International Best Practice Blog Archive
Deciding which risks to take?
16 December 2019
Making decisions in risky and important situations is relevant to everyone.
Cybersecurity-ethical hacking goes mainstream
11 July
2019
It goes without saying that we (governments, corporates, and civilians) need to wake up.
Learn & adapt with ITIL 4 - Why stories matter!
04 June
2019
What does ITIL 4 have to do with the eternal, human practice of storytelling?
Achieving excellence through service governance
25 March
2019
Achieving excellence for an organization has never been easy. However, recent insights in service governance have provided a clearer understanding of how to go about achieving it.
ITIL® 4 review: A revolution in service management
18 February
2019
I first became a trainer when ITIL was in version 2. Back then, it was a relatively simple framework. The training consisted of two core books, Service Support and Service Delivery, and 11 topics were split between them.
Jim Bolton awarded the 2018 Ron Muns Lifetime Achievement Award
19 April
We congratulate our author, Jim Bolton, on achieving the prestigious 2018 Ron Muns Lifetime Achievement Award, by HDI. HDI's panel of judges selects the nominees and uses a range of criteria to evaluate their accomplishments in, and dedication to the technical support industry.
An interview with Alan Moran
05 May
By IBP
Team
Alan Moran is an IT manager who has worked in public and private sectors, learning how to adapt practices to the circumstances and culture that practitioners face on a daily basis.
Top 10 Tips for Project Planning
20
April
By Rod
Sowden
We live in a world where only 49% of projects are completed on time (PMI, 2016) and only 53% of projects stay within the original budget (PMI, 2016). Back in 2008 Aspire Europe started delivering maturity assessments, part of which is reviewing how effective organisations were at planning...
Excuses, Excuses, Excuses!
23 July
2014
By Karen
Ferris IT consultant and service management expert
Macanta Consulting Pty Ltd
I was recently sitting in a project management meeting discussing a large organization-wide initiative when someone piped up and said "We need organizational change management on this project". You could hear a pin drop!
Resources for learning about...Project planning
18
April
By IBP
Team
As Benjamin Franklin stated, 'By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail'. When setting out on a new project, the planning stage is a vital one. We have found some key resources to help you build a solid project plan.
An Interview with Rod Sowden
05
April
By IBP
Team
International Best Practice is delighted to have worked with Rod on his latest title, A Practical Guide to Project Planning: A Step-by-step approach, which published this month (April 2016). We caught up with Rod to find out more about his new title and what led him to write a publication on the subject.
Top 10 Tips For A Service Level Manager Rookie
18
March
By Ami
Nahari
Every service level manager goes through the same experience. You thought you knew what is important and what is not, you got your ITIL certification, you are an experienced manager, however, your first year as a service level manager was stressful and full of lessons learned. If only someone told you.
An interview with Ami Nahari
01
March
By IBP Team
Ami Nahari is an ITIL expert and project manager. In an interview with International Best Practice, he shares tips on a successful service level management, and what led him to write a publication on the subject.
The Career Path of the Accidental Project Manager
11
February
By Linky van
der Merwe
Many project managers land in the profession due to being technical specialists with great success in their field of expertise. However, they are not always fully prepared for the important skills, knowledge and competencies that are critical for success.
An Interview with Peter Brooks
08
February
By IBP
Team
Peter Brooks is an author, trainer, and independent consultant based in Cape Town. Over the past decade and a half, he has specialized in both the management and governance of services.
February 2016: Upcoming Events
26
January
By IBP
Team
Just because February is the shortest month of the year, doesn't mean it's lacking in fantastic events and conferences for you to attend. We've tracked down some events you shouldn't miss occurring over the next month...
Resources For Learning About...Change Management
09
December
By IBP
Team
The Collins dictionary defines change management as, 'the area of business management that deals with methods of handling large-scale changes within a company'. In reality, it is more multi-faceted and complex. We have gathered some great resources to teach you the essentials of change management...
Resources For Learning About...Presentations
15
January
By IBP
Team
Presentations are a key part of professional life. We need to be confident that we're presenting our precious ideas and proposals in the best way possible. It's easy to let our nerves get the better of us in these situations. We've trawled the web, and found some great resources to help you prepare for that all important presentation, and keep those nerves at bay.
