Program Blog

Hello all,

Well kids are all heading or have already headed back to school.  Football season is quickly approaching.  There is a change in the air as summer begins to give way to fall, I got snowed on during a recent trip to the mountains here in Colorado!  And itSMFusion08 is now only days away!!!  Over the last remaining days I will continue to give some insight into the various tracks and topics that make up the premier practitioner focused IT Service Management event on the planet!

Check out what will be happening in Track 9 - Complementing ITSM Implementations. 

If you are looking for practical guidance on broad set of advanced topics to take your ITSM implementations to the next level, Track 9 – Complimenting ITSM Implementations is for you. This track includes much needed guidance on emerging topics such as Event Management and CMMi and ITIL integration. Explore ITSM Scalability issues thru a session covering usefulness of ITIL to small companies and an expert panel discussion on ITSM implementation in large Global organizations. Learn about common pitfalls of ITSM programs and innovative ways to tackle these challenges from three powerful case studies covering ITSM implementations in both public and private sector organizations. The track also includes sessions that address the people side of ITIL – How to train and motivate people for successful ITSM implementations? This track is designed for experienced practitioners who seek to advance their ITIL knowledge and raise the maturity level of their ITSM programs. The topics included are:

Driving Employee Engagement to Support your ITSM Program – In a powerful and highly motivating session, Peter Doherty (CA) presents the case for engaging people early on to ensure the success of an ITSM program.

ITIL – Useful for Small Companies? – In an insightful presentation, Michael Gill (Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) justifies the use of ITIL and ITSM concepts even in a very small company.

ITSM Sets Sail in the US Navy: Lessons from the Frontlines – Learn from Captain Webber (US Navy, Commander U.S. Second Fleet) and Russell Herrell (Windward ITS) as they “pass the log” for their exciting ITSM voyage at US Navy.

Service Life Cycle – Applying the Concept - Paul Fibkins (Citigroup Technology Infrastructure) and Ivor Macfarlane (IBM) share their experiences applying the Service Life Cycle concepts at Citigroup.

Got Monitoring? Let Sleeping Developers Sleep – Andy Sedor (Progressive Insurance) discusses the Event Management concepts newly introduced with ITIL V3 and presents a powerful case for tackling Event Management right from the beginning of a Software Development project.

Panel Discussion: How to overcome Unique ITSM Implementation Challenges posed by a Global Organization? – Industry experts discuss practical strategies and techniques to overcome unique challenges faced by Global ITSM program.

Case Study: A Remarkable ITIL and ISO/IEC 20000 Journey – Join Shirley Lacy (ConnectSphere), author of the ITIL V3 Service Transition book, on the journey of the largest city council in Europe to implement ITSM and achieve ISO/IEC 20000 certification.

The ITIL and CMMi Dance: A Play in three Acts – Follow Ted Hayes and Bill Phifer (EDS) as they direct a well choreographed dance of ITIL and CMMI in a highly interactive workshop. Learn how to integrate ITIL and CMMI best practices together to deliver and support effective as well as efficient IT Services.

Training for Transition Success – Rhonda Keller (BMC Software) presents practical strategies to train your IT workforce for successful ITSM implementation.

See you in San Francisco!

Dhiraj Gupta, Track 9 Chair

Claudia Euse, Track 9 Vice Chair

itSMFusion08 is right around the corner!  If you have not yet made your travel plans and registered for the conference today is the day to do so!  The content of the conference is some of the best you will have ever had the chance to experience at this or any conference.  In addition, the venue for the conference is OUTSTANDING!!  I hope you will all look me up when you get to San Francisco and let me know how your conference experience is going.  Below is yet another summary of one of the tracks, and I think there is some great sessions in this track and would encourage you to add them to your list of must see session.

Thank you and see you in San Francisco!!

Andy Atencio

Program Chair

itSMFusion08

itSMFusion 2008 Track 7 Blog

Are you looking for new insights into Operations Management?  If you’re looking to implement a self-service portal, or want to look at open source ITSM tools, or better align your metrics with the 7-step improvement process, or look at successful ITSM projects that have compelling ROI stories, itSMF Fusion’s Track 7 is for you!  This track is designed for experienced practitioners who are looking for an intermediate to advanced Operations Management topics.

