Published Articles and Blogs

The following articles and blogs have been authored, or in a few cases co-authored, by George Spafford. Topics include strategy, governance, compliance, risk management, ITIL, information security, process improvement and much more.

Choice quotes can be accessed on the quotations page.

Note, by clicking "Original" (where listed) you can see the source manuscript written by George vs. the edited versions. Often times there are additional points, clarifications and nuances that are lost during the editorial process.

• Blog: "Do You Believe?", ITSMwatch, August 6, 2008
• Article: "Capacity Management and Green IT", ITSMwatch, August 4, 2008
• Blog: "ITSM is Not Just About Tools", ITSMwatch, July 20, 2008
• Blog: "Understanding the Potential Business Impact of Changes", ITSMwatch, July 14, 2008
• Blog: "Spontaneous Empowerment", ITSMwatch, July 9, 2008
• Blog: "Tone From the Top", ITSMwatc, July 3, 2008
• Blog: "Roles and Responsibilties in ITIL", ITSMwatch, June 24, 2008
• Blog: "Effective and Efficient CAB Meetings", ITSMwatch, June 19, 2008
• Article: "So What Are You Measuring?", ITSMWatch, June 13, 2008
• Blog: "Metrics and Behavior", ITSMwatch, June 10, 2008
• Blog: "IT in Support of the Business", ITSMWatch, June 6, 2008
• Blog: "The Underperformer Paradox", ITSMWatch, May 29, 2008
• Blog: "The Real World and Benefits Metrics from Studies", ITSMWatch, May 20, 2008
• Article: "How to reduce the risk from Windows automatic updates", SearchWinIT, May 19, 2008
• Blog: "Virtualization Needs Processes", ITSMWatch, May 15, 2008
• Blog: "Don't Forget Organizational Change", ITSMWatch, May 7, 2008
• Article: "Using ITAM to Save Money in Tough Times ", ITSMWatch, May 2, 2008
• Blog: "Who Moved My Cheese?", ITSMWatch, April 29, 2008
• Blog: "ITIL and Synergy", ITSMWatch, April 25, 2008
• Article: "Computing the Change Success Rate", ITSMWatch, April 24, 20008
• Article: "Managing user access in a Windows environment", SearchWinIT, April 27, 2008
• Article: "How to create a user access management process for Windows", SearchWinIT, March 27, 2008
• Article: "Emergency Changes Shouldn't Change Anything", ITSMwatch, March 21, 2008
• Article: "Control and Process Reviews", ITSMWatch, March 7, 2008
• Article: "Benefits of a Definitive Media Library (DML)", ITSMwatch, February 20, 2008
• Article: "Getting Started with Event Management," ITSMWatch, January 25, 2008
• Article: "Using the CMDB to Manage Controls", ITSMwatch, November 20, 2007
• Article: "Creating a process for managing change", SearchWinIT, November 1, 2007
• Article: "Career Backup Plans - Part Two", CIOupdate, October 20, 2007
• Article: "Release policies set standards for rollouts", SearchWinIT, October 11, 2007
• Article: "Career Backup Plans – Part One", CIOupdate, October 4, 2007
• Article: "Why detective controls are important in change management", SearchWinIT, September 13, 2007
• Article: "Managing Project Change Requests", ITSMwatch, August 16, 2007
• Article: "Don't Do It All At Once", ProjectManagerPlanet, July 25, 2007
• Article: "Incident Decision Making and Cognitive Bias", ITSMWatch, July 23, 2007
• Article: "Making the Right Decisions", ProjectManagerPlanet, July 15, 2007
• Article: "From Software to System to Service", ITSMWatch, July 11, 2007
• Article: "Thoughts on Information Logistics - Part II", SGC, May 29, 2007 [Self-published]
• Article: "Improving Incident Management", ITSMwatch, May 18, 2007 [Original]
• Article: "It's Only Useful if "They" Say it Is – Part I", bITaPlanet, April 10, 2007 [Original]
  [This is the first Information Logistics article. The second was self-published on May 29]
• Article: "Mapping Objectives to Goals ", bITaPlanet, April 3, 2007 [Original]
• Article: "Is Your Enterprise an Error Enabler", bITaPlanet, February 21, 2007 [Original]
• Article: "Accurate Configurations –Technology Alone Isn’t the Answer", ITSMwatch, February 7, 2007 [Original]
• Article: "eBay and the Flattening of the World", Datamation, January 11, 2007 [Original]
• Article: "Alignment Traps to Avoid", bITaPlanet, January 8, 2007 [Original]
• Article: "Compressing Time and Distance", SGC, December 26, 2006
• Article: "For the Executive Geek On the Go", CIO Update, December 20, 2007 [Original]
• Article: "Vendor Selection: A Fourteen-Point Guide", Datamation, December 7, 2007 [Original]
• Article: "Risk Management Isn't Just About IT", bITaPlanet, December 6, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "The Thriving Business of Poor Quality", Datamation, November 16, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "The Hollowing Out of Destiny", CIO Update, November 3, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "IT Portfolio Mismanagement", Datamation, October 20, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "Offshore Call Centers: Time to Bring ‘em Home?", Datamation, October 11, 2006 [It's a bit of a sensationalist title from the editor. The intent is really to bring up the importance of customer service and compartmentalization when offshoring.] [Original]
