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IT Service Management
ITIL® Foundation 4
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 Table of contents

Introduction
Key concepts
Guiding principles
4 Dimensions
SVS
SVC
Continual Improvement (CI)
Practices

2
ITIL 4 : Bird’s eye view
4 Dimensions
SVS

SVC

6 Activities

34 Practices
 Table of contents

Introduction
Key concepts
Guiding principles
4 Dimensions
SVS
SVC
Continual Improvement (CI)
Practices

4
 KEY CONCEPTS
OF SERVICE MANAGEMENT

DEFINITIONS
DESCRIPTIONS
Key Concepts and Definitions
It is very important to understand the terminology and the key concepts of ITIL to
address the real challenges of Service Management (ITSM).

• This chapter defines some of the most important concepts of Service Management :
• Service Management and Value
• Organizations
• Service Providers
• Service Consumers
• Other stakeholders
• Service, Product and Service Offering
• Relations between Services
• Value : Outcome, Cost and Risk
• Utility and Warranty
Key Concepts and Definitions
Service Management

Definition : A set of specialized organizational capabilities for

enabling value for customers in the form of services.

• Developping these organisational capabilities requires an understanding of:

• the nature of value

• the nature and scope of the stakeholders involved

• how value creation is enabled through services.

Key Concepts and Definitions

Value : Defined by the Customer:

Definition :The perceived benefits, usefulness, and importance of something.

Perception

VALUE

Utility Importance
Key Concepts and Definitions
• Organization : The purpose is to create Value for Stakeholders

Definition : A person or a group of people that has its own

functions with responsibilities, authorities, and relationships to
achieve its objectives.

• Organizations vary in size and complexity, and in their relation to legal entities, from a single person or a team to a
complex network of legal entities united by common objectives, relationships, and authorities.

• Service Providers :
When provisioning services, an organization takes on the role of
the service provider. The provider can be external to the
consumer’s organization, or they can both be part of the same
organization.

• The key is that the organization in the provider role has a clear understanding of who its consumers are in a given
situation and who the other stakeholders are in the associated service relationships.
Key Concepts and Definitions

• Service Consumer Roles :

Definitions
Customer : A person who defines the requirements for a service
and takes responsibility for the outcomes of service consumption
User : A person who uses services
Sponsor : A person who authorizes budget for service consumption

• Other stakeholders related to Value :

• Shareholders
• CIO, CFO, employees
• Internet communities
Key Concepts and Definitions

Service
Definition : 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.

• Les Organisations sont propriétaires et ont accès à de multiples ressources comme : Personnes, Information et
Technologie, Flux de valeur et Processus, Fournisseurs et Partenaires. Les Produits sont des configurations de ces
ressources.

Product
Definition : A configuration of an organization’s resources
designed to offer value for a consumer

• Products are typically complex and are not fully visible to the consumer. The portion of a product that the consumer
actually sees does not always represent all of the components that comprise the product and support its delivery.
Key Concepts and Definitions
Service Offering

Definition : A 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

Component Description Examples

Goods • Supplied to the consumer • Mobile telephone
• Ownership is transferred to the consumer • Physical server
• Consumer takes responsibility for future use
Access to • Ownership is not transferred to the consumer • Access to telephony
ressources • Access is granted or licensed to the consumer under network
agreed terms and conditions • Access to a SAN
• The consumer can only access the resources during the (Storage Area Network)
agreed consumption period and according to other
agreed service terms
Service actions • Performed by the service provider to address a • User Support
consumer’s needs • Component
• Performed according to an agreement with the replacement
consumer
Key Concepts and Definitions

• Service Relationships

Definition : A cooperation between a service provider and

service consumer. Service relationships include service provision,
service consumption, and service relationship management.

• To create value, an organization must do more than simply provide a service.

• It must also cooperate with the consumers in service relationships.
• Service relationships are established between two or more organizations to co-create value.
In a service relationship, organizations will take on the roles of service providers or service
consumers. The two roles are not mutually exclusive, and organizations typically both
provide and consume a number of services at any given time.
Key Concepts and Definitions
• Service provision:
Definition : Activities performed by an organization to provide services.
Service provision includes:
• management of the provider’s resources, configured to deliver the service
• access to these resources for users
• fulfilment of the agreed service actions
• service level management and continual improvement.
• Service provision may also include the supplying of goods.
• Service consumption:
Definition : Activities performed by an organization to consume services
Service consumption includes:
• management of the consumer’s resources needed to use the service
• service actions performed by users, including utilizing the provider’s
resources, and requesting service actions to be fulfilled
• Service consumption may also include the receiving (acquiring) of goods

• Service Relationship management:

Definition : Joint activities performed by a service provider and a service
consumer to ensure continual value co-creation based on agreed and
available service offerings.
Key Concepts and Definitions
The service relationship model :

• When services are delivered by the provider, they create new resources for service
consumers, or modify their existing ones

• The model : the provider can also be a consumer and vice-versa as shown below :
Service relationships examples

• a training service improves the skills of the consumer’s employees

• a broadband service allows the consumer’s computers to communicate

• a car-hire service enables the consumer’s staff to visit clients

• a software development service creates a new application for the service consumer.
From resources to service relationships

Service

Service relationships

Service offerings

Goods Access to resources Actions

Products

Resources
Value : Outcomes, Costs and Risks

A service is 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.
Key Concepts and Definitions

Outcomes : Acting as a service provider, an organization produces outputs that help

its consumers to achieve certain outcomes.

Definitions :
Output : A tangible or intangible deliverable of an activity
Outcome : A result for a stakeholder enabled by one or more outputs

• Depending on the relationship between the provider and the consumer, it can be
difficult for the provider to fully understand the outcomes that the consumer wants
to achieve. In some cases they will work together to define the desired outcomes.
That is the role of the business relationship manager (BRM).
Costs

Definition : The amount of money spent on a specific activity or resource

From the service consumer’s perspective, there are two types of cost involved in
service relationships:
• costs removed from the consumer by the service
• costs imposed on the consumer by the service (the costs of service
consumption). The total cost of consuming a service includes the price charged by
the service provider (if applicable), plus other costs such as staff training, costs of
network utilization, procurement, etc. Some consumers describe this as what
they have to ‘invest’ to consume the service.
Risks

Definition : A possible event that could cause harm or loss, or make it more difficult to
achieve objectives. 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

There are two types of risk that are of concern to service consumers:
• risks removed from a consumer by the service
• risks imposed on a consumer by the service
• It is the duty of the provider to manage the detailed level of risk on behalf of the consumer
• This should be handled based on a balance of what matters most to the consumer and to
the provider
• The consumer contributes to the reduction of risk through:
• actively participating in the definition of the requirements of the service and the clarification of its required
outcomes
• clearly communicating the critical success factors (CSFs) and constraints that apply to the service
• ensuring the provider has access to the necessary resources of the consumer throughout the service relationship.
Utility and Warranty
To evaluate whether a service or service offering will facilitate the outcomes desired by
the consumers and therefore create value for them, the overall utility and warranty of
the service should be assessed

Utility Definition : The functionality offered by a product or service to meet a

particular need.
• Can be summarized as ‘what the service does’
• Can be used to determine whether a service is ‘fit for purpose’.
• To have utility, a service must either support the performance of the consumer or
remove constraints from the consumer. Many services do both.

Warranty definition : Assurance that a product or service will meet agreed

requirements
• Can be summarized as ‘how the service performs’
• Can be used to determine whether a service is ‘fit for use’.
• Often relates to service levels
• Typically addresses such areas as the availability of the service, its capacity, levels of
security and continuity
Utility and Warranty : Outcomes which create VALUE

UTILITY
Performance supported?
Fit for Purpose – the T/F
Utility = functionality offered by a OR
product or Service to Fit for
meet a particular need Constraints removed?
purpose?