December 2015: Upcoming Events
02
December
By IBP
Team
December has rolled around again, before we say goodbye to 2015, say hello to some of these fantastic events occurring over the next month...
12 Key Checks of Video Communication for Project Managers
17
November
By John
Chapman
Email inboxes are overloaded. Reports longer than one page may go unread. We are awash with documentation, overloaded with available information.
Project managers: What
did the Romans psychology ever do for us
05
November
By Sharon De
Mascia
In this blog, Sharon De Mascia explains the benefits of occupational psychology to project managers.
November 2015: Upcoming Events
02
November
By IBP
Team
It's November, and winter is upon us. If the cold gets you down, cheer yourself up with an event. We've found some of the best conferences and events occurring over the next month.
How to use User Stories as Placeholders for Requirements
30
October
By Russ
Lewis
In this post, Russ Lewis writes and follows a User Story from idea through to formal description, and eventually to testable requirement, he also explains how acceptance criteria makes work easier.
SIAM: Is it Emperors clothes or a New Wardrobe?
20
October
By Barclay Rae
In this blog, Barclay Rae introduces the concept of SIAM, its main benefits and the issues it may face.
Resources for Learning about...Millennials at Work
13
October
By IBP
Team
Millennials are a hot topic in current news and thought leadership. The millennial generation consists of individuals born between 1980 and 2000. Millennials are the fastest growing age group within the work force.
October 2015: Upcoming Events
29
September
By IBP
Team
We hope you're hungry, because October is Pizza Month. Just in case you have some spare time, in between feasting, we've found some great conferences, seminars, and events occurring across the next month.
How to use your Service Catalogue as a portal to successful Service Management
22
September
By Barclay
Rae
Over the last few years one piece of work that I find myself delivering repeatedly is assisting organizations sort out their 'Service Catalogue'.
How to Live with Uncertainty in an Agile Project
16
September
By Rob
Smith
In my previous blog (Planning Agile), I discussed the constituent parts of an Agile plan. This includes the backlog, the overarching plan, and the plans to address uncertainty (sometimes referred to as design plans). How, and when, uncertainty is resolved is critical to maximising value from Agile, and yet it is often overlooked within Agile projects.
Resources for learning about...DevOps
10
September
By IBP
Team
DevOps, as a term, has gained frequent usage in recent use. DevOps is an approach that aims to optimize communication and cooperation between software and IT teams. How does it do this? How does one adopt DevOps? Check out our favourite resources below to find out...
September 2015: Upcoming Events
02
September
By IBP
Team
September is, of course, Piano month. Just in case you're not too busy tickling the ivories, we've bought together a list of some upcoming conferences, seminars and workshops occurring across the globe during September.
Silver Bullet and the Lone Ranger: Best Practices in Project Management
26
August
By Carl
Pritchard
I always marvel when organizations ask for training, support and consulting related to "best practices" in project management. Why? Because there are projects of a thousand different stripes and projects with a thousand-and-one different needs. Best practice is not a panacea. It's not universal. It's special. Project to project. Organization to organization. Each one needs something specific and different
Is Service Availability a 'no-win' situation?
19
August
By Doug
Tedder, FSM
Early in my ITSM career, I was responsible for the Service Catalogue and Service Level Management (SLM) processes. As part of our service delivery and support preparations, my colleagues developed measures, metrics, and reports for our first mock 'Service Level Review' meeting.
How to Build a Digital Strategy You Can Be Proud Of
12
August
By Karen
Ferris
Some organizations are just born digital. The likes of Amazon, eBay and Australia's REA Group (A real estate advertising company) come to mind. Nigel Dalton, the Chief Information Officer (CTO) of REA Group, has stated that they don't have a digital strategy because it is "all we do"
August 2015: Upcoming Events
03
August
By IBP
Team
August brings us Romance Awareness Month, but before you reach for the roses, check out this list of conferences, seminars and workshops we've found occurring over the next month.
The Service Desk - As good as the rest of the IT organization
29
July
By Barclay
Rae
I am often asked to review and make suggestions for improving IT Service Desks - I've been doing this for over 20 years. As a commercial engagement, this involves some pre-sales discussion, proposal and agreement - a sales process, which in itself is often enlightening.
Walk a Mile in Their Shoes: The 4 Step Customer Experience Programmes
21
July
By Karen
Ferris
When was the last time you went on to your company website to see how easy it was to undertake a transaction, whether to make a purchase or find the right contact for information? Do you know how your customers think and act? Do you know how your employees think and act?
