On Wikipedia.org there is a short description of ITIL V3. Below you can read the introduction.
ITIL V3
In December 2005, the OGC issued notice of an ITIL refresh, commonly known as Information Technology Infrastructure Library v3 (ITIL v3). The project culminated in the publication of five new core texts and a web based glossary on 30 May 2007. The ITIL Refresh project is being led by Sharon Taylor, chief architect of the ITIL Refresh, and president of the Aspect Group..
A key change to ITIL under version 3 has been a repositioning of the framework from the previous emphasis on process lifecycle and alignment of IT to “the business”, to the management of the lifecycle of the services provided by IT, and the importance of creating business value rather than just the execution of processes. Consequently, it was rebranded ITIL Service Management Practices in order to represent service management ‘best practice’. It is a publicly stated aim of the refresh to include more reference to ROI.
Source: Wikipedia.org
Based on the discussions on internet and talks with my colleagues I’m wondering what you think of ITIL V3. There for I started a discussion with the following questions:
- Why was it necessary to have a new version of ITIL?
- What really happens to people who were ITIL V2 qualified and may not want to go in for a bridge course?
Specially with cost cutting, job losses in this recession period, etc… - How much would it cost for an upgrade and is it necessary?
These are the questions I posted in a Linkedin.com group. The comments on this discussion I’ve added to this post.
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10 comments
Oliver says:
05/03/2009 at 13:55 (UTC 1 )
You’ll always need V2.
Much of V2 is incorporated in V3, V2 will always add value as the processes within it are still relevant. V3 looks at the service lifecyle and IT-Business elements, but not many companies are in a position yet to adopt this type of approach whole heartedly.
Indeed, I’m sure the majority of companies in this world would NOT say they have fully mature V2 processes and now want to integrate them into a bigger picture lifecycle blah, blah, blah.
Rob says:
05/03/2009 at 13:56 (UTC 1 )
You are talking in the context of prospective employers and/or clients I believe.
* some will blindly insist you be “current” i.e. they want to see V3 certifications
* some won’t know the difference between V2 and V3, or even that there are two versions. An ITIL certification is a certification
* some will be wise enough to care more about experience than certifications. If you are a stranger then certififcation still helps. If you are introduced through word of mouth then less so.
I reckon the three groups are about equal size.
I don’t think ITIL certification on its own proves enough to a potential employer: a few days training and a multi-choice exam? Just tells me you can talk the talk not walk the walk.
If you’ve got the thousands to invest, then you’ll probably get your money back and more in “additional” work but most of the time you won’t know whether you would have won the work/job anyway.
Scott says:
05/03/2009 at 13:57 (UTC 1 )
If you have not aligned to V2 then focus on V3. The concepts in V2 are great concepts but the connections and relationships in terms of how IT services are actually delivered was lacking something. V3 focuses on the life cycle of IT services and is a bit closer to where the rubber meets the road. They have combine some concepts and introduced new ones. It is definitely NOT just a remake of the same thing.
Regards,
Scott
Dave says:
05/03/2009 at 13:58 (UTC 1 )
Arindam,
The answer that Scott provided is it in a nutshell. I can only add that v3 is a “body of knowledge” that tries to get the IT management folks to think/act more strategically in communicating the value relationships between the resources they have and the services that get delivered.
Actualy, if you think about it, now is the time we need to be doing that more than ever.
Dave
Stephen says:
05/03/2009 at 13:59 (UTC 1 )
But, to Rob’s point, it is NOT necessary to upgrade unless there is a specific reason to do so. V3 certainly isn’t “complete” by any means, and since ITIL isn’t prescriptive, one can definitely run an organization perfectly well without v2 or v3 certifications.
Scott and Dave make good points though — all business persons would be wise to think more strategically about service and value and ITIL v3 did make some progress toward an understanding of the service lifecycle.
But a service-centric mindset doesn’t have to come from ITIL. So, the only real reason to become certified or to upgrade current certifications is that you believe it will make you a more attractive potential candidate for employment. Were I interviewer employee candidates, the certification might be an interesting talking point, but that would be about it. That is, your mileage may vary — ITIL certifications of v2 or v3 carry equal weight in MY professional decision-making calculus: very, very little.
