Itil Lifecycle Publication Suite, Version 3: Continual Service Improvement, Service Operation, Service Strategy, Service Transition, Service Design
Product Description
Official release Date is May 30, 2007.
Advanced Orders are being accepted now with shipments immediately following the release date.
The New core titles are aimed at the widest possible readership. Because they reflect the lifecycle of service, their appeal encompasses the entire spectrum of people involved at any stage of the process. So, without being the prime audience, everyone involved will benefit from access to the entire library.
There are five publications in the ITIL Lifecycle Core Library:
* Service Strategy
* Service Design
* Service Transition
* Service Operation
* Continual Service Improvement
These titles share a consistent structure:
* Introduction, overview, context
* Service Management as a practice
* Service lifecycle
* Role of processes in the lifecycle
* Role of functions in the lifecycle
* Practice fundamentals
* Practice principles
* Processes
* Organizational design and structures, roles and responsibilities
* Challenges, critical success factors, risks
* Supplemental guidance
* References
March 13th, 2010 - 12:57
An enormous amount of work has gone in publishing the ITIL v3 bookset and it shows. Unfortunately the degree of in depth information varies here and there, which is probably due to the tight release schedule.
All in all a worthwhile execution of the LCM concept for IT Services.
Rating: 4 / 5
March 13th, 2010 - 13:39
I was using ITIL and others IT Quality Standards for almost 5 years and I think the new version includes a more mature evolution on how incorporating IT services towards the business. It takes into account strategic aspects, as well as new processes that were before not specified but that they were carried out in the day to day. What it really does is force the IT areas to view IT in a service lifecycle and customer business needs and expectations sense.
Rating: 5 / 5
March 13th, 2010 - 14:22
If you want to improve the capability of your IT organization, the best and easiest way is by adopting best practices and processes. ITIL provides the proper framework to start improving your IT organization’s capabilities. Compiled from over 300 sources over a period of 30 years, these books contain some of the best knowledge and practices that the IT world has to offer. ITIL is not merely theory, but PROVEN best practices. Although its concepts do not apply to every situation in all organizations, it nontheless provide the best theoratical and proven principles for maximizing the resources and capabilities of IT to deliver business value. The central theme of ITIL is merging business needs with IT so they can be closely aligned.
I have a ITIL v3 Expert certification and these books are a must if you want to pass the exams. The exams are tricky and definitely will test the small details contained in these books. Do not think you can pass the ITIL Intermediate certification exams by merely mastering the ITIL foundations materials.
The drawbacks are first the cost, which is prohibitively expensive, and the ambiguity of the issues. These 5 books were written by multiple authors who are experts in ITIL. As with many such works, these books try to harmonize different opinions in many matters into a unified body of work. The result is that answers to many questions have no definitive, or at best ambiguous, answers. For example, in Service Design book, the Continuity Management process has 4 stages. The generally accepted wisdom is that Business Impact Analysis (BIA) is performed in the Requirements phase. But not quite firmly, says the Service Design book. BIA can also be performed in the Initiation stage, but the book never explains which portion of BIA are done in the Initiation stage vs the Requirement stage. So much for clarity…
This package has 5 books of ITIL:
1)Service Strategy
This is the book that all CIOs and upper level IT managers should read. It gives the proper 10,000 feet view of IT and how to direct its resources and capabilities based on business analysis, demands, and requirements. It covers Financial, Demand, and Service Portfolio Management.
2)Service Design
This book has the most ambiguity. Service Design is involved with converting business strategy and requirements into IT processes and architecture to deliver business value in the form of increased utility and warranty. HIghly recommended to all enterprise architects (SOA, database, application, infrastructure etc).
3)Service Transition
Covers transitioning the new designs or improvements to IT processes and architecture to the IT Operation. This book is must for QA and Change Management personnel. Operations Manager and Application Managers should also read this book. The most important process in Service Transition is the Change Management which this book covers well.
4)Service Operation
Covers the best ways to run IT operation to deliver business value of utility and warranty. It strongly advocates balance in operational interests. For example, a good operational group is neither reactive or proactive but balances the two interests. Strongly recommended to all operational managers.
5)Continual Service Improvement
The most simplest and least ambiguous of the 5 books. Contains many clear and unequivocal answers. Especially recommended to project managers and Change Managers. CSI should be implemented in all phases of IT.
These books are not perfect and certainly could have less ambiguity. But the knowledge contained in these books are worth their considerable weight in gold.
Rating: 4 / 5
March 13th, 2010 - 15:47
As I said is a bit heavy to digest these books; however if you are in business lon enough and seen many ITIL implementations and adopted variations then these books are a perfect source to enable you stepping ahead and do your ITIL job.
Rating: 4 / 5
March 13th, 2010 - 16:41
I was excited to learn that the OGC was looking to ‘evolve’ ITIL but I’ve not been overly impressed with the output. Granted I’ve only finished reading two of the five books in the suite but have seen little in them to necessitate a five book re-write. And the style in which it is presented sends shivers down my spine. If I’d not been previously experienced in ITSM I’d have been intimidated by the material.
The point of the suite was to provide IT managers with a systematic approach to plan, design, implement, manage and improve IT process management. In other words they spent a lot of time throwing a project management wrapper around the ITSM processes… not exactly rocket science unless you were one of those that threw common sense out the window to religiously follow a consultant’s ‘expert’ opinion and ended up mired in an undisciplined and incomplete ITSM installation.
I do credit them with the separation of the Service Management methodologies. It was due and makes more sense. I think that this section will benefit many who have struggled with the Service Catalog in Version 2.
Overall, I think readers will suffer through a lot of noise in these books trying to find the truly ‘evolved’ items that were promised.
Rating: 2 / 5