eLearning Study Notes

7/28/2019 eLearning Study Notes

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Study Notes(Exam Preparation for ITIL 2011 edition Foundation e-Learning)


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ITIL e-Learning Courses Crown copyright 2012. Reproduced under license from the Cabinet Office. 2

Introduction to Study Notes

This Study Notes, in PDF printable format, is designed specially for students with the

preference of reading from a printed document. It provides you with a quick review as

well as an in-depth look at the e-Learning content. The first section gives you a

birds eye view of all the ITIL processes and their relationships. The second section

goes through each of the process in detail, highlighting their goals and objectives,

concepts, roles and more.


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Contents

IntroductionOverview

Governance and Practice

IT Service Management

Service Lifecycle

5

7

9

16

ServiceStrategyIntroduction

Service Strategy Process

Service Portfolio Management

Demand Management

Financial Management

Business Relationship Management

19

24

25

28

29

31

ServiceDesignIntroduction

Design Coordination

Service Level Management

Service Catalog Management

Capacity Management

Availability Management

IT Service Continuity Management

Information Security management

Supplier Management

33

45

47

54

57

60

64

67

71


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ServiceTransitionIntroduction

Process Overview

Transition Planning and Support

Change Management

Service Asset and Configuration Management

Release and Deployment Management

Knowledge Management

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77

78

80

89

92

97

ServiceOperationIntroduction

Definitions

Event Management

Incident Management

Request Fulfillment

Access Management

Problem Management

Service Operation Overview of Functions

Service Desk

Technical Management and Applications Management

IT Operations Management

Service Operation Processes

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101

102

104

111

113

115

119

120

123

124

125

ContinualServiceImprovementIntroduction

Models and Processes

Measurements

Activities and Concepts

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128

133

135


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Introduction to ITIL

Overview

Business and IT

Businesses today are increasingly dependent upon Information Technology (IT) tosatisfy their corporate aims and meet their customers needs. The necessity todeliver and consume information has made information a value in itself. InformationTechnology has become a business. IT also helps to increase efficiency andeffectiveness of businesses. It also enables new types of businesses.

The concept effectiveness and efficiency are seen throughout the Service Lifecycle.

Effectiveness can be viewed as doing the right things

Efficiency can be viewed as doing things right

What is IT?

The definition of Information Technology (IT) changes with context:

IT as an Organization: As an internal unit or function of the enterprise or commercialservice provider. It is an organization with its own set of capabilities and resources.There are three types of Service Providers:

Internal Service Provider: A Service Provider that is part of the sameOrganization as its Customer.

Shared Services Unit: A Service Provider that caters to more than one businessunits to minimize costs and risks (e.g. network, security, scripting, andmigration).

External Service Provider: A Service Provider that is part of a differentOrganization as its Customer. Also known as external supplier (e.g. outsourcingvendors).

IT as a Component: As components of systems and processes, IT systems,applications and infrastructure are components or sub-assemblies of a larger product.

They enable or are embedded in processes and service.

IT as a Service: IT may be a shared category of services utilized by business or bybusiness units. These services are typically IT applications and infrastructure that arepackaged and offered by internal IT organizations or by external service providers. ITcosts are treated as business expenses.

IT as an Asset: As capabilities and resources that provide a dependable stream ofbenefit, IT is a category of business assets that provide a stream of benefits for theirowners. IT costs are treated as investments.


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Services: IT as a Service

Services are a mean of delivering value to customers by facilitating the outcomescustomers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks.

Outcomes are possible from the performance of tasks and are limited by thepresence of certain constraints.

Services facilitate outcomes by enhancing the performance and by reducing the gripof constraints.

Outcome is defined as the result of carrying out an activity, following a process, ordelivering an IT service etc. The term is used to refer to intended results, as well asto actual results.

An outcome-based definition of service moves IT organizations beyond business-ITalignment towards business-IT integration.

Internal dialogue and discussion on the meaning of services is an elementary steptowards alignment and integration with a customer's business.

Customers seek outcomes but do not wish to have accountability or ownership of allthe associated costs and risks.

