A systems engineer recently asked “With all of the buzz
around Agile and DevOps, is ITIL Foundation training and certification still
relevant?” The short answer is yes and
its relevance is directly tied to the success of strategic initiatives and the
outcomes of the organization. There is
direct benefit to the learner/candidate also.
It has been a while since this has been discussed so let’s revisit this
once again.
For the Consultant or
Third Party Vendor: Gets you on the short list! - ITIL Foundation training gives those who are
consulting in any area of “Service Management” a standard set of vocabulary
critical to communication. Also, knowing
the terms and basic concepts is crucial to the credibility of the
consultant. The improper use of a single
term that is known by your customer could give the impression that you as the
consultant do not know the industry and omit you from the short list. Some organizations will not even consider a
vendor without the proper certification. You might have an Agile or DevOps background
but if you can’t talk the talk and walk the walk with ITSM and best practices,
communication and perception could go down a slippery slope. The credentials are important in order to be
considered but the real value comes as a result of increased capability to
actually deliver.
For the IT Manager:
Allows you to herd the Cats! – without a common set of vocabulary and some
sense of direction it is likely that a team will breakdown into chaos and at
the very least remain in reactive firefighting mode. How many times have you had a conversation
with an IT staff member and both of you feel that the conversation went very
well only to find out later that due to the misunderstanding of a concept or
term you both actually walked away having a completely different understanding
of what was intended. ITIL Foundation
training and certification not only lays the ground work for terminology and
communication but also lays out a basic framework based on the Service
Lifecycle of Strategy, Design, Transition, Operation and ongoing Continual
Service Improvement. This core allows
organizations to have structure. Less
chaos, less breakdown and increased IT performance can only lead to increased
business performance. Agile and DevOps
along with just enough process and ITSM structure leads to success! DevOps and
Agile do not stand alone. It’s not one
or the other. We really want to learn how to glean value and obtain the proper
balance from an integrated approach.
For the IT
Practitioner: Get results and Career Opportunity! – I think that we will
all agree that certification is not the only measure of an individual’s
capability to perform. That said, it is
one of the measures valued in the industry.
Many candidates will not even be looked at if they do not have the
proper certification and credentials to support their knowledge and experience.
Some engineers who only understand Agile
will struggle when working with operational staff and vice versa. Why reinvent
the wheel when trying to optimize change management or improve workflow
throughout the delivery of a service.
Why struggle to increase value from service asset and configuration management
or any ITSM activity? Knowing Agile and
DevOps principles alone could be a risk. Understanding ITIL and how to apply industry
best practices for ITSM could help to increase the performance of your
organization and your career. A holistic approach and mindset will always help.
If you are Interested in Industry Best Practices and ITIL
certification for yourself or your staff:
Comments