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Recent Podcast Episodes

The most recent podcast episodes are shown below in reverse order, with the newest episode first. All past episodes plus accompanying materials are available in the Members' Area.

Album Cover Click to Play	Detail	Episode Description
	Episode 28 August 23, 2010 Title: "ISO 20000 is the Vital Standard, Part 1" Duration: 26 minutes, 39 seconds File Size: 18.3MB Right-click to Download	This is part one of a two-part live recording of a recent Mart Rovers presentation in Arizona describing ISO/IEC 20000 and why it is not only the international ITSM standard, but why it is a vital baseline for IT Service Management. Keywords: ISO/IEC 20000, ISO 20000, ITSM standard, auditable standard, certification, minimum critical activities
	Episode 27 August 9, 2010 Title: "What Do Soccer and ITSM Have in Common?" Duration: 16 minutes, 36 seconds File Size: 11.4MB Right-click to Download	Every four years, teams from 32 nations come together to battle for the world championship of the globe's most popular sport. But can we draw parallels between professional soccer and IT Service Management? The answer is: Of course we can! Keywords: business processes, business alignment, IT processes, process relationships, process interdependencies
	Episode 26 May 3, 2010 Title: "Standard Change and Service Request" Duration: 39 minutes, 26 seconds File Size: 27.1MB Right-click to Download	Standard changes and service requests are two elements within ITIL that can bring immediate ROI by speeding or even automating activities. However, ITIL v3 is unclear--even contradictory--when describing the two. Mart Rovers joins Ed Williams to talk about how standard changes compare to service requests, the purpose and benefits of each, and some best practices for utilizing them in real-world ITSM programs. Keywords: standard change, service request, change management, request fulfillment, ITIL v3, service automation
	Episode 25 April 12, 2010 Title: "The ATCTA" Duration: 1 hour, 46 minutes, 25 seconds File Size: 36.5MB Right-click to Download	In New Orleans on March 25, 2010, the Accredited Training Council Trade Association was launched. The ATCTA serves as the voice of its membership on quality standards for ITSM education. The advent of this new association is important for anyone who provides, or takes, ITSM training. This is a recording of the complete launch presentation delivered in New Orleans. (Note that the length of the presentation required additional audio compression, so the sound quality for this episode will be lower than is typical for our podcast.) Keywords: ATCTA, ATCTA.org, ITSM training, ITSM education, Trustmark, quality standards, quality benchmark
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 24 March 26, 2010 Title: "BPM and ITSM" Duration: 30 minutes, 8 seconds File Size: 20.7MB	Business Process Management (BPM) has been a hot topic since 2003, and some proponents feel that ITSM should be folded under BPM as a set of subprocesses. Yet, after more than eight years of development, BPM proponents still can't agree even on a definition of what BPM is. Ed Williams takes a brief look at the history of ITSM and BPM, talks about the recent survey results from BPTrends, and speculates about the future. Keywords: BPM, Business Process Management, BPI, BPMN, BPEL, XPDL, business strategy, ISO 9000
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 23 March 8, 2010 Title: "What is ISO 27001?" Duration: 36 minutes, 0 seconds File Size: 24.7MB	The ISO/IEC 27000 series of international standards apply to one of IT's most critical areas: information systems security management. Mart Rovers joins Ed Williams to take an introductory look at the standard--specifically ISO 27001, the auditable specification for IT security--and to describe the other documents comprising the series. Keywords: ISO 27000, ISO/IEC 27000, ISO 27001, IT security, information security, auditable standard
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 22 February 22, 2010 Title: "What is Lean?" Duration: 62 minutes, 49 seconds File Size: 43.1MB	Within just the past 24 months, references to Lean in the ITSM marketplace seem to have sprung up everywhere. What is Lean, and why does it suddenly seem so prevalent? Ed and Mart take a high-level look at Lean Thinking, its origins, and discuss some misconceptions that have been promoted in order to make Lean look more like a commercial offering than a management system. Keywords: Lean, Lean Manufacturing, Lean Thinking, kaizen, value stream, waste
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 21 February 8, 2010 Title: "The Impact of ISO 20000 on the ITSM Market" Duration: 39 minutes, 52 seconds File Size: 27.4MB	The ISO 20000 standard is a growing factor in the ITSM landscape. Mart Rovers joins Ed Williams to examine the place of ISO/IEC 20000 in the current ITSM environment, compare it briefly to ITIL, and to look at the influence the standard has now, and will have in the near future. Keywords: ISO 20000, ISO/IEC 20000, auditable standard, ITSM impact, ITIL comparison
