How & Where to Start Implementing ITIL?

The simple answer to the questions:
· Start because you need to meet a customer objective
· Start at the level that will help you meet the customer need.

This is why the ITIL Executive Overview is so critical. This is also why we feel very strongly about a kick-off workshop approach that precedes program implementation and design. Further, this is why a current client is having difficulty moving forward. A company called requesting me to define their configuration items "for them". Rather than blindly define the configuration items I proposed a six step roadmap suggesting first we do an overview - a short and simple but focused training session on the principles of ITIL - so they could understand the interdependencies and to isolate the driver(s) that would set the direction for the project. I could have simply said, "Sure, I'll do that for you. And then I'll send you a bill." But that approach wouldn’t have had a lasting effect on the company and it quite likely would have fallen short of their real needs. I can "ITIL-ize" a company but my job is to empower them to do it so they get what they need or perhaps, more precisely, what their customers need. Coming from the outside and building a point solution may get us through the next quarter but it won't withstand the scrutiny of time as scalability and internal buy-in would not have been incorporated into the “solution”. And, even though it is tempting to take the money, I won't be caught in that trap. There are plenty of other "ITIL consultants" out there that will take on this level of work and who don't give a damn about bastardizing ITIL, compromising their reputations or inhibiting the long-term success of their clients. These questions are insightful in that they bring out these critical points.