A Simple Photo of mine taken in Canary Wharf, London
A Brief comparison between ITIL Version 3 and PMBOK 4th Edition
PMBOK and ITIL, both are descriptive and complimentary in nature. However, the major difference betweek PMBOK and ITIL is, PMBOK project management can be applied to any domain, such as Civil Engineering Construction or Public Sector or IT, however ITIL is specific to IT only. PMBOK provides a Body of Knowledge (BOK) for managing Projects which are a “temporary endeavor” in general. On the Other hand, ITIL provides a Body of Knowledge for managing IT Operations (ITIL uses the term IT Service Management for describing IT Operations) which are repetitive in nature. The latest PMBOK 4th edition has totally 42 processes for the Project Management Body of Knowledge. ITIL Version 3 has more than 25 processes and 4 IT functions.
Also, PMI maintains a code of ethics to be followed by its PMBOK or for the PMP practitioners. However ITIL does not have any such requirements for its ITIL Version 3 framework.
ITIL Version 3 framework defines five phases of IT Service Management Lifecycle. These are part of the ITIL Version 3 Core publications. They are:
- Service Stategy
- Service Design
- Service Transition
- Service Operation
- Continual Service Improvement
For a infrastructure support person like me, both PMPOK and ITIL framework provides valuable assistance for managing short-term infrastructure projects, as well as for managing day-to-day IT operations. Truely speaking, a project may consist of lot of operations. So, I found these two are complimentary in nature.
Introduction to ITIL Version 3 Service Desk Function
There are mainly four IT functions as per the ITIL Version 3 framework. They are:
- Service Desk
- IT Operations Management function
- Application Management Function
- Technical Management Function
Details about ITIL Version 3 Processes
As per my understanding the ITIL Version 3 publications, there are 5 core publications. They are a) Service Strategy, b) Service Design, c) Service Transition, d) Service Operation and e) Continual Service Improvement.
There are more than 24 processes and 4 IT functions as per ITIL Version 3 Documentation. The 24 processes are spanned across the 5 lifecycle publications. An understanding of these processes are very important for implementing ITIL best practices.
To know more about ITIL, Visit:
I have listed some websites related to ITIL best practices:
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| The Official OGC Website for ITIL | OGC is the official UK Government Organization and it develops and publishes ITIL and some other publications as well. |
| ITIL-Officialsite.com | www.itil-officialsite.com provides lot of information about ITIL |
| www.exin-exams.com | EXIN is one of the Vendor to conduct the ITIL related Examinations, for example, ITIL Version 3 Foundations exam. |