Resource Library

As long as I've been involved in service management, one of the perennial debates that's really never been resolved focuses around how many discrete processes ITIL describes. No such single list exists in the ITIL core books. However, section 4.1 of each of the ITIL 2011 core books shows the processes described within that specific book. When we deliver accredited ITIL training, if it is describe in section 4.1 of any of the ITIL core books, then it is considered a "process".

What's the correct sequence of activities for handling an incident? Find out why categorization occurs before initial diagnosis in the ITIL incident management process flow so you can answer this common ITIL Foundation exam question.

Previously I discussed service providers and their risks in the example of my involvement with a landscaping company. ITIL clearly states that services, “…deliver value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve…” However, sometimes organizations and people focus on outputs as opposed to outcomes, which sacrifices some of the value of the service. This leads to a question, what is the difference between an outcome and an output?

Organizations that plan for and conduct supplier management according to defined processes and boundaries are more likely to receive predictable, high-quality goods and services from their suppliers in a timely manner.

ITIL is generally not prescriptive. In reality, the CSI Register at any given organization might look significantly different than the example given in the CSI book. The fields given in this example are important. 

Many I&O leaders and customers see little value from investments in ITIL. Not getting the Return on Investment (ROI) you expect normally comes from using ITIL incorrectly. You, your staff, and your customers must share the same goals and understand exactly what to expect from your ITIL investments. The goal of ITIL is not “business and IT alignment” or “competitive advantage from IT investments.” Instead, its first goal is to stabilize service operation. This builds a base for the second goal: increasing value through service optimization. You must have clear-cut, documented, and managed expectations for each activity, and order is vital. Success requires that you stabilize service delivery before trying to optimize. Focusing on the correct goal and linking each ITIL task to that goal is the correct use of ITIL.

Traditionally, ITIL and TOGAF professionals have been part of different teams within an organization. Due to the ongoing alignment of business and IT, these professionals now often find themselves on the same team. Because of this crossover, there is a growing trend towards organization of work based on multiple best practice models. 

Co-authors Michael Scarborough and Ryan Ballmer discuss some key differences in the new Global Knowledge ITIL courseware.

Michael Scarborough and Ryan Ballmer, co-authors of Global Knowledge ITIL courseware, discuss why ITIL is important to businesses.

A gap analysis is a tool that ITIL recommends organizations use to compare their current state to some future desired state.

In this report, I've reviewed the 15 most popular certifications according to our more than 12,000 North American respondents to our annual IT Skills and Salary Survey. For each certification, you'll find a brief description, the average salary, and some insight into why it is popular.

You know you need to invest in training, but how do you get the best return on investment (ROI) from your training dollars? To help you make smart training decisions, we've put together this guide, which illustrates some alternative and little-known payment options, the types of discounts and promotions available with training and a suggested list of courses that give you excellent value.

Michael Scarborough and Ryan Ballmer, co-authors of Global Knowledge ITIL courseware, discuss the difference between ITIL Capability courses and ITIL Lifecycle courses.

Cloud computing enables development teams to get applications into production faster. IT Service Management (ITSM) leaders must adopt new strategies and change existing processes or risk becoming a barrier to success. Cloud computing requires DevOps-the blending of development and operations with the goal of accelerating time-to-market and reducing time-to-value. The good news is that ITIL® is uniquely positioned to accelerate DevOps, but it requires changes to existing ITSM processes.

Nasser El-Batal will walk you through the most useful, recognized, and mandated ITSM best practices in the industry: TOGAF, COBIT and ITIL®. He will highlight the benefits of integrating them into a single implementation program to avoid project disaster. Discussions are focused on "Getting Your House in Order" and how to establish your own organization-specific business transformation program, while increasing your organization maturity.

In this hour-long webinar by Global Knowledge instructor and ITIL Expert Michael Scarborough, you will learn how to study for and succeed in passing ITIL Intermediate Exams. You will learn how to approach an ITIL Intermediate exam, the true/false approach and why it works and how to study for the ITIL Intermediate exams.

Simulate the ITIL v3 Service Management Lifecycle with an interactive gaming experience.

Michael Scarborough and Ryan Ballmer, co-authors of Global Knowledge ITIL courseware, discuss how to become an ITIL expert.

You will learn how many organizations approach change management as compared to how best practices dictate that change management should work. Global Knowledge instructor and ITIL Expert Michael Scarborough will fill you in on the purpose of change management and the difference between change management and change tickets. He will provide a high-level guide for establishing a change management process that uses real-world examples as its basis.

Learn the ITIL® concepts of accountability, boundaries, and consistency (the ABCs) and discover how ITIL helps establish, manage, and maintain the ABCs.

In this hour-long webinar, Global Knowledge instructor and ITIL Expert Michael Scarborough will share his knowledge and expertise on various aspects of incident management and problem management processes. He will help you understand the difference between incidents and problems and between incident and problem management, providing examples from his own experience to drive the concepts home. Michael will also provide an overview of who performs various incident and problem management activities in an organization.

