The Industrialization of IT and ITIL demands IT Leaders to make processes robust and repeatable, and an essential part of this transformation is ensuring that information is exchanged consistently in the right way using the right forms and templates.
But so many IT organizations I meet reinvent the wheel – they make their own forms and templates from scratch, and then go through many iterations until they capture all the relevant information in the right way, and of course by the right people. The funny thing is that most of the processes that are supported by these documents tend to be very similar, so why not use templates that already exist?
Using best-of-breed stock templates gives you a massive head start. They’ll have already been extensively tested in many IT organizations so by using them you get the benefit of their combined experience. By selecting stock templates you are able to forge ahead with ITIL and process maturity with more confidence that you gather all the necessary information without having to reissue another version of the form. You won’t believe how much time and energy this can save you!
I must admit that not long ago when I was Head of IT for a Financial Services organization, I’d initiate a change to a process and with required a change to a template so we could capture the new information required. Each time it needed my customers to adjust to the changed process, so the change was disruptive and ultimately costly. Then another change would come along, so the whole life-cycle of pain started again. This wasn’t sustainable! So I realized I had to wise up and find a solution.
I had a look around the market to find the best supplier of IT Templates, and I found these folks who offer almost 400 pages of Microsoft Word templates (will also work with OpenOffice), including an Acceptance Test Plan, Configuration Management Plan, Design Document, Feasibility Study, Functional Requirements, Installation Plan, Maintenance Plan, Project Plan, Test Plan, and Transition Plan.
Take a look at the templates available.
Believe me guys, before I found these I wasted loads of time and energy on building new forms and templates, when if I’d had known these were available I would have snapped them up. The embarrassment and loss of credibility caused by continually changing processes was too much!
If you use one of these templates, please let us know how it works out for you!
