USMBOK™
Testimonials
The following testimonials have been kindly provided by a number of my professional peers - thank you.
Glenn O’Donnell, Senior Analysts, Forrester Research
"Ian Clayton is a genius! The Guide to the Universal Service Management Body of Knowledge (USMBOK) has made him semi-famous as THE "outside-in" thinker for how we should be conceiving, delivering, and retiring services, no matter what those services represent. His outside-in approach is the right approach. All too often, we look at services from the inside-out, which is myopic and often yields results inconsistent with the customer's needs.
Herein lies the distinction between inside-out and outside-in. The main focus must be on the customer. Clayton captures this concept very well. What should be a simple concept to grasp often is not, but mainly because we fail to even know who the customers are, much less what they truly need.
Customers view their received services from the outside. All the complex mechanics on the inside are meaningless to them. To deliver satisfactory results, a provider of a product or service must take the same approach. Dig inward from the customer's requirements. Build the internal complexity with that customer-centric goal in mind and insulate customers from that complexity. Instead, many providers build from the inside, focusing on the "nuts and bolts" and ignoring what those nuts and bolts ultimately become. This inside-out thinking is destructive and must go.
USMBOK is being heavily applied to information technology (IT) services, although it is completely relevant to other services as well. IT service management is the domain of the framework known as ITIL (formerly known as IT Infrastructure Library). ITIL's intent is similar to USMBOK, but its historical adoption has proven to be an inside-out approach.
Not surprisingly, ITIL-oriented efforts often struggle and ITIL suffers a bit of a black eye as a result. We cannot totally fault ITIL. Blame the people who pursued ITIL the wrong way. ITIL's ambiguity can lead some people to misinterpret the intent. I am a long-time advocate of the principles behind ITIL, but USMBOK is far superior (and actually more concise) in how it explains these principles and connects them for better outside-in thinking. USMBOK is a better ITIL than ITIL in many ways!
For anyone in IT or elsewhere who wants to build a culture of solid outside-in service management, I highly recommend Clayton's USMBOK book! If you follow his guidance, you WILL deliver results that help your customers! For that matter, you will actually understand that you DO have customers and you will actually understand their needs! BUY THIS BOOK!"
Brian Johnson, ITIL® Author and Contributor
“This is an amazing achievement; codifying what is in your head may sound like a good idea, but try doing it, the size of the challenge is immense. For Ian to have been able to take the time to do this is one achievement, to make it coherent is another. He has codified and documented a BoK for service management that is clear, practical and that provides a genuine 'how to' starting point for both the service management professionals. If I had a hat, I would take it off to him.”
Michael A. Orzen, President, Mike Orzen & Associates, Co-Author Lean IT (Shingo Prize Winner)
"The USMBOK is a tremendous body of knowledge that captures the essence of service management, its true customer centricity, and provides vital specifications for both a service system and organization. Its a must have companion to Lean IT"
Mark Storace, Founder and CEO of IT Service Management Professional Association
The IT Service Management Professional Association (ITSMPa) endorses the Guide to USMBOK as the definitive service management reference for its members. “The USMBOK is more comprehensive, more current and universally applicable, and just plain easier to understand and use than any other IT Service Management reference. ITSMPa strongly recommends the USMBOK to its members as the definitive source for knowledge on how to design a sustainable service management system and service provider organization”
Kenneth Gonzalez, Managing Partner, Engaged Consulting Inc,
" In my opinion, this is the definitive text on the elements of a service management system written in plain English. It is a must for anyone in the service management profession looking for a singular guide to help them and their service organization gain added value and enhanced organizational performance”. Why?
- It's design and construction allow it to effectively serve as a "Rosetta Stone" and interpret the guidance and recommended practices contained within many other publicly available frameworks. The Guide was written to respect a broad selection of frameworks and approaches and many are referenced in the guide itself. No one framework has all of what one needs to consider to be successful with a service management initiative. This guide will help you identify and resolve the discrepancies and conflicts between the guidance provided in the commercial frameworks you're using now.
