New strategic process for ITIL to aid in customization

The purpose of the new strategy management process released as part of the latest set of guidelines for ITIL software use is to help organizations match their IT services to their operational needs, the ITSM Professor wrote this week.

"The key takeaway from the strategy management process should be a recognition that the IT policies, plans, projects, processes, procedures and work instructions do not exist or get created in a vacuum, independent from the business strategy, tactics or operations," wrote Ross Wise.

It's important to recognize, however, that the IT services team must be careful of getting drowned by data, particularly when strategy management processes are undertaken for the first time, he added. Balancing the need for detailed intelligence on which to base strategy with the desire to get up and running quickly is key.

This blend of effective communication and speed in planning and deployment is also the hallmark of the popular agile development methodology for software, some principles of which are similar to those for efficient service management.