help their business peers replace inefficient email-based service request and fulfilment processes with a proven IT service model”.
BMC – Smart IT + MyIT
“Make your customers the center of attention, and your service desk the life-blood of the organization. Whether accessing personal applications on a mobile device or requesting a business application at work, people expect it to be easy. BMC helps you deliver a better user experience on both sides of the service desk. Delight IT teams and business users with a personalized IT experience, and intelligent, mobile access to IT services”.
Video: Better together: Smart IT + MyIT (1:13) LINK
HP Service Anywhere
December Update offers an Enhanced Trial Experience
“Trial users can take our new guided tours through the Self-Service Portal, Hot Topics Analytics and Live Support. These tours highlight the differentiated value of these key Service Anywhere features.
The Self-Service Portal uses an engaging user experience and big data driven knowledge to drive self-sufficiency and the move to ticketless IT”
HP Mobile User Experience – Mobile Application Pulse
It was a refreshing surprise to see the marketing campaign and kudos to the AXELOS team.
“Global Marketing Campaign ‘Missing a vital component’ has been really well received and we have had a phenomenal response. As an example, we have run full page adverts in the Economist worldwide and the Financial Times to further raise the awareness of Global Best Practice”.
It would be very helpful if AXELOS provided more detail to support the “phenomenal response” statement and the CEO value proposition. Did any CEOs / CIOs sign-up for ITIL or Prince training.
As to be expected AXELOS placed the needs of the Pupil over Practitioners and imposed stringent controls for training organisations to become accredited by AXELOS.
It will be interesting to gauge community response when the full year training exam numbers and results of the AXELOS Profit Share are released.
After a bumpy start Kaimar Karu made a big difference as Head of ITSM in June he tweeted
@kaimarkaru: A little something I wrote on the future of #ITIL – LINK
There were new and refreshed ITIL White papers from “practitioners for practitioners”.
Maximize the Synergies Between ITIL and DevOps by Anthony Orr @AnthonyOrrAtBMC is a very good read and very much on topic. LINK
For all the good work that AXELOS delivered in 2014 I did not understand why there was such a low key celebration of the 25th Year Anniversary of the ITIL Service Management practices. Here is a blog post from AXELOS LINK
“The CPD programme will create and establish lifelong personal brand value by enabling individuals to stay current in their knowledge and protect the investment they have made in the AXELOS Global Best Practice qualifications”.
Moreover the role based focus on Continuous Professional Development is marketing spin to infer that a clear career path has been defined and agreed by the Service Management Community.
It would be very helpful to align the CPD with the Skills Framework for the Information Age
“SFIA is an industry framework (free to use, subject to licence) which contains the descriptions of 96 professional skills, each of which is defined in terms of up to seven skill levels. It also identifies generic levels of responsibility in the areas of autonomy, business skills, complexity and influence.
SFIA offers an invaluable tool to help individuals understand their own strengths and areas of weakness, and to assist employers and HR departments to understand training requirements, potential skills gaps, and specific skills requirements for particular roles”.
Matthew Burrows @MatthewKBurrows has been an evangelist for development and adoption of the SFIA framework over several years and his voice should be heard by AXELOS.
Capita group, which has a 51% stake in AXELOS, acquired G2G3 I guess for their Gamification capabilities. It was a surprise that Ken Gonzalez @ken_gonzalez became G2G3 Americas VP for Delivery given that he had a successful consulting practice.
G2G3 promote the Service Management Office – “We are happy to offer a one-hour complementary Service Management Office (SMO) consultation to help you get started”.
Here is a LINK to the SMO Start-Up Kit and 8 Steps for implementing a SMO
In 2015 it is all about Connectedness
Smarter connected Customers will increase use of Mobile Self-Service Apps for swift and easy information access to obtain immediate resolution that puts the Customer firmly in control.
Smarter Customers are increasingly choosing digital interactions rather than use Voice / IVR calls. They demand consistency across channels so that their Customer record and a full history / notes are always accessible. Digital interactions include voice, text, email, web chat, posting on social media and/or using a connected app.
Smarter Self-Service Portals will identify and know the Customer guiding them along the Customer Journey thereby removing the need to join lengthy call centre queues. Virtual Agents will also become part of an improved Customer Experience.
Smarter peer-to-peer support from always connected practitioners will help to identify solutions for common Service Management and DevOps challenges.
In 2015 creativity will continue to come from random connections, cross-pollination and easy sharing of ideas.
So it is up to you to choose how you connect to the world of DevOps and Service Management industry relevant content that will provide you with the most engaging experience and value.
