CS847
Describe the key concepts of service relationships: Service consumption
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).
Describe the key concepts of service relationships: Service provision
Activities performed by an organization to provide services. 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. It may also include the supply of goods
Incident
An unplanned interruption to a service or reduction in the quality of a service.
Event
Any change of state that has significance for the management of a service or other configuration item.
Configuration item
Any component that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service.
IT asset
Any financially valuable component that can contribute to the delivery of an IT product or service.
warranty
Assurance that a product or service will meet agreed requirements. Warranty can be summarized as 'how the service performs' and can be used to determine whether a service is 'fit for use'. Warranty often relates to service levels aligned with the needs of service consumers. This may be based on a formal agreement, or it may be a marketing message or brand image. Warranty typically addresses such areas as the availability of the service, its capacity, levels of security, and continuity. A service may be said to provide acceptable assurance, or 'warranty', if all defined and agreed conditions are met
Describe the key concepts of creating value with services: Warranty
Assurance that a product or service will meet agreed requirements...'how the service performs' and can be used to determine whether a service is 'fit for use'. Warranty often relates to service levels aligned with the needs of service consumers. Warranty typically addresses such areas as the availability of the service, its capacity, levels of security and continuity. A service may be said to provide acceptable assurance, or 'warranty', if all defined and agreed conditions are met. Both utility and warranty are essential for a service to facilitate its desired outcomes and therefore help create value. For example, a recreational theme park may offer many exciting rides designed to deliver thrilling experiences for park visitors (utility), but if a significant number of the rides are frequently unavailable due to mechanical difficulties, the park is not fulfilling the warranty (it is not fit for use) and the consumers will not receive their expected value.
Explain the use of the guiding principles: Progress iteratively with feedback
Do not attempt 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, it is easier to maintain a sharper focus on each effort. Using feedback before, throughout, and after each iteration will ensure that actions are focused and appropriate, even if circumstances change.
Problem
A cause, or potential cause, of one or more incidents.
Describe the nature, use and interaction of the guiding principles
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. supporting successful actions and good decisions of all types and at all levels. 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. The guiding principles encourage and support organizations in continual improvement at all levels. 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. As well as being aware of the ITIL guiding principles, it is also important to recognize that they 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.
service
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.
Describe the key concepts of creating value with services: Risk
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. -two types of risk that are of concern to service consumers: -risks removed from a consumer by the service (part of the value proposition). These may include failure of the consumer's server hardware or lack of staff availability. In some cases, a service may only reduce a consumer's risks, but the consumer may determine that this reduction is sufficient to support the value proposition -risks imposed on a consumer by the service (risks of service consumption). An example of this would be a service provider ceasing to trade, or experiencing a security breach.
Known error
A problem that has been analyzed and has not been resolved
Value stream
A series of steps an organization undertakes to create and deliver products and services to consumers.
Value streams
A series of steps an organization undertakes to create and deliver products and services to consumers.
service management
A set of specialized organizational capabilities for enabling value for customers in the form of services.
Explain the use of the guiding principles: Start where you are
Do not start from scratch and build something new without considering what is already available to be leveraged. 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. The current state should be investigated and observed directly to make sure it is fully understood. Having a proper understanding of the current state of services and methods is important to selecting which elements to re-use, alter, or build upon. To apply this principle successfully, consider this advice: -Look at what exists as objectively as possible, using the customer or the desired outcome as the starting point. Are the elements of the current state fit for purpose and fit for use? -When examples of successful practices or services are found in the current state, determine if and how these can be replicated or expanded upon to achieve the desired state. In many, if not most, cases, leveraging what already exists will reduce the amount of work needed to transition from the current state to the desired state. -Apply your risk management skills. There are risks associated with re-using existing practices and processes, such as the continuation of old behaviours that are damaging to the service. There are also risks associated with putting something new in place, such as new procedures not being performed correctly. -Recognize that sometimes nothing from the current state can be re-used.
Explain the following ITIL practices in detail, excluding how they fit within the service value chain: Service request management (5.2.16)
Each service request may include one or more of the following: -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). 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 service requests 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. Regardless of the complexity, the steps to fulfil the request should be well-known and proven. This allows the service provider to agree times for fulfilment and to provide clear communication of the status of the request to users. Some service requests require authorization according to financial, information security, or other policies, while others may not need any. To be handled successfully, service request management should follow these guidelines: -Service requests and their fulfillment 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 fulfillment can be streamlined. -The expectations of users regarding fulfillment times should be clearly set, based on what the organization can realistically deliver. -Opportunities for improvement should be identified and implemented to produce faster fulfillment 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. Some service requests can be completely fulfilled by automation from submission to closure, allowing for a complete self-service experience. Examples include client software installation or provision of virtual servers. Service request management is 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, but 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.