Highlights:

Monday, September 8 Seminars

“Using Software to Automate ITIL Processes”  - Joseph Kennedy, State Street Corporation 

• Excellent business case example of how to use metrics, execute and implementation plan and generate a measurable return to the organization
• Learn about the cost of lost availability, how to build a smart business case and apply software and process to save your firm measurable dollars

“Regional Energy Company Submission: How We Used ITIL to Reduce Security Provisioning From 5 Days To 5 Minutes” - Derek Lonsdale, PA Consulting and Steve Harkola, Energy East

• Superb business case example - $500,000 savings in first year
• Demonstration of automated Incident, Request and Security Management using new tools, training staff and implementing ITIL processes in 12 months

“Open Source Solutions for ITIL / ITSM” - Timothy Currie, Open Haus Software

• Open source tools to implement ITSM? May offer significant cost savings for your ITIL program – learn how it can be done
• This session will review open source Service Desk, Change Management, and Knowledge Management tools, and how these tools can be integrated with home grown Configuration Management Database (CMDB) techniques built around open source technologies

 Tuesday, September 9 Seminars

“Project Management: Your Road to ITIL Lifecycle” - Phyllis Drucker, Pink Elephant

• Do you need a good Project Management Office to implement ITIL?  It helps!  Learn how a PMO can be successfully applied across the ITIL Life-Cycle
• Case study example of PMO-ITIL success – insights on how a structured PMO helped advance a company’s ITIL program with measurable results

“Is What You See What You Get” - Malcolm Gunn, Barclays

• Are you challenged with raising availability and having difficulty being successful?  Are your incident metrics telling you the correct story?
• Learn about how your incident metrics may be deceiving you and how you can delve deeply into these measures, correct them and truly improve service – from the end-users’ experience

“Building a Web Self-Service Portal: Keys to Success" - Paul Dooley, Optimal Connections, LLC

• Self-service is a wonderful thing – it raises service quality for many customers and it can dramatically lower cost – how can a business case be built to do it and how is it implemented?  Learn all about it in this seminar
• CSFs, tool options, pitfalls to avoid – it’s all here in this cutting edge seminar

Wednesday, September 10 Seminars

“Measuring to Improve: Using Metrics and the ITIL v3 7 Step Improvement Process” - Lou Hunnebech, Reginald Lo, Third Sky, Inc.

• What metrics can advance Operations Management and the other ITIL life-cycle disciplines?  How do I choose and how do I implement?  This seminar addresses these newer Version 3 driven questions
• These experienced consultants and trainers have a wealth of experience for you to draw upon regardless of industry or organization size

“Building Decision Support Systems that Work” - Richard Peasley, Service Management Institute

• What type of decisions do we need to make to best support IT operations?  What data is required? 
• This talk is a detailed look at timing, quality, currency, relevance, cost and control of information in the context of actual case studies

Come join us for a lively, current and interesting seminar set!  We look forward to seeing you.

Ed Mangiaratti, Track 7 Chair

Gregg Rudolph, Track 7 Vice Chair

Six weeks until the conference and things are really heating up!  I hope everyone is getting ready to make the trek to San Francisco and to help you try to determine what you want to see when you get there I continue to post detailed glimpses into what this years itSMFusion has to offer. I am posting entries to this blog highlighting the content of the TEN incredible tracks that we have populated with content for itSMFusion08.  I hope these posts are helping you get a deeper look into the conference from the view point of the people working hard to bring you the leading conference in IT Service Management.  I hope to see you in San Francisco!!

Thank you,

Andy Atencio

itSMFusion 08 Program Chair

San Francisco – here we come.

Don’t miss this exciting and important track on how to apply Continual Service Improvement and Governance concepts within your organization as a part of the overall IT Service Management practice.  Organizations all over the world are quickly realizing the importance of embracing a CSI practice in order to continue to improve services, service management processes as well as the v3 Lifecycle.  Continual Service Improvement and Governance are major parts of ITIL v3.  Organizations are requiring corporate and IT governance to achieve transparency of enterprise and IT risks and are looking to frameworks such as ITIL and, COBIT in order to achieve these goals.  

