Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Why ITIL implementations fail
Although I’ve been in the IT industry for some time now, ITIL is something I only recently became aware of. The Wiki Encyclopedia provides a really good definition of what ITIL is, as follows:
The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a customizable framework of best practices that promote quality computing services in the information technology (IT) sector. ITIL addresses the organisational structure and skill requirements for an IT organisation by presenting a comprehensive set of management procedures with which an organisation can manage its IT operations. These procedures are supplier independent and apply to all aspects of IT infrastructure.
The Wiki Encyclopedia ITIL definition page also provides a really good overview of the ITIL frameworks and the supporting sets.
I recently came across an interesting article by Malcom Fry at CIO Online entitled the The Pitfalls of ITIL. The article outlines the top ten reasons why ITIL implementations fail and discusses IT Service Management (ITSM).
10 reasons for ITIL implementation failure:
- Lack of Management commitment
- Spending too much time on complicated process diagrams
- Not creating work instructions
- Not assigning process owners
- Concentrating too much on performance
- Being too ambitious
- Failing to maintain momentum
- Allowing departmental demarcation
- Ignoring solutions other than ITIL
- Not reviewing the entire ITIL framework
What grabbed my attention was the 1st point. This is also listed as the main reason why ERP implementations fail in all the books and articles I have read on the subject - something for management to be aware of and to try and rectify!! A case in point is this Rockford Consulting article which provides the following list of the 12 Cardinal Sins of ERP implementation:
- Lack of Top Management Commitment
- Inadequate Requirements Definition
- Poor ERP Package Selection
- Inadequate Resources
- Resistance to Change/Lack of Buy-in
- Miscalculation of Time and Effort
- Misfit of Application Software with Business Processes
- Unrealistic Expectation of Benefits and ROI
- Inadequate Training and Education
- Poor Project Design and Management
- Poor Communications
- Ill-advised Cost Cutting
Useful ITIL Links
I’ve added these links to my link blog as well as referenced them in the del.icio.us tags at the end of the post.
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