Explain the use of the guiding principles: Focus on value
Everything that the organization does needs to map, directly or indirectly, to value for the stakeholders a service also contributes to v alue for the organization and other stakeholders. This value may come in various forms, such as revenue, customer loyalty, lower cost, or growth opportunities. The focus on value principle encompasses many perspectives, including the experience of customers and users. Applying the principle -Know how service consumers use each service Understand their expected outcomes, how each service contributes to these, and how the service consumers perceive the service provider -Encourage a focus on value among all staff Teach staff to be aware of who their customers are and to understand CX. -Focus on value during normal operational activity as well as during improvement initiatives The organization as a whole contributes to the value that the customer perceives -Include focus on value in every step of any improvement initiative Everybody involved in an improvement initiative needs to understand what outcomes the initiative is trying to facilitate
Explain the following ITIL practices in detail, excluding how they fit within the service value chain: Incident management (5.2.5)
Incident management can have an enormous impact on customer and user satisfaction, and on how customers and users perceive the service provider. 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. Organizations should design their incident management practice to provide appropriate management and resource allocation to different types of incident. Incidents with a low impact must be managed efficiently to ensure that they do not consume too many resources. Incidents with a larger impact may require more resources and more complex management. 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. Modern IT service management tools can 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. It is important that 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. Each of these should have a timestamp and information about the people involved, so that the people involved or interested can be kept informed. There may also be a need for good collaboration tools so that people working on an incident can collaborate effectively. Incidents may be diagnosed and resolved by people in many different groups, depending on the complexity of the issue or the incident type. All of these groups 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: -Some incidents will be resolved by the users themselves, using self-help. Use of specific self-help records should be captured for use in measurement and improvement activities. -Some incidents will be resolved by the service desk. -More complex incidents will usually be escalated to a support team for resolution. Typically, the routing is based on the incident category, which should help to identify the correct team. -Incidents can be escalated to suppliers or partners, who offer support for their products and services. The most complex incidents, and all major incidents, often require a temporary team to work together to identify the resolution. This team may include representatives of many stakeholders, including the service provider, suppliers, users, etc. In some extreme cases, disaster recovery plans may be invoked to resolve an incident. Disaster recovery is described in the service continuity management practice (section 5.2.12) Effective incident management often requires a high level of collaboration within and between teams. These teams may include the service desk, technical support, application support, and vendors. Collaboration can facilitate information-sharing and learning, as well as helping to solve the incident more efficiently and effectively.
Describe the key concepts of service relationships: Service relationship managemnet
Joint activities performed by a service provider and a service consumer to ensure continual value co-creation based on agreed and available service offerings.
Describe the purpose of each value chain activity: Engage
Key message The purpose of the engage value chain activity is to provide a good understanding of stakeholder needs, transparency, and continual engagement and good relationships with all stakeholders. The key inputs to this value chain activity are: -a product and service portfolio provided by plan -high-level demand for services and products provided by internal and external customers -detailed requirements for services and products provided by customers -requests and feedback from customers -incidents, service requests, and feedback from users -information on the completion of user support tasks from deliver and support -marketing opportunities from current and potential customers and users -cooperation opportunities and feedback provided by partners and suppliers -contract and agreement requirements from all value chain activities -knowledge and information about new and changed products and services from design and transition, and obtain/build -knowledge and information about third-party service components from suppliers and partners -product and service performance information from deliver and support -improvement initiatives from improve -improvement status reports from improve. The key outputs of this value chain activity are: -consolidated demands and opportunities for plan -product and service requirements for design and transition -user support tasks for deliver and support -improvement opportunities and stakeholders' feedback for improve -change or project initiation requests for obtain/build -contracts and agreements with external and internal suppliers and partners for design and transition, and obtain/build -knowledge and information about third-party service components for all value chain activities -service performance reports for customers.-
Describe the purpose of each value chain activity: Improve
Key message 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. The key inputs to this value chain activity are: -product and service performance information provided by deliver and support -stakeholders' feedback provided by engage -performance information and improvement opportunities provided by all value chain activities -knowledge and information about new and changed products and services from design and transition, and obtain/build -knowledge and information about third-party service components from engage. The key outputs of this value chain activity are: -improvement initiatives for all value chain activities -value chain performance information for plan and the governing body -improvement status reports for all value chain activities -contract and agreement requirements for engage -service performance information for design and transition.--
Explain the use of the guiding principles: Keep it simple and practical
Key message Always use the minimum number of steps to accomplish an objective. Outcome-based thinking should be used to produce practical solutions that deliver valuable outcomes. If a process, service, action, or metric fails to provide value or produce a useful outcome, then eliminate it. Although this principle may seem obvious, it is frequently ignored, resulting in overly complex methods of work that rarely maximize outcomes or minimize cost. 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. Instead, rules should be designed that can be used to handle exceptions generally. To apply this principle successfully, consider this advice: -Ensure value Every activity should contribute to the creation of value. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication It may seem harder to simplify, but it is often more effective. -Do fewer things, but do them better Minimizing activities to include only those with value for one or more stakeholders will allow more focus on the quality of those actions. -Respect the time of the people involved A process that is too complicated and bureaucratic is a poor use of the time of the people involved. -Easier to understand, more likely to adopt To embed a practice, make sure it is easy to follow. -Simplicity is the best route to achieving quick wins Whether in a project, or when improving daily operations activities, quick wins allow organizations to demonstrate progress and manage stakeholder expectations. Working in an iterative way with feedback will quickly deliver incremental value at regular intervals.
