Author: Alex Harding

  • Designing Security into the Product & Service Lifecycle with Security Stories (ITIL (Version 5) & Agile)

    Designing Security into the Product & Service Lifecycle with Security Stories (ITIL (Version 5) & Agile)

    Security Stories are fictional scenarios highlighting potential system exploits from an attacker’s perspective, allowing agile teams to address security risks during development. This proactive approach aligns with ITIL (Version 5), emphasizing the importance of integrating security early in the Product and Service Lifecycle to reduce costs associated with retrofitting.

  • Don’t Blink: You are the Human Firewall!

    Don’t Blink: You are the Human Firewall!

    In this energetic session we look at how the service desk becomes the real human firewall, shaping the organisation’s first line of defence and putting the Information Security Management practice into action where it matters most.

  • World Class? We Built It!

    World Class? We Built It!

    This keynote tells the story of a service desk that didn’t wait for recognition—it earned it. From modest beginnings, this small team built trust, refined processes, and raised expectations across the board. With no shortcuts and no spotlight, they proved that world-class service isn’t about size—it’s about standards, ownership, and showing up every day with…

  • Principles: The Quiet Backbone of PRINCE2 and ITIL

    Principles: The Quiet Backbone of PRINCE2 and ITIL

    ITIL’s guiding principles and PRINCE2 principles are powerful tools that complement each other in project management. By integrating these frameworks, organizations can enhance their value delivery, sustainability, and governance.

  • All Four. Always.

    All Four. Always.

    The article discusses the recurring issues in digital change within Further Education, emphasizing the importance of integrated systems thinking. It highlights that poor upstream decision-making leads to friction and diminished trust in services. The author seeks feedback from the ITSM community regarding the feasibility of end-to-end management using ITIL principles in collaborative sectors.

  • The Lifecycle That Finally Made It All Make Sense

    The Lifecycle That Finally Made It All Make Sense

    Take a walk through where we started, what we learned, and how the digital product and service lifecycle now brings everything together. The aim is to make the ideas easy to follow and to show, in a plain and simple way how the lifecycle plays out in real life across IT Services.

  • Runshaw College’s journey to SOC

    Runshaw College’s journey to SOC

    I joined the incredible Jasmine Reid, Senior Service Manager for JISC’s Security Operations Centre at the 2025 Security Conference. We spent some time talking about the SOC product, and our early experiences of onboarding and the benefits I felt it would bring to the College, my colleagues and our students.

  • The Road To World Class: How Runshaw Became The 1st Educational Organisation to Achieve 5 Star Certification

    The Road To World Class: How Runshaw Became The 1st Educational Organisation to Achieve 5 Star Certification

    How does a College based in Lancashire UK, become the first academic institution and public sector organisation to achieve ‘World – Class’ Service Desk Certification status? How did the IT Services department go from “uncertifiable” to 5-Star, and what impact and value has this created? Join me and David Wright for an exclusive session with…

  • New Beginnings

    New Beginnings

    This is the beginning of my journey in sharing insights on Digital Product and Service Management, also known as ITSM. The blog will explore Agile methodologies, project management, security, and offer perspectives on various events and online platforms. Thank you for joining me in this endeavor.

  • Nina, Tony & Friends – Customer Personas and Journey Mapping

    Nina, Tony & Friends – Customer Personas and Journey Mapping

    Follow the journey of Nina, a high performing student, and Tony, her supportive teacher, as they explore technology andconsume the services we provide. We’ll take a deep dive into Agile techniques such as creating user/customer Personas, and look into journey mapping. This will help you understand how you can use these to inform your decision…

  • VIP Programme

    VIP Programme

    Again, my good friend and and colleague Andrew Gant and I were asked to put together a session about our VIP programme, for an online event with the Service Desk Institute in 2021. “Andrew Gant, Service Desk Team Leader and Alex Harding, Head of IT Services,Print Shop & IT Facilities from Runshaw College discuss their VIP programme and explain…

  • From Hated to Honoured

    From Hated to Honoured

    My good friend and and colleague Andrew Gant and I were asked to put together a session about the early part of our improvement journey for an online event with the Service Desk Institute after being runners up for Best Service Desk 2020. “Runshaw College IT service team share their 14 year journey to transitioning…

  • The Life and Times of Miscreants, Attackers, Abusers, Misusers and Evil Folk.

    The Life and Times of Miscreants, Attackers, Abusers, Misusers and Evil Folk.

    This was the subject of my 2019 Masters Thesis/Project. Abstract The Information Security landscape is ever changing, and faced with new threats, new legislation and decreasing finances  it’s imperative that we consider new and novel methods to  analyse and document these risks. This Action Research project report explores the deployment of a number of  Agile…

  • An Agile Approach to GDPR Implementation within a Further Education College

    An Agile Approach to GDPR Implementation within a Further Education College

    The General Data Protection Regulation sees a fundamental shift in the way in which data is handled, stored and distributed. Massive uncertainty exists due to the UKs proposed exit of the European Union and this has resulted in a complacent, ignorant attitude to the changes within a large number of UK businesses and public sector…

  • A Study into the Adoption of, and Enthusiasm for Agile Development Methodologies Within Further Education

    A Study into the Adoption of, and Enthusiasm for Agile Development Methodologies Within Further Education

    This paper describes a survey of UK Further Education professionals in order to determine the uptake and use of Agile Methodologies. Thirty individuals, including directors, managers and developers, completed the survey. The results indicate a low level (<25%) of Agile adoption within the sector, and this mirrors findings in the wider public sector, despite there…