• Article: "Cost vs. Value", CIO Update, September 29, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "So Many Portables, So Few Rules", Datamation, September 25, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "The Transient Knowledge Trap", Datamation, September 21, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "The Dangers of Excessive Permissions", Datamation, September 18, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "The Real Source of SOX Woes", Datamation, September 14, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "The Benefits of a Single Point of Contact", ITSM Watch, August 11, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "How Energy Costs Can Affect IT", Datamation, August 9, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "The Impact of Global Warming On IT", Datamation, August 4, 2006 [Original]
• Webcast: "How Metrics can Support ITIL", Jupitermedia, August 2, 2006 [PPT]
• Article: "Using RACI Charts to Improve Processes", Datamation, July 31, 2006 [Original]
  The RACI Excel template mentioned in the article can be downloaded here.
• Article: "Do Your Business Continuity Plans Cover Home Workers?", Datamation, July 25, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "Selling Senior Management on Upgrades", Datamation, July 19, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "Making the SOX Grade", Datamation, July 14, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "Customer Disservice", Datamation, June 29, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "Underlying patterns can reveal information security targets", SearchSecurity, June 15, 2006 [Original not available]
• Article: "The Importance of Defining 'Availability'", Datamation, June 1, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "Storage Devices and Security Risks", Datamation, May 26, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "Risk Mitigation Considerations for Backup and Restoration Processes", White paper published by SGC, May 25, 2006
• Article: "The Right Way to Set SLAs", Datamation, May 17, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "Why IT Should Understand 'Costing' Terms", Datamation, May 8, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "Plugging into the Nerve Center of ITSM", Datamation, April 28, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "When More is Less", Datamation, April 19, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "When You Need Emergency Portable Lighting", Datamation, April 10, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "Causality and IT Service Management", ITSM Watch, March 23, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "So, What Do You Offer?", ITSM Watch, February 27, 2006 [Original]
• Article: "Incidents, Problems, Known Errors and Changes", Datamation, February 13, 2006
• Article: "How Users Can Play an Active Role in Security", Datamation, February 3, 2006
• Article: "Keeping Road Warriors' Data Safe", Datamation, January 23, 2006
• Article: "The Importance of Audit Logs", Datamation, January 20, 2006
  The Audit Log Excel template mentioned in the article is here.
• Article: "Segregate Duties to Lessen Security Risks", Datamation, January 18, 2006
  The Segregation of Duties Excel template mentioned in the article is here.
• Article: "Regulatory Compliance and Security", Datamation, December 15, 2006
• Article: "Focus on Business Goals for Real IT Productivity", Datamation, December 6, 2005
• Article: "Is Your Recovery Plan Good Enough to Save You?", Datamation, November 18, 2005
• Article: "Cool Tools for the Road Warriors", Datamation, October 26, 2005
• Article: "IT Controls, How and Where to Start", Datamation, October 24, 2005 (Written by Kevin Behr, Gene Kim and George Spafford)
• Article: "Why Configuration Management Matters", Datamation, September 30, 2005
• Article: "The Hotel Internet Access Nightmare", Datamation, September 21, 2005
• Article: "Dude, I Got an Axim", Datamation, September 14, 2005
• Article: "Fixing the Disconnect Between IT and Business", Datamation, September 7, 2005
• Article: "Successful Rollout Planning", Datamation, August 31, 2005
• Article: "Emergency Change Management", Datamation, August 22, 2005
• Article: "The True Value of Change Management", Datamation, August 15, 2005
• Article: "Everyday Work in the Way of IT Innovation", Datamation, August 10, 2005
• Article: "Prevent Disaster in the Data Center", CIO Update, July 26, 2005
• Article: "Process Controls Can Avert Disaster", Datamation, July 20, 2005 (Click here to access the Excel-based risk model spreadsheet referenced in the article. Note, this risk model uses a multi-variate equation such as one would see with COSO ERM and calculates Inherent and Residual Risk Scores.)