AND Value Created

Available enough?
Fit for Use – a promise T/F
Capacitive enough? Fit for use?
Warranty = or guarantee that
availability, capacity,
continuity, and security AND
Continuous enough? T/F
are all meeting T: True
customer expectations Secured enough? F: False
WARRANTY
Summary of the chapter : Key Concepts and Definitions

You should now be able to :

• Describe the relationships between :
• Value and its Stakeholders, including Organization, Service Providers, Service
Consumers and other stakeholders
• Services, Service Offerings and Products
• Describe the key concepts of :
• Value co-creation, through service relationships including : Service Relationship
Management, Service Provision and Service Consumption
• creating value with services, including Outcome, Output, Cost, Risk, Utility and Warranty
• Recall the definitions of :
• Service consumer roles of a Customer, a User and a Sponsor
• Utility and Warranty
 Table of contents

Introduction
Key concepts
Guiding principles
4 Dimensions
SVS
SVC
Continual Improvement (CI)
Practices

25
 THE 7 ITIL
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
What is a Guiding Principle?

A guiding principle is a recommendation that guides an organization in all

circumstances, regardless of changes in its goals, strategies, type of work, or
management structure. A guiding principle is universal and enduring .

• The guiding principles defined here embody the core messages of ITIL and of service
management in general
• They can be used to guide organizations in their work as they adopt a service
management approach and adapt ITIL guidance to their own specific needs and
circumstances
• These principles are also reflected in many other frameworks, methods, standards,
philosophies, and/or bodies of knowledge, such as Lean, Agile, DevOps, and COBIT.
This allows organizations to effectively integrate the use of multiple methods into an
overall approach to service management.
Applying the Guiding Principles

• The guiding principles are universally applicable to practically any initiative and to all
relationships with stakeholder groups
• For example, the first principle, focus on value, can (and should) be applied not only
to service consumers, but to all relevant stakeholders and their respective definitions
of value.
• Organizations should not use only one or two principles but should consider the
relevance of each of them and how they apply together. All of them are not critical
but should be reviewed on each occasion to assess how appropriate they are.
ITIL 4 and Agile : foes or allies?

Agile Manifesto ITIL Guiding Principles

Agile Culture « Process – contracts »
prefers : Culture

Individuals Processes and Tools Simple and Practical

and interactions Start where you are
Comprehensive
Working software Documentation Focus on value
Holistic Approach
Collaboration with vs Contract
Customers Negociation Focus on value
Collaborate/Visibility
Responding to
changes Following a plan Iterations
Simple and Practical
ITIL 4 and Agile : foes or allies?

• Agile is a methodology that focuses on delivery and evolution of requirements from

small teams
• It is a timeboxed, flexible, and adaptive approach to IT work that allows for a rapid
response to change.
• Agile ways of working give development teams autonomy and allow them to self-
organize, and the methodology promotes collaboration between customers, users,
and development teams at every opportunity
• ITIL 4 Practices benefiting at most of the duet Agile – ITIL 4 :
• Continual Improvement (CI)
• Problem Management
• Change Control
• Release Management
• Deployment Management
The 7 Guiding Principles

1.Focus on value
1.Start where you are
2.Progress iteratively with feedback
3.Collaborate and Promote visibility
4.Think and Work holistically
5.Keep it simple and practical
6.Optimize and Automate
1. Focus on value : Description
Everything that the organization does needs to map,
directly or indirectly, to value for the stakeholders

• The service provider must know :

• Who is the service consumer?
• Who are the key stakeholders ?
• The service provider must understand what is truly of value to the service consumer
 Why the consumer uses the services
 What the services help them to do
 How the services help them achieve their goals
 The role of cost/financial consequences for the service consumer l the risks involved for the service consumer.
• Value for the service consumer:
• Is defined by their own needs
• Is achieved through the support of intended outcomes and optimization of the service consumer’s costs and risks
• Changes over time and in different circumstances
• Understand the Customer experience (CX) or the User’s experience (UX)
• CX can be subjective and objective
• CX Definition : entirety of the interactions a customer has with an organization and its products
1. Focus on value : Application

Know how service consumers use each service Encourage a focus

on value among all staff
Understand their expected outcomes, how each service
contributes to these, and how the service
consumers perceive the service provider. Teach staff to be aware of who their customers are
Collect feedback on value on an ongoing basis, not just Teach staff to understand CX.
at the beginning of the service relationship.

Focus on value during normal operational activity Include focus on value in every step of any
as well as during improvement initiatives improvement initiative

Everybody within the organization must maximize

the value they create Everybody involved in an improvement initiative needs
to understand what outcomes the initiative
is trying to facilitate, how its value will be
measured, and how they should be
contributing to the co-creation of that
value.
2. Start where you are : Description

There can be great temptation to remove what has been done in the past and build
something completely new. This is rarely necessary, or a wise decision.
Do not start over without first considering what is already available to be leveraged.

• Assess where you are

• Decisions on how to proceed should be based on information that is as accurate
as possible
• Getting data from the source helps to avoid assumptions
• Do not be afraid to ask what may seem to be stupid questions
• Measurement should be used to support the analysis of what has been
observed rather than to replace it, as over-reliance on data analytics and
reporting can unintentionally introduce biases and risks in decision-making

• Goodhart’s Law : « When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure» .

2. Start where you are : Application

Look at what exists as objectively as Determine if and how these can be

possible, using the customer or the replicated or expanded upon to achieve
desired outcome as the starting point the desired state

In many cases, leveraging what already exists will reduce

Are the elements of the current state fit for purpose and fit the amount of work needed to transition from the current
for use? state to the desired state.
There should be a focus on learning and improvement,
not just replication and expansion

Apply your risk management skills as Recognize that sometimes nothing from
part of the decision making process the current state can be re-used.

There are risks associated with re-using existing practices

and processes, such as the continuation of
old behaviours that are damaging to the There will be times when the only way to achieve the desired
service. There are also risks associated with result is to start over entirely.
putting something new in place, such as It should be noted, however, that these situations are very
new procedures not being performed rare.
correctly
3. Progress iteratively with feedback : Description
Resist the temptation to do everything at once. Even huge initiatives must be
accomplished iteratively.
By organizing work into smaller, manageable sections that can be executed and
completed in a timely manner, the focus on each effort will be sharper and easier to
maintain.

• Improvement iterations :
• Can be sequential or simultaneous
• Based on the requirements of the improvement and what resources are available
• Each individual iteration should be both manageable and managed, ensuring that
tangible results are returned in a timely manner and built upon to create further
improvement
• A major improvement initiative or programme may be organized into several significant
improvement initiatives, and each of these may, in turn, comprise smaller improvement
efforts
• The overall initiative or programme, as well as its component iterations, must be
continually re-evaluated and potentially revised to reflect any changes in
circumstances and ensure that the focus on value has not been lost (cf Agile/Scrum)
using feedback channels
3. Progress iteratively with feedback : Description
- Seeking and using feedback before, throughout, and after each iteration will
ensure that actions are focused and appropriate, even in changing
circumstances
- A feedback loop is a term commonly used to refer to a situation where part
of the output of an activity is used for new input
• Feedback loops:
• No improvement iteration occurs in a vacuum
• Circumstances can change and new priorities can arise, and the need for the iteration
may be altered or even eliminated
• Seeking and using feedback before, throughout, and after each iteration will ensure that
actions are focused and appropriate, even in changing circumstances.
• Well-constructed feedback mechanisms facilitate understanding of:
• End user and customer perception of the value created
• The efficiency and effectiveness of value chain activities
• The effectiveness of service governance as well as management controls
• The interfaces between the organization and its partner and supplier network
• The demand for products and services
3. Iteration and feedback together : Description

• Working in a timeboxed, iterative manner with feedback loops embedded into the
process allows for:
• greater flexibility
• faster responses to customer and business needs
• the ability to discover and respond to failure earlier l an overall improvement in
quality.

