classic Skeptic

When IT advice is being handed out, by frameworks and books or by the chattering internet, there is much talk about the importance of having "executive support". It is tossed about in lots of contexts that involve cultural change or process improvement - my own one just happens to be ITSM: ITIL V3 etc. This is one of the most repeated glib statements in the IT world. What if you don't?

I have an analogy for CMDB - it is like a Swiss bank account. Allow me to paraphrase some of the conversations I've had around CMDB:

If you know something about IT operations (not just development) and your IQ is in triple figures then passing the ITIL V3 Foundation exam should be no big deal and no big investment. (If in doubt, read the testimonials in the comments below). Follow these six nine eight steps:
[updated 25/3/2011 ]

As I have said before, probably the biggest gun in the ITSM skepticking field right now is Aidan Lawes. Once again he has turned the flamethrower onto the ITIL Software Scheme, with a blistering post on his blog: "people with vested interests increasingly seem to find a ready platform for their propaganda... The software assessment service springs to mind as a prime example. Purported to be launched in the interest of the procurer, it seems to be much more in the interests of the small group (OGC, APMG and SMCG) involved in its secretive development." I'll let you read it there. Apart from agreeing with Aidan that a standard that is secret is lunacy (the kind of lunacy that only the British could invent), I'd like to pick up on some points that Aidan didn't address.

[Update: For the record, the IT Skeptic does not believe that there is anything illegal or dishonest about the ITIL Software Scheme. I do allege that it has been conducted in a manner that is inept, naive, unnecessarily secretive and without proper consideration for most of the stakeholders. It seems to me to be about as far from best practice in setting standards as one can imagine.]

[Updated: I thought of a few more] Is anyone else troubled by the racial overtones of the current wave of anti-outsourcing and especially anti-offshoring sentiment? If you have read Introduction to Real ITSM you will know how scornful I am of outsourcing. What troubles me is that the recession-fuelled backlash going on right now in the USA seems to be focused on how you can't trust Indians and all foreign places are dangerous. This seems ignorant and racist. Anyone who reads the papers knows what an unsuitable country the USA is for doing business...

We recently discussed how too many software vendors stretch the facts when claiming ITIL support. Giving them much benefit of the doubt, we thought they might be confused. if so, here is ITIL101 for software vendors to help straighten them out.

Too many software vendors stretch the facts when claiming ITIL support in their products. Perhaps they misunderstand ITIL.

There is much excitement about the potential for Web 2.0, in particular what is known as the Wisdom of the Crowd. Wikipedia becomes the repository of all knowledge, Google search statistics are the zeitgeist of the times and MySpace is the face of the world. Page rank is a measure of authority. Corporations appeal to the public for solutions to problems. The ivory tower is replaced by the democracy of the commons; the proclamations of the cathedral displaced by the hubbub of the bazaar. Not so fast.

[Updated 28th February 2009]
Of course not. To look and listen around the IT industry these days one would think so, but there is actually more than one game in town.

The IT Skeptic’s little brother is so excited by the iPhone he wrote an article about it.