Customer Reviews

The Introduction to the ITIL Service Lifecycle Book (Official Introduction)

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The book is 238 pages long, but removing index, acronyms and glossary is just 170 pages. However there is a good reason for considering this book. At the end of the book there are about 21 pages devoted to explain the "ITIL Service Management Model", a lot of workflow diagrams that takes the reader through the practices, processes and activities. For example there is a nice workflow diagram called "creating a service". I haven't found SOME of those diagrams in the V3 books, I mean the other 5 books. That's why I consider this a very valuable book.
The writting style is very concise and sometimes informal, easy reading for the ITIL newcomers. Do not expect a detailed process description of everything. Overall it is the perfect starting point before investing in the whole V3 book set.

Not ready to read the full V3 lifecycle? Then I strongly recommend this book. A great overview of V3 with sufficient explanations, diagrams, process charts and descriptions to satisfy most curiosities and illustrate the differences (improvements?) from V2. Easy read and less textbookish than the other V3 books. Start here before reading the core texts to help ease into the detailed specifics and complexities contained within each book. It also serves as a convenient quick reference for those desiring to travel light.

This book is the perfect introduction to understand the concept proposed in ITIL v3. It explains each one of the stage of the service lifecycle as well as their processes and functions. If you are looking for concise information on ITIL v3, start with this book.

This book is the book ITIL 3 needed. The five core books may prove to be an excellent reference - time will tell - but they are hardly accessible. There was no user-friendly way to get your arms around ITIL until Sharon Taylor produced this introduction. Some people think it explains some concepts better than the core books do. Certainly it attempts to make Service Strategy accessible to mere mortals which is no mean feat.

But before you buy this book, consider buying Passing Your ITIL Foundation Exam. It is the same size, half the price, and covers much the same territory, only even MORE lightly. And of course it includes sample exam questions to check whether you are actually getting the hang of it or not.

And if you want MORE beef but not the whole five core books, then get the best one-book encapsulation (not summary) of ITIL Foundations of IT Service Management Based on ITIL® V3 (English version)

This is the book that should have been released BEFORE the 5 ITIL v3 volumes hit the market - however, after having gone through the 5 core volumes all buyers do now need this condensed overview as well for a quick grasp of the big picture of ITIL LCM

An alternative to ploughing through the Service Strategy book is to get the 'Official Introduction'. I got my copy yesterday and I'm delighted with it. It is small and light enough to be easy to take with me and it gives a good high-level introduction to the other five volumes.

This is particularly valuable in the case of the Service Strategy book (which it seems most people agree is in need of a re-write). There are clear diagrams and the chapter at the back on the 'ITIL Service Management Model' has a whole set of very good descriptive diagrams. Reading the short chapter in this book made much more sense of the

I'd certainly recommend anybody to read this book before any of the main volumes. Once you've digested this it is then a matter of dipping into the main books to get a more in-depth picture on particular subjects of interest.

Strangely this book was not, unlike the five core books, submitted by TSO or OGC to the itSMF to be endorsed. It carries an itSMF logo on the back, but that's only as a result of permission from the UK chapter, not as an indication of any endorsement. This is a pity as I'm sure that the itSMF publications committee would have not only endorsed this, but quite likely given some warm reviews...

I'm looking forward to the companion diagrams on the portal ( www.itil-live-portal.com ) coming out - there isn't a date for that, but I really hope that it is soon! Then I can have a copy of the diagrams for presentation purposes as well.

Congratulations to Sharon and the other authors on a job well done! For me, this book will be, I think, my workhorse for v3, with the core books for reference when needed.

This book is short, accessible, yet very instructive. It is a "must have" for those seeking a Foundation level ITIL certification.