ITIL V3 an Upgrade(?)

Two articles from the Bill Gates world of upgrades crossed my screen last week:

Giving up on Vista? Here's how to downgrade to XP

and

Microsoft gives OEMs five more months to install XP.

There seems to be an underground forming as a resistance to the Vista upgrade. And even Microsoft realizes they can't force it down the throats of enterprise IT as fast as they might wish. The timing of of these articles is interesting because just this week I've answered a lot of questions about the ITIL V3. Some people, service managers in particular, are worried. Others are wondering. Wondering what, you ask? Just wondering...

• Do we need to restructure our implementation plan?
• Do we need to retrain everyone?
• Do we need to bother upgrading at all? Why can't we just continue on the path we've already started?
• If I'm certified, what does this mean to me?
  

I'll save response to these issues for another post. What I will address is the undercurrent that seems to be taking shape in the ITSM world. These questions indicate there is a lot of confusion about the ITIL refresh. And the questions, prompted by frustration, are coming from some who just started structuring their service management program in line with ITIL. I am worried that the ambiguity is not helping promote the ITIL framework. I am worried that the acceptance ITIL has gained in the past five years will stall. I am worried that those of us working in the gap between IT and corporate quality see the gap only widening. I am worried about an undercurrent of resistance to the refresh will expand into a full-blown underground.

This refresh was long overdue. The organizational structure, which we have been advocating even before ITIL was widely recognized in the United States, has been addressed. The service life cycle, which again most experienced quality professionals have been recommending for years, has also been addressed. The focus on service is admirable. The evolutionary changes vividly demonstrate that ITIL is a living, breathing framework that will mature as needs dictate.

What concerns many professionals is ITIL V3 will be seen as an upgrade rather than the evolutionary improvement intended. Training, certifications and even the nomenclature, Version 3, reinforce that perception. The ambiguity that surrounds how an individual or organization can "evolve" to V3 risks fomenting a backlash of resistance that may well begin to resemble the anit-Bill movement.