Topic: Project Management Tips & Techniques

The new items published under this topic are as follows.

Announcements: ITIL Qualifications Explained

Published on Monday, February 23, 2009 - 03:21 PM

ITIL is the most widely adopted approach to IT Service Management. This White Paper explains the structure of ITIL Version 3 training and qualifications that are available

ITIL Certification

ITIL certification is for individuals and it signifies different levels of awareness and capability with regard to ITIL

ITIL training is undertaken in the UK by over 30 specialist training companies- All accredited on behalf of the OGC. They use approved course materials based on the official ITIL manuals – and they prepare delegates for exams which are usually included in the training course.

ITIL Qualification Structure

There are 4 levels within the ITIL Version 3 qualification structure, providing a systematic route from Foundation through to higher level management qualifications

- Foundation
- Intermediate
- ITIL Expert
- ITIL Master

The new ITIL qualifications scheme recognises the value of existing v2 qualifications and introduces a system that gives credits for both ITIL v2 and v3 courses.

To achieve the ITIL Expert qualification, candidates must achieve at least 22 credits, two of which can be gained at Foundation level. (Full details of the credits system, examinations and pre-requisites can be found via the www.best-management-practice.com website.)

ITIL Foundation

This is the first step on the ITIL v3 education programme. The course explains the basics of ITIL, its terminology and common processes. It also travels through the Service Lifecycle, defining the roles and responsibilities involved.

Who should attend: Anyone involved in IT or the business
Duration: 3 days
Exam: 40 Questions multi choice – pass mark 26
Credits: 2

ITIL Intermediate

At the intermediate level there are 9 modular courses from which students will typically need to acquire 15 credits in order to move on to the “cap-stone�? Managing Across the Lifecycle Course and achieve the ITIL Expert qualification

The courses are grouped into 2 streams. It will be possible to “pick and mix�? from these various modules to suit the requirements of you and your organisation. There are some constraints to ensure a good mix of topics is covered.

The Service Lifecycle courses (each worth 3 credits) align to each of the 5 core ITIL manuals.

Service Strategy
Service Design
Service Transition
Service Operation
Continual Service Improvement

The Service Capability courses (each worth 4 credits) focus on ITIL processes:
Planning, Protection and Optimisation

Availability, Capacity, Service Continuity, Demand, Risk & Security Management

Service Offerings and Agreement
Service Portfolio, Service Level, Service Catalogue, Demand, Supplier & Financial Management

Release, Control & Validation
Change, Service Release & Deployment, Validation & Testing, Asset & Configuration, Knowledge Management, Request Fulfilment, and Service Evaluation

Operational Support & Analysis
Event, Incident, Request, Problem, Access, Service Desk, Technical, IT Operations and Application Management

Who should attend: IT professionals interested to develop specific ITSM skill sets and those who seek to achieve ITIL Expert status

Duration: Service Lifecycle – 21 hrs minimum (3 or 4 day course)
Service Capability – 30 hrs minimum (4 or 5 day course)
Exam: 90 minute graduated multiple choice with scenario based questions. Pass mark 65% (75% for a Distinction)
Credits: Service Lifecycle – 3
Service Capability – 4

ITIL Expert

The ITIL Expert will replace the current ITIL Manager certification which distinguishes experienced IT service leaders who have studied the application of ITIL in depth.

The version 3 ITIL Expert qualification is obtained upon achievement of 17 or more credits from the Foundation, Intermediate, Bridge or v2 Courses - followed by the broad and high level course - "Managing Across the Lifecycle".

Managing Across the Lifecycle

The purpose of this module is to consolidate and test the content of the 5 core guidance ITIL manuals. The focus is on business, management and supervisory aspects, with attention given to the interactions between the different ITIL processes.

Who should attend: CIOs, IT Managers, IT Professionals
Duration: 5 days
Exam: 8 multiple choice, scenario based, gradient scored questions.
Pass Mark: 28 marks (70%)
In addition, candidates must be able to demonstrate at least 5 years of IT experience and have at least 2 years of experience in an IT service Management environment in a supervisory, managerial or consultancy role.