• Having appropriate feedback loops between the participants of an activity gives

them :
• a better understanding of where their work comes from,
• where their outputs go,
• and how their actions and outputs affect the outcomes,
• which in turn enables them to make better decisions.
3. Progress iteratively with feedback : Application

Comprehend the whole, The ecosystem is constantly changing, so feedback is

but do something essential

Understanding the big picture is important, but so is

making progress It is so important to seek and use feedback at all
The greatest enemy to progressing iteratively is the times and at all levels
desire to understand and account for everything.
This
can lead to what is sometimes called ‘analysis
paralysis’

Fast does not mean incomplete

Just because an iteration is small enough to be done
quickly does not mean that it should not include all
the
elements necessary for success
Iteration = minimum viable product : version of the
final
product which allows the maximum amount of
validated
learning with the least effort.
4. Collaborate and promote visibility : Description

- When initiatives involve the right people in the correct roles, efforts benefit
from better buy-in, more relevance and increased likelihood of long-term
success.
- Collaboration/Trust key topics : inform, understand, trsut. Therefore you
have to be transparent and share as much as possible.
4. Collaborate and promote visibility : Description

Examples of collaborations and benefits : Bénéfices

Provider Customer Better outcomes for everyone

Dev Ops Effective and efficient Operation

Organisation Partners Requirements definition, PRB solving

Customer Customer Shared understanding

of Business issues

BRM Consumers Better understanding of

needs and priorities

Dev Consumers
Be better prepared to transition services

Organisation Partners Optimise processes

and Automate
4. Collaborate and promote visibility : Description

• Communication for improvement

• Collaboration is defined on a per case basis accordingly to stakeholders.
Therefore it is VERY variable.

• Increasing urgency through visibility

• To avoid poor decision making due to insufficient visibility, the organization
needs to perform such critical analysis activities as:
• Understanding the flow of work in progress (See Lean IT)
• Identifying bottlenecks, as well as excess capacity (See Lean IT and DevOps)
• Uncovering waste (See Lean IT)
4. Collaborate and promote visibility : Application

Communicate in a way the audience can

Collaboration does not mean consensus
hear
It is not necessary, or even always wise, to get
Selecting the right method and message for
consensus from everyone involved in an each audience is critical for success
initiative before proceeding.

Decisions can only be made on visible data

Making decisions in the absence of data is risky.
Decisions should be made about what data is
needed, and therefore what work needs to be
made visible
5. Think and work holistically : Description
 No service, practice, process, department, or supplier stands alone.
 The outputs that the organization delivers to itself, its customers, and other
stakeholders will suffer unless it works in an integrated way to handle its
activities as a whole, rather than as separate parts.
 All the organization’s activities should be focused on the delivery of value.

Techno

Info Org

Demand Value
Partners

Agree
People ments

Practices
5 . Think and work holistically : Application

Recognize the complexity Collaboration is key to thinking and

of the systems working holistically
Different levels of complexity require different
If the right mechanisms are put in place for all
heuristics for decision-making
relevant stakeholders to collaborate in a timely
manner, it will be possible to address any issue
holistically without being unduly delayed.

Where possible, Automation can facilitate

look for patterns working holistically
in the needs of and interactions
between system elements Automation can support end-to-end visibility for the
Draw on knowledge in each area to identify what organization and provide an efficient
is essential for success, and which means of integrated management
relationships between elements
influence the outcomes
6. Keep it simple and practical : Description
- Always use the minimum number of steps to accomplish an objective
- If a process, service, action, or metric fails to provide value or produce a useful
outcome, then eliminate it.

• Trying to provide a solution for every exception will often lead to over-complication.
• When creating a process or a service, designers need to think about exceptions, but they
cannot cover them all.
• Rules should be designed that can be used to handle exceptions generally.
• Judging what to keep
• When analysing a practice, process, service, metric, or other improvement target, always ask
whether it contributes to value creation.
• When designing or improving service management, it is better to start with an uncomplicated
approach and then carefully add controls, activities, or metrics when it is seen that they are truly
needed.
• Conflicting objectives
• Services should only generate data that will truly provide value to the decision-making process,
and record-keeping should be simplified and automated where possible to maximize value and
reduce non-value-adding work
6. Keep it simple and practical : Application

Every activity should

Simplicity is the ultimate
contribute to the
sophistication
creation of value

Do fewer things, Respect the time of the

but do them better people involved

Simplicity is the best

Easier to understand, route to achieving quick
more likely to adopt wins
(Quick Wins :
See J Kotter’s 8 Points)
7. Optimize and Automate : Description
Optimize
- Organizations must maximize the value of the work carried out by their human and technical
resources
- Technology can help organizations to scale up and take on frequent and repetitive tasks, allowing
human resources to be used for more complex decision-making
- Automation for automation’s sake can increase costs and reduce organizational robustness and
resilience (See Lean IT Overproduction)

1
Understand and agree the context Assess the current state
in which the proposed optimization exists of the proposed optimization
2

Ensure the optimization has

the appropriate level of stakeholder 4 Agree what the future state and priorities
engagement and commitment of the organization should be,
(See J Kotter’s 8 Points) focusing on simplification and value 3

Execute the improvements in an iterative way Continually monitor

(2 nde
Way of DevOps) the impact of optimization
5 6
7. Optimize and Automate : Description

Automate :
- Technology usage to execute correctly one or several steps and with a
consistent manner, without or with very few human actions
- Use a human action ONLY when it is necessary to contribute to the Value

• DevOps value for Continuous Integration, Version Control, Tests and

Deployments from development environment through to production one.
• Automation could also mean the standardization and streamlining of manual
tasks
• Opportunities for automation can be found across the entire organization.
• Looking for opportunities to automate standard and repeating tasks can help
save the organization costs, reduce human error, and improve employee
experience
7. Optimize and Automate : Application

Use the other guiding principles when

Simplify and/or optimize applying this one
before automating
Progress
Keep it simple
iteratively with
and practical
feedback

Define your metrics Focus on Start

Measure Before & After Value where you are
Based on Results
& Value oriented
Guiding Principles Interactions

These principles interact with and depend upon each other

For example :
• if an organization is committed to progressing iteratively with feedback, it should
also think and work holistically to ensure that each iteration of an improvement
includes all the elements necessary to deliver real results
• Similarly, making use of appropriate feedback is key to collaboration (2nd way of
DevOps)
• Focusing on what will truly be valuable to the customer makes it easier to keep
things simple and practical.
• Organizations should not use just one or two of the principles, but should
consider the relevance of each of them and how they apply together
• Not all principles will be critical in every situation, but they should all be
reviewed on each occasion to determine how appropriate they are.
 Table of contents

Introduction
Key concepts
Guiding principles
4 Dimensions
SVS
SVC
Continual Improvement (CI)
Practices

52
THE 4 ITSM
DIMENSIONS
The 4 ITSM Dimensions

To support a holistic approach to service management, ITIL defines four dimensions that collectively
are critical to the effective and efficient facilitation of value for customers and other stakeholders in
the form of products and services

These four dimensions represent perspectives which are relevant to the whole SVS, including the
entirety of the service value chain and all ITIL practices
Dimension 1 : Organizations and People
The complexity of organizations is growing, and it is important to ensure 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.
• Scope :
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Formal organizational structures
• Management and leadership styles
• Break down silos
• Culture
• Required staffing and competencies
Þ all of which are related to the creation, delivery, and improvement of a service.

• Culture :
• Shared Values and Behaviors
• Trust and Transparency
• Communication and collaboration skills
• It is vital that the leaders of the organization champion and advocate values which
motivate people to work in desirable ways
Dimension 2 : Information and Technology
When applied to the SVS, the information and technology dimension includes the
information and knowledge necessary for the management of services, as well as the
technologies required. It also incorporates the relationships between different
components of the SVS, such as the inputs and outputs of activities and practices.

