Some observations on ITIL:
The Good
ITIL establishes a common language. Common nomenclature and shared understanding is valuable in a complex environment.
ITIL is comprehensive — it covers everything. The courses force you to think about all the stuff that an effective IT organization needs to do.
The Bad
Looking at ITIL from the perspective of effective organizational leadership, ITIL is overweight.
No, it’s worse than overweight: ITIL is obese — as in can’t-get-off-the-bed-without-heavy-equipment obese.
When teams discuss implementation of ITIL processes, I hear an incessant sucking sound in the back of my mind — the sound of company resources and energy being consumed by the ITIL machine, until nothing is left but a huge ITIL Jabba beast.
I can’t help but feel that ITIL will mark the beginning of the death spiral for more than one company. ITIL will help companies reach the point where more effort is spent holding the ship together than is spent powering the ship to its destination.
Don’t get me wrong — the procedures and practices described by ITIL range from important to critical. But implementation attempts will overburden companies in cost and bureaucracy.
ITIL will become known as a model of organizational bloat.
Just my two cents…
-Donny