Services: IT as an Organization (Service Provider)

There are three types of Service Providers:

Internal Service Provider: A Service Provider that is part of the same Organization asits Customer.

Shared Services Unit: A Service Provider that caters to more than one business unitsto minimize costs and risks (e.g. network, security, scripting, and migration).

External Service Provider: A Service Provider that is part of a different Organizationas its Customer. Also known as external supplier (e.g. outsourcing vendors).

Business / IT Alignment (BITA)

The IT organization must ensure its IT Services are aligned to the requirements ofthe business. This area is called Business IT Alignment (BITA). The businessrequires IT services to continuously support their business needs.


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Governance and Practice

Governance and practices serve as guidelines and benchmarks that IT organizations

can adopt to ensure that their business performance remains competitive and areperformed accordingly.

Governance is a platform used to ensure proper implementation of policies andstrategy. It defines roles, responsibilities and standards that should be applied in thebusiness environment. There are two important types of governance in IT:

Corporate Governance: The ethical behavior by directors or others in thecreation and preservation of wealth for all stakeholders.The Sarbanes-OxleyAct (SOX) of 2002 is an example of measures that has been taken to avoidfraudulent behavior by corporate giants.

IT Governance: An integral part of corporate governance that ensures that the

organizations IT sustains and extends the organizations strategies andobjectives. There are rules and regulations that IT must comply to and IT isexpected to utilize as well as create additional value by using existing resources.

It is important to distinguish between Governance and Management:

Governance is about maintaining proper policy and procedures to ensure thatIT is doing the right things.

Management is about doing things right.

Good practices encourage service providers to maintain a competitive advantagewith competitors. Organizations can learn, enhance or develop their services to meetthe benchmark set by best practices of competitors.

Best Practice is the best identified approach to a situation based on observationfrom effective organizations in similar business circumstances. ITIL is an exampleof Best Practice.


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Service Management Practice

The best Service Management practices can be initiated or/and used by enablers ofthe IT organization. Enablers play an important role in determining the practice that isfit for purpose.

Several drivers and scenarios will influence the way the sources can be applied, forexample, existing commitments to customers or compliancy regulations:

External Drivers: Substitutes, regulators and customers

External Scenarios: Competition, compliance and commitment.

The sources of best Service Management practices include:

Standards (e.g. ISO/IEC 20000)

Industry practices (e.g. ITIL, CobiT, PRINCE2, Six Sigma) Academic research (e.g. experts, researchers)

Training and education (e.g. internal effort)

Internal experience (a.k.a. propriety knowledge)


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IT Service Management

Services are a mean of delivering value to customers by facilitating the outcomes

customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks.

Service Managementis defined asa set of specialized organizational capabilitiesfor providing value to customers in the form of services. These capabilities includefunctions and processes outlined in the strategy, design, transition, operation andcontinual improvement phases. The service management creates value from theorganizations capabilities.

IT servic e managem ent (ITSM)is defined as "the implementation and managementof quality IT services that meet the needs of the business". IT service management isperformed by IT service providers through an appropriate mix of people, process andinformation technology.

IT service provideris a service provider that provides IT services to internal orexternal customers.

Stakeholders in Service Management

Stakeholders have an interest in an organization, project or service etc. and may beinterested in the activities, targets, resources or deliverables from servicemanagement.

Within the service provider organization there are many different stakeholdersincluding the functions, groups and teams that deliver the services.

There are also many stakeholders external to the service provider organization, forexample:

Suppl iers

Third parties responsible for supplying goods or services that are required to deliverIT services. Examples of suppliers include commodity hardware and softwarevendors, network and telecom providers, and outsourcing organizations.

Customers

Those who buy goods or services.The customer of an IT service provider is the person or group who defines andagrees the service level targets. This term is also sometimes used informally to mean

"user" for example, 'This is a customer-focused organization.'

Users

Those who use the service on a day-to-day basis.Users are distinct from customers, as some customers do not use the IT servicedirectly.