This white paper describes a technique for defining processes called SIPOC (Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and Customers). SIPOC provides a structured way to define the key elements of any process. SIPOC can be used as a means of defining any of the service management processes presented in ITIL® best practices. Furthermore, SIPOC can be used as the preliminary input into the more formal documentation of a process in one of many process design tools.

Change is the order of the day, and if anything, the pace of business and technology change is accelerating. The business and customers are looking to IT service providers to be more responsive, delivering more frequent service changes with higher quality-resulting in services that deliver more value to the business. In order to continue to be relevant and of high value, ITIL must continue to benefit from other complementary best-practices for IT. DevOps, an approach that encourages improved communication, collaboration, and teamwork across development and operations, can have a positive influence in improving ITIL processes across the service life-cycle.

The ITIL® event management process defines three event types: informational, warning and exception. In this post, I will discuss the different event types and give real-world examples of each.

Businesses today are more dependent on technology than ever. And, more than ever, they're looking to IT for ways to improve employee productivity, customer service and innovation. The challenge is that in order to achieve results with technology, IT and the business have to work collaboratively. IT needs to be able to develop the right relationships and communicate with different stakeholders from a business perspective - not a technical one. As a result, the transformation of the IT department has become a top-level priority for many leading organizations. At the same time, business leaders need to strengthen their business technology IQ and play a more significant role in the governance of IT.

Using ITIL can improve your IT service levels, customer service ratings, business productivity and reduce operating costs, but getting started can be overwhelming. Gain the understanding you need to adopt and adapt ITIL with instructions and tips for important steps such as internal employee communications, determining potential pain points and methods for evaluating your existing processes.

AMC’s television series “Halt and Catch Fire” shows North Texas’ rise as the “Silicon Prairie.” In the 1980s and early 1990s, it’s where IBM PC cloning was explored and where first-person shooter games were created. It’s also the site of the first “logic bomb”—the source of my horror story.

Which mainstay certifications should be in your list of credentials? What's the next up-and-coming certification? This article will help you answer both questions by providing a review of the 15 top-paying certifications.

IBM WebSphere Business Modeler (WBM) can be used in conjunction with an adoption of ITIL best practices. It is a full-featured process modeling and simulation tool that fits well with other IBM products that are used to define various service management processes and activities. In this white paper learn more about how WBM provides both the ability to visually define process activities and the ability to define detailed information about processes, including inputs, outputs, cost, revenue, roles and resources.

As the technology industry has advanced, the professional certification industry has grown alongside it. The Global Knowledge 2016 IT Skills and Salary Report revealed that Cisco, Microsoft, IT service management, ITIL and security certifications are the most lucrative to obtain.

Shortly after being awarded an ITIL® Foundation certification, a recipient’s natural inclination is to ask: “Now what? How do I take the best practices I’ve learned and apply them to my organization?”

You may have heard about IT service management and ITIL being yesterday’s news, but the survey suggests you need to re-evaluate those rumors. The enduring value of ITSM credentials and practices have been championed by Gene Kim, one of the Godfathers of the DevOps world, who has said, “It is my firm belief that ITSM and the DevOps movement are not at odds. Quite to the contrary, they’re a perfect cultural match.”

Certifications are the most common way in IT to prove you have the skills to solve various technical and business challenges. In this article, I'll address a range of skill sets. For each certification listed, I've included what the certification measures, the requirements to obtain it.

Thinking about getting ITIL certified? In this post, we cover the value of each ITIL certification and dive into survey results to determine whether ITIL certifications are worth it. The results are in!

ITIL Foundation Exam-Taking Tips

This certification and exam guide discusses the various ITIL® certifications and what they might mean to you, your organization, and your career, as well as provide important test-taking tips for the ITIL certification exams. ITIL certifications help individuals validate their ability to demonstrate skills from a foundational to a mastery level of IT service management. ITIL certification can often be a key differentiator in the marketplace as well.

ITIL® 4 reflects new ways of working that have accompanied the digital revolution. Service Management, and ITIL in particular, is still an important toolset but you are now integrating its adoption and use with a vast array of new ways of working (DevOps, Agile, SIAM, Site Reliability Engineering). Since ITIL v3 was released in 2006, a large number of new and updated technologies (Cloud, Serverless Computing, Software-Defined Networking, AI, etc.) have emerged that now need managing. ITIL 4 reflects these changes. Here are some frequently asked questions about ITIL 4, as well as answers that explain what it entails, why we need it and how it differs from ITIL v3.

Digital transformation means different things to different people. One fact they all agree on is that the capability needed to manage this new paradigm will lead to new ways of working, new skills, new technology and embracing more collaborative ways of co-creating value. That challenge has been the driving force for the latest iteration of ITIL®.

How do you measure the experience and knowledge of an IT professional? One way is through certifications. Earning any certification is a notable achievement, though not all certifications carry the same perceived worth.

IT is a very fast changing industry – what is hot today may be a tiny niche market in only a few years and lesser known things may turn out to be huge trends. That having been said, there are many certifications that will be around for a long time. However, this does not imply that recertification and/or continuing education credits are not required to maintain certification. Predicting the future is always challenging, including in IT, but these certifications are good bets.