1. 1. Key concepts of service management
1.1. Key Definitions
1.1.1. Service
1.1.1.1. A means of enabling value co-creation by facilitating outcomes that customers want to achieve, without the customer having to manage specific costs and risks.
1.1.2. Utility
1.1.2.1. The functionality offered by a product or service to meet a particular need.
1.1.2.2. Utility can be summarized as ‘what the service does’ and can be used to determine whether a service is ‘fit for purpose’.
1.1.3. Warranty
1.1.3.1. Assurance that a product or service will meet agreed requirements.
1.1.3.2. Warranty can be summarized as ‘how the service performs’ and can be used to determine whether a service is ‘fit for use’.
1.1.3.3. Warranty often relates to service levels aligned with the needs of service consumers.
1.1.4. Customer
1.1.4.1. Person who defines the requirements for a service and takes responsibility for the outcomes of service consumption.
1.1.5. User
1.1.5.1. A person who uses services.
1.1.6. Sponsor
1.1.6.1. A person who authorizes budget for service consumption.
1.2. Key concepts of creating value with services
1.2.1. Cost
1.2.1.1. The amount of money spent on a specific activity or resource.
1.2.2. Value
1.2.2.1. The perceived benefits, usefulness, and importance of something.
1.2.3. Organization
1.2.3.1. A person or a group of people that has its own functions with responsibilities, authorities, and relationships to achieve its objectives.
1.2.4. Outcome
1.2.4.1. A result for a stakeholder enabled by one or more outputs.
1.2.5. Output
1.2.5.1. A tangible or intangible deliverable of an activity.
1.2.6. Risk
1.2.6.1. A possible event that could cause harm or loss, or make it more difficult to achieve objectives.
1.2.6.2. Can also be defined as uncertainty of outcome, and can be used in the context of measuring the probability of positive outcomes as well as negative outcomes.
1.2.7. Utility
1.2.7.1. The functionality offered by a product or service to meet a particular need.
1.2.8. Warranty
1.2.8.1. Assurance that a product or service will meet agreed requirements.
1.3. Key concepts of service relationships:
1.3.1. Service offering
1.3.1.1. Definition
1.3.1.1.1. A formal description of one or more services, designed to address the needs of a target consumer group. A service offering may include goods, access to resources, and service actions.
1.3.1.2. Service relationship management
1.3.1.2.1. Joint activities performed by a service provider and a service consumer to ensure continual value co-creation based on agreed and available service offerings.
1.3.1.3. Service provision
1.3.1.3.1. Activities performed by an organization to provide services.
1.3.1.3.2. It includes management of the provider’s resources, configured to deliver the service; ensuring access to these resources for users; fulfilment of the agreed service actions; service level management; and continual improvement.
1.3.1.3.3. It may also include the supply of goods.
1.3.1.4. Service consumption
1.3.1.4.1. Activities performed by an organization to consume services. It includes the management of the consumer’s resources needed to use the service, service actions performed by users, and the receiving (acquiring) of goods (if required).
2. 2. ITIL guiding principles
2.1. 1 Focus on value
2.1.1. Everything that the organization does needs to map, directly or indirectly, to value for the stakeholders.
2.1.2. The focus on value principle encompasses many perspectives, including the experience of customers and users.
2.2. 2 Start where you are
2.2.1. Do not start from scratch and build something new without considering what is already available to be leveraged.
2.2.2. There is likely to be a great deal in the current services, processes, programmes, projects, and people that can be used to create the desired outcome.
2.2.3. The current state should be investigated and observed directly to make sure it is fully understood.
2.3. 3 Progress iteratively with feedback
2.3.1. Even huge initiatives must be accomplished iteratively.
2.3.2. By organizing work into smaller, manageable sections that can be executed and completed in a timely manner, it is easier to maintain a sharper focus on each effort.
2.4. 4 Collaborate and promote visibility
2.4.1. Working together across boundaries produces results that have greater buy-in, more relevance to objectives, and increased likelihood of long-term success.
2.4.2. Achieving objectives requires information, understanding, and trust.
2.4.3. Work and consequences should be made visible, hidden agendas avoided, and information shared to the greatest degree possible.
