ITIL Do Donkey, ITIL Do

"ITIL do donkey, ITIL do?" 

“What are you talking about guy?” 

"Looks like you never got ‘Hooked on Contractions.’ That, or, maybe there was one child left behind." 
Fear not fair reader..."Hooked on Contractions" does not exist, but if it did, I'd be contracting like…a person who uses…a lot of contractions...

And though I may have been left out at recess a few times, I was never left behind…except at that gas station one time on that family vacation I am forbidden to speak of…I've said too much.
((Cricket noise, Cricket noise))

No dearest reader...I am talking about ITIL...

"Ugh…Okay…look dude…I clicked on this because there is a picture of Shrek and Donkey and the title looked like a misspelling of Shrek's famous line, “That'll do Donkey, that'll do.” You've (look I did another contraction) got like 5 seconds to get to the Shrek!"

Okay! Okay! Fair enough!

Chapter 1 - The Swamp of Chaos

Once upon a time in an organization just like yours, your ITSM practice found itself, like Shrek, living in a swamp. Isolated, misunderstood, and feared by the villagers (aka your end users).

Like in Shrek, your swamp becomes chaotic. Tickets begin to pile up like unwanted fairy tale creatures exiled to your humble abode by little Lord Farquaads.

Change requests are avoided and feared like fire-breathing dragons.

And your service desk, like Shrek, is grumpy, reactive, and just wants to be left alone (have you tried turning it off and back on again?).

Sound familiar? This is what can happen when ITSM lacks structure, visibility, and purpose. You're powerful, after all you are a big, strong ogre, but cursed in a cycle of firefighting and frustration.

Chapter 2 - The Quest for Princess ITIL…er…Fiona

Like you, Shrek is not content to let his beloved swamp stay this way overrun with fairy tale creatures and stray IT tickets. In order to put things back the way they were, he is forced into a quest to save the Princess Fiona. In the same way, our quest is to save ITSM! To do this we need a reliable framework. Enter ITIL!

ITIL is our quest map. It is going to tell us how to rescue incidents from the dark tower of unresolved tickets, boldly slay the dragon of recurring problems with…root cause analysis! Cross the rickety bridge of change management without falling into the lava of costly outages and downtime, and once and for all, deliver enchanted services through a well-defined service catalog!

You see ITIL doesn't just organize your processes - it gives your ogre (ITSM, service desk, etc., also I started in IT on a service desk so I feel like I can make the comparison) a purpose.

Chapter 3 - A Donkey named ServiceNow

Now we know every hero needs a sidekick on their epic journey. Shrek, of course, has Donkey. And you have ServiceNow.

Donkey is loud, persistent, and always there - even when you don't want him to be. But he is loyal, faithful, and true. Effective and full of wisdom. That's ServiceNow:

• Talkative - Delivering timely notifications, dashboards, and workflows galore.
• Loyal, faithful, and true - Always available, always helping, delivering the quality data you need when you need it.
• Effective and full of wisdom - Because it is literally built on the ITIL framework, ServiceNow becomes your ultimate companion on your journey to the highest ITSM standards and maturity.

Donkey may be annoying at times, but he gets the job done - and he sings while doing it!

Chapter 4 - The Transformation

By the end of Shrek, we learn that Fiona’s curse wasn’t a flaw—it was part of her true self. And Shrek? He finds love, community, and purpose.

Your ITSM practice can do the same.

With ITIL guiding your path and ServiceNow as your sidekick, you’ll go from swampy confusion to a kingdom of clarity:

•  Improved service delivery
•  Happier users
•  Empowered teams
• Reduced costs and chaos

You'll find that your ogre wasn't the problem - it was the lack of framework to help him shine.

Fairytale Ending

So the next time your team groans at the mention of ITIL, remind them:
“ITIL do, Donkey. ITIL do.”

Because behind every ogre is a misunderstood hero—and behind every great ITSM practice is a framework that makes the magic happen.

Make your ITSM dreams a reality

Ready to rescue your ITSM from the swamp?
Start your journey by reviewing your current processes, identifying your dragons (aka recurring issues), and choosing your sidekick wisely (hint: it's ServiceNow).

Share this post with your team,
Audit your ITIL alignment,
Slay a few dragons,
And let’s turn your service desk into a fairy tale worth telling.