If you are a Project Manager working in an IT environment, you may have heard the acronym ITIL^® (IT Infrastructure Library, a set of books similar in nature to PMI’s PMBOK Guide) or ITSM (IT Service Management – the concept of IT as a “service” to the business). If you haven’t heard of ITIL, you will.  Why?  Simply put: in terms of industry adoption, ITIL is one of the fastest growing frameworks in the IT industry today.

ITIL helps organizations increase IT efficiency, improve quality, and control costs.  In fact, AMR Research reports that IT organizations that have implemented ITIL best practices have saved up to 10% in IT costs without sacrificing the quality of service delivery.  That is why U.S. Computer Economics has projected that approximately 45% of all organizations, both large and small, in the US and Canada will have adopted ITIL best practices in some form by the end of 2008.

High Demand for ITIL Expertise
Companies are turning to ITIL, and the demand for individuals with skills and expertise in this area is increasing.  So much so, in fact, that ITIL certifications rank as some of the highest paid certifications in technology, along with PMI’s CAPM and PMP credentials.  In recent salary surveys from ZDNet’s Tech Republic, PMI and ITIL credentials consistently rank in the top three IT certifications industry wide.  With ITIL’s continued growth in the United States, the demand for IT Project Managers with expertise in ITIL will continue.

Focus is on Process, not Technology
The most compelling and interesting similarity between PMI’s PMBOK Guide and the ITIL books is that both are descriptive frameworks centered around process, not technology.

What this means to you is that both are extremely approachable standards.  For example, the PMP exam does not ask how you would go about creating a milestone task within Microsoft Project.  Rather, it makes sure you understand the importance of creating milestones.

The ITIL books are the same way.  In order to really understand IT Service Management as a practice, you do not need to understand servers or switches.  Rather, you need to understand things like the importance of controlling change, defining service levels, and maintaining a catalog of all your services to the business in terms the business can understand.

Both are bodies of knowledge covering simple principles that are drawn from deep industry experience.  They both detail concepts that are scalable and adaptable to each organization.  For example, the Project Plan for a small, simple project is going to look very different for a large, complex one.  In the same way, the process for managing a minor software patch release is going to have a different scale of requirements compared to a brand new, enterprise-wide software release.

Frameworks on a Similar Mission
In the PMBOK Guide, the goal is to provide project results, on-time and under budget, that meet the needs of the customer.  In the ITIL best practice set, the goal is to provide IT “services” that provide value to the business in an ongoing and cost efficient manner.

Both the PMBOK Guide and ITIL guidance have the same mission, to elevate the profession by adding structure and rigor around what is done.  Both strive to create a common language and deliver predictable results in a repeatable manner.

For example, in projects, there is a tendency to compress planning and/or testing under the pressure of an aggressive timeline.  However, a good project manager knows the importance of planning to alleviate rework later.

In the same way, businesses want IT to be agile and quick to make changes, while avoiding unforeseen consequences.  This is done by putting processes in place to prevent unauthorized changes to the IT infrastructure.  By having the discipline to develop and follow a formal Change Management process, IT organizations can handle more changes and lessen the risk to the production environment.

My Own Experience
I found ITIL to be a great compliment to my Project Management skill set as it covers topics in Change Management, Knowledge Management, etc.  I really wished I had become certified when I first got involved in technology as it would have set me up with an understanding of how IT processes work (or should ideally work) and would have allowed me to better “speak the language” early on with others in IT.

Getting certified has also given me a greater appreciation of the importance of effective Service Management. I would highly recommend that other Project Managers working in (or with) technology look into ITIL certification as a way to compliment the PMP. In today’s competitive market, it sets you apart from the pack and provides you with an expanded toolset for successfully managing projects.

Erika Flora, PMP, ITIL Expert
Principal, Beyond20
erika.flora@Beyond20.com

Guest post by Erika Flora

Years ago, I heard this great quote that has really stuck with me and become somewhat of a mantra. It is as follows:

There is no limit to the good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.

General of the Army George C. Marshall

Staff Sgt. Conrad Begaye recognized for bravery under fire in Afghanistan - by US Army Africa via Flickr

What a fabulous concept! Often, we are so worried about our own jobs and careers that we don’t take the time to think about those around us and make sure we help them get what they want. Ever since I started making a conscious effort to really “let go” of who gets the credit, my work attitude has completely changed. In addition, the way my team and others around me view my work has completely changed. They realize that I am their champion, and they work hard to perform to the best of their abilities. Rather than spending time worrying about whether executive management sees all the great things I am doing, and position myself accordingly for that next great promotion, I focus on mentoring others and helping those around me get recognized for their hard work. I actually spend part of my work week thinking about how I can bring visibility and kudos to the efforts of my teams.