2.5. 5 Think and work holistically
2.5.1. The outcomes achieved by the service provider and service consumer will suffer unless the organization works on the service as a whole, not just on its parts.
2.5.2. Results are delivered to internal and external customers through the effective and efficient management and dynamic integration of information, technology, organization, people, practices, partners, and agreements, which should all be coordinated to provide a defined value
2.6. 6 Keep it simple and practical
2.6.1. If a process, service, action or metric fails to provide value or produce a useful outcome, eliminate it.
2.6.2. In a process or procedure, use the minimum number of steps necessary to accomplish the objective(s).
2.7. 7 Optimize and automate
2.7.1. Eliminate anything that is truly wasteful and use technology to achieve whatever it is capable of.
2.7.2. Human intervention should only happen where it really contributes value.
3. 3. Four dimensions of service management
3.1. Organizations and people)
3.1.1. It ensures that the way an organization is structured and managed, as well as its roles, responsibilities, and systems of authority and communication, is well defined and supports its overall strategy and operating model.
3.2. Information and technology
3.2.1. It includes the information and knowledge used to deliver services, and the information and technologies used to manage all aspects of the service value system.
3.3. Partners and suppliers
3.3.1. It encompasses the relationships an organization has with other organizations that are involved in the design, development, deployment, delivery, support, and/or continual improvement of services.
3.4. Value streams and processes
3.4.1. It defines the activities, workflows, controls, and procedures needed to achieve the agreed objectives.
4. 4. ITIL service value system
4.1. Definition ITIL SVS
4.1.1. Describes how all the components and activities of the organization work together as a system to enable value creation.
4.1.2. Each organization’s SVS has interfaces with other organizations, forming an ecosystem that can in turn facilitate value for those organizations, their customers, and other stakeholders.
4.2. Components
4.2.1. Guiding principles
4.2.1.1. Recommendations that can guide an organization in all circumstances, regardless of changes in its goals, strategies, type of work, or management structure.
4.2.2. Governance
4.2.2.1. The means by which an organization is directed and controlled.
4.2.3. Service value chain
4.2.3.1. A set of interconnected activities that an organization performs to deliver a valuable product or service to its consumers and to facilitate value realization.
4.2.4. Practices
4.2.4.1. Sets of organizational resources designed for performing work or accomplishing an objective.
4.2.5. Continual Improvement
4.2.5.1. A recurring organizational activity performed at all levels to ensure that an organization’s performance continually meets stakeholders’ expectations.
4.3. 5. Activities of the service value chain
4.3.1. Plan
4.3.1.1. The value chain activity that ensures a shared understanding of the vision, current status, and improvement direction for all four dimensions and all products and services across an organization.
4.3.2. Improve
4.3.2.1. The value chain activity that ensures continual improvement of products, services, and practices across all value chain activities and the four dimensions of service management.
4.3.3. Engage
4.3.3.1. The value chain activity that provides a good understanding of stakeholder needs, transparency, continual engagement, and good relationships with all stakeholders.
4.3.4. Design and transition
4.3.4.1. The value chain activity that ensures products and services continually meet stakeholder expectations for quality, costs, and time to market.
4.3.5. Obtain/build
4.3.5.1. The value chain activity that ensures service components are available when and where they are needed, and that they meet agreed specifications.
4.3.6. Deliver and support
4.3.6.1. The value chain activity that ensures services are delivered and supported according to agreed specifications and stakeholders’ expectations.