• Article: "Forging a 'Risk Chain' in a Complicated World", Datamation, July 9, 2005
• Article: "Using a PMO to Prioritize Your IT Work", Datamation, June 30, 2005
• Article: "Staying Focused", Datamation, June 28, 2005
• Article: "Fulfilling the Internet's Potential Value", Datamation, June 21, 2005 [Original]
• Article: "Protecting the Internet's Potential Value", Datamation, June 13, 2005 [Original]
• Article: "Change Management Do's and Don'ts", ITSMWatch, June 12, 2005 (Written by Kevin Behr, Gene Kim and George Spafford)
• Article: "Creating a Resilient IT System", Datamation, June 1, 2005
• Article: "IT Controls, How And Where Do You Start", Datamation, May 15, 2005 (Written by Kevin Behr, Gene Kim and George Spafford)
• Article: "Selling Complex Solutions", SGC, May 9, 2005 (Self-published)
• Article: "'Pulling' Requirements From the Suits", Datamation, May 4, 2005
• Article: "Factoring in Compliance", Datamation, April 26, 2005
• Article: "How To Survive, And Thrive, In An Audit", Datamation, April 24, 2005 (Written by Kevin Behr, Gene Kim and George Spafford)
• Article: "Recovery Process Needs Rollback Planning", Datamation, April 14, 2005 (Click here to access a sample rollback plan template in MS Word DOC format)
• Article: "Backup Best Practices Save Critical Data", Datamation, April 6, 2005
• Article: "Sustainable Compliance: How Do You Recover Agility After Compliance Has Bled You Dry" (An archived video interview ), BetterManagement,.com, March 29, 2005
• Article: "Ordering Off The Security Menu", Datamation, March 28, 2005
• Article: "Sensible IT Security for Small Businesses", Datamation, March 7, 2005
• Article: "Unified ITIL", BetterManagement.com, March 2005
• Article: "The Role of Project Management In Compliance", BetterManagement.com, March 2, 2005 (Written for the PMI-PCC conference in India).
• Article: "Data Center Power: Ignore At Your Peril -- Part 2", Datamation, March 2, 2005
• Article: "Gaining Control Over Compliance Issues", Datamation, February 25, 2005
• Article: "Data Center Power: Ignore At Your Peril", Datamation, February 23, 2005
• Article: "Are People, Processes Figured into IT's Goal?", Datamation, January 4, 2005 (Written with Kevin Behr)
• Article: "In Control?", IT Audit (The IIA's Newsletter), January 3, 2005
• Article: "Learning to Ask IT the Right Questions", Datamation, December 16, 2004
• Article: "'Firefighting' Means Trouble", Datamation, December 14, 2004
• Article: "Why Risk It?", Datamation, November 30, 2004
• Article: "Control Framework Misconceptions":, Datamation, November 24, 2004
• Article: "Learning to Rely on IT Standards", Datamation, October 26, 2004
• Article: "Planning Out Your Compliance Moves", Datamation, October 14, 2004
• Article: "The Right Way to Outsource Control Planning", Datamation, September 29, 2004
• Article: "Breaking the Rules: Temptation and Risk", Datamation, September 24, 2004
• Article: "Hindsight not Always 20/20 with Problem Management", Datamation, September 22, 2004
• Article: "The Increasing Importance of IT 'Controls'", Datamation, September 1, 2004
• Article: "An Introduction to Visible Ops", ComputerWorld, August 31, 2004
• Article: "The New Convergence", Datamation, August 26, 2004
• Article: "The Temporary Death of Processes", Datamation, August 18, 2004
• Article: "Offshoring and Economic Evolution", GanttHead, July 1, 2004
• Article: "Leveraging Configuration Management ", Datamation, June 30, 2004
• Article: "Monitoring Complex Systems", Datamation, June 17, 2004
• Article: "The Operator Did It", Datamation, June 8, 2004
• Article: "Time Has Come for the IT Process Engineer", Datamation , June 2, 2004
