If you are working for an IT organization, you would be conversant with the term” ITIL”. It is gaining widespread recognition in IT organizations globally.
ITIL is the most sought-after certification by IT professionals who want to learn and thoroughly understand the basic concepts of the ITIL framework to enrich the quality of IT Service Management (ITSM). It is a globally recognized framework describing tasks, checklists, and procedures not specific to any organization.
After getting ITIL Foundation certified, IT Service Management (ITSM) professionals want to implement the ITIL framework right away in their organization. But that can be a counterproductive move. There is a lot to learn in ITIL and ITIL Foundation is just the first step on the ladder. There are a few common mistakes that newly certified ITIL professionals make in their ITSM roles. These are described below, and by avoiding these errors, you can ensure your contribution to the organization is maximized and your ITSM skills are sharpened.
Common Mistakes to Avoid by ITIL Professionals:
Mere implementation of ITIL is just enough, we need to make thorough planning and awareness of the mistakes to avoid that might arise.
Let’s take a peep look at common mistakes to avoid by the ITIL professionals:
Being Content with Just ITIL Foundation Certification:
ITIL Foundation is an entry-level certification, which helps you to impart basic knowledge of ITSM. Once you get certified, you have a common vocabulary shared by other ITIL-certified professionals, which will help you in your chosen career path. ITIL has five different levels of qualifications: ITIL Foundation, ITIL Intermediate, ITIL MALC, ITIL Expert, and ITIL Master. It requires a lot of hard work from your end to master the ITIL framework, and only as you advance in the qualification ladder will you actually be knowledgeable about all aspects of the framework.
Focusing Only on a Few Select Processes:
As a newly ITIL certified individual, sometimes the tendency is to concentrate only on a few select processes at a time such as incident and problem management (which falls under the Service Operation (SO) and Operational Support and Analysis (OSA) modules). The consequence of that approach is there will be half-baked process solutions where a re-work requirement is sure to pop up in the project when other processes are addressed. To solve this issue, you have to address multiple processes at the same time and implement the framework in its totality, rather than just a part of it.
Ignoring the Impact of Culture:
Every organization is unique in its own way. First, learn how the organization approaches change before implementing any transformational process. Gaining in-depth knowledge of the culture within will help you to successfully implement the ITIL framework to the best of your abilities.
Implementing ITIL on Your Own:
This happens most of the time with newly ITIL-certified professionals who want to show the immediate impact of the ITIL framework in their organization. In doing so, they start processes and tools on their own and start implementing them, which leads to duplication of work. The main concept of ITIL is that IT is there to provide support for business services. In order to provide these services, the entire IT staff should work together to ensure the business needs are met.
Creating Service Catalogs Without Understanding Business Requirements:
Yes, it is good to start documenting the services provided by IT to various business services by creating a service catalog. But a service catalog should be able to narrow the gap between business expectations and IT deliverables. To bridge the gap, mapping the services that are being currently provided to cater to business expectations should take place in an effective manner.
Not Creating a Strong Business Case:
As a certified professional, you know why ITIL is important, but do others know the benefits of ITIL? Articulate the benefits of implementing the ITIL framework and communicate the same to all stakeholders who are involved in the project. They should know what is the cost of implementing the ITIL framework is and what they get in return. The scope of the project must be clear and outlining the benefits will help in justifying your claim for resources to be used.
Not all Processes Require a Dedicated Team:
ITSM professionals after getting ITIL certified want to take identify processes with dedicated teams to manage incidents, problems, and changes that occur. This setting up of different processes with dedicated teams is a counterproductive move for ITSM concepts. Processes are just a set of activities and some of them can be handled by a single resource who can perform multiple activities.
Not Everybody Knows the ITIL Language:
Newly ITIL-certified professionals now have a vocabulary that helps in ITIL adoption and implementation of ITIL framework in an effective manner. But when you speak to others who do not understand the language of this framework, they may think that you are speaking in some code and will start ignoring you when you are trying to communicate. Cut down on the ITIL-specific terminologies and just concentrate more on the ITIL guidance. By demonstrating the effectiveness of the framework for the organization in easy-to-understand terms, you will get your point across.
You are Not Selling ITIL to Key Stakeholders:
After getting newly ITIL certified, individuals often tend to limit the scope of ITIL implementation to a few processes which need immediate attention. But if you want to create a major impact with the ITIL framework, then you need to sell ITIL to key players in the organization who can initiate changes, and allocate budgets and resources. It is actually hard to sell ITIL to the executives when they have no idea what you are talking about. You need a boardroom champion or an executive sponsor for any ITIL project.
Beginning your journey in the ITIL methodology is a great start for a rewarding ITSM career. By getting ITIL 4 Foundation Training Course, you can look forward to making a contribution to ITSM deliverables in your organization. By avoiding the above-mentioned mistakes, you can ensure assured business benefits for your enterprise by adopting the ITIL framework.