Listed below is a selection of my tweets from the last twelve months:
DEC
@wdgll: @GoNavvia: Maximize your investment in #ITSM
#Collaboration brings ITSM process management to the #Social era http://t.co/C6S4t13ajN
@wdgll: Next generation mobile support tools
Smart IT with support for smartphones
#Remedy #ITSM
@BMCSoftware
@JonHall_ http://t.co/IOegiuWCtu
Kaimer Karu @wdgll: Leveraging #ITIL we can create conditions for success; but we still need people to achieve that success and autonomy http://t.co/cMWwwJzD8k
NOV
@wdgll: @RobertEStroud: #ISACA BELGIUM video from my recent visit to the chapter http://t.co/HSJ7lk1RvA
Run on a membership model to share knowledge
@wdgll: Improve appreciation of what other group is doing by having Dev and Ops participate in each other’s daily activities http://t.co/2gs5uUq2G2
@wdgll: @AXELOS_GBP: new corporate video
“Always ahead of the curve”
Prince 2 Agile published early next year http://t.co/kLjGQm2EJd
@KaimarKaru Leveraging #ITIL we can create conditions for success; but we still need people to achieve that success and autonomy http://t.co/cMWwwJzD8k
Here are my nominations for this year’s Service Management Champs:
Charles the Champion of Change Communities
From RevNet to the SM inaugural Congress
Sound quality improves in this short clip
“We are uncovering ways of meeting business needs through Service Management. Our achievements, experiences and insights compel us to adopt these values:
While there is value to the items on the right, we value the items on the left more:”.
Dancy the Disruptor
“TFT13, Tomorrow’s Future Today, is the world’s first 24-hour, global, follow-the-sun virtual conference. It has a size and level of innovation that has never been seen before”.
Mark Kawasaki – The Practitioner’s Road
Long video clip so worth coming back to.
“What I finally see clearly is this: I belong on the practitioner’s road. And my purpose here is different than most. I don’t want to help design a better automobile. I want public transportation”. http://www.windupbird.org/
Stuart the Strategic Service Management Steward
itSMFUK – Outstanding contribution to ITSM
I am not sure that Axelos would have moved forward or maintained momentum without his contribution to the Taking Service Forward Initiative.
The vision of Taking Service Forward is to provide the service community with an Adaptive Service Model. Link to Google+ community LINK
Barclay Broadcasts everywhere.
Barclay has popped up at forums and events across the globe and as a result his personal brand has grown significantly this year across the industry.
He readily shares his insights e.g. ITSMTV etc. however I have selected this clip to shine the Rae from ITSM Goodness to SIaM
Frank and Fred Forge Ahead to the Beginning of Now
Service Now is the world’s second largest SaaS product (Salesforce is #1)
ServiceNow is built on a proprietary platform that aims to automate and standardise business processes, becoming the enterprise-wide platform across IT and business operations.
In addition to capabilities for service management, additional capabilities have been built for HR Service Automation, customer relationship management and facilities management.
Tools alone will not deliver the solution to Business Issues. Whilst I recognise how easy it is to create apps I am not sure whether clients would purchase ServiceNow HR Service Automation over Workday, Peoplesoft HCM or SAP HR solutions.
Stroud the Smoothie
Robert has the ability to travel seamlessly across the islands of COBIT5, ITIL and Vendor (CA) communities.
Here is his provocative 5 min presentation at Leadit 13
If 90% of everything is crap then 90% of the way that you are doing Service Management is crap so you must find the 10% of process that really works.
How are you going to unlock value for the future?
Rob Remains Relentless
Rob England is Relentless in his specific / point challenges to others in the SM ecosystem, in particular Axelos. In 2013 he has come out of the shadows and written a well received book and presented at various forums.
“Rob England’s latest book Plus! The Standard+Case Approach, does in one short reading what many books attempt to accomplish in several years. S+C redefines the relationship for technology professionals by creating a route to customer experience, an improved skillset for ICT and redefines everything we thought we understood about “routine”. Chris Dancy, Founder, ServiceSphere Amazon LINK
BrightTALK – Grow Your Audience in 2014
BrightTALK is the “Best of the Best” platform in the eyes of practitioners and has organised many Summits where individuals readily share their insights.
It is important to understand that we can learn as much from the CHUMPS as we can from the Champs:
Axelos a Forward-Thinking Name for a Forward-Thinking Company
Not sure which design agency was chosen but good luck if you ever need to re-brand ITIL. Moreover, the change in logo from the Best Practice Management Swirl to the Axelos GBP (Global Best Practice) is the only visible change I have seen.
Perhaps there will be more forward thinking with the launch of the Axelos website.
Peter Hepworth the Axelos CEO portrays the image of either Tim Nice but Dim or a Gifted Amateur. He has been leading the global Axelos “Dog & Pony (Road) Show” and his lack of Industry, Product or content Knowledge is evident. This is in stark contrast to industry leaders such as Frank Slootman the ServiceNow CEO.
Here is one of his better performances which reflects a steady improvement in his canned speech notes. I suspect that he is more comfortable banging on about Gamification.