Technologies supporting Technologies supporting

Service Management IT Services
Workflow Inventory
Management systems
IT Architecture Blockchain
Knowledge Artificial
bases Intelligence
Applications Artificial
intelligence
Communication Mobile
systems Platforms
Databases Cloud
computing
Remote Cloud
Collaboration solutions
Communication Cognitive
systems computing
Analytical tools Automatic
learning
Mobile
applications
Dimension 2 : Information and Technology

• Another key consideration is : How is information exchanged between the

different services or components?
• Information architecture must be well understood and continually optimised

Information Optimisation Criteria

Availability Reliability Accessibility Timeliness Accuracy Relevance

The challenges of information management, such as those presented by security and

regulatory compliance requirements, are also a focus of this dimension (e.g. GRPD, …)
Dimension 2 : Information and Technology
Questions an organization may ask include:
Is this technology compatible with the Does the organization have the right skills
current architecture of the organization across its staff and suppliers to support
and its customers? and maintain the technology?
Does this technology raise any Does this technology have sufficient
regulatory or other compliance issues automation capabilities to ensure it can be
with the organization’s policies and efficiently developed, deployed, and
information security controls, or those operated?
of its customers?
Is this a technology that will continue to Does this technology offer additional
be viable in the foreseeable future? capabilities that might be leveraged for
other products or services?
Does this technology align with the Does this technology introduce new risks
strategy of the service provider, or its or constraints to the organization ?
service consumers?

 The culture of an organization may have a significant impact on the technologies it chooses to use.
 The nature of the business will also affect the technology it makes use of .
Dimension 3 : Partners and Suppliers

The partners and suppliers dimension encompasses an organization’s

relationships with other organizations that are involved in the design,
development, deployment, delivery, support and/or continual improvement of
services. It also incorporates contracts and other agreements between the
organization and its partners or suppliers.

SIAM : Service Integration and Management :

• use of a specially established integrator to ensure that service relationships
are properly coordinated.
• may be kept within the organization, but can also be delegated to a trusted
partner.
Dimension 3 : Partners and Suppliers

Relationships between organizations : some examples

Responsibility
Form of Responsibility for Level of
cooperation Outputs for the outputs achievement of formality Examples
the outcomes

Formal supply Procurement of

Goods supply Goods supplied Supplier Customer contract/invoice computers and
s phones
Cloud
Formal computing
Service delivery Services Provider Customer agreements and (infrastructure
delivered flexible cases of platform as a
service)
Shared goals, Employee
Service Value co- Shared between Shared
between
generic
agreements, onboarding
partnership created provider and provider and flexible case- (shared
customer customer based between HR,
arrangements facilities and IT)
Dimension 3 : Partners and Suppliers
Factors that may influence an organization’s strategy when using suppliers include:

Costs
Concerns External
Resource
Expertise
Scarcity

External
Corporate
Constraints
Culture

Strategic Organization’s Demand

Focus
strategy Patterns

Last decade has seen an explosion in companies that offer IaaS, PaaS and SaaS
(Infrastructure, Platform, Solution as a Service); diminution of CAPEXes
Dimension 4 : Value streams and Processes
Applied to the organization and its SVS, the value streams and processes
dimension is concerned with how the various parts of the organization work in
an integrated and coordinated way to enable value creation through products
and services.
The dimension focuses on what activities the organization undertakes and
how they are organized, as well as how the organization ensures that it is
enabling value creation for all stakeholders efficiently and effectively.
• ITIL gives organizations acting as service providers an operating model that covers all
the key activities required to manage products and services effectively. This is
referred to as the ITIL service value chain (SVC)
• The service value chain operating model is generic; however, in practice it can follow
different patterns. These patterns within the value chain operation are called value
streams.
Dimension 4 : Value streams and Processes

Value Stream :
Definition : A value stream is a series of steps that an organization uses to
create and deliver products and services to a service consumer.
A value stream is a combination of the organization’s value chain activities

• Value stream : is a cornerstone to :

• Improve the Global Performance
• Allow to have a clear picture of what it delivers and how
• Analyse their current state and identify any barriers to workflow and non-value-
adding activities (See Lean IT)

• Value stream optimization may include process automation or adoption of emerging

technologies and ways of working to gain efficiencies or enhance user experience.
Dimension 4 : Value streams and Processes
Process :

Definition : A set of interrelated or interacting activities that transform inputs

into outputs. A process takes one or more defined inputs and turns them into
defined outputs. Processes define the sequence of actions and their
dependencies.

Processes describe what is done to accomplish an objective, and well-defined

processes can improve productivity within and across organizations.
They are usually detailed in procedures, which outline who is involved in the
process, and work instructions, which explain how they are carried out.

• Process : HLD (High Level Definition)

• Procedure : LLD (Low Level Definition)
• Work Instruction : details on how procedures are executed « hands on machine »
(many screenshots)
Dimension 4 : Value streams and Processes
The same structure
• Service Value Chain (SVC),
• Value Streams
• Processes
• Procedures
• Work instructions applies to specific services.
• To successfully create, deliver, and improve a service, the following questions need
to be answered:

What is the generic What are the value Who, or what,

delivery model for the streams involved in performs the required
service, and how does the delivering the agreed service actions?
service work? outputs of the service?
External Factors influencing the 4 Dimensions

The PESTLE model describes the factors which influence how organizations
configure their resources and address the four dimensions of service
management :
• P : Political
• E : Economic
• S : Social
• T : Technological
• L : Legal
• E : Environnemental
 Table of contents

Introduction
Key concepts
Guiding principles
4 Dimensions
SVS
SVC
Continual Improvement (CI)
Practices

67
THE SERVICE VALUE
SYSTEM
(SVS)
Service Value System (SVS) : Overview

Why ? : For service management to function properly, it needs to work as a system

The ITIL SVS describes how all the components and activities of the
organization work together as a system to enable value creation.
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.
Organisational silos
• One of the biggest challenges an organization can face when trying to work effectively and efficiently with
a shared vision, or to become more Agile and resilient.
• Can form in many ways and for many different reasons.
• Can be resistant to change and can prevent easy access to the information and specialized expertise which
can in turn reduce efficiency and increase both cost and risk.
• Also make it more difficult for communication or collaboration to occur across different groups.
• A siloed organization cannot act quickly to take advantage of opportunities or to optimize the use of
resources across the organization.
• It is often unable to make effective decisions about changes, due to limited visibility and many hidden
agendas.
• Practices can also become silos. : npo clear interfaces with other practices. All practices should have
multiple interfaces with one another. The exchange of information between practices should be triggered
at key points in the workflow, and is essential to the proper functioning of the organization.
• The architecture of the ITIL SVS specifically enables flexibility and discourages siloed working.
• The service value chain activities and the practices in the SVS do not form a fixed, rigid structure. Rather,
they can be combined in multiple value streams to address the needs of the organization in a variety of
scenarios.
The SVS : Purpose and Structure

The purpose of the SVS is to ensure that the organization continually co-creates
value with all stakeholders through the use and management of products and
services.
The SVS : Inputs – Elements - Outputs
• Key inputs : Opportunities/Demands :
• Opportunities represent options or possibilities to add value for stakeholders or otherwise improve
the organization.
• Demand is the need or desire for products and services among internal and external consumers

• The ITIL SVS includes the following components:

• Guiding principles : Recommendations that can guide an organization in all circumstances,
regardless of changes in its goals, strategies, type of work, or management structure.
• Governance : The means by which an organization is directed and controlled.
• Service value chain : A set of interconnected activities that an organization performs to deliver a
valuable product or service to its consumers and to facilitate value realization.
• Practices : Sets of organizational resources designed for performing work or accomplishing an
objective.
• Continual improvement A recurring organizational activity performed at all levels to ensure that an
organization’s performance continually meets stakeholders’ expectations. ITIL 4 supports continual
improvement with the ITIL continual improvement model.