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Internal and External customers

There is a difference between customers who work in the same organization as theIT service provider, and customers who work for another organization. They aredistinguished as follows:

In ternal custom ers

These are customers who work for the same business as the IT service provider. Forexample, the marketing department is an internal customer of the IT organizationbecause it uses IT services. The head of marketing and the chief information officerboth report to the chief executive officer. If IT charges for its services, the money paidis an internal transaction in the organizations accounting system, not real revenue.

External custom ers

These are customers who work for a different business from the IT service provider.External customers typically purchase services from the service provider by means of

a legally binding contract or agreement.

Internal and External Services

Internal servicesare delivered between departments or business units in the sameorganization.

External serv icesare delivered to external customers.

The reason for differentiating between internal and external services is to differentiatebetween services that support an internal activity, and those that actually achievebusiness outcomes.

Deal ing w ith external customers

Many IT organizations who traditionally provide services to internal customers findthat they are dealing directly with external customers because of the online servicesthat they provide. It is important that the service strategy clearly identifies how the ITorganization interacts with these customers, and who owns and manages therelationship with them.


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Benefits of IT Service Management

IT Service Management is able to produce the following results:

Improve quality service provision

Cost-justifiable service quality

Service that meet business, customer and user demands

Integrated centralized processes

Everyone knows their role and knows their responsibilities in service provision

In order to determine whether an IT Service Management is necessary, anorganization must first answer the following questions:

Do the IT services align with the business requirements?

Are the customers satisfied with the IT services?

Are the customers provided with IT services that match THEIR needs?

Is there any risk that the customers will shop elsewhere?

Are there appropriate levels of security?

How would the IT department fare in an audit?

What would happen to the IT services in a contingency situation?

Is the IT department proactive or reactive?

Are changes requested by the business side of the organization able to be

accommodated?

Challenges

Organizational capabilities are shaped by the challenges they are expected toovercome. Service Management capabilities are similarly influenced by the followingchallenges that distinguish services from other systems of value-creation, such asmanufacturing, mining and agriculture:

Intangible nature of the output, difficult to measure, control, and validate (orprove)

Demand is tightly-coupled with customer's assets

High level of contact for producers and consumers of services

The perishable nature of service output and service capacity


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ITIL

ITIL (the Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is concerned with matching

IT service quality with customer requirements. The framework focuses on achievingbusiness efficiency in the use of information systems to deliver high quality services.

ITIL was originally developed in the 1980s by the Central Computers andTelecommunication Agency (CCTA) of the British Government, now known as theOffice Government Commerce (OGC).

In 1991, the Information Technology Infrastructure Management Forum was set up inthe United Kingdom as a platform to promote exchange of information between ITorganizations. This forum was later renamed Information Technology ServiceManagement Forum (ITSMF).

ITIL offers a body of knowledge to achieve the standards of ISO/IEC 20000.

In 2005, OGC started to develop ITIL v3 which now consists of 5 core booksinstead of over 30 books used for earlier versions. In 2011, all ITIL books wereupdated.

Service Strategy

Service Design

Service Transition

Service Operation

Continual Service Improvement

Why is ITIL successful?

ITIL embraces a practical approach to service by adapting a common framework ofpractices that unite all areas of IT service provision towards a single aim that ofdelivering value to the business.

Vendor-neutral

ITIL service management practices are applicable in any IT organization becausethey are not based on any particular technology platform or industry type. ITIL isowned by the UK government and is not tied to any commercial proprietary practiceor solution.

Non-prescr ipt iveITIL offers robust, mature and time tested practices that have applicability to all typesof service organizations. It continues to be useful and relevant in public and privatesectors, internal and external service providers, small, medium and large enterprises,and within any technical environment.

Best pract ice

ITIL represents the learning experiences and thought leadership of the worlds best-in-class service providers.


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ITSM Process Diagram

A process is said to be in effect when one or more inputs are transformed into

outputs. For inputs to be processed into outputs, enablers and control are essential.

A process includes all of the roles, responsibilities, tools, metrics and managementcontrols required to reliably deliver the outputs.