• Article: "Effectively Using Problem Review Boards", Datamation, May 28, 2004
• Article: "Process Credentials", Published via contributions to the ITPI, ITSMWatch, May 26, 2004
• Article: Understanding 'Mean Time Between Failure' Datamation, May 14, 2004
• Article: Getting at the Root of Security Problems Datamation, April 27, 2004
• Article: One Hand Clapping CIO Update, April 16, 2004
• Article: The Importance of Change Advisory Boards Datamation, March 10, 2004
• Article: Is Your Job at Risk of Being Outsourced? Datamation, February 19, 2004
• Article: The Dangers that Lurk Behind Shadow IT   Datamation, February 4, 2004
• Article: Learning to Deal with Change and the Unknowns Datamation, February 2, 2004
• Article: Offshoring IT Could Mean You're Technically an Exporter CIO Update, January 30, 2004
• Article: Top ITIL Myths Published with Gene Kim in cooperation with the ITPI, Datamation, January 5, 2004
• Article: Why MTTR Matters   Published with Gene Kim in cooperation with the ITPI, Datamation, December 8, 2003
• Article: Products and Platforms CIO Update, December 2, 2003
• Article: Avoiding 'Shelfware'   CIO Update, November 14, 2003
• Article: Touch Me GanttHead, November 10, 2003
• Article: Outsourcing and Compartmentalization Datamation, October 28, 2003
• Article: Metrics Foster Communication CIO Update, October 17, 2003
• Article: Getting Started On An IT Framework Datamation, October 14, 2003
• Article: Truly Benefiting From Standards   CIO Update, September 9, 2003
• Article: Choosing Between Products and Services    CIO Update, September 2, 2003
• Article: Don't Patch and Pray   CIO Update, August 19, 2003
• Article: A Society of Ghosts    CIO Update, August 18, 2003
• Article: Active Expectation Management Datamation, August 11, 2003
• Article: The Power of Variance Analysis GanttHead, August 11, 2003
• Article: Stakeholders and Service Level Expectations Datamation, August 6, 2003
• Article: Overcoming Systemic Inertia   CIO Update, July 30, 2003
• Article: Close Call GanttHead, July 28, 2003
• Article: Even Without Spam, Email Is Not Cost-Free Datamation, July 24, 2003
• Article: The Importance of System Change Controls Datamation, July 18, 2003
• Article: Noise Makers Part 2 GanttHead, July 14, 2003
• Article: Avoid Pouring Good Money Into a Bad Project Datamation, July 7, 2003
• Article: Achieving Project Management Balance Datamation, July 2, 2003
• Article: Slackers 'R Us GanttHead, June 23, 2003
• Article: Information Technology in Context Datamation, June 11, 2003
• Article: Noise Makers GanttHead, May 27, 2003
• Article: Communication Typing GanttHead, May 12, 2003
• Article: Determining Your Project's True Value   Datamation, May 5, 2003
• Article: The Benefits of Standard IT Governance Frameworks    Datamation, April 22, 2003
• Article: Information Logistics GanttHead, April 21, 2003
• Article: Dealing with Difficult Stakeholders GanttHead, April 7, 2003
• Article: Project Management No Substitute for Discipline Datamation, March 20, 2003
• Article: Project Status Reports GanttHead, March 17, 2003
• Article: The Art of Requirements Gathering GanttHead, March 10, 2003
• Article: Great Government PM Websites GanttHead, February 10, 2003
• Article: Move Over, Post-Mortems... GanttHead, February 5, 2003
• Article: Office Space GanttHead, January 30, 2003
• Article: Discovering Stakeholder Expectations GanttHead, December 11, 2002
• Article: Stakeholder Expectations GanttHead, November 4, 2002
• Article: These Papers Were Made For Working... GanttHead, September 23, 2002
• Article: The Communication Factor GanttHead, August 21, 2002
• Article: Talk Talk GanttHead, July 24, 2002