Describe the key concepts of service relationships: Service offering
Service providers present their services to consumers in the form of service offerings. 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. Service offerings may include: -goods to be supplied to a consumer (for example, a mobile phone). Goods are supposed to be transferred from the provider to the consumer, with the consumer taking the responsibility for their future use -access to resources granted or licensed to a consumer under agreed terms and conditions (for example, to the mobile network, or to the network storage). The resources remain under the provider's control and can be accessed by the consumer only during the agreed service consumption period -service actions performed to address a consumer's needs (for example, user support). These actions are performed by the service provider according to the agreement with the consumer.
Explain the use of the guiding principles: Optimize and automate
Key message Organizations must maximize the value of the work carried out by their human and technical resources. The four dimensions model (outlined in Chapter 3) provides a holistic view of the various constraints, resource types, and other areas that should be considered when designing, managing, or operating an organization. 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. However, technology should not always be relied upon without the capability of human intervention, as automation for automation's sake can increase costs and reduce organizational robustness and resilience. Optimization means to make something as effective and useful as it needs to be. Before an activity can be effectively automated, it should be optimized to whatever degree is possible and reasonable. It is essential that limits are set on the optimization of services and practices, as they exist within a set of constraints which may include financial limitations, compliance requirements, time constraints, and resource availability. To apply this principle successfully, consider this advice: -Simplify and/or optimize before automating Attempting to automate something that is complex or suboptimal is unlikely to achieve the desired outcome. Take time to map out the standard and repeating processes as far as possible, and streamline where you can (optimize). From there you can start to automate. -Define your metrics The intended and actual result of the optimization should be evaluated using an appropriate set of metrics. Use the same metrics to define the baseline and measure the achievements. Make sure that the metrics are outcome-based and focused on value. -Use the other guiding principles when applying this one When optimizing and automating, it is smart to follow the other principles as well: -Progress iteratively with feedback Iterative optimization and automation will make progress visible and increase stakeholder buy-in for future iterations. -Keep it simple and practical It is possible for something to be simple, but not optimized, so use these two principles together when selecting improvements. -Focus on value Selecting what to optimize and automate and how to do so should be based on what will create the best value for the organization. -Start where you are The technology already available in the organization may have features and functionalities that are currently untapped or under-utilized. Make use of what is already there to implement opportunities for optimization and automation quickly and economically.
Describe the four dimensions of service management: Organizations and people
Key message 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. As an example, it is useful to promote a culture of trust and transparency in an organization that encourages its members to raise and escalate issues and facilitates corrective actions before any issues have an impact on customers. Adopting the ITIL guiding principles can be a good starting point for establishing a healthy organizational culture (see section 4.3). The organizations and people dimension of a service covers roles and responsibilities, formal organizational structures, culture, and required staffing and competencies, all of which are related to the creation, delivery, and improvement of a service.
Describe the four dimensions of service management: Partners and suppliers
Key message 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. Relationships between organizations may involve various levels of integration and formality. This ranges from formal contracts with clear separation of responsibilities, to flexible partnerships where parties share common goals and risks, and collaborate to achieve desired outcomes. When it comes to using partners and suppliers, an organization's strategy should be based on its goals, culture, and business environment. Factors that may influence an organization's strategy when using suppliers include: -Strategic focus Some organizations may prefer to focus on their core competency and to outsource non-core supporting functions to third parties; others may prefer to stay as self-sufficient as possible, retaining full control over all important functions. -Corporate culture Some organizations have a historical preference for one approach over another. Longstanding cultural bias is difficult to change without compelling reasons. -Resource scarcity If a required resource or skillset is in short supply, it may be difficult for the service provider to acquire what is needed without engaging a supplier. -Cost concerns A decision may be influenced by whether the service provider believes that it is more economical to source a particular requirement from a supplier. -Subject matter expertise The service provider may believe that it is less risky to use a supplier that already has expertise in a required area, rather than trying to develop and maintain the subject matter expertise in house. -External constraints Government regulation or policy, industry codes of conduct, and social, political or legal constraints may impact an organization's supplier strategy. -Demand patterns Customer activity or demand for services may be seasonal or demonstrate high degrees of variability. These patterns may impact the extent to which organizations use external service providers to cope with variable demand.-
Describe the purpose of each value chain activity: Plan
Key message 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. The key inputs to this activity are: -policies, requirements, and constraints provided by the organization's governing body -consolidated demands and opportunities provided by engage -value chain performance information, improvement status reports, and improvement initiatives from improve -knowledge and information about new and changed products and services from design and transition, and obtain/build -knowledge and information about third-party service components from engage. The key outputs of this activity are: -strategic, tactical, and operational plans -portfolio decisions for design and transition -architectures and policies for design and transition -improvement opportunities for improve -a product and service portfolio for engage -contract and agreement requirements for engage.