Each process should be owned by a Process Owner who is responsible for theprocess, its improvements and ensure that the process meets its objectives.

Each process may also have a Process Manager who is responsible for theoperational management of a process. There may be several managers for the oneprocess and they will report to the process owner.

Process Enablersare the process assets, resources and capabilities.

Process Control is defined as the activity of planning and regulating a process, withthe objectives of performing a process in an effective, efficient and consistent manner.Processes, once defined, should be documented and controlled, once under control,they can be repeated and become manageable. Processes in Process Controlinclude

Process Policy

Process Owner

Process Documentation

Process Objectives

Process Feedback

ITSM Process Characteristics

A processis defined as a set ofcoordinated activitiescombining and implementingresources and capabilities in order to produce an outcome, which, directly orindirectly, creates value for an external customer or stakeholder.

A Process Owner is responsible for ensuring that processes are carried out

according to the agreed upon and documented process and is meeting the aims ofthe process definitions. This includes tasks such as:

Ensuring that the process is fit for the desired purpose

Defining the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to evaluate the effectivenessand efficiency of the process

Responsibility for the process design


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Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the process

Ensuring that all relevant staff has the required training in the process and areaware of its role in the process

Interfacing with line management to ensure that the process receives theneeded staff resources

The 4 characteristics of a process are:

Measurable: A process can be measured in terms of its cost, quality, time,productivity and other variables.

Specific results: A process must produce a specific result which can beidentified and counted.

Delivers to Customers: A process delivers expected results to internal orexternal organizations and customers.

Responds to a specific event: A process must be traceable to a specific trigger.

ITSM Organization Structure

The contributors within an organization have different functions and roles. In order tounderstand the positioning, it is important to use standardized terms to describe theroles and functions.

The important functions and roles within an organization are:

Function: Refers to the people and automated measures that perform a definedprocess or activity or a combination of both.

Role: Refers to a set of actions that are performed by a person, a team or group.

Group: Refers to a number of people who perform similar activities orprocesses.

Team: Refers to a group of people who work together to achieve a commonobjective.

Department: Refers to formal organizational structures that perform specificactivities on a daily basis.

Division: Refers to a number of departments that has been grouped together.


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RACI Model

It is important to understand who plays the role of decision-making and what thetypes of responsibilities involved are. The RACI Model helps to define theseresponsibilities:

Responsible: The person or people responsible to get the job done.

Accountable: The person accountable for each task performed.

Consulted: The person whom others come to for consultation and advice.

Informed: The people who are informed about the progress.


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Service Lifecycle

ApproachThe Service Lifecycle is an organizing framework that provides control betweenvarious functions and processes and how they inter-related with one another. Thelifecycle acts as a guideline on how the organizations lifecycle work and wherefunctions and processes belong within and across the lifecycle.

Focus on a Service Lifecycle

The concept of the Service Lifecycle is fundamental to the refresh of ITIL 2011Edition. Previously in ITIL v2, the focus of ITIL was on the processes.

As a result of this previous focus on processes, version 2 of the ITIL Frameworkprovided best practices for ITSM and addressed the HOW questions. These included:

How should we design for availability, capacity and continuity of services?

How can we respond to and manage incidents, problems and known errors?

ITIL now focuses on the WHY questions as well. These include:

Why does a customer need this service?

Why should the customer purchase services from us?

Why should we provide (x) levels of availability capacity and continuity?

By first asking the WHY questions it enables a service provider to provide overallstrategic objectives for the IT organization, which will then be used to direct HOWservices are designed, transitioned, supported and improved in order to delivermaximum value to customers and stakeholders.

Stages

The Service Lifecycle may be viewed as a phased lifecycle, where phases are:

Defining strategy for the IT Service Management (SS)

Design the services to support the strategy (SD)

Implement the services in order to meet the designed requirements (ST)

Support the services managing the operational activities (SO)

The interaction between phases are managed through the Continual ServiceImprovement (CSI) approach, which is responsible for measuring andimproving service and process maturity levels


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The phases are further described as:

Service Strategy Defining strategy for the IT Service Management and defining strategies

for the IT Services that are being provided. The goal of Service Strategy is to specify the strategic objectives, direct

and develop policies and plans, and allocate resources to achieve theorganizations objectives.