- It's NOT IT-centric. This is a critical point. Most other popular frameworks (ITIL, COBIT, MOF, etc.) are VERY skewed towards IT Service Management. By expanding the context beyond IT, we increase both the utility and applicability of the USMBOK. It can be used in service organizations generally or be directly applied to the design and provision of IT services.
- The Guide itself actually contains real recommendations (do this, don't do that) as part of the Guide. Most commercial frameworks leave it to the professional to figure out how they can turn the concepts into actionable recommendations. This leads to a host of errors and problems due to the high degree of variability (of the implementation) from organization to organization, because of different interpretations of their high-level content.
- The Service Management Society has adopted and formally licensed the USMBOK as it's official Body of Knowledge and the reference for its Service Management Qualification Scheme (SMQS). The Society's qualifications, all managed in accordance with ISO 17024 (in cooperation with the American National Standards Institute), are based upon the materials contained in the USMBOK.
- The Service Management Society has been appointed as the custodian of the USMBOK and its future evolution. As a result, it's one of the few examples where industry practitioners (certificate holders and associates) are offered a means to have a direct say in how the USMBOK will be shaped in the future.
- While I could keep going, suffice it to say that the content is robust and detailed. It is the single most important reference that I use in my work and I use it ALL THE TIME!! I am more successful because I am able to readily use the content and concepts provided in the USMBOK and apply it to my work.
If I only could have ONE book on Service Management -- this would be the one! Do yourself a favor and get a copy today. Once you start using it, I know that you'll be glad that you did.
Rob England, Two Hills Ltd, the 'IT Skeptic'
“ITIL is incomplete: there are many other areas you need to consider. c.f. COBIT although that too is incomplete. USMBOK is about as complete as anything ever will be. The USMBOK is powerful in that it is well organised, consistent, pretty much complete and comprehensive, and not IT specific. It is not explicitly mapped to ITIL which undermines the value gained from ITIL being a common language. Not that that will matter to those heartily sick of ITIL :) And of course it is not a community-agreed BOK - it is one very smart man's BOK."
Cary King, CEO, IT Streamlined Inc,
“The USMBOK is a wonderful alternative to, or supplement to, the ITIL v.3 documents. The USMBOK is more pragmatic than ITIL, and designed ready to implement. If your company has, like so many, implemented ITIL v.2 concepts, but is hesitant to move to the more theoretical and considerably more complex ITIL v.3, you should consider the USMBOK as a guide for your journey towards creating more value in your service organization. It will be worth your consideration.”
Dennis Frailing, Standards Leader, GE Intelligent Platforms,
"The USMBOK is an excellent reference and welcome addition to any Service, Program, or Project Manager's library... it takes practitioners from the basics and moves them into the flow of a truly pragmatic approach. It does this by effectively combining numerous frameworks and `bodies of knowledge' into a well constructed, logical, and effective set of processes; one that creates value for all involved in delivery or management of a `Service' organization.”
Russell Herrell, Consultant, Instructor, ITSM, ITIL, ISO20000
"You don't yet believe ITSM is a discipline that can be more science than art? Sit down and read all 400+ pages of this latest revision and prepare to be convinced. This book is best read by those already familiar and experienced with ITSM practices and principles. It pulls together many elements previously not found in a single reference. It also serves as the core text behind related ITSM certifications. A great addition to any ITSM professional library. This extends beyond just frameworks such as ITIL and includes many of the undocumented elements often used and promoted within the practitioner community. For ITIL purists, its format also aligns well with the ITIL V3 Lifecycle but is not directly built upon it. For ITIL realists, you'll appreciate the simplistic structure and clear explanations provided within a context based on experience and incorporation of other important methodologies, concepts, frameworks and standards existing within industry and government. The tight integration of Lean theory within its ITSM model is a timely and welcome advancement."
Ron Lester, Office of the Chief Information Office, USDA
"The USMBOK should be on every desk. It is well organized and easy to follow. It is not specifically about IT service management, but covers the area of service management in general. Recommend anyone at any level entering the service management journey get this BOK. We have used it with almost all of our service management tasks. Although we embarked upon ITIL some years ago, the USMBOK has shed a different light on our vision, goals, and approach.."