Describe the interconnected nature of the service value chain and how this supports value streams (4.5
Service value chain The central element of the SVS is the service value chain, 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 Key message The six value chain activities are: plan improve engage design and transition obtain/build deliver and support. These activities represent the steps an organization takes in the creation of value. Each activity transforms inputs into outputs. These inputs can be demand from outside the value chain or outputs of other activities. All the activities are interconnected, with each activity receiving and providing triggers for further action. Although the high-level steps are universal, different products and clients need different streams of work. For example: -The development of a new application for a new client starts with initial engagement (pre-sale), then proceeds to business analysis, prototyping, the drawing up of agreements, development, testing, and eventually to release and support. -Changing an existing application to meet new requirements of existing clients does not include pre-sale and involves business analysis, development, testing, and support in a different way. -Fixing an error in a live application may be initiated in support, proceed with rolling back to a previous stable version (release), then moves to development, testing, and release of a fix. -Experiments with new or existing applications to expand the target audience may start with innovation planning and prototyping, then proceed to development, and eventually to a pilot release for a limited group of users to test their perception of the changes made. These are examples of value streams: they combine practices and value chain activities in various ways to improve products and services and increase potential value for the consumers and the organization.
Explain the use of the guiding principles: Think and work holistically
No service, or element used to provide a service, stands alone. 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. 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. Taking a holistic approach to service management includes establishing an understanding of how all the parts of an organization work together in an integrated way. It requires end-to-end visibility of how demand is captured and translated into outcomes. In a complex system, the alteration of one element can impact others and, where possible, these impacts need to be identified, analysed and planned for Applying the principle -Recognize the complexity of the systems Different levels of complexity require different heuristics for decision-making. Applying methods and rules designed for a simple system can be ineffective or even harmful in a complex system, where relationships between components are complicated and change more frequently. -Collaboration is key to thinking and working holistically If the right mechanisms are put in place for all relevant stakeholders to collaborate in a timely manner, it will be possible to address any issue holistically without being unduly delayed. -Where possible, look for patterns in the needs of and interactions between system elements Draw on knowledge in each area to identify what is essential for success, and which relationships between elements influence the outcomes. With this information, needs can be anticipated, standards can be set, and a holistic view point can be achieved. -Automation can facilitate working holistically Where the opportunity and sufficient resources are available, automation can support end-to-end visibility for the organization and provide an efficient means of integrated management.