Service Design Design the services to support the strategy The goal of Service Design is to design new or changed Services, by

ensuring that there will be minimal issues that arise during the servicelifecycle.

Service Transition Implement the services in order to meet the designed requirements

The goal of Service Transition is to introduce new services withappropriate balance of speed, cost, safety and focus.

Service Operation Support the services managing the operational activities The goal of Service Operation is to carry out day-to-day operations and

activities of Services.

Continual Service Improvement Implement and support improvement efforts on the services for better

quality of services. The goal of Continual Service Improvement is to align and realign IT

services to changing Business needs.

Value Creation

The service l i fecycle approach is an organizing framework designed forsustainable performance. The service lifecycle demonstrates values in terms ofbusiness contribution and profit.

Bus iness con t r ibu t ionis the ability of an IT organization to support a businessprocess; managing the IT service at the requested performance.

Prof i tis the ability to manage cost of service in relation to the business revenue, also

seen as Return on Investment (ROI).


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ITIL Processes and Functions

Within ITIL, the processes are distributed over the five books:

Service Strategy: Envisioning and conceptualizing the set of services that helpachieve business goals

Service Design: Designing the services with utility and warranty objectives inmind

Service Transition: Moving services into the live production environment

Service Operation: Managing services on an ongoing basis to ensure theirutility and warranty objectives are achieved

Continual Service Improvement: Evaluating services and identifying ways to

improve their utility and warranty in support of business objectives

Service Lifecycle Decision Levels

Three levels are identified in the decision-making process in an organization.

Strategic level: Refers to the decisions made for the long term, to achieve goalsand objectives. At a strategic level, communication is usually the responsibilityof higher IT management, the CIO, and senior management within the business,depending upon the size and structure of the organization.

Tactical level: Refers to the decisions made for medium term, acts proactivelyand as an intermediate between strategic and operational levels. At a tacticallevel, the customers will most likely talk to the Service Level Manager.

Operational level: Refers to the decisions made for short term, to complete day-to-day operations.


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Service Strategy

Introduction

A strategyoutlines the future potential of investment and defines the outcomes. It ismade to answer the Who, Why, What, Where, When and How questions. A strategyis deemed successful when the IT organization understands how to provide value totheir customer and how to differentiate themselves from competitors.

Core, enabling and enhancing services

Core services deliver the basic outcomes desired by one or more customers.They represent the value that the customer wants and for which they are willing topay. Core services anchor the value proposition for the customer and provide thebasis for their continued utilization and satisfaction.

Enabling services are services that are needed in order for a core service to bedelivered.Enabling services may or may not be visible to the customer, but the customer doesnot perceive them as services in their own right. They are basic factors whichenable the customer to receive the real (core) service.

Enhancing services are services that are added to a core service to make it moreexciting or enticing to the customer.

Enhancing services are not essential to the delivery of a core service, and are addedto a core service as excitement factors, which will encourage customers to use thecore service more (or to choose the core service provided by one company overthose of its competitors).

Value to the Business

Service Strategy provides the following Value to the business:

Support the ability to link activities performed by the service provider tooutcomes that are critical to internal or external customers.

Enable the service provider to have a clear understanding of what types andlevels of service will make its customers successful.

Enable the service provider to respond quickly and effectively to changes inthe business environment, ensuring increased competitive advantage overtime.


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ITIL e-Learning Courses Crown copyright 2012. Reproduced under license from the Cabinet Office.

20

Support the creation and maintenance of a portfolio of quantified services thatwill enable the business to achieve positive return on its investment inservices.

Facilitate functional and transparent communication between the customerand the service provider.

Provide the means for the service provider to organize itself so that it canprovide services in an efficient and effective manner.

Why Have a Service Strategy?

