Implementing ITIL (Shafqat Azim): suggestions include defining service catalog up front, defining dependencies (messaging systems, reporting systems); manage communications about benefit of process up to management and out to users; have a clear taxonomy and way of describing the scope of your initiative; have a clear vision of where you’re going; look at a reference model with enough depth to know the challenges and dependencies that you will be facing. Consider the level of maturity of processes on which you are dependent. Focus your effort on a handful of processes to refine, but consider how to mitigate the weaknesses of the other processes.
Validate process through use cases of particular issues—implementing a server, responding to change, etc.
Once you have the organizational requirements and use cases, think about tools. The process comes first; tools come second. (Is this ever not true?) Use use cases to develop matrix of functionality for automation, and have a bake-off.
This is all fine, but: I wonder where the trade-off is between process paralysis and avoiding useless tool expenditures.