Successfully Implementing ITIL Requires Commitment

The managers who successfully implement thecommitted to ITIL. Most probably they are lacking the
Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), arenecessary management commitment.
very aware of the most important factors whichAnd, the most important and highly critical factor for
control the success or failure of their ITIL system, andsuccess is management commitment.
that the most important factor is having committed,A useful guideline for senior management to exercise
dedicated, and well trained process owners.is to implement Kotter's 8 steps of organizational
Having multiple owners of a particular process is achange.
classic mistake. One of the prerequisites of ITIL is toArguably the most important factor for success in ITIL
maintain a single consistent process implementedimplementation is management commitment, although
everywhere in the organization. If there are multiplethis is also probably the hardest to obtain. This is the
owners, who will hold the ultimate responsibility?reason why many ITIL implementations fail.
Companies with successful implementations of ITILA great number of IT managers are under the
can be analyzed and found to have only one processmistaken belief that ITIL will be a wonder-cure for all
owner for the ITIL process throughout the company.the problems that beset their organization. Many
Having consistency of the process throughout allbelieve everything will instantly be OK if they just install
departments and divisions helps break downITIL and don't appreciate that there is more to ITIL than
differences amongst divisions and departments.this. ITIL is a significant organizational change and many
Providing dedicated resources to the process ownersmanagers need to alter their way of thinking to
can be an issue for many companies. Sometimes,appreciate this. Customer focus is paramount. It is not
especially within smaller companies, a process ownerenough to focus just on technology.
may have to maintain a split role, and be required to doBecause ITIL is not a specific requirement requested
other work. If this role is not too time-consuming, thenfrom the business, it can sometimes have a low
this may not be an issue. One individual can takemanagement commitment, especially if it is seen as
responsibility foradditional processes. Hopefully, thesejust an IT department requirement. It must be
should be of a similar nature. Many times it is notremembered that ITIL is not the sole focus of the
unusual, for one individual to share the Changebusiness and is merely a methodology for enhancing
Management, Configuration Management, and Releasethe IT aspects for the business.
Management roles.This is why an ITIL project requires commitment from
These roles should definitely be undertaken bythe very highest levels of company management and
dedicated people. Many times, you will usually find thatmust utimately become a business requirement.
companies these roles unfilled are not really seriously