Explain the following ITIL practices in detail, excluding how they fit within the service value chain: Problem management (5.2.8)
Problem management involves three distinct phases, as shown in Figure 5.23. Problem identification activities identify and log problems. These include: -performing trend analysis of incident records -detection of duplicate and recurring issues by users, service desk, and technical support staff during major incident management, identifying a risk that an incident could recur a-nalysing information received from suppliers and partners -analysing information received from internal software developers, test teams, and project teams. Other sources of information can also lead to problems being identified. Problem control activities include problem analysis, and documenting workarounds and known errors. Problems are prioritized for analysis based on the risk that they pose, and are managed as risks based on their potential impact and probability. It is not essential to analyse every problem; it can be more valuable to make significant progress on the highest-priority problems than to investigate every minor problem that the organization is aware of. Incidents typically have many interrelated causes, and the relationships between them can be complex. Problem control should consider all contributory causes, including causes that contributed to the duration and impact of incidents, as well as those that led to the incidents happening. It is important to analyse problems from the perspective of all four dimensions of service management. For example, an incident that was caused by inaccurate documentation may require not only a correction to that documentation but also training and awareness for support personnel, suppliers, and users. When a problem cannot be resolved quickly, it is often useful to find and document a workaround for future incidents, based on an understanding of the problem. Workarounds are documented in problem records. This can be done at any stage; it doesn't need to wait for analysis to be complete. If a workaround has been documented early in problem control, then this should be reviewed and improved after problem analysis has been completed. Definition: Workaround 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. 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. For other problems, a way to fix the error should be found. This is a part of error control. Error control activities manage known errors, which are problems where initial analysis has been completed; it usually means that faulty components have been identified. Error control also includes identification of potential permanent solutions which may result in a change request for implementation of a solution, but only if this can be justified in terms of cost, risks, and benefits. Error control regularly re-assesses the status of known errors that have not been resolved, including overall impact on customers, availability and cost of permanent resolutions, and effectiveness of workarounds. The effectiveness of workarounds should be evaluated each time a workaround is used, as the workaround may be improved based on the assessment. Problem management activities are very closely related to incident management. The practices need to be designed to work together within the value chain. Activities from these two practices may complement each other (for example, identifying the causes of an incident is a problem management activity that may lead to incident resolution), but they may also conflict (for example, investigating the cause of an incident may delay actions needed to restore service). Examples of interfaces between problem management, risk management, change enablement, knowledge management, and continual improvement are as follows: -Problem management activities can be organized as a specific case of risk management: they 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. -Implementation of problem resolution is often outside the scope of problem management. Problem management typically initiates resolution via change enablement and participates in the post-implementation review; however, approving and implementing changes is out of scope for the problem management practice. -Output from the problem management practice includes information and documentation concerning workarounds and known errors. In addition, problem management may utilize information in a knowledge management system to investigate, diagnose, and resolve problems. -Problem management activities can identify improvement opportunities in all four dimensions of service management. Solutions can in some cases be treated as improvement opportunities, so they are included in a continual improvement register (CIR), and continual improvement techniques are used to prioritize and manage them, sometimes as part of a product backlog.
Explain the following ITIL practices in detail, excluding how they fit within the service value chain: Service desk (5.2.14)
Service desks provide a clear path for users to report issues, queries, and requests, and have them acknowledged, classified, owned, and actioned. How this practice is managed and delivered may vary from a physical team of people on shift work to a distributed mix of people connected virtually, or automated technology and bots. The function and value remain the same, regardless of the model. With increased automation and the gradual removal of technical debt, the focus of the service desk is to provide support for 'people and business' rather than simply technical issues. Service desks are increasingly being used to get various matters arranged, explained, and coordinated, rather than just to get broken technology fixed, and the service desk has become a vital part of any service operation. A key point to be understood is that, no matter how efficient the service desk and its people are, there will always be issues that need escalation and underpinning support from other teams. Support and development teams need to work in close collaboration with the service desk to present and deliver a 'joined up' approach to users and customers. The service desk may not need to be highly technical, although some are. However, even if the service desk is fairly simple, it still plays a vital role in the delivery of services, and must be actively supported by its peer groups. It is also essential to understand that the service desk has a major influence on user experience and how the service provider is perceived by the users. Another key aspect of a good service desk is its practical understanding of the wider business context, the business processes, and the users. Service desks add value not simply through the transactional acts of, for example, incident logging, but also by understanding and acting on the business context of this action. The service desk should be the empathetic and informed link between the service provider and its users. With increased automation, AI, robotic process automation (RPA), and chatbots, service desks are moving to provide more self-service logging and resolution directly via online portals and mobile applications. The 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.
Describe the ITIL service value system
Service value system overview For service management to function properly, it needs to work as a system. The ITIL SVS describes the inputs to this system (opportunity and demand), the elements of this system (organizational governance, service management, continual improvement, and the organization's capabilities and resources), and the outputs (achievement of organizational objectives and value for the organization, its customers, and other stakeholders). Key message 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. The key inputs to the SVS are opportunity and demand. 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 outcome of the SVS is value, that is, 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 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. 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 structure of the SVS is shown in Figure 4.1. The left side of the figure shows opportunity and demand feeding into the SVS from both internal and external sources. The right side shows value created for the organization, its customers, and other stakeholders.
Change
The addition, modification, or removal of anything that could have a direct or indirect effect on services.
Describe the four dimensions of service management: Value streams and processes
The fourth dimension of service management is value streams and processes. Like the other dimensions, this dimension is applicable to both the SVS in general, and to specific products and services. In both contexts it defines the activities, workflows, controls, and procedures needed to achieve agreed objectives. Key message 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 The service value chain operating model is generic and in practice it can follow different patterns. These patterns within the value chain operation are called value streams. Key message A process is a set of activities that transform inputs to outputs. 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. Definition: Process 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. When applied to products and services, this dimension helps to answer the following questions, critical to service design, delivery, and improvement: -What is the generic delivery model for the service, and how does the service work? -What are the value streams involved in delivering the agreed outputs of the service? -Who, or what, performs the required service actions?-
utility
The functionality offered by a product or service to meet a particular need. 'what the service does' and 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
Describe the key concepts of creating value with services: Utility
The functionality offered by a product or service to meet a particular need.... 'what the service does' and 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. Utility creates value and services by supporting the prlerformance of the consumer or by removing constraints from the consumer. Both utility and warranty are essential for a service to facilitate its desired outcomes and therefore help create value. For example, a recreational theme park may offer many exciting rides designed to deliver thrilling experiences for park visitors (utility), but if a significant number of the rides are frequently unavailable due to mechanical difficulties, the park is not fulfilling the warranty (it is not fit for use) and the consumers will not receive their expected value.