8 Ways to Become a Better Professional
14
July
By Bruce
Harpham
Becoming a successful professional is an important way to reach your long term career goals, such as a higher income and greater job satisfaction. Getting ahead doesn't have to be difficult. Use these 10 techniques to improve your capabilities and results this month.
Our 5 Favourite Leadership Slideshares of June
07
July
By the IBP
Team
Here at IBP we view Slideshares as a way of quick and visual learning. We've picked out our 5 favourite leadership slideshares from June for you to check out.
July 2015: Upcoming Events
26
June
By IBP
Team
July is Picnic Month, Ice Cream Month and, bafflingly, Horse Radish Month! More importantly, there are a wide variety of conferences, seminars, workshops and exhibitions taking place across the globe during July.
Agile Retrospectives: Questions & Answers
23
June
By Ben
Linders
Retrospectives can be used to inspect and adapt the way of working in agile projects. In this blog post we introduce you to Agile Retrospectives and how to deploy them in your projects.
Part 3: Is your IT Department making the most costly mistake?
15 June
2015
By Randy
Steinberg
Here, in Part 3, we go one level deeper to review what support elements need to be in place once a solution has gone live into the production environment. This is called the Operational Readiness Framework.
Part 2: Is your IT Department making the most costly mistake?
5 June
2015
By Randy
Steinberg
In Part 2, we present what items should be checked at the end of each stage from the point of view of IT support operations.
Part 1: Is your IT Department making the most costly mistake?
15 May
2015
By Randy
Steinberg
Does your IT operational organization can go into chaos when new IT solutions are deployed, experiencing untold amounts of unplanned labour, cost overruns, delays and service outages?
The Six Things You Need to Consider When Announcing Organizational Change
29 April
2015
By Karen
Ferris
ITSM is all about organizational change; changes in process, tools and people. Whatever the nature of the change is, there are important things to consider when you are announcing and communicating it.
Using ITIL® to Add Value
13 March
2015
By Ryan
Ogilvie
If you have worked with a service management team either as a practitioner or in a leadership capacity there is a good chance that you have been asked by someone, "Is there a point to this service management stuff?"
Planning Agile
8 January
2015
By Rob
Smith
Recently, at the end of a rather pleasant meal my dining companion glibly asked, "one day you'll have to explain to me how we can commit to a plan in Agile, and properly manage and control it".
Introduction to OBASHI® part 2 - OBASHI® in action
19 December
2014
By Claire
Agutter
So, who should use OBASHI and why? The short answer is any type or size of organization that wants to understand and optimise their dataflows.If any of these relate to your organization, OBASHI is going to be a very useful addition to your toolbox. It's the only methodology that creates a common picture for the business and IT to work from.
The Secret to Successful Onboarding
21 November
2014
By Aprill
Allen
I was recently challenged to explain the benefit to the customer of having access to the knowledge they need when they need it. In the normal course of things, the answers we tend to jump to at first are cost-and effort-related… resources and bottom-line expenses.
Introducing OBASHI®
06 November
2014
By Claire
Agutter
OBASHI is getting recognised for what it is - a simple, easy to adopt methodology that maps dataflow through a business and supports meaningful conversations about investment, improvement, and business outcomes.
The key to genuine benefits realization? Active management…
3 October
2014
By Steve
Jenner
The case for benefits management is usually premised on the belief that adopting defined practices will improve the realization of benefits from an organization's projects and programmes.
IT is Undergoing a Fundamental Change and We're Not Looking
30 September
2014
By Randy
Steinberg (RandyASteinberg@gmail.com)
IT is undergoing a fundamental change in how it manages and operates itself. Without our realizing it, the primary role of IT as an engineering organization has been shifting to one of service integration.
What can Big Data do for your business?
12 August
2014
By Dr Chibisi
Chima-Okereke MEng, MSc, PhD - Founder and CEO of
Active Analytics
The Internet of Things has heralded an ever-increasing amount of exhaust data from sensors and devices linked through various networks. The outcome of this is that large amounts of data - including 'structured' data such as telemetry in motor vehicles, semi-structured data such as emails, and unstructured data such as tweets in micro-blogging sites - are now being generated,