ITIL Master

Candidates for this level will be required to have achieved the ITIL Expert certification and to have demonstrated practical application and experience. They will be assessed on the broader issues of ITSM implementations including:

Managing cultural and organisational change
Responding to industry change
Continual improvement of ITSM capability
Preparing organisations for audit and certification
This qualification will not be associated with an accredited course.

ITIL Bridging Courses

An interim set of Bridging Courses has been introduced for those who have already undertaken training under earlier versions of ITIL and who wish to update their knowledge to reflect the latest release.

Foundation Bridge

Who should attend: Existing holders of the Foundation Certificate. Active members of Service Management teams.
Duration: 1 day
Content: An overview of the lifecycle approach to ITIL – highlighting key changes and explaining the benefits
Exam: 30 minute multiple choice paper with 20 questions – 65% pass mark
Credits: 0.5 (which can be added to the 1.5 earned from version 1 or version 2 foundation certificates)

Manager Bridge

Who should attend: Existing holders of the Manager’s Certificate who wish to upgrade to the new ITIL Expert qualification. It is not necessary to have taken the Foundation Bridge. CIOs, IT Managers, IT Professionals

Duration: 4 or 5 days
Content: In depth coverage of the lifecycle approach to ITIL – highlighting key changes and explaining the benefits
Exam: 90 minute multiple choice paper with 20 questions – 80% pass mark
Credits: 5 (which when added to the 17 earned from version 1 or version 2 Service Manager certificates result in the 22 credits required to qualify as an ITIL Expert)

Practitioner Bridge

Those with at least 12 credits from v2 Practitioner courses but who do not hold the Manager’s Certificate may achieve ITIL Expert status by:
First completing the Manager’s Bridge course and exam
Then completing the Managing across the Lifecycle Course and Exam
This enables part qualified individuals to obtain ITIL Expert certification without the need to study at the new Intermediate level.

Benefits of ITIL

Investments in information services have frequently been characterised by over spend, under delivery, and a lack of transparency. ITIL provides a maturity path for IT which is not technology based – providing practical management tools which are accessible to a wider audience.

Benefits of adopting ITIL can include:
- Increased productivity
- Higher levels of customer satisfaction
- Reduced costs
- Improved communications between the IT function and its customers
- Improved morale of service delivery staff
- Lower costs of training
- Better asset utilisation
Savings in total costs of ownership of 48% have been reported in case studies. P&G has attributed savings of 10% of their total IT costs to adoption of ITIL.

Total Cost of Ownership studies by Axios and others suggest 75% of your IT costs are associated with Service Management rather than acquisition and commissioning. ITIL training and certification can help you understand and optimise the effectiveness of this spend.

Who uses ITIL?

Over 3,000 professionals per month are proving their competence by taking the ITIL Certifications.

Organisations which deploy ITIL include:
Barclays Bank
Boeing
British Airways
Caterpillar
Guinness
HSBC
Hewlett Packard
IBM
Microsoft
Procter & Gamble
Shell
UK Ministry of Defence

ITIL Training and ISO20000

ITIL embodies the methodologies which underpin the ISO/IEC20000 quality accreditation for organisations with respect to their information systems. This is displacing BS15000 in the UK and is rapidly being adopted as the definitive international standard for IT Service Management.
ISO/IEC20000 is an auditable standard which specifies five key service management processes:
- Service Delivery Processes (including Service Level Management, Availability Management and Capacity Management )
- Relationship Processes (those involving the interfaces between the service provider and both customers and suppliers)
- Resolution Processes (those focused on incidents being resolved or prevented)
- Control Processes (those involved with managing changes, assets and configurations)
- Release Process (looking at the roll-out of new or changed software/hardware)

Read full article: 'ITIL Qualifications Explained' (114 bytes more)

Tips: Powerful Negotiations Tip of the Day #13

Published on Monday, February 23, 2009 - 03:00 PM

Developing Communications

Negotiations are based on communications, therefore keep in mind that the receiver, not the sender, defines communication. Try to ask to these typical questions: Who is the message for? What media should I use? What is the objective of the communication? What is the desired response? And follow these simple principles: be sure you are clearly understood; listen actively and empathetically; speak to achieve the final purpose.