Describe the key concepts of creating value with services: Organization
The purpose of an organization is to create value for stakeholders.
Recall the purpose of the following ITIL practices: IT asset management (5.2.6)
The purpose of the IT asset management practice is to plan and manage the full lifecycle of all IT assets, to help the organization: -maximize value -control costs -manage risks -support decision-making about purchase, re-use, retirement, and disposal of assets -meet regulatory and contractual requirements. Definition: IT asset Any financially valuable component that can contribute to the delivery of an IT product or service. The scope of IT asset management typically includes all software, hardware, networking, cloud services, and client devices. In some cases, it may also include non-IT assets such as buildings or information where these have a financial value and are required to deliver an IT service. IT asset management can include operational technology (OT), including devices that are part of the Internet of Things. These are typically devices that were not traditionally thought of as IT assets, but that now include embedded computing capability and network connectivity.
Recall the purpose of the following ITIL practices: Change enablement (5.2.4)
The purpose of the change enablement practice is to maximize the number of successful service and product changes by ensuring that risks have been properly assessed, authorizing changes to proceed, and managing the change schedule. Definition: Change The addition, modification, or removal of anything that could have a direct or indirect effect on services. The scope of change enablement is defined by each organization. It will typically include all IT infrastructure, applications, documentation, processes, supplier relationships, and anything else that might directly or indirectly impact a product or service. It is important to distinguish change enablement from organizational change management. Organizational change management manages the people aspects of changes to ensure that improvements and organizational transformation initiatives are implemented successfully. Change enablement is usually focused on changes in products and services. Change enablement 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. All changes should be assessed by people who are able to understand the risks and the expected benefits; the changes must then be authorized before they are deployed. This assessment, however, should not introduce unnecessary delay
Recall the purpose of the following ITIL practices: Continual improvement (5.1.2
The purpose of the continual improvement practice is to align the organization's practices and services with changing business needs through the ongoing improvement of products, services, and practices, or any element involved in the management of products and services. Included in the scope of the continual improvement practice is the development of improvement-related methods and techniques and the propagation of a continual improvement culture across the organization, in alignment with the organization's overall strategy. The commitment to and practice of continual improvement 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.
Explain the following ITIL practices in detail, excluding how they fit within the service value chain: Continual improvement (5.1.2) including: - The continual improvement model (4.6, fig 4.3)
The purpose of the continual improvement practice is to align the organization's practices and services with changing business needs through the ongoing improvement of products, services, and practices, or any element involved in the management of products and services. Included in the scope of the continual improvement practice is the development of improvement-related methods and techniques and the propagation of a continual improvement culture across the organization, in alignment with the organization's overall strategy. The commitment to and practice of continual improvement 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. Key activities that are part of continual improvement practices include: -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. There are many methods, models, and techniques that can be employed for making improvements. Different types of improvement may call for different improvement methods. For example, some improvements may be best organized into a multi-phase project, while others may be more appropriate as a single quick effort. The ITIL SVS includes the continual improvement model (see Figure 4.3), which can be applied to any type of improvement, from high-level organizational changes to individual services and configuration items (CIs). The model is described in section 4.6. Continual improvement Continual improvement takes place in all areas of the organization and at all levels, from strategic to 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 ITIL continual improvement model can be used as a high-level guide to support improvement initiatives. Use of the model increases the likelihood that ITSM initiatives will be successful, puts a strong focus on customer value, and 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.
Describe the purpose of each value chain activity: Deliver & support
The purpose of the deliver and support value chain activity is to ensure that services are delivered and supported according to agreed specifications and stakeholders' expectations. The key inputs to this activity are: -new and changed products and services provided by design and transition -service components provided by obtain/build -improvement initiatives provided by improve -improvement status reports from improve -user support tasks provided by engage -knowledge and information about new and changed service components and services from design and transition, and obtain/build -knowledge and information about third-party service components from engage. The key outputs of this activity are: -services delivered to customers and users -information on the completion of user support tasks for engage -product and service performance information for engage and improve -improvement opportunities for improve -contract and agreement requirements for engage -change requests for obtain/build -service performance information for design and transition.