5. 5. ITIL practices
5.1. 18 ITIL practices selected for examination
5.1.1. General management practices
5.1.1.1. Information security management
5.1.1.1.1. Purpose
5.1.1.2. Relationship management
5.1.1.2.1. Purpose
5.1.1.3. Supplier management
5.1.1.3.1. Purpose
5.1.1.4. Continual improvement
5.1.1.4.1. Purpose
5.1.1.4.2. Escope
5.1.1.4.3. Key activities
5.1.1.4.4. Recomendations
5.1.1.4.5. Contribution to service value chain
5.1.2. Service management practices
5.1.2.1. Availability management
5.1.2.1.1. Availability
5.1.2.1.2. Purpose
5.1.2.2. Capacity and performance management
5.1.2.2.1. Purpose
5.1.2.3. Service continuity management
5.1.2.3.1. Purpose
5.1.2.4. Change enablement
5.1.2.4.1. Purpose
5.1.2.4.2. Escope
5.1.2.4.3. Change
5.1.2.4.4. Change authority.
5.1.2.4.5. Types of change
5.1.2.4.6. Recomendations
5.1.2.4.7. Contribution to the service value chain
5.1.2.5. Release management
5.1.2.5.1. Purpose
5.1.2.5.2. Release
5.1.2.6. IT asset management
5.1.2.6.1. Purpose
5.1.2.6.2. IT asset
5.1.2.7. Service configuration management
5.1.2.7.1. Purpose
5.1.2.7.2. Configuration item (CI)
5.1.2.8. Monitoring and event management
5.1.2.8.1. Purpose
5.1.2.8.2. Event
5.1.2.9. Incident management
5.1.2.9.1. Purpose
5.1.2.9.2. Incident
5.1.2.9.3. Recomendations
5.1.2.9.4. Contribution to the service value chain
5.1.2.10. Problem management
5.1.2.10.1. Purpose
5.1.2.10.2. Problem
5.1.2.10.3. Known error
5.1.2.10.4. Phases of problem management
5.1.2.10.5. Recomendations
5.1.2.10.6. Interfaces
5.1.2.10.7. Contribution o the service value chain
5.1.2.11. Service request management
5.1.2.11.1. Purpose
5.1.2.11.2. Service request
5.1.2.11.3. Recomendations
5.1.2.11.4. Contribution to the service value chain
5.1.2.12. Service desk
5.1.2.12.1. Purpose
5.1.2.12.2. Service desks provide a variety of channels for access.
5.1.2.12.3. Types of service desk
5.1.2.12.4. Recomendations
5.1.2.12.5. Contribution to the service value chain
5.1.2.13. Service level management
5.1.2.13.1. Purpose
5.1.2.13.2. Service level
5.1.2.13.3. Service level agreements (SLAs)
5.1.2.13.4. Key activities
5.1.2.13.5. Contribution to the service value chain
5.1.3. Technical management practices
5.1.3.1. Deployment management
5.1.3.1.1. Purpose
6. 6. Continual Improvement Model
6.1. Step 1: What is the vision?
6.1.1. Each improvement initiative should support the organization’s goals and objectives.
6.1.2. The first step of the continual improvement model is to define the vision of the initiative. This provides context for all subsequent decisions and links individual actions to the organization’s vision for the future.
6.2. Step 2: Where are we now?
6.2.1. The success of an improvement initiative depends on a clear and accurate understanding of the starting point and the impact of the initiative.
6.2.2. An improvement can be thought of as a journey from Point A to Point B, and this step clearly defines what Point A looks like. A journey cannot be mapped out if the starting point is not known.
6.3. Step 3: Where do we want to be?
6.3.1. Just as the previous step (Step 2) describes Point A on the improvement journey, Step 3 outlines what Point B, the target state for the next step of the journey, should look like. A journey cannot be mapped out if the destination is not clear.
6.4. Step 4: How do we get there?
6.4.1. The plan for Step 4 can be a straightforward and direct route to completing a single simple improvement, or it may be more involved.
6.4.2. The most effective approach to executing the improvement may not be clear, and it will sometimes be necessary to design experiments that will test which options have the most potential.
6.5. Step 5: Take action
6.5.1. In Step 5 the plan for the improvement is acted upon.
6.5.2. This could involve a traditional waterfall-style approach, but it could be more appropriate to follow an Agile approach by experimenting, iterating, changing directions, or even going back to previous steps.
6.6. Step 6: Did we get there?
6.6.1. Too often, once an improvement plan is set in motion, it is assumed that the expected benefits have been achieved, and that attention can be redirected to the next initiative.
6.6.2. In reality, the path to improvement is filled with various obstacles, so success must be validated.
6.7. Step 7: How do we keep the momentum going?
6.7.1. If the improvement has delivered the expected value, the focus of the initiative should shift to marketing these successes and reinforcing any new methods introduced. T
6.7.2. his is to ensure that the progress made will not be lost and to build support and momentum for the next improvements.