• Outcome : Value :
• the perceived benefits, usefulness, and importance of something
• The ITIL SVS can enable the creation of many different types of value for a wide group of
stakeholders
The SVS and Agility and the Organizational Resilience
Organisational Agility :
Ability of an organization to move and adapt quickly, flexibly, and decisively to
support internal changes

Organisational Resilience :
Ability of an organization to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and adapt to
both incremental changes and sudden disruptions from an external
perspective.
Cannot be achieved without a common understanding of the organization’s
priorities and objectives.
The SVS:
Provides the means to achieve organizational agility and resilience and to
facilitate the adoption of a strong unified direction, focused on value and
understood by everyone in the organization.
It also enables continual improvement throughout the organization.
 Table of contents

Introduction
Key concepts
Guiding principles
4 Dimensions
SVS
SVC
Continual Improvement (CI)
Practices

74
 THE
SERVICE VALUE
CHAIN
(SVC)
AND ITS ACTIVITIES
What is the SVC?

• Central element of the SVS; it is an operating model which outlines the key
activities required to respond to demand and facilitate value realization through
the creation and management of products and services.
The SVC 6 Activities

• The ITIL service value chain includes six value chain activities which
lead to the creation of products and services and, in turn, value :
• Plan
• Engage
• Design and Transition
• Obtain/Build
• Deliver and Support
• Improve
The 6 SVC Activities
• These activities represent the steps an organization takes in the creation of
value.
• Each activity contributes to the value chain by transforming specific inputs into
outputs. These inputs could be demand from outside the value chain or outputs
of other activities.
• In this way the activities are connected to, and interact with, one another, with
each activity receiving and providing triggers for further actions to be taken.
• To convert inputs into outputs, the value chain activities use different
combinations of ITIL practices
• To carry out a certain task, or respond to a particular situation, organizations
create service value streams. Once designed, value streams should be subject
to continual improvement.
Activities description in a nutshell

• All input/output interactions involving third party parties or service provider will be
executed with the ENGAGE activity
• All new resources will be obtained with the OBTAIN/BUILD activity
• Planing at any level will be achieved with the PLAN activity
• Any improvement will be initiated and managed by the IMPROVE activity
• Create, modify, supply, maintain and support products/services components wil be
executed in an integrated manner by the following activities : DESIGN/TRANSITION,
OBTAIN/BUILD and DELIVER/SUPPORT

• Note : Products, Services, Demands, Opportunities and Value ARE NOT SVC activities
but SVS components
1. Plan : Purpose
The purpose of the PLAN value chain activity is to ensure a shared
understanding of the vision, current status, and improvement
direction for all four dimensions and all products and services
across the organization.
2. Engage : Purpose

The purpose of the ENGAGE value chain activity is to provide :

- a good understanding of stakeholder needs,
- Transparency,
- continual engagement and good relationships with all stakeholders.
3. Design and Transition : Purpose

The purpose of the DESIGN & TRANSITION value chain activity is to ensure that
products and services continually meet stakeholder expectations for quality,
costs, and time to market.
4. Obtain/Build : Purpose

The purpose of the OBTAIN/BUILD value chain activity is to

ensure that service components are available when and where
they are needed, and meet agreed specifications.
5. Deliver and Support : Purpose

The purpose of the DELIVER & SUPPORT value chain activity is to ensure that
services are delivered and supported according to agreed specifications and
stakeholders’ expectations.
6. Improve : Purpose

The purpose of the IMPROVE value chain activity is to ensure continual

improvement of products, services, and practices across all value chain
activities and the four dimensions of service management.
 Table of contents

Introduction
Key concepts
Guiding principles
4 Dimensions
SVS
SVC
Continual Improvement (CI)
Practices

86
 CONTINUAL
IMPROVEMENT
(CI)
Description

• Continual improvement takes place in all areas of the organization and at all levels,
from strategic to operational : S., T., O. (Strategic, Tactical, Operational)
• To maximize the effectiveness of services, each person who contributes to the
provision of a service should keep continual improvement in mind, and should
always be looking for opportunities to improve.
• The continual improvement model applies to the SVS in its entirety, as well as to all
of the organization’s products, services, service components, and relationships
• To support continual improvement at all levels, the ITIL SVS includes:
• the ITIL continual improvement model, which provides organizations with a structured
approach to implementing improvements
• the IMPROVE service value chain activity, which embeds continual improvement into the
value chain
• the continual improvement practice, supporting organizations in their day-to- day
improvement efforts.
The Model : Advantages

• It can be used as a high-level guide to support improvement initiatives .

• The use of the model :
• increases the likelihood that ITSM initiatives will be successful,
• puts a strong focus on customer value
• ensures that improvement efforts can be linked back to the organization’s vision
• The model supports an iterative approach to improvement, dividing work into
manageable pieces with separate goals that can be achieved incrementally.
The Model : the 7 steps workflow
• Applicable to both Modes : Agile and Historical (Waterfall)
Deming Cycle :
- P : Plan
- D : Do
- C : Check
- A : Act
P

C
 Table of contents

Introduction
Key concepts
Guiding principles
4 Dimensions
SVS
SVC
Continual Improvement (CI)
Practices

91
ITIL PRACTICES
Definition

A practice is a set of organizational resources designed for performing work or

accomplishing an objective.
These resources are grouped into the four dimensions of service management

• Each practice :
• Supports one or several SVC activities
• Includes resources based on the 4 Dimensions of Service Management
Practices mapping
General management Service management Technical management
practices practices practices
Architecture management Availability management Deployment management
Continual improvement Business analysis Infrastructures and Platforme
Information Security management Capacity and Performance management management
Knowledge management Change control
Software development and
Measurement and reporting Incident management management
Organizational change management IT asset management
Portfolio management Monitoring and Event management
Project management Problem management
Relationship management Release management
Risk management Service catalogue management
Service financial management Service Configuration management
Strategy management Service Continuity management
Supplier management Service design
Workforce and talent management Service desk
Service level management
Service request management
Service validation and Testing
Notes : - In details 7 studied Practices are in red color
- There are 34 Practices - 8 additional studied practices are in black color
- Out of syllabus scope Practices are in light grey color
 GENERAL
MANAGEMENT
PRACTICES
General management practices have been adopted and adapted for
service management from general business management domains.
Continual Improvement : Purpose and Description

Align the organization’s practices and services with changing business needs
through the ongoing identification and improvement of services, service
components, practices, or any element involved in the efficient and effective
management of products and services.

It includes :
• the development of improvement-related methods and techniques
• the propagation of a continual improvement culture across the organization,
in alignment with the organization’s overall strategy.
• It must be embedded into every fibre of the organization. If it is not, there is a
real risk that daily operational concerns and major project work will eclipse
continual improvement efforts.
Continual Improvement : Key activities

• Encouraging continual improvement across the organization

• Securing time and budget for continual improvement
• Identifying and logging improvement opportunities
• Assessing and prioritizing improvement opportunities
• Making business cases for improvement action
• Planning and implementing improvements
• Measuring and evaluating improvement results
• Coordinating improvement activities across the organization.
Continual Improvement : Models, Techniques, Methods
Lean :
Project Waste Balance
reduction Scorecard
Multi
-Phases SWOT
CMMI :
Maturity Agile :
Levels
assessment Increments
Iterations

DevOps : J Kotter :
Contiual Improvement
Holistic view Quick
Efficiency Models, Techniques, Methods wins