Recall the purpose of the following ITIL practices: Deployment management (5.3.1)
The purpose of the deployment management practice is to move new or changed hardware, software, documentation, processes, or any other component to live environments. It may also be involved in deploying components to other environments for testing or staging. Deployment management works closely with release management and change enablement, but is a separate practice. In some organizations the term 'provisioning' is used to describe the deployment of infrastructure, and deployment is only used to mean software deployment, but in this case the term deployment is used to mean both
Describe the purpose of each value chain activity: Design & transition
The purpose of the design and transition value chain activity is to ensure that products and services continually meet stakeholder expectations for quality, costs, and time to market. The key inputs to this activity are: -portfolio decisions provided by plan -architectures and policies provided by plan -product and service requirements provided by engage -improvement initiatives provided by improve -improvement status reports from improve -service performance information provided by deliver and support, and improve -service components from obtain/build -knowledge and information about third-party service components from engage -knowledge and information about new and changed products and services from obtain/build -contracts and agreements with external and internal suppliers and partners provided by engage. The key outputs of this activity are: -requirements and specifications for obtain/build -contract and agreement requirements for engage -new and changed products and services for deliver and support -knowledge and information about new and changed products and services to all value chain activities -performance information and improvement opportunities for improve.-
Recall the purpose of the following ITIL practices: Incident management (5.2.5)
The purpose of the incident management practice is to minimize the negative impact of incidents by restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible. Definition: Incident An unplanned interruption to a service or reduction in the quality of a service. Incident management can have an enormous impact on customer and user satisfaction, and on how customers and users perceive the service provider. 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.
Recall the purpose of the following ITIL practices: Information security management (5.1.3)
The purpose of the information security management practice is to protect the information needed by the organization to conduct its business. This includes understanding and managing risks to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information, as well as other aspects of information security such as authentication (ensuring someone is who they claim to be) and non-repudiation (ensuring that someone can't deny that they took an action).
Recall the purpose of the following ITIL practices: Monitoring and event management (5.2.7)
The purpose of the monitoring and event management practice is to systematically observe services and service components, and record and report selected changes of state identified as events. This practice identifies and prioritizes infrastructure, services, business processes, and information security events; it also establishes the appropriate response to those events, and conditions that indicate potential faults or incidents. Definition: Event Any change of state that has significance for the management of a service or other configuration item (CI). Events are typically recognized through notifications created by an IT service, CI, or monitoring tool. The monitoring and event management practice manages events throughout their lifecycle to prevent, minimize, or eliminate their negative impact on the business.
Describe the purpose of each value chain activity: Obtain/build
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. The key inputs to this activity are: -architectures and policies provided by plan -contracts and agreements with external and internal suppliers and partners provided by engage -goods and services provided by external and internal suppliers and partners -requirements and specifications provided by design and transition -improvement initiatives provided by improve -improvement status reports from improve -change or project initiation requests provided by engage -change requests provided by deliver and support -knowledge and information about new and changed products and services from design and transition -knowledge and information about third-party service components from engage. The key outputs of this activity are: -service components for deliver and support -service components for design and transition -knowledge and information about new and changed service components to all value chain activities -contract and agreement requirements for engage -performance information and improvement opportunities for improve.
Recall the purpose of the following ITIL practices: Problem management (5.2.8
The purpose of the problem management practice is to reduce the likelihood and impact of incidents by identifying actual and potential causes of incidents, and managing workarounds and known errors. Definitions -Problem -A cause, or potential cause, of one or more incidents. -Known error -A problem that has been analyzed but has not been resolved.
Recall the purpose of the following ITIL practices: Relationship management (5.1.9)
The purpose of the relationship management practice is to establish and nurture the links between the organization and its stakeholders at strategic and tactical levels. It includes the identification, analysis, monitoring, and continual improvement of relationships with and between stakeholders.
Recall the purpose of the following ITIL practices: Release management (5.2.9)
The purpose of the release management practice is to make new and changed services and features available for use. Definition: Release A version of a service or other configuration item, or a collection of configuration items, that is made available for use. A release may comprise many different infrastructure and application components that work together to deliver new or changed functionality. It may also include documentation, training (for users or IT staff), updated processes or tools, and any other components that are required. Each component of a release may be developed by the service provider or procured from a third party and integrated by the service provider.
Recall the purpose of the following ITIL practices: Service configuration management (5.2.11)
The purpose of the service configuration management practice is to 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. Definition: Configuration item Any component that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service. Service configuration management collects and manages information about a wide variety of CIs, typically including hardware, software, networks, buildings, people, suppliers, and documentation. Services are also treated as CIs, and configuration management helps the organization to understand how the many CIs that contribute to each service work together. Figure 5.29 is a simplified diagram showing how multiple CIs contribute to an IT service. Configuration management provides information on the CIs that contribute to each service and their relationships: how they interact, relate, and depend on each other to create value for customers and users. This includes information about dependencies between services. This high-level view is often called a service map or service model, and forms part of the service architecture.