This track has industry recognized names that have proven that implementing ITSM can be successful. 

Come join our track Monday through Wednesday as this will provide the opportunity to hear from some of the leading industry experts. 

Following is the list of what Track 8 has to offer: 

• An executive panel discussing the topic of Enabling Service Improvement and Governance through Technology
• Compliance Circa 2008 and Beyond: What should we be worrying about now?  The presenter is Kristin Lovejoy from IBM. 
• Driving Service Improvements - Using Goal-Driven Metrics and KPIs presented by David Chiu, BMO Financial Group
• A guide on marrying COBIT and ITIL to drive strong Governance and Continual Service Improvement presented by Harpreet Virdee, The Manta Group
• Utilizing Toyota Business Practices for Continual Service Improvement presented by Dave Howard, Toyota Financial Services
• IT Compliance: A Catalyst for Efficiency presented by Michael Bargerhuff, Apollo Group (University of Phoenix)
• Continual Service Improvement is Free presented by Reed Shell
• Structured Problem Solving, a Proven Approach to Fixing It Once and for All presented by Patrick Musto, Plexent
• A Focus on Quality through Continual Improvement and Empowered Teams presented by Teresa Mount, Maryville Technologies

This track will provide you practical guidance as well as case studies that provide proven results.   Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to learn more about Governance and Continual Service Improvement.

Gary Case - Track 8 Chair

Charlie Miles - Track 8 Vice Chair

Hello all,

I hope everyone is having a great summer and that the July 4th vacation season found you visiting some place fun!  I am going to continue introducing you all to the incredible content that will be available to you when you attend itSMFusion08.  There are ten tracks, each with a different focus, but everyone of them is PACKED with the best content our event has seen to date.  This week I would like to introduce you to the content in Track 10 - Talking Shop (Hot Topics, Trends, and Emerging Issues).

Thank you,

Andy Atencio

itSMFusion08 Program Chair

Welcome to Track 10 - Talking shop – hot topics, trends and emerging issues!

Let’s get creative with ITSM!  Perhaps you’re just starting out with ITIL or IT Service Management.  Perhaps you’ve already implemented some of the processes, and you’re thinking, “What’s next?”  Take those challenges you’re facing and turn them into opportunities.  This track will focus on some of those “hot-button” issues that will no doubt surface at some point during, or even after, your ITSM/ITIL implementations.  Are you wondering how to effectively communicate your new processes, and the progress you’re making with them?  How about expanding ITIL/ITSM process “think” to other areas of your department or business?  Maybe you want to know how to integrate different frameworks and make them work together. 

If there’s a sticking point in your ITIL/ITSM implementation, then come check out the offerings in Track 10.  With topics ranging from Auditing to Virtualization, we’re sure you’ll find something that speaks to your experiences.  Check out what we have lined up:

Monday’s Sessions

CIOs ITSM and the 366 Degree Circle – Take a look at ITSM metrics from a whole different perspective and have them work for your management – Malcolm Fry (FRY-Consultants)

Utilizing Visualization and Infographics for Clarity and Understanding – Learn how to use visual thinking and infographics help engage people in ITSM, simplify the concepts, and communicate IT best practices – Henry Strouts (G2G3)

Leveraging Mobile Applications in the Service Lifecycle – Dive into a case study to see how ITIL and mobile application best practices can work together to improve IT Operations and Services – Mark Lloyd (Vettro)

Tuesday’s Sessions

Effective ISO 20000 Process Approach Audits – Learn how to use an auditing approach to ITSM projects to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the processes and systems – Manuel Marco (Underwriters Laboratories Inc.)