- Do NOT try to implement all

- However, try different methods (See DevOps value: learn by experimentation)
- Everybody is NOT full time working on the practice, but a small team can be.
- It is EVERYONE’s responsability, and it is critical that everyone in the organization understands that active
participation in continual improvement activities is a core part of their job
- It has to be included in :
- in all job descriptions
- every employee’s objectives,
- as well as in contracts with external suppliers and contractors.
Continual Improvement : the Register (CIR)
• Integral to the development and maintenance of every other practice as well as to the complete
lifecycle of all services and indeed the SVS itself
• Used to track and manage improvement ideas from identification through to final action,
organizations use a database or structured document called a continual improvement register (CIR).
• There can be more than one CIR in an organization, as multiple CIRs can be maintained on individual,
team, departmental, business unit, and organizational levels. Some organizations maintain a single
master CIR, but segment how it is used and by whom at a more granular level.
• Improvement ideas can also initially be captured in other places and through other practices, such as
during project execution or software development activities.
• As new ideas are documented, CIR’s are used to constantly reprioritize improvement opportunities.
• The use of CIRs provides additional value because they help to make things visible. This is not limited
to what is currently being done, but also to what is already complete and what has been set aside for
further consideration at a later date.
• Important : improvement ideas are captured, documented, assessed, prioritized, and appropriately
acted upon
• Specific contributors:
• Problem management practice
• Change management practice
• Many improvement initiatives will use Project management practices to organize and manage their
execution.
Information Security Management

Purpose : to protect the information needed by the organization to conduct its

business

It includes : Risk understanding and management to :

• Confidentiality : access to data limited to authorized people
• Integrity : state of being wholesome; unimpaired in all the system
• Availability : available data when, where and to whom
• Authentification : ensuring someone is who they claim to be
• Non-repudiation : ensuring that someone can’t deny that they took an action
Relationship Management

Purpose : establish and nurture the links between the organization and its
stakeholders at strategic and tactical levels.

It includes :
• Identification of the stakeholders
• Analysis of their requirements and priorities
• Monitoring their satisfaction
• Continual improvement of relationships with and between stakeholders.
Supplier Management

Purpose : ensure that the organization’s suppliers and their performances are
managed appropriately to support the seamless provision of quality products
and services.

It includes :
• Creating closer, more collaborative relationships with key suppliers to uncover
and realize new value and reduce the risk of failure.
Activities :
• Creating a single point of visibility and control to ensure consistency
• Maintaining a supplier strategy, policy, and contract management information
• Negotiating and agreeing contracts and arrangements
• Managing relationships and contracts with internal and external suppliers
• Managing supplier performance
 SERVICE
MANAGEMENT
PRACTICES
Service management practices have been developed in service management and
ITSM industries.
Change Control
Purpose : Maximize the number of successful IT changes by
ensuring that risks have been properly assessed, authorizing
changes to proceed, and managing the change schedule.

Definition of a change : The addition, modification, or removal of

anything that could have a direct or indirect effect on services.

Scope :
• All IT infrastructure, applications, documentation, processes, supplier relationships, and
anything else that might directly or indirectly impact a product or service.

Descriptions :
• Distinguish Organizational Change Management (OCM focused on People) and
Change Control (focused on products and services)
• Must balance the need to make beneficial changes that will deliver additional value
with the need to protect customers and users from the adverse effect of changes
Change Control : Activities, Authorities and Change Schedule
Activities:
• Record
• Assessment :
• by people who are able to understand the risks and the expected benefits
• should not introduce unnecessary delay (benefits of Agile and Lean IT)
• Authorize before déployment

Change Authorities :
• Person or group who authorizes a change
• It is essential that the correct change authority is assigned to each type of change to ensure that
change control is both efficient and effective
• In high-velocity organizations (DevOps and Agile), it is a common practice to decentralize change
approval, making the peer review a top predictor of high performance.

Change schedule (CS): it is used to :

• Help plan changes,
• Assist in communication,
• Avoid conflicts, and
• Assign resources.
• It can also be used after changes have been deployed to provide information needed for incident
management, problem management, and improvement planning.
Change Control: 3 Types
• Standard changes
• Normal changes
• Emergency changes

Standard changes :
• Low-risk, pre-authorized
• Well understood and fully documented
• Can be implemented without needing additional authorization
• Often initiated as service requests, but may also be operational changes.
• When the procedure for a standard change is created or modified, there should
be a full risk assessment and authorization as for any other change : ONLY if
there is a modification to the way it is carried out.
Change Control: 3 Types

Normal changes :
• Need to be scheduled, assessed, and authorized following a standard process
• Change models determine the roles for assessment and authorization
• Authorities :
• Low risk : usually someone who can make rapid decisions, often using
automation to speed up the change.
• Major changes: could be as high as the management board (or equivalent).
• Triggered by the creation of a Request for Change (RFC)
• Manually
• Automated in the Cloud/DevOps CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous
Delivery) automated pipeline for most steps of the process
Change Control: 3 Types

Emergency changes :
• Must be implemented as soon as possible (for example to resolve an Incident or
a Security Patch)
• Usually not in the Change Schedule
• Assessment and authorization process is expedited to ensure they can be
implemented quickly.
• As far as possible, emergency changes should be subject to the same testing,
assessment, and authorization as normal changes, but it may be acceptable to
defer some documentation until after the change has been implemented, and
sometimes it will be necessary to implement the change with less testing due to
time constraints.
• There may also be a separate change authority for emergency changes, typically
including a small number of senior managers who understand the business risks
involved.
Incident Management

Description :
• Can have an enormous impact on customer and user satisfaction and perception
• Every incident should be logged and managed to ensure that it is resolved in a time that
meets the expectations of the customer and user.
• Target resolution times are agreed, documented, and communicated to ensure that
expectations are realistic
• Incidents are prioritized based on an agreed classification to ensure that incidents with the
highest business impact are resolved first

Purpose : The purpose of incident management is to minimize the negative

impact of incidents by restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible.

Incident Definition : An unplanned interruption to a service or reduction in the

quality of a service.
Incident Management
Description :
• Organizations should design their incident management practice to provide appropriate
management and resource allocation to different types of incident
• There are usually separate processes for managing major incidents, and for managing
information security incidents.
• Information about incidents should be stored in incident records in a suitable tool
• Ideally, this tool should also provide links to related CIs, changes, problems, known errors, and
other knowledge to enable quick and efficient diagnosis and recovery
• Tools should provide automated matching of incidents to other incidents, problems or known
errors, and can even provide intelligent analysis of incident data to generate recommendations
for helping with future incidents.
• People working on an incident provide good-quality updates in a timely fashion. These updates
should include information about symptoms, business impact, CIs affected, actions completed,
and actions planned
• Have a timestamp and information about the people involved, so that the people involved or
interested can be kept informed. There is a need for good collaboration tools (ChatOps, Bots)
• All support groups members need to understand the incident management process, and how
their contribution to this helps to manage the value, outcomes, costs, and risks of the services
provided
Incident Management: Self-Help, Escalation types

Collaboration Tools, Communication Tools

Disaster

Escalation IT
Continuity
Committee
Escalation
Very complex Incidents,
Major Incidents,
Experts,
Escalation Suppliers,
Users Service Partners, .. Updates
Self-help Desk Support Groups as per category
Records for Temp multi-disciplins groups
future Suppliers/Partners
Updates Updates
measures &
improvements Updates

Knowledge
Base Incident management tool
e.g. FAQ
Incident Management: Activities workflows
CHG, PRB,
Tools Known Error
Knowledge

Expert Monitoring Tools Tools

FAQ Users Service Desk
Local Engineer HW/S/Environmental
Web mode Alarms

Log, Describe, Classify (Business Impact -> Priority)

Collaboration, Communication Tools

Update

Incidents management Tool

Major Incident
Initial Diagnostic
Update
Procedure Escalation
Major Incidents Expert, Suppliers, Partners
Info Security Inc. Multi stakeholders Group
Update
(Swarming)

Procedure Analysis, Diagnostic

Info Security Update
Incidents
Pratice Disaster
IT Resolution, Restoration, Closure
Continuity Update
IT Asset management : includes ITAM and SAM
Purpose : plan and manage the full lifecycle of all IT assets, to help the
organization:
• lmaximize value
• control costs
• manage risks
• support decision-making about purchase, re-use, and retirement of assets
• meet regulatory and contractual requirements.

