Owning ITIL® - a skeptical guide for decision makers
(Note: while you are there, Amazon will offer you a bundled package with another of my books, the satirically funny Introduction to Real ITSM.)
British readers may prefer to buy Owning ITIL® from amazon.co.uk for £25 and free delivery. See also Amazon.de, .jp etc
This page is about the book Owning ITIL® written by the IT Skeptic (Rob England). The resource page for owners of the book is here.
This book is essential reading for all decision makers (IT-literate or not) who are presented with an ITIL® proposal or who are asked to oversee an ITIL project, or who find something called “ITIL” or “Service Management” in their budget. It tells you what the ITIL industry won’t.
For everyone else involved in ITIL projects, this book is just as essential to help you through the ITIL minefield.
Every IT department in the world is at least pondering ITIL. As the ITIL projects proliferate, this book is for the executives who must fund them or manage them, and for those who ask those executives for money.
The book explains, in lay-manager’s terms, what ITIL is.
It reveals what ITIL is good for, what it is bad at, what to expect from it.
It describes how to ensure an ITIL project succeeds, what to look for in the business case, and how to measure the results.
It does these things in business terms, written by an independent and critical observer.
Read the book to get an understanding of ITIL and a context for the recommendations. Or just read the recommendations which have been picked out for your convenience. The busiest managers can use the checklists at the back as ITIL survival tools.
Contents
The book is available NOW, from Amazon.com or from amazon.co.uk oder amazon.de
After you read it, please give me feedback Owning ITIL was translated into Russian by Cleverics and may still be available from them.
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What readers are saying
Score: 10 out of 10... This is a wonderfully irreverent, but totally authoritative, book... It is a slim manual that seeks to debunk the language and meaning of ITIL and relate it to the practical implementation of IT service management... It’s a gem of a book that offers a good perspective on what the ITIL v3 manuals take 5 volumes to cover. BCS (British Computer Society) After reading it (twice), I realized what I had my hands on. This was a book for anyone just starting to research ITIL all the way to those of us who have been forced to drink the kool aid for a long time... I would highly recommend this book for EVERY IT and Management person today. Wish I had this two years ago Twitter comment from a reader Unbeatable. If you are interested in Service Management (if you are an IT professional, you should be), this book is a must. Enlightening, easy to read, loaded with experience and qualified opinions. The author puts the challenges, the hype, the misunderstandings and the real requirements on the table. You don't have to agree with the author in order to benefit (or enjoy) this book. Helge Skrivervik "Mellvik" It was a great pleasure to translate Rob’s book. He proved again that ‘talking seriously’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘talking tediously’. And I’m sure that besides the pleasure the book brings real value from owning ITIL to a reader. Roman Jouravlev, translator of the Russian edition If you are feeling a bit giddy from ITIL training and over-dosing on ITIL PowerPoint slide decks, Owning ITIL provides the perfect antidote that will not only bring your ITIL transformation project down to earth but also greatly increase its likelihood of success. The Pros: Very easy to read and not too long. The references to other literature will help me through the minefield of complimentary guidance/opinions etc. I came across plenty of things I've done (both right & wrong) and potential mistakes that I might be able to avoid moving forward at work. Sometimes I had a wry smile, other times I has an "oh crap, we did that" moment. Just enough humour, while not being condescending or insincere (or maybe I have a thick skin). Some of the book is ageless (not so) common sense and some of the book is very current. Some of the current stuff will become out of date soonish but that's OK. The fundamental difference between the author's point of view and mine (reflected in this review) is that I don't see "ITIL... (becoming) something of a cult," or "a movement." I don't see ITIL becoming something it isn't. Quite simply, ITIL is documentation of good/best practice for IT. This doesn't lend itself to "cult" or anything else... Bottom line: The book author is The IT Skeptic. Read the book to understand a skeptical point of view. Don't accept it as your only guide to make competitive decisions to meet today's situations, challenges or demands. David Moskowitz Well I enjoyed it. If I have an issue it is that the horizon between Rob's most skeptical moments and his most practical real world comments aren't clearly distinguished. I THINK I know him well enough to detect the irony, but I'm never sure....and I think I know when when he is making a point knowing that the ensuing argument will further our mutual general understanding. James Finister Just finished reading "Owning ITIL", and thought it incredibly clarifying and brilliant in it's ability to cut to the quick. Thought it important enough to purchase 4 more copies for managers at our org to read. email to the author
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Comments
Hello, Congratulations! Will
Hello,
Congratulations! Will there be a digital version of the book for Adobe Digital users (like me) ?
Regards
Looking forward to reading it
Rob,
I've enjoyed reading your work for a long time and I'm looking forward to this book.
It would be lovely if you offered your subscribers a discounted price if they ordered through your site, you being such a nice guy, and all. Not that it isn't worth the money (I purchased your other book). I'm writing a book, myself -- authors should get paid.
And supporters should be encouraged.
Best,
Mark
maybe
Discount: possible but there is a recession on - I gotta eat :)
Digital: maybe later. (a) I hate all the IP protection issues (b) it requires an entire reformatting of the book
Amazon uk
Will it be available from Amazon UK or do we have to pay the large overseas charge from the States to get this great and wonderful book?
Amazon competes with Amazon
it takes time to (unreliably) filter through to Amazon UK, sorry. Another month. Amazon USA and Amazon UK seem to be such separate companies that they almost compete. The book is published by Amazon USA and for sale on Amazon.com but that doesn't help with Amazon UK - they won't list it. I have to publish via their competitor Lulu to get it on the UK site. Extremely frustrating.
You don't need to know that - you just want the book. One option is to order from Lulu - shipping is less for European orders: they ship from UK and Spain. Inconvenient I know because you have to register with Lulu like you do with Amazon, and you can't combine books (unless of course you buy more of mine or the thousands of other books and videos and CDs on order at Lulu).
My apologies for the inconvenience.