Implementing ITSM based on PMI's Framework - Discuss integrating IT Service Management implementation strategies with the Project Management Institute's framework, and how to use PMI best practices to overcome ITSM challenges – John Gilmore (Quint Wellington Redwood)

Change Management for Your ITSM Career – Discover when it’s time to make personal changes to better your career; the signs ITSM professionals should look for when making career changes – Jay Stuart (GE)

Out Of One Silo and Into Another – Learn about the dangers of replacing technology silos with process silos and how to avoid them – Karen Ferris (itSMF Australia)

Wednesday’s Sessions

Process: The Language of Work – Learn how simplify process guidance without sacrificing objectives – David Stucky (taruu, LLC)

Next Step for Virtualization: Pre-Production Testing – Explore how using a virtualized pre-production testing environment can lead to key business benefits – Dennis Powell (StackSafe Inc.)

Thank you and please look us up in San Francisco!!

Larry Killingsworth, Track 10 Chair

Karla Deutsch, Track 10 Vice Chair

In my continuing effort to give you a more detailed glimpse into what this years itSMFusion has to offer I am posting entries to this blog highlighting the content of the TEN incredible tracks that we have populated with content for itSMFusion08.  The postings are intended to give you a feel for the content in each track and help you decided what sessions you are interested in attending.  We are excited about the amazing content we have compiled for you to experience in San Francisco and hope that you are equally excited about you upcoming attendance at the premier practitioner driven ITSM event of 2008!

Thank you,

Andy Atencio

itSMFusion 08 Program Chair

As IT organizations continue to seek higher levels of maturity and operational excellence, Service Transition plays a key role in driving organizational growth.  Learn more about this ever changing topic by attending sessions in Track 5-Driving organization growth with service transition.  This track is geared towards an advanced audience, i.e., attendees with some service management experience under their belt, and is guaranteed to leave you with practical tips for making your service management/ITIL initiatives more successful. 

We have a good mix of practitioners and vendors lined up to speak, all of whom have been in the ITSM and/or ITIL trenches for some time.  Each presenter will to cover some key aspect of the Service Transition processes.

• Not sure how analytics can help you measure the impact changes have on stability and critical business outcomes?  George Gerchow, of Configuresoft, solves the mysteries of analytics in his session [166 Optimizing the Impacts of Change through Analytics].  George will describe how leveraging analytics to optimize changes to the infrastructure, may become the most significant tool IT can use to meet growing demand.   He will demonstrate the significant advantages of using analytics from managing change, configuration and new releases, to service assurance and performance management.
  
• Come hear Jayne Groll of ITSM Academy speak on Service Knowledge Management Systems [234 Knowledge is Power - Turning Data into Wisdom within an SKMS].  Jayne is a popular speaker and a returning presenter at the itSMF Conference.  This time out Jayne provides a practical approach for starting an SKMS and will use examples from small, medium, large organizations to demonstrate how the SKMS can be maintained and expanded over time.
  
• We all face pressure to deliver superior levels of customer service at lower and lower costs.  Tony Ferrigno and Rob Stroud will take you on a journey exploring how a business has embraced ITIL, leveraged a CMDB, and integrated and automated multiple processes (including: incident, problem, change and configuration management) in order to deliver "fit for purpose" solutions -- solutions not only delivering operational excellence and cost efficiencies, but also services that are highly responsive to changing customer requirements.  Join us for this joint CA and Ciber session and learn how they leveraged a unified service model and a CMDB solved this issue for their client.  [408 "Fit for purpose" -- What Unified Service and a CMDB can really do for business]
  
• The vast majority of CMDB projects will fail.  Fortunately failure is entirely avoidable, provided IT understands what causes them to fail and how to plan and implement a CMDB project effectively.  Michele Hudnall of Managed Objects, a polished speaker and an active member of itSMF USA’s advisory board will discuss how to achieve success with the right combination of methodology, technology and a clear understanding of CMDB project roles and responsibilities.  [27 Why CMDB Projects Fail]
  
• Michelle Veo, Sony Pictures Entertainment, [ 329 The Third Time's the Charm] has first-hand experience on what it takes to make your ITIL initiative successful.  She’ll share Sony Pictures early Service Management implementation missteps and discuss what her organization did to ultimately develop a successful program strategy.
  
• Thomas M. Kraly, Lockheed Martin [392 ITSM Process Development Methodology using a CMMI-based Engineering Process] will share his methodology for building process artifacts and lessons learned from trying to implement the methodology in his organization.
  