© 2009 allPM.com

By Giancarlo Duranti, PMP

Tips: Powerful Negotiations Tip of the Day #12

Published on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 08:40 PM

Control Your Emotions

Successful negotiators are able to manage their emotions in every kind of situation in order to not to influence their behaviors negatively. The observation of the following principles will help to overcome such issues: recognize and understand emotions, their and yours; make emotions explicit and acknowledge them as legitimate; allow the other side to vent; do not react to emotional outbursts.

By Giancarlo Duranti, PMP

© 2009 allPM.com

Tips: Powerful Negotiations Tip of the Day #11

Published on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 03:49 PM

Develop a Negotiation Sensitivity.

People involved in the project may have different perceptions of the issues under negotiation. Often the reasons of the conflicts lie not in objective reality but in people’s head. To be successful in negotiations it is mandatory to be able to feel things from the other part’s point of view. Observing the following principles allows one to understand the situation better: put yourself in their shoes; discuss, clarify and verify each other’s perceptions; do not deduce their intentions from your fears; if appropriate, help the other part saving face; do not blame them for your problems.

© 2009 allPM.com

By Giancarlo Duranti, PMP

Tips: Powerful Negotiations Tip of the Day #10

Published on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 01:20 PM

Separate the relationship from the substance.

To negotiate successfully, both parties must be committed to reaching win-win outcomes and be prepared to deal objectively with both goals and relationships on their own legitimate merits. Successful negotiators must deal with people problems directly rather than trying to solve them with substantive concessions.

© 2009 allPM.com

By Giancarlo Duranti, PMP

Tips: Powerful Negotiations Tip of the Day #9

Published on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 01:35 PM

Separate the people from the problem.

Every one of us has emotions, values, beliefs, opinions and different backgrounds: social, cultural, educational. Disrespecting one of these elements can make people angry and can turn the process of reaching a positive outcome or a successful negotiation into a disaster. Negotiators are people first!

© 2009 allPM.com

By Giancarlo Duranti, PMP

Tips: Powerful Negotiations Tip of the Day #8

Published on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 01:08 PM

Do not bargain over positions – It endangers ongoing relationships

Bargaining over positions endangers an ongoing relationship because it becomes a contest of will. Both parties declare strongly what they will and what they won’t do. Each part tends to force the other to change its position.

© 2009 allPM.com

Tips: Powerful Negotiations Tip of the Day #7

Published on Monday, February 16, 2009 - 04:12 PM

Do not bargain over positions – It is inefficient.

Bargaining over positions takes time and for that reason it is inefficient. Both parties start with an extreme opening position and tend to stubbornly hold to it making only small concessions to continue negotiations. A lot of time is wasted in order to reach a satisfactory agreement

© 2009 allPM.com

By Giancarlo Duranti, PMP

Tips: Powerful Negotiations Tip of the Day #6

Published on Monday, February 16, 2009 - 01:22 PM

Do not bargain over positions – It produces unwise agreements.

Bargaining over positions produces unwise agreements locking negotiators into their positions. The more one opponent defines his or her position the more he or she becomes committed on them. This happens because they naturally identify their ego with those positions.

© 2009 allPM.com

By Giancarlo Duranti, PMP

Tip of the Day #5 - Develop your BATNA

Published on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 08:13 PM

BATNA - Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement. When opponents have a broad set of options, they are more likely to reach an agreement and, consequently, other than negotiation, they have more leverage in making demands. Therefore, parties should develop a strong understanding of their alternatives before participating in negotiations.

© 2009 allPM.com

By Giancarlo Duranti, PMP

Topic: Project Management Tips & Techniques

How well does management support newly assigned project managers?