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Free or Open Source ITIL Tools?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the software-searching dept.

alister writes "Like a lot of people, I've completed an ITIL (what's that?) Foundation Certificate and am looking to put it into practice. Picking the right tool for an ITIL implementation makes life a lot easier, but I can't find many around. I'm wondering if there are any free or open source software that helps an ITIL implementation, or if not, recommendations on a tool for a medium-sized (40 IT staff, 1200 users) organisation. There's a lot of software out there, but most of it is designed for organisations with hundreds of IT staff... and priced accordingly."

3 of 40 comments (clear)

  1. Good Luck by kelleher · · Score: 5, Interesting
    All the people I worked with that pushed ITIL spent their time wasting mine in meetings, producing little and scampering around with the latest "cool" vendor. I'd be surprised if someone with an opensource leaning would be taken in by ITIL or if someone taken in by ITIL would produce something opensource. I'm just glad it died a quiet death at my place of employment.

    Before you mod this a troll, go read up on ITIL. On the surface it doesn't look bad, but the extremes the consultants can push it to are ludicrous. And the consultants almost always will...

    1. Re:Good Luck by blincoln · · Score: 4, Informative

      Agreed.

      A few years ago at work they started a big push to ITIL-ize and CMM-ify everything. From my perspective, nothing has changed except I have to fill out a bunch of absolutely useless paperwork to do anything, and every once in awhile I have to log into the vile abomination known as PVCS Dimensions.

      It doesn't seem to be about actually *improving* anything - e.g. making it less likely that mistakes will happen - just about making it *appear* like it has by producing a bunch of electronic paperwork that no one reads.

      The tools you use are less important than how you use them. Everything I've seen of ITIL makes me think that its goal is to try and change the tools, not the thought process behind what they're being used for.

      --
      "...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
  2. Rule for good technical writing by Will_Malverson · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Never use an acronym without defining it. Telling someone they can look it up doesn't count.