IT Asset definition : Any valuable component that can contribute to the

delivery of an IT product or service
ITAM : sub practice specifically aimed at managing the lifecycles and total costs of IT equipment and infrastructure.
SAM : aspect of IT asset management that is specifically aimed at managing the acquisition, development, release,
deployment, maintenance, and eventual retirement of software assets
IT Assets scope:
• Workplace assets (PC, Printer, Telephon, Notepad, ….)
• Server (physical, virtual, mainframe), Disks, Backup robot
• Network (Router, Switch, Wi-Fi antenna, Load Balancer, …)
Monitoring and Event Management

Purpose : systematically observe services and service components, and record

and report selected changes of state identified as events.

Event definition : Any change of state that has significance for the management
of a service or other configuration item (CI)
Activities :
• Monitoring : systematic observation of Services and CI’s, highly automated manner, actively or
passively.
• Event management : Record and manage changes of monitored states. Monitoring is a pre-
requisite.

3 Types of Events :
• Informational: do not require action at the time they are identified, but analysing the data gathered from them at
a later date may uncover desirable, proactive steps that can be beneficial to the service
• Warning : allow action to be taken before any negative impact is actually experienced by the business
• Exceptions : breach to an established norm has been identified, require action, even though business impact may
not yet have been experienced.
Problem Management
Purpose : Reduce the apparition and impact of incidents in identifying the real
and hypothetical cause of incidents, and in managing workaround solutions
and known errors.

Definitions :
• Problem : A cause, or potential cause, of one or more incidents.
• Known Error (KE) : A problem that has been analysed but has not been resolved
• Workaround solution : A solution that reduces or eliminates the impact of an
incident or problem for which a full resolution is not yet available. Some
workarounds reduce the likelihood of incidents.

Staff’s skills and required abilities :

• Many problem management activities rely on the knowledge and experience of staff,
rather than on following detailed procedure
• ability to understand complex systems, and to think about how different failures might
have occurred
• Both above abilities require mentoring and time, as well as suitable training.
Problem Management : Workaround Solutions (WS)

 When a problem cannot be resolved quickly, it is often useful to find and

document a workaround for future incidents
 Workarounds are documented in problem records
 Documentation can be done at any stage; it doesn’t need to wait for analysis to be
complete
 If it has been documented early in problem control, then this should be reviewed
and improved after problem analysis has been completed.
 An effective incident workaround can become a permanent way of dealing with
some problems when resolving the problem is not viable or cost-effective. In this
case, the problem remains in the known error status, and the documented
workaround is applied should related incidents occur.
 Every documented workaround should include a clear definition of the symptoms
to which it applies.
 In some cases, workaround application can be automated.
Problem Management
Problems and Incidents should be distinguished as they are managed differently :
 Incident : has an impact on users and business processes. Must be resolved so that
business activity can take place
 Problem : is the cause of incidents. require investigation and analysis to identify the
causes, develop workarounds, and recommend longer-term resolution. This reduces the
number and impact of future incidents.
Other interfaces :
 Risk management :
 Activities aim to identify, assess, and control risks in any of the four dimensions of service
management.
 It is useful to adopt risk management tools and techniques for problem management .
 Change control :
 Initiates an RFC
 Participates to the Post-Implementation-Review (PIR)
 Knowledge management system :
 Outputs include : WS, KE
 utilize information in a knowledge management system to investigate, diagnose, and resolve
problems
 Continual Improvement :
 Identifies improvement opportunities in the 4 Dimensions of service management
 Problems are documented in the CIR
Problem Management : 3 Phases

- Performing trend analysis of - Problem analysis, - Known Error management

incident records workarounds and known errors - Identification of potential
- Detection of duplicate and documenting permanent solutions
recurring issues by users, - Prioritization based on the risk - Record an RFC for
service desk, and technical they pose implementation of a solution,
support staff - Should consider all but only if this can be justified in
- During major incident contributory causes, including terms of cost, risks, and benefits
management, identifying a risk causes that contributed to the - regularly re-assesses the status
that an incident could recur duration and impact of of known errors that have not
- Analysing information received incidents, as well as those that been resolved, including overall
from suppliers and partners led to the incidents happening impact on customers,
- Analysing information received - Analyse problems from the availability and cost of
from internal software perspective of all 4 Dimensions permanent resolutions, and
developers, test teams, and of service management effectiveness of workarounds
project teams.
Release Management
Purpose : make new and changed services and features available for use.

Release definition : A version of a service or other configuration item, or a

collection of configuration items, that is made available for use.

Concepts and Components :

• Release Plan : Components & Planification
• Release schedule: documents the timing for releases : negotiated and agreed with Customers and
other stakeholders
• Post-Implementation Review : Learning, Improvement and Helping ensure customer is satisfied
• Components :
• Infrastructure, Application/Software that work together to deliver new or modified functionality
• Training, Documentation
• Updated Processes and/or Tools
• Any other required components
• A/B or Blue/Green Releases : previous and new services coexist in mirrored production environments
(Agile/DevOps environment)
• Release with Feature Flag : specific features are released to individual users or groups in a controlled
way (Agile/DevOps environment)
Release management : 2 Modes

Traditional Mode (Waterfall)

Release and Deployment linked
(same process)
Deployment makes the functionality available

DevOps/Agile Mode
Release makes the functionality available
after Deployment in Production
Service Configuration management
Purpose : Ensure that accurate and reliable information about the
configuration of services, and the CIs that support them, is available when and
where it is needed. This includes information on how CIs are configured and
the relationships between them.

CI definition : Any component that needs to be managed in order to deliver an

IT service.

Simplified diagram :
Service Desk :

Purpose : Capture demand for incident resolution and service requests. It should also be
the entry point and single point of contact for the service provider with all of its users.

Acknowledge

Incidents

Classification Actions

Questions
Service Service Desk Agent’s Ownership
Desk

Demands
Service Desk : New Focus

Increased
Automatisation
CHANGE of FOCUS :
Support People & Business
+
rather than
Gradual removal Support technical issues
of the
Technical Debt Before : get broken technology fixed

After : Get various matters arranged, explained,

and coordinated
Vital part of any service operation
Service Desk :
Different models :
• Local or Central : tangible team, working in a single location, eventually in shifts
• Virtual : Agents located in multiple locations, geographically dispersed
Whatever the model is, the Function and the Value are the same
End to end support :
• Must be actively supported by its peer groups
• Has a major influence on user experience and how the service provider is perceived by the users.
Skills :
• may not need to be highly technical
• Practical understanding of the wider organization, of the business processes métiers and of the users
• Should be the empathetic and informed link between the service provider and its users
Change of environment, therefore of behavior :
• Increased automation, AI, robotic process automation (RPA), and chatbots
• Moving to provide more self-service logging and resolution directly via online portals and mobile
applications
• Impact on service desks is reduced phone contact, less low- level work, and a greater ability to focus
on excellent CX when personal contact is needed
Service Desk : Technology per Model

A centralized service desk requires supporting technologies, such as:

 Intelligent telephony systems, incorporating computer-telephony
integration, IVR (instant voice recognition), and automatic call
distribution (ACD)
 Workflow systems for routing and escalation
 Workforce management and resource planning systems
 A knowledge base
 Call recording and quality control
 Remote access tools
 Dashboard and monitoring tools
 Configuration management systems.

A virtual service desk requires supporting technologies :

 Requires more sophisticated supporting technology
 Involving more complex routing and escalation
 These solutions are often cloud- based. (SaaS)
Service Desk : Channels for access

Email
Chat Structured Walk-in
Mails
Live chat Physical
Internet : ChatBots presence
Portal Notifications
Mobile App
Catalogue SMS
Kowledge Social
Base Networks

Telephony : Social media

Forums
SVI, Conference Channels for access Public/Corp
Voice
recognition, … Contact
to Service Desk Peer-to-peer
support
Service Desk : Agent’s skills

Fully
Understand
& Diagnose

Analysis Accordingly to Emotional

Prioritisation Business
priority Intelligence
Of Incidents

Empathy Effective
Communication

Trained
Competent Act

Broad technical & Take

Business areas appropriate
actions to
resolve
Service Level Management

Purpose : Set clear business-based targets for service performance, so that the
delivery of a service can be properly assessed, monitored, and managed
against these targets.