ITIL – Product Development Roadmap Priorities – LINK
“We are seeking to capture the most imperative propositions that will help identify the real value of our portfolio of products. We will be asking our ecosystem to support this process with case studies and real life examples as to the quantifiable benefits. We will share a series of propositions, in the form of short briefs for CEOs, at the end of the year and ask for your support with their continual development”.
“Research shows that gaming and simulation can improve the learning process. We will therefore explore this opportunity and work with specific strategic partners to ensure that our products are at the forefront of the digital age in terms of development and delivery”.
Axelos receive royalties from Examination Institutes for each ITIL exam taken. This recurring training revenue stream is the “Gift that keeps on Giving” and will guarantee Axelos employees a share of profits at end of 2014. Metrics drive behaviours so Axelos will shine the lens on Gamification and e-Learning to drive increased revenues.
An early example of generating additional training revenue is the “Official AXELOS ITIL Foundation Exam App” which was available on iTunes for download at £9.99 / $16
Chris Barrett the Axelos Transitions Director
Chris is much more credible however given that we are two weeks from launch date it is very disappointing that the Roadmap is still very high-level and mapped out by quarter. I suspect that if Chris were still a “Big-Time” consultant he would have been walked off the engagement because the high level view and workstream descriptions are not detailed enough to provide transparency of initiative priorities, deployment plans etc for the Programme Sponsor. One of the key deliverables is the Axelos Community Portal which will be available at the end of Q3 2014.
The Axelos Service Management Architecture workstream is 10 years behind most big-time and independent consultants who have helped their Local / Global clients with the design and implementation of proven IT Operating Models and End-to-End Service Models.
In 2014 there will be increased focus on how Cloud Services Brokerages will Challenge Traditional IT Service Providers for Cloud Services Delivery.
Another trend this year is where Industry stalwarts have been less opinionated. Stephen Mann transferred, after many years, from Forrester to ServiceNow. He has been consistently involved in the key community forums but for me is recording and observing rather than when he was at Forrester providing a thought provoking Point of View.
More worryingly Ken Gonzalez and Ian Clayton have changed their tone and been less vocal since they joined the G2G3 Americas team. G2G3 is part of the C(r)apita Group.
The Service Management ecosystem will continue to fence with more frequent and aggressive “Thrust and Parry response” moves, fighting with either foil or sabre. The natural tension between Profit (Axelos), Non-Profit (ISACA), Vendors and Customers will increase in 2014 with the lines blurring between who sits Inside the tent or Outside the tent.
Why do we need to be more relevant to our Consumer/Enterprise Customers?
The proportion of the global workforce dedicated to agriculture, products and services has changed dramatically and at a faster pace over the last 20 years:
In 2014 the principles of Service Management will be applied beyond Enterprise IT to predictably deliver outcomes for Consumer and Enterprise Customers. Lessons will be applied from Business Process Outsourcing and Operational Excellence. There will be a huge focus on moving from the Service Experience to Customer Experience with clear definition and measurement or outcome based Key Performance Indicators.
In 2014 we will officially be planning for the post ITIL environment. ITIL = Irrelevant Today Industry Leading Not
Axelos has consistently mentioned investment in products and the value proposition for CEOs. Whilst new idea generation is part of the equation in 2014 execution is just as important. I envisage that Axelos will pander to the needs of the Pupil over Practitioners and will reap what they sow.
Moreover, Axelos has not defined the criteria by which any artefact will be categorised as “Global” Best Practice.
In 2014 Standards of Service Excellence will be set and validated by the global self-organizing community.
So in 2014 we will see the pooling of collective wisdom and increasing power of individual practitioners to share their insight with whoever is interested across any channel of interaction.
In 2014 it is important that we encourage any new or different thinking. TFT13 was a huge success. The submissions for TFT14 in February will require careful review in order to maintain the standards of excellence and meet the viewers expectations.
So who will take the
Service Management “Moral High Ground” in 2014?
The 2014 champions will be the individual practitioners who have delivered outcomes that address real business challenges. They will readily share proven solutions to business issues via platforms such as Google Helpouts. Those seeking help may opt to pay a sum they think the practical advice is worth.
In 2014 creativity will come from spontaneity, from random connections, from cross-pollination and easy sharing of ideas. A new cadre of “Opinion Formers” will take the global stage. There are no lines to be learned and the members of the cast will extend beyond the “same old same old” set of champions. As we Shift Right new voices from India, Singapore, Philippines etc. will join the dialogue. To this end keep an eye on the folk at HCL.
My related posts:
Is TFT13, not the ITIL joint venture, the way forward for IT Service Management Practices? LINK
ServiceNow NowForum with presentations from CEO Frank Slootman and CTO Fred Luddy. LINK
Gartner Says Get Gamification working for you LINK
Gartner research note sets out how the Cloud Services Brokerage market will grow LINK
Are you invited to join the Google Helpouts marketplace? LINK