Foundations of IT Service Management: The Unofficial ITIL v3 Foundations Course in a Book

by Brady Orand

As business becomes more and more dependent on technology, there is considerable attention given to the concept of aligning IT to the business. Until ITIL version 3, this concept remained mostly conceptual. The IT Infrastructure Library, by focusing on the principle of providing services, empowers IT and the business with the tools they require to enable this alignment. Having become the de-facto standard in IT Service Management, ITIL is rapidly gaining popularity across the globe. Written by an ITIL trainer who has taught thousands of students at hundreds of organizations, Foundations of IT Service Management - The Unofficial ITIL v3 Foundations Course in a Book, provides the reader with the introduction to this approach to IT services without the expense of a formal classroom course. While the focus is primarily on providing the information required to pass the ITIL v3 Foundations exam, this book goes beyond those basics to also provide real understanding of ITIL to further your knowledge and abilities as a valuable part of this IT/Business alignment. Using a case-study approach, real issues are discussed that represent challenges experienced in almost every IT organization. This book is supported with access to online sample exams that are constantly updated as new material is available. Additionally, access to the author is provided to ask questions prior to taking your exam giving you the greatest opportunity to learn the material and successfully pass your ITIL Foundations exam. Based on the official ITIL v3 Foundations Syllabus from the APM Group, the Service Lifecycle is explored including the lifecycle stages of Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation and Continual Service Improvement. Within each of these lifecycle stages, the concepts within are explored as well as the underlying processes that enable this concept of IT Service Management.

370 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 2009

Reviews

[Scott Fabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit that I struggled a bit with this book. I am currently working on completing my ITIL Foundation certification, and I wanted a book to supplement the class I am taking. I thought that this would be a good book; however, after I bought it, I found out that there was a newer edition that addressed changes to the certification. While I admit that I should have been more diligent in my choice of book, I wish that the book would have been a bit more clear about which version of the certification it addressed. Nevertheless, there aren't so many changes to ITIL that it would completely make this book useless, so I read it anyway.

I actually purchased the Kindle version of this book, and I have to confess that it didn't flow very well on the Kindle. I was oftentimes confused about where a chapter ended or began. There also wasn't much distinction between chapter sections, which made it even more confusing. Finally, the graphics in the book do not always render very well on the Kindle. Overall, I think that the book could have used more structure. A numbering scheme for chapters and sections would have been appreciated.

That being said, there were some redeeming qualities about the book. For example, the author used a good case study example throughout the entire book that helped make the ITIL life cycle stages and processes seem more realistic. That helped quite a bit.

In the end, I wouldn't recommend that you buy the Kindle version of this book. The paper version might be moderately better; however, make sure that you buy the newest edition!

[Sonia]

Great explanation of IT Service Management. Well-written with good analogies.