Too often, when employees are surveyed in their companies, many of them say that they feel their work is not valued or that no one has told them in the last six months that they appreciate them. How terrible! The best thing we can do for our coworkers, direct reports, colleagues, and project teams is to find creative ways to show them our thanks and make sure everyone in our company knows that they are making a valuable contribution. We all love to get praised for our hard work. Make sure you are taking the time to proactively do that for others.

Many companies have put great examples of this concept in place. When I worked with Pfizer, they implemented something called a Pfish program where you could send a Pfish card to a colleague for a variety of reasons (being a team player, going the extra mile, or even just making your day). Every week, the people that had received a Pfish card were entered into a raffle for a gift card. However, the very best thing about the Pfish card program was that the recipient’s boss was copied on the email that they received. It was a really fun program and one that made employees feel special and appreciated.

However, you don’t need a company program to show your appreciation for others. Here are some really easy things you can do to make a big difference in the lives of those around you – Submit your project team for an internal company award, external “Project of the Year”, or other award. There are lots of professional organizations that look for a variety of award submissions and, many times, are excited to get new submissions from companies or people they have not heard from before. Log onto LinkedIn and write unsolicited recommendations for people you have enjoyed working with. Send a short email to a coworker’s boss thanking them for going the extra mile on a difficult project. Start a “Thanks a latte!” newsletter that thanks your team members by name and post it up at work, maybe even leave a small Starbucks gift card on their desk before they get into work. The more creative and silly, the better! You will be surprised by the results. It seems counter-intuitive, but we as project managers end up shining the brightest when our teams shine. What other examples have you seen or done to brighten the day for those you work with and help them get the kudos they richly deserve?

Erika Flora, PMP, ITIL Expert
erika.flora@GoBeyond20.com
www.GoBeyond20.com

The Easy PM Definitions series

Hi,

I’m new to PMstudent and I’m developing my interest in Project Management.

Currently, I am involved in a task of trying to identify possible deliverables for an Alternative School Program with an objective to help young people unleash their intelligence and positive energy to rebuild their communities and lives through the program. Can anyone suggest possible Deliverables for this program?

The Alternative School Program is designed and targeted towards young, low-income people between the ages 18-25 where they can work towards their high school certificate while learning job skills like building affordable houses for other homeless and low-income people. Strong emphasis will be placed on leadership and community service.

I am asking about what the deliverables of this particular project could/should/would be since I’m new to Project Management and the word ‘Deliverable’ in particular. I would like to know exactly how to identify deliverables properly for my projects and how to arrive best at the deliverables myself.

I would also like to know about deliverables for a project to set up the Alternative School Program. I’ll be starting a degree program in Project Management next year and would like to start learning right now.

[Editor:  I want to thank Aniekan for having the courage to post in order to learn about project management! This sounds like an excellent endeavor.

My first comment is to not get caught up in terminology yet.  If you have someone who you are working for, be sure you understand the initial goals from their perspective.  Make a list of what you will do and will not do as a part of this project based on those high-level goals.  You can write this up as a preliminary scope statement, but there are many ways to go about all these things.

Write those high-level things you will do in the form of outputs...products or services.  There may only be a few.  Then break down these items by thinking through what it will take to produce them.  Keep breaking them down until they can be effectively managed and executed.

In the end, you will probably find that some of the high-level things are deliverables for the project, and some are lower-level things you came up with.

This is a simple way to do it that I laid out based on my (very limited) understanding of your situation.  There are many other ways to approach it.  I have found, however, that it is best to approach a new subject like this one step at a time.  Great project managers take decades to grow.

Please, everyone else lend your advice to our new friend as well. Thanks!]

As a Mom, it is important to know exactly where everyone is at any given time, how long they are going to be there, and what they are doing while they are there. Other than that, it’s pretty simple.

As a Project Manager, it is important to know exactly what task each project resource is working on at any given time, how long they will be working on that task , what they are doing and why they are doing it. Other than that, it’s pretty simple.

It’s said there are no new project management sins, just old ones repeated. It’s also said that we don’t learn the lessons from past projects and this must be true, otherwise why would we keep making the same old mistakes?

Project management as a whole has paralleled somewhat the changes we have witnessed in photography. Project management also has been a skill for the few, with the barrier to entry being quite high. However, the barriers are being reduced and the chance for abandoning “point and shoot” project management is here!

Conflicts arise due to incompatibility of goals. Biswamohan Routray writes about the strengths and weaknesses of 5 methods for resolving conflicts in project management

In an article at Projects@Work, Tom Mochal discusses how enhancement work not directly related to a project should be added to the managed portfolio…

A 10 minute video today on Critical Chain Project Management. A good introduction!