Strategy, in the context of Service Management, is used by the Service Providers to:

Attain market focus: Deciding where and how to compete

Distinguish capabilities: Develop service assets that the business appreciates

Purpose

Service Strategyis a set of strategies designed to provide direction for growth,investment and define outcomes that can be measured.

The purpose of the service strategy stage of the service lifecycle is to define theperspective, position, plans and patterns that a service provider needs to be able toexecute to meet an organization's business outcomes.

In order to implement the best Service Strategy, every IT organization mustunderstand how:

To provide value to their customers

To differentiate themselves from other providers

Objectives

The objectives of Service Strategy include:

An understanding of what strategy is

A clear identification of the definition of services and the customers who usethem

The ability to define how value is created and delivered

A means to identify opportunities to provide services and how to exploit them


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A clear service provision model, that articulates how services will be deliveredand funded, and to whom they will be delivered and for what purpose

The means to understand the organizational capability required to deliver the

strategy

Documentation and coordination of how service assets are used to deliverservices, and how to optimize their performance

Processes that define the strategy of the organization, which services willachieve the strategy, what level of investment will be required, at what levelsof demand, and the means to ensure a working relationship exists betweenthe customer and service provider.

Service Strategy should be revised on a regular basis to ensure its alignment with thedirection and needs of the business.

The deliverables of Service Strategy include:

Service Portfolio

Service Catalog

Requirements for Service Design, Service Transition and Service Operationcycles

Scope

Service Strategy starts by defining and discussing the generic principles and

processes of service management, and these generic principles are then appliedconsistently to the management of IT services.

Two aspects are covered in Service Strategy:

Defining a strategy whereby a service provider will deliver services to meet acustomer's business outcomes

Defining a strategy for how to manage those services


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Service Value Definition

Customers are often wary of the quality and integrity of services offered by an ITcompany. In this perspective, the service value comprise ofservice utility as well asservice warranty.

Service Value = Service Uti l i ty + Service Warranty

Service Uti l i ty defines the functionality of an IT service from the customersperspective. Utility, as perceived by the customer, is the service attributes that have apositive effect on the performance of tasks associated with desired businessoutcomes. This is often referred to as Fit for Purpose.

For example: Hardware technicians in the field securely access enterpriseapplications (increase gain) without being constrained by location (decreaseconstraints).

Service Warrantyfor a service provides the customer with a level of reassuranceand guarantee to meet agreed upon requirements. Warranty will minimize possiblelosses for the customer due to variations in performance. This is often referred to asFit for Use.

For example: The technicians are able to contact a Service Desk when theyencounter incidents pertaining to their equipment, and the Service Desk Agent is ableto resolve the incident or provide a work around solution (increase service availabilityto the technicians).

Value Creation through Services (Customer Assets)

The customer of IT (the business) uses its assets to create value for their customers(end-customer). These assets are called Custom er assets.

IT organizations can create value for their customers by enhancing the performanceof these customer assets. Hence, value creation of a service can be increased byincreasing the utility or warranty attributes.

Some examples of outcomes are described as:

Increase in throughput of business process

Increase in customer satisfaction

Decrease in fixed costs of business process


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Value Creation through Services (Service Value)

Valueis defined not only strictly in terms of the customers business outcomes. It ishighly dependent on customers perceptions.

Percept ionsare influenced by:

Attributes of a service

Present or prior experiences with similar attributes

Relative endowment of competitors and peers

Customers self-image or actual position on the market

It is the providers responsibility to demonstrate value, influence perceptions andrespond to preferences. Perceptions of value are influenced by expectations.

Customers do not buy services; they buy the fulfillment of particular needs. What thecustomer values is frequently different from what the IT organization believes itprovides.


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Service Strategy Process

Main ActivitiesThe Service Strategy Process clearly defines the steps that should be taken beforeexecution to minimize potential risks.