  
• Don’t miss Shafqat Azim’s (Gartner) workshop on organizational change management! [254 Managing Organizational Change -- The Secret Sauce for Operationalizing ITSM].  Shafqat will discuss the stages of change and corresponding impacts on stakeholders and describe the symptoms that you see at these different stages and the actions you can take to counter resistance.   
  
• In this session [398 Complexity to Controlled Chaos: ITIL and ITAM Combine to give "The Biggest Loser" a run for its money], John Siniawski of Five9 Technologies will share multiple case studies drawn from twenty years ITAM and ITIL experience, that utilize a flexible blueprint for effectively combining the sometimes conflicting initiatives and integration of ITIL and ITAM processes.

Thank you and please look us up in San Francisco!!

Marj Shavlik, Track 5 Chair

Julie Manis, Track 5 Vice Chair

Over the course of the next several weeks I will be posting entries to this blog highlighting the content of the TEN incredible tracks that we have populated with content for itSMFusion08.  The postings are intended to give you a feel for the content in each track and help you decided what sessions you are interested in attending.  We are excited about the amazing content we have compiled for you to experience in San Francisco and hope that you are equally excited about you upcoming attendance at the premier practitioner driven ITSM event of 2008!

Thank you,

Andy Atencio

itSMFusion 08 Program Chair

Track #1 – Service Strategy – the Core of ITSM

Do you want to join the dynamic team of the itSMF Fusion08 conference?  Come join the #1 Track to jump start your conference experience.   This powerful track begins on Monday with strategic positioning, works its way through practical steps, budget blues & how the champion did it; then ends on Wednesday with how to obtain your ISO20000 using service management.  Don’t miss the workshop on Wednesday, where you can get hands on experience building a strategy for the Death Star!!  This group of expert practitioners and vendors are sure to energize your mind with out-of-the-box ideas to enable your journey.  Build or modify your personal agenda once you have registered!! 

Monday Events:

10 Steps to Creating a New Operating Style – A great 10 step program that really works

Taking Inventory of Current State – Get all those ducks in a row before you start

Matt Schvimmer – Sponsor of the Day speaker

Tuesday Events:

Creating Service Management Strategy in Health Care – Look ahead to taking care of your health

Marc Guy – SM Champion of the Year in UK – enough said!!

Good Practice Frameworks – Are they from Arkansas??

Service Portfolio Management – The budget blues!!

Wednesday Events:

Star Wars – Hands on experience at building a strategy

Obtain ISO/IEC 20000 Certification – Be amongst the best!!!

See you in San Francisco!

Cindy Shelton, Track 1 Chair

Pat Yoder, Track 1 Vice Chair

Uniting the World of IT Service Management
This September, San Francisco will be home of the most important practitioner driven event in the IT Service Management industry – itSMF USA^® Fusion 08. This year's program will provide everything from innovative new strategies and best practices to advanced approaches and lessons learned presented by the industry's top minds. Not only will the program cover every topic, but it will cover it more completely than ever before with a total of ten tracks containing 80 one-hour presentations and ten two-hour workshops!  Come together with your peers and benefit from the experiences, successes, and mistakes of others from around the world. With presentations and workshops available for all levels from rookies to mature organizations, you will find the answers and strategies to unite your organization in support of your IT Service Management program.

Tracks for the 2008 itSMF USA conference include:

• Track 1 - Service Strategy – The Core of ITSM
• Track 2 - Where to Start with Service Design
• Track 3 - Service Design Beyond the Beginning
• Track 4 - Starting Change with Service Transition
• Track 5 - Driving Organizational Growth with Service Transition
• Track 6 - Achieving Value with Service Operation
• Track 7 - Service Operation – More than Event Management
• Track 8 - Continual Service Improvement and Governance
• Track 9 - Complementing ITSM Implementations
• Track 10 - Talking Shop – hot topics, trends and emerging issues 

Sessions are now available online at www.itsmfusion.com!

Register today for the conference. Don't miss the opportunity to get access to everything you need to know about ITSM trends and topics that matter to you the most.

Andy Atencio

Program Chair

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