
Jun 06, 2017
Upon commencing a project, the most difficult thing is to know where to begin. So, one of the Guiding Principles of ITIL® Practitioner recommends that you should start exactly where you are.
It’s often tempting to get rid of the old (and sometimes unsuccessful) way of doing things and create something new and better. But starting from scratch can be wasteful not only in terms of time, but also in terms of what is already there and what already works. This could include services, processes, tools and people. If any of these things are already operating successfully, they should be leveraged and improved upon.
For this principle to work, you should:
• Look at what exists as objectively as possible.
Are there components in what you have currently that are fit for purpose? It is very likely that what is available currently in terms of services, processes, tools and people can be utilised to create the desired future state. This, however, is often hard for people to determine as what is current is often seen as painful, so it’s very difficult to be objective. But this objectivity will unearth components that can be reused.
• Where examples of successful practices or services are found in the current state, determine if and how these can be replicated or expanded upon to achieve the desired state.
In most instances, leveraging what is already there will reduce the amount of effort required to transition from the current state to the desired state.
• Apply your risk management skills.
There are risks associated with reusing existing processes in that people may continue with old behaviours. Likewise, there are also risks that come with putting new processes in place. Both risks should be weighed as part of the decision-making process.
• Recognize that, very occasionally, nothing from the current state can be reused
No matter how desirable it may be to reuse and recycle, there will be times when the only way to achieve the desired result is to start from scratch.
Aligning with existing initiatives:
Should you discover an existing initiative that you could improve upon, it should be leveraged as it can be counter-productive to have multiple work streams that are attempting to do the same thing. An initiative that was meant to be complementary to an existing process may end up conflicting with that process due to a lack of planning and coordination.
Any successful leveraging of what already exists while creating the desired new state will depend on the success of the organizational change management (OCM). Human factor is critical to change of any kind. OCM activities can help staff members to understand what is changing, how the old is evolving and why they should embrace the new.
With the above in mind, changing work processes can be made a lot easier by leveraging what you already have in place.
If you want to know more about ITIL® guiding principles, watch the replay of our webinar: ITIL® is Not a Four Letter Word.
We also run advanced courses for IT Service Management so contact us to have a chat about how we can help you!
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