Explanation of activities:

Define the market to understand the customers and the opportunities

Develop offerings to define which services should be offered

Develop strategic assets to offer superior value through services

Prepare for execution to specify the Service Portfolio and the requirements for

other lifecycles, namely Service Design, Service Transition and ServiceOperation

Service Management as a Strategic Asset

Strategic assetsare a set of distinct capabilities in offering superior value tocustomers through services and provide the basis for:

Distinctive performance

Core competence

Qualifications to participate in business opportunities

Service Management is a strategic asset because it constitutes the core capabilitiesfor Service Providers. The idea of strategic assets is important because itencourages IT organizations to think of Service Management as an investment.

Service Strategy Processes

The processes included in the Service Strategy Lifecycle phase are:

Financial Management for IT Services


Demand Management

These processes work together to enable an IT organization to maximize the value ofservices being provided to customers and to provide the quality information requiredto make investment decisions regarding IT.


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PurposeService Portfolio Management (SPM) prioritizes investments and improves theallocation of resources.

The purpose of service portfolio management is to ensure that the service providerhas the right mix of services to balance the investment in IT with the ability to meetbusiness outcomes.

The Service Portfolio represents the commitments and investments made by aService Provider across all customers and marketplaces.

The Service Portfolio aims to answer the following questions:

Why should a customer buy these services?

Why should they buy these services from our IT organization?

What is the pricing and chargeback model?

How should the IT organizations resources and capabilities be allocated?

Objectives

The objectives of service portfolio management are to:

To investigate and decide on which services to provide, based on an analysis ofthe potential return and acceptable level of risk.

To maintain the definitive portfolio of services provided.

To evaluate how services achieve their strategy, and to respond to changes.

To control which services are offered, under what conditions and at what levelof investment.

To track the investment in services throughout their lifecycle.

To analyze which services are no longer viable and when they should be retired.


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Scope

The scope of service portfolio management is all services a service provider plans todeliver, those currently delivered and those that have been withdrawn from service.

The primary concern of service portfolio management is whether the service provideris able to generate value from the services.

Service portfolio management evaluates the value of services throughout theirlifecycles, and must be able to compare what newer services have offered over theretired services they have replaced.

External service providers tend to evaluate value more directly, as each serviceneeds to be able to generate revenue directly, or support revenue-generatingservices.

Internal service providers will need to work with the business units in the organizationto link each service to the business outcomes before they can compare investmentwith returns.

Service Portfolio

The Service Portfolio Management approach helps prioritize investments andimprove the allocation of resources.

Service Portfolio is divided into 3 sections:

Service pipeline is a part of Service Portfolio that consists of the services underdevelopment or under consideration for development.

Service catalog is a part of Service Portfolio that consists of services active inthe Service Operation phase and is visible to the customers. It mainlyrepresents the present capabilities of the IT organization.

Retired services are a part of Service Portfolio that consist of services that areno longer in use.

The portfolio should have a proper mix of services in the pipeline and catalog tosecure the financial viability of the Service Provider.

Outcomes in the present can be supported by services in the Service Catalog or maybe supported by services in the Service Pipeline in the future.


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Process

The activities in the Service Portfolio Management process are:

Define is a phase that deals with collecting information from all existing serviceas well as proposed services. Service Strategy applies in this activity because itunderlines the framework, as a whole.

Analyze is a phase that revises the information collected during the Definephase, to maximize the portfolio value, align, prioritize and balance supply anddemand.

Approve is a phase that authorizes or rejects proposals/plans of future state ordevelopment path of services proposed. For existing services, the followingsteps apply:

o Retain Services that are largely self-contained, with well-defined asset,process, and system boundaries.

o Replace Services that have unclear and overlapping businessfunctionality.

o Rationalize Services that are composed of multiple releases of thesame operating system, multiple versions of the same software and ormultiple versions of system platforms providing similar functions.

o Refactor Services that meet the technical and functional criteria of theorganization but have fuzzy processes or system boundaries.

o Renew Services that meet functional fitness criteria but fail technicalfitness.

o Retire Services that do not meet minimum levels of technical andfunctional fitness.

Charteris a phase that begins with a list of decisions and actions. This list isthen correlated to the financial plan and budget. The outcome of thementioned process will build into financial forecasts and resource plans