Tips for a Successful ITIL Implementation

Tips for a Successful ITIL Implementation

Earning your ITIL 4 Foundations certification is a great first step for you and your team if you plan on fully implementing the ITIL framework. We have previously covered the best practices, benefits, and different certifications within ITIL, now we look forward to everything you do after you earn your certification. Depending on the size of your organization, your ITIL implementation may take months or years. Regardless, the following tips for successfully implementing ITIL will apply.

Understand the Language of ITIL

People are the heart of any IT department so it's critical that they are properly prepared for any upcoming project. A point of preparation for an ITIL implementation is ensuring that all of your team members are well-versed in ITIL vernacular. The ITIL methodology comes with a language of its own; terms that your organization may currently be using are suddenly going to be used in a different context. It's important that your team speaks the same language and that everyone is on the same page or the implementation will feel stunted, and it will be a challenge to properly collaborate.

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Be Realistic About Your Timeline

Significant organizational shifts take time and implementing ITIL is certainly a significant change. It is a time-consuming and rigorous process for everyone involved. Deploying ITIL is all about improving customer service and as the process matures, the ROI for your newly-adopted framework will rise. Setting a realistic timeline can also set you up for success, especially if you complete the changes ahead of schedule.

Communication is Key

Keeping an open line with stakeholders is an important part of implementing ITIL into your business. A large part of ITIL 4 certifications cover all the different aspects of ITIL Stakeholder management. Enabling your professionals to increase stakeholder satisfaction gives a large advantage to your project.

Gap Analysis

It's important to understand your service management metrics prior to your ITIL implementation. Completing a gap analysis to see where your organization is falling short will dictate your early action items as part of your ITIL adoption. This will give you and your team a better understanding of your actual KPIs so you have an understanding of performance and know where you stood prior to implementation to better document the short and long term impact.

Optimization and Improvements

Introducing ITIL is only the first part of deploying it to your organization. Reporting the results of implementation and determining how to continually improve will always be a constant. Documenting how performance has improved will allow your team to make additional refinements to newly changed processes. An integral part of ITIL is the idea of continual improvement so it's important to always move the goal posts once targets have been reached.

Takeaways

Implementing ITIL is a large mountain to climb, however like any change in business it is about how you manage that change that determines your success. Invest in your team's abilities and train them on ITIL today. Already ITIL 4 Foundations certified? Ask us about next steps and how we can assist in your ITIL implementation.

For more ITIL 4 training, visit our ITIL page for all of our available courses.