Description :
• Involves the definition, documentation, and active management of service
levels. As services may involve a ‘bundle’ of varied and disparate activities, a
number of these will need to be combined and aggregated to reflect a
realistic view.
• Provides the end-to-end visibility of the organization’s services
• Requires pragmatic focus on the whole service and not simply its constituent
parts
Required skills and competencies :
• Business relationship management
• Business liaison
• Business analysis
• Commercial/supplier management
Service Level Management
Activities related to service levels :
• Definition
• Documentation
• Active management

To achieve the provision of the end-to-end visibility, the practice needs to :

• Establish a shared view of the services and target service levels with
customers
• Ensure the organization meets the defined service levels through the
collection, analysis, storage, and reporting of the relevant metrics for the
identified services
• Perform service reviews to ensure that the current set of services continues
to meet the needs of the organization and its customers
• Capture and report on service issues, including performance against defined
service levels.
Service Level Management : the SLA (Service Level Agreement)
SLA definition : A documented agreement between a service provider and a
customer that identifies both services required and the expected level of
service.

• Have long been used as a tool to measure the performance of services from
the customer’s point of view
• Have to be agreed in the wider business context
• Using SLAs may present many challenges; often they do not fully reflect the
wider service performance and the user experience
• Beware of the watermelon SLA effect : they reflect an IT view and NOT a
business one therefore they are often meaningless. They lead to customers’
unsatisfaction (RED) and on the supplier’s perspective all indicators are
GREEN. The only way to learn what these are is to find out directly from
customers.
Service Level Management : the SLA

4 key requirements for successful SLAs :

• Must be related to a defined ‘service’ in the service catalogue

• Should relate to defined outcomes and not simply operational metrics
• Should reflect an ‘agreement’
• Must be simply written and easy to understand and use for all parties
Service Level Management : Focus and Efforts

It requires focus and effort to engage and listen to the requirements, issues,
concerns, and daily needs of customers :
• Engagement is needed to understand and confirm the actual ongoing needs and
requirements of customers
• Listening is important as a relationship-building and trust-building activity, to show
customers that they are valued and understood. It will help the provider to move away
from the ‘solution mode’ to build new, more constructive partnerships.

• Great opportunity to build improved relationships and to focus on what really

needs to be delivered

• Also gives service delivery staff an experience-based understanding of the day-to-

day work that is done with their technology, enabling them to deliver a more
business-focused service.
Service Level Management : Sources

Collate and analyse information from a number of sources

• Once this feedback is gathered and collated for ongoing review, it can be used as
input to design suitable measurement and reporting models and practices
Sources of information :

Customer Engagement Customer feedback

- Initial listening
- Surveys
- Discovery - Key business related
- Capture information on which to measures
base metrics
- Measurement
Operational
- Ongoing progress discussions
- Consider asking customers some Metrics
simple open questions (see next
slide)
Business
Metrics
Service Level Management : Sample of open questions

• What does your work involve?

• How does technology help you?

• What are your key business times, areas, people, and activities?

• What differentiates a good day from a bad day for you?

• Which of these activities is most important to you?

• What are your goals, objectives, and measurements for this year?

• What is the best measure of your success?

• How do you base your opinion and evaluation of a service or IT/technology?

• How can we help you more?

Service Request Management

Purpose : support the agreed quality of a service by handling all pre-defined,

user-initiated service requests in an effective and user- friendly manner.

Service request definition : A request from a user or a user’s authorized

representative that initiates a service action which has been agreed as a
normal part of service delivery.

 Workflow of activities:

Initiation Approval Fulfilment

Management
Service Request Management : Types of service requests

• A request for a service delivery action

• For example, providing a report or replacing a toner cartridge
• A request for information
• For example, how to create a document or what the hours of the office are
• A request for provision of a resource or service
• For example, providing a phone or laptop to a user, or providing a virtual
server for a development team
• A request for access to a resource or service
• For example, providing access to a file or folder
Feedback, compliments, and complaints
• For example, complaints about a new interface or compliments to a support
team
Service Request Management :

• Fulfilment of service requests may include changes to services or their

components; usually these are standard changes.
• Service requests are a normal part of service delivery and are not a failure or
degradation of service, which are handled as incidents
• Since service requests are pre-defined and pre- agreed as a normal part of
service delivery, they can usually be formalized, with a clear, standard
procedure for initiation, approval, fulfilment, and management.
• Some have very simple workflows, such as a request for information.
• Others, such as the setup of a new employee, may be quite complex and
require contributions from many teams and systems for fulfilment.
• the steps to fulfil the request should be well-known and proven
Service Request Management : Guidelines

• Service requests and their fulfilment should be standardized and automated to the
greatest degree possible.
• Policies should be established regarding what service requests will be fulfilled with
limited or even no additional approvals so that fulfilment can be streamlined.
• The expectations of users regarding fulfilment times should be clearly set, based on
what the organization can realistically deliver.
• Opportunities for improvement should be identified and implemented to produce
faster fulfilment times and take advantage of automation.
• Policies and workflows should be included for the documenting and redirecting of
any requests that are submitted as service requests, but which should actually be
managed as incidents or changes.

Note : Some service requests can be completely fulfilled by automation from

submission to closure, allowing for a complete self-service experience
Service Request Management : Description

• Dependent upon well-designed processes and procedures, which are

operationalized through tracking and automation tools to maximize the efficiency
of the practice

Different types of service request will have different fulfilment workflows

• Both efficiency and maintainability will be improved if a limited number of

workflow models are identified.

• When new service requests need to be added to the service catalogue, existing
workflow models should be leveraged whenever possible.
 TECHNICAL
MANAGEMENT
PRACTICES
Technical management practices have been adapted from
technology management domains for service management
purposes by expanding or shifting their focus from technology
solutions to IT services.
Deployment Management
Purpose : move new or changed hardware, software,
documentation, processes, or any other component to live
environments.
Notes :
• It may also be involved in deploying components to other environments for testing or
staging.
• works closely with release management and change control , but is distinct

Approaches :
• Deployment modes : Phase or Big-Bang
• Push or Pull
• Continuous Delivery (CD) : Integration, Tests and Deployments are fully automated
 Deployment Management

Components that are available for deployment should be maintained in one or more
secure locations to ensure that they are not modified before deployment. These
locations are collectively referred to as :
• DML (Definitive Media Library) : for software and documentation
• DHS (Definitive Hardware Store) : for hardware components

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) : the IT organization must ensure that they

know what deployments are planned, and which have happened, to maintain a
controlled environment. In the Cloud terminology, it is called « Infrastructure as
a code »
Abbreviations and acronyms
Used in this presentation only, not in the exams!
Roles PBS product breakdown SU starting up a project
CA change authority structure General
CoE centre of excellence PFD product flow diagram mgmt management
PA project assurance PID project initiation Methods
documentation
PB project board PRINCE2® Projects In Controlled
PPD project’s product description Environments
PM project manager
RMA risk management approach MSP® Managing Successful
PSup project support
QMA quality management Programmes
TM team manager approach MoP® Management of Portfolios
Management products Processes M_o_R® Management of Risk
BC business case CP closing a project P3O® Project, Programme and
BMA benefits management CS controlling a stage Portfolio Offices
approach
DP directing a project P3M3® Project, Programme and
CCA change control approach Portfolio Management
IP initiating a project
CMA communication Maturity Model
management approach MP managing product delivery
SB managing a stage boundary
Slide: 143