Recall the purpose of the following ITIL practices: Service desk (5.2.14)
The purpose of the service desk practice is to 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. Service desks provide a clear path for users to report issues, queries, and requests, and have them acknowledged, classified, owned, and actioned. How this practice is managed and delivered may vary from a physical team of people on shift work to a distributed mix of people connected virtually, or automated technology and bots. The function and value remain the same, regardless of the model. With increased automation and the gradual removal of technical debt, the focus of the service desk is to provide support for 'people and business' rather than simply technical issues. Service desks are increasingly being used to get various matters arranged, explained, and coordinated, rather than just to get broken technology fixed, and the service desk has become a vital part of any service operation.
Recall the purpose of the following ITIL practices: Service level management (5.2.15)
The purpose of the service level management practice is to set clear business-based targets for service levels, and to ensure that delivery of services is properly assessed, monitored, and managed against these targets. Definition: Service level One or more metrics that define expected or achieved service quality. Service level management provides the end-to-end visibility of the organization's services. To achieve this, service level management: -establishes a shared view of the services and target service levels with customers -ensures the organization meets the defined service levels through the collection, analysis, storage, and reporting of the relevant metrics for the identified services -performs service reviews to ensure that the current set of services continues to meet the needs of the organization and its customers -captures and reports on service issues, including performance against defined service levels. The skills and competencies for service level management include relationship management, business liaison, business analysis, and commercial/supplier management. The practice requires pragmatic focus on the whole service and not simply its constituent parts; for example, simple individual metrics (such as percentage system availability) should not be taken to represent the whole service.
Recall the purpose of the following ITIL practices: Service request management (5.2.16)
The purpose of the service request management practice is to support the agreed quality of a service by handling all pre-defined, user-initiated service requests in an effective and user-friendly manner. Definition: Service request 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. Each service request may include one or more of the following: -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). 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 service requests 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. Regardless of the complexity, the steps to fulfil the request should be well-known and proven. This allows the service provider to agree times for fulfilment and to provide clear communication of the status of the request to users.
Recall the purpose of the following ITIL practices: Supplier management (5.1.13)
The purpose of the supplier management practice is to ensure that the organization's suppliers and their performances are managed appropriately to support the seamless provision of quality products and services. This includes creating closer, more collaborative relationships with key suppliers to uncover and realize new value and reduce the risk of failure.
sponsor
The role that authorizes budget for service consumption. Can also be used to describe an organization or individual that provides financial or other support for an initiative.
customer
The role that defines the requirements for a service and takes responsibility for the outcomes of service consumption.
user
The role that uses services.
Describe the four dimensions of service management: Information and technology
The second dimension of service management is information and technology. As with the other three dimensions, information and technology applies both to service management and to the services being managed. Key message 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. The technologies that support service management include, but are not limited to, workflow management systems, knowledge bases, inventory systems, communication systems, and analytical tools. Service management increasingly benefits from developments in technology. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other cognitive computing solutions are used at all levels, from strategic planning and portfolio optimization to system monitoring and user support. The use of mobile platforms, cloud solutions, remote collaboration tools, automated testing, and deployment solutions has become common practice among service providers. In the context of a specific IT service, this dimension includes the information created, managed, and used in the course of service provision and consumption, and the technologies that support and enable that service. The specific information and technologies depend on the nature of the services being provided and usually cover all levels of IT architecture, including applications, databases, communication systems, and their integrations. Another key consideration in this dimension is how information is exchanged between different services and service components. The information architecture of the various services needs to be well understood and continually optimized, taking into account such criteria as the availability, reliability, accessibility, timeliness, accuracy, and relevance of the information provided to users and exchanged between services.
Explain the use of the guiding principles: Collaborate and promote visibility
When initiatives involve the right people in the correct roles, efforts benefit from better buy-in, more relevance (because better information is available for decision-making) and increased likelihood of long-term success Applying the principle -Collaboration does not mean consensus -Communicate in a way the audience can hear In an attempt to bring different stakeholders into the loop, many organizations use very traditional methods of communication, or they use the same method for all communication. -Decisions can only be made on visible data
Describe the key concepts of creating value with services: Cost
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 (a part of the value proposition). This may include costs of staff, technology, and other resources, which the consumer does not need to provide -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. Both types of cost are considered when the consumer assesses the value which they expect the service to create
Describe the key concepts of creating value with services: Value
the perceived benefits, usefulness, and importance of something.