Scott says:
05/03/2009 at 14:00 (UTC 1 )
You don’t need ITIL to run a static environment where nothing goes wrong and nothing changes (grows). ITIL defines human behavior and every organization needs the processes ITIL describes. Every organization already has them in some form. You may not need ITIL but every IT organization needs to be doing what ITIL describes.
As far as “complete”… what in the technology world is complete? This is the best model we have thus far. It is only the 3rd revision in over 20 years…. and if you look outside the US it is widely adopted. It does not tell you how you need to do it (that would be a certification for the organization or compliance which does not exist). It tells you that you need to do it.
If you would prefer to read the 40 books that were part of the official library in version 1 and then get started… that is certainly one way. Personally, I would prefer to consume a current version that includes some of the concepts like managed services and such that did not exist 20+ years ago. I find it relevant.
Regards,
Scott
Stephen says:
05/03/2009 at 14:01 (UTC 1 )
Yes. Every organization needs the processes ITIL describes. But, you don’t necessarily need ITIL to describe those processes (as you point out, Scott, every organization always already has those processes in some form, regardless of whether the humans in those organizations are ITIL aware or behave as ITIL suggests they should).
And that’s all I’m trying to point out: ITIL is not necessary even if the processes are. So even if ITIL is the best, most widely accepted model (a debatable proposition, to be sure), and even if one prefers to focus on the most up-to-date iteration of that model, upgrading one’s professional certifications is still necessary only to the degree one believes it makes one a more attractive potential candidate for employment. As Rob pointed out, in his estimation, there are equal pools of employers who either (1) insist on current certifications, or (2) are unaware of the difference — or don’t care — between v2 and v3, or (3) care not at all for the certification, but for business experience.
In other words, your mileage may vary. If you value a v3 certification, please, go get one (I’ve got one!) — but in my estimation, one’s value isn’t signified by that certification.
Madeleine says:
05/03/2009 at 14:01 (UTC 1 )
ITIL is not an application so don’t look at it as a V2 V3 upgrade.
I have to ask – Are you happy with the knowledge you have at the moment or do you want/need to learn more?
V3 gives some really powerful advice and is excellent if you want to gain better insight into how to look at an IT department strategicly. It has also cleared up a number of misconceptions that occured naturally due to the structire of V2.
So should you upgrade? If you mean your personal knowledge….man you’ll gain so much more insight that I would say it is a must!
Rob says:
05/03/2009 at 14:02 (UTC 1 )
V3 takes us on another step up in maturity as an industry by introducing the idea that services aren’t something static [now there's an understatement!!], they have a lifecycle.
It also greatly strengthens the business aspects, i.e. running IT as part of a business.
All good stuff. Not perfect but good. All worth knowing.
Of course knowing doesn’t require certification – you could just learn. I have no V3 certification at all. If you can learn by reading, then you can build a great library very cheaply http://www.itskeptic.org/how-assemble-all-itsm-reference-library-you-need-2
There is plenty of growth still to go. V3 does not address the meta-lifecycle: how to introduce and evolve the processes that control the services. And it only addresses a subset of the business of IT, quite a small subset if you map it to COBIT, even less when you see that COBIT doesn’t cover everything either
So look for a V4 in a few years – I hear rumour that some discussion is already underway…
Steve says:
05/03/2009 at 14:04 (UTC 1 )
Rob I would agree that ‘knowing does not require certification’, but training is important and certification does provide some standardization in the level of knowledge gained. Without independent ‘vendor neutral’ certification we would be back in the bad old days, of everything being driven by the vendors.
Also just to reiterate ITIL is a ‘framework’ not a methodology. It is about adoption and adaption. I liken it to scaffolding, which can be bolted together in many different ways for many purposes. It can be added to or changed as required. The poles and joints are the basic resources used, but it is the skills, knowledge and capabilities of the scaffolders that makes the difference.
I do fear that if ITIL v4 appears too soon that it will put off many who would adopt ITIL, as they will feel left behind….
Regards Steve