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 20 January 25, 2010 Title: "Audience Questions and Answers" Duration: 45 minutes, 11 seconds File Size: 31.0MB	This episode, Mart and Ed address three questions submitted by the audience. The first, from a listener in Brazil, asks where to start with an ITSM implementation. Kevin from the U.S. asks about the single, biggest mistake we've seen in adopting ITSM. And a question from Japan asks us to look ahead a year and predict new challenges and opportunities in ITSM. Keywords: question and answer, starting ITSM, ITSM mistakes, future of IT, ITSM challenges
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 19 January 11, 2010 Title: "ITSM Tools: What to Expect" Duration: 40 minutes, 17 seconds File Size: 27.7MB	The ability to efficiently manage an even modestly-complex IT enterprise and ITSM program is inexorably linked to underlying toolsets that enable data capture and, ideally, allow some level of process automation. In this episode Mart and Ed take a high-level look at ITSM tools, the types and histories of tools offered, and discuss some best-practices for ITSM tool architecture. Keywords: IT tools, ITSM tools, managing ITSM, tool suite, point solution, process automation
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 18 December 28, 2009 Title: "The Philosophy of Metrics, Part 3" Duration: 65 minutes, 16 seconds File Size: 44.8MB	In this final installment of the three-part series, Ed and Mart wrap-up their discussion of IT Service Management measurements and metrics by looking at design concepts and principles (including an introduction to the Balanced Scorecard), the consideration of metrics as part of your continuous service improvement plan, and the data, information, knowledge, wisdom continuum. Keywords: designing metrics, CSI model, balanced scorecard, DIKW, information and knowledge
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 17 December 14, 2009 Title: "The Philosophy of Metrics, Part 2" Duration: 57 minutes, 42 seconds File Size: 36.9MB	In the second of this three-part series, Ed and Mart focus on the IT "information chain," from the CEO's strategic objectives to the tool-based generation of raw data. Covered are in-depth definitions of CSFs and KPIs, why some IT measurements live forever despite being of little value, and how companies often overlook the human element in metrics. Keywords: information chain, activity metrics, technology metrics, CSF, KPI
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 16 November 30, 2009 Title: "The Philosophy of Metrics, Part 1" Duration: 44 minutes, 12 seconds File Size: 30.3MB	Since the concept of Information Technology first began, what we did was handle data. However, the internal handling of IT service provision data is surprisingly misunderstood. In this three-part series, Ed and Mart explore measurements and metrics. Rather than merely listing example metrics for processes and activities, they will take a fundamental look at the purposes of measurement, the metrics "information chain," and a top-down planning and design approach. Keywords: metrics, CSF, KPI, strategic objective, balanced scorecard
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 15 November 16, 2009 Title: "Making ITSM Easier with ISO 20000" Duration: 28 minutes, 31 seconds File Size: 19.6MB	ITSM Manager was a Platinum Exhibitor at the Arizona ITSM Summit last October, and Mart delivered a keynote presentation titled, "How ISO/IEC 20000 is Making Implementing ITSM Much Easier." This presentation was recorded live, and is this week's podcast episode. Note that an issue with the mobile recording used in Phoenix resulted in the loss of the last three minutes of the presentation. However, since this was primarily only a summary of the content presented, we felt the material still valuable. Keywords: ISO 20000, minimum critical activities, easing implementation, ISO certification
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 14 November 9, 2009 Title: "The One-Minute ITSM Manager" Duration: 21 minutes, 1 seconds File Size: 21.3MB	From a presentation recorded live October 23 at the Arizona ITSM Summit in Phoenix, where ITSM Manager was a Platinum Exhibitor, Mart and Bryon talk about a concept called "The One-Minute ITSM Manager," and describe 25 low-cost, quick-to-execute improvements you can make to your IT Service Management program. Keywords: inexpensive, low-cost improvements, rapid implementation, one-minute ITSM manager
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 13 November 2, 2009 Title: "Frameworks and Standards, Part 3" Duration: 22 minutes, 2 seconds File Size: 15.1MB	In the past two episodes, Mart and Bryon have examined various ITSM frameworks and standards. In this final segment of the series, they discuss how IT managers can go about selecting, adopting, and deploying the best options for their needs. Keywords: frameworks, standards, guidelines, best practice, strategy, adoption, implementation
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 12 October 26, 2009 Title: "Frameworks and Standards, Part 2" Duration: 19 minutes, 43 seconds File Size: 13.5MB	In this second of a three-part look at ITSM frameworks and standards, Mart and Bryon examine systems for governance, project and program management, and general IT Service Management, including the big two: ITIL and ISO 20000. Keywords: frameworks, standards, guidelines, best practice, governance, project management
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 11 October 19, 2009 Title: "Frameworks and Standards, Part 1" Duration: 17 minutes, 30 seconds File Size: 12.0MB	There are over two dozen ITSM frameworks and standards in common use today. In this first of a three-part series, Mart and Bryon define the difference between a framework and a standard, explain how the two work together, and examine frameworks for quality management and quality improvement. Keywords: frameworks, standards, guidelines, best practice, quality improvement, quality management
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 10 October 12, 2009 Title: "Marketing Your ITSM Program" Duration: 28 minutes, 42 seconds File Size: 19.7MB	ITSM programs involve organizational and cultural change at all levels of the company. Packaging and communicating the message of change requires care and planning. And in some cases may determine the success—or even existence—of your ITSM program. Keywords: marketing ITSM, marketing mindset, communication, silver bullet, organizational change
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 9 October 5, 2009 Title: "Change Management in the Real World" Duration: 29 minutes, 24 seconds File Size: 20.2MB	Bryon talks about Change Management from a practical perspective, defining what it means, why it's important, and how real-world requirements may differ from the descriptions in the frameworks. Keywords: change management, control process, business impact, risk, configuration management
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 8 September 28, 2009 Title: "Tools are the Icing on the Cake" Duration: 41 minutes, 1 seconds File Size: 28.2MB	This special episode was recorded live on September 23, 2009, in Dallas at Fusion '09, the annual, national conference of the itSMF USA. In this episode, Mart addresses the continually-developing landscape of ITSM tools, and the significant ROI to be gained from process automation. Keywords: ITSM tools, process automation, tool integration, automated workflow
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 7 September 21, 2009 Title: "What is a Service?" Duration: 24 minutes, 36 seconds File Size: 16.9MB	Mart and Bryon discuss an underpinning concept of IT Service Management: what, exactly, is a service? Surprisingly, despite the fundamental nature of the term, the answer isn't as clear as it might seem at first glance. Keywords: ITSM, service, business service, IT service, service portfolio
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 6 September 14, 2009 Title: "What's in it for the IT Worker? (Part 2)" Duration: 27 minutes, 29 seconds File Size: 18.9MB	Ed and Mart complete their discussion about what ITSM looks like from the viewpoint of the IT employee. They talk about the personal benefits of ITSM, including important perspectives of job retention and career improvement. Keywords: IT employee, technical worker, middle management, training, preparation
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 5 September 7, 2009 Title: "What's in it for the IT Worker? (Part 1)" Duration: 25 minutes, 59 seconds File Size: 17.8MB	Ed and Mart discuss what ITSM looks like from the viewpoint of the IT employee. They talk about why some IT workers are hesitant about ITSM, and what the truths are about the benefits, including the personal levels of job retention and career improvement. Part 2 will air September 14. Keywords: IT employee, technical worker, middle management, training, preparation
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 4 August 31, 2009 Title: "What is ISO/IEC 20000?" Duration: 60 minutes, 15 seconds File Size: 41.4MB	This special episode was recorded live on August 26, 2009, at a joint meeting of the itSMF's Houston Local Interest Group and ISO/IEC 20000 Special Interest Group. In it, Mart talks about the ISO 20000 standard, its background, what it is and is not, and why it represents the minimum critical activities for achieving IT Service Management success. Keywords: ISO 20000, ISO standard, IT audit, auditable standard, benchmark, minimum critical activities
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 3 August 24, 2009 Title: "What's in it for the CIO?" Duration: 40 minutes, 38 seconds File Size: 27.9MB	Today's CIO is tasked with walking a fine line between financial accountability, operational sustainability, and service excellence. Mart and Bryon discuss why ITSM should be important to the CIO, yet why some are hesitant to adopt it. Keywords: CIO, IT executive, strategy, senior management, benefits, planning, preparation
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 2 August 17, 2009 Title: "What is IT Service Management?" Duration: 28 minutes, 36 seconds File Size: 19.6MB	Fundamental concepts first. Since our whole raison d'être is ITSM, it's appropriate we begin with a discussion of what IT Service Management means, and what misconceptions and misinterpretations continue to surround the term. Keywords: ITSM, defined, definition, service management, frameworks, standards
Available in the Members' Area	Episode 1 August 10, 2009 Title: "Who Are We?" Duration: 21 minutes, 20 seconds File Size: 14.6MB	In this short, initial episode, Mart, Bryon, and Ed introduce themselves, talk a bit about their experience, and describe some of the plans for ITSM Manager. Keywords: introductions, about us, bios, biographies, experience