Where is MY ITIL step by step Recipe?

Over the years, I have had numerous discussions with other IT folks that want to understand how they can easily plug in ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) into their organizations. One of my favorite questions about ITIL was, "Can you give me the secret recipe?"

Sadly, my answer is that there is no step by step recipe to implement ITIL, Each organization and IT department is different and will need to have slightly varied approaches. However, for those who ask for my help, I am happy to get anyone started in the right direction.

ITIL is the best practices for IT Service management and it is a generic model. Many IT organizations already have some of the needed pieces in place; however, they may not be speaking the same lingo.

All organizations have a goal which will need planning, builders and evaluators, restorers and last but not least getting step-wise improvements. ITIL plays a major role to help a business pinpoint the service strategy, design, transition operations and continual service improvements to fit into their organization and help to get a better handle on IT services and resources.

Need a refresher on the service lifecycle? The service lifecycle has five areas of focus:

1) What you want to achieve, your strategic decisions. (Vision & Mission)

2. Blueprints in order to make the vision real. (Design & Planning)

3) Managing timelines, completing tasks and utilizing tools to build and evaluate. (Transition)

4) Living in the day to day activities and managing those items. (Operations)

5) The final all-encompassing step by step revisions in order to always get better. (Step-wise Improvement).

What has been your experience with ITIL? Is your organization currently considering implementing ITIL as an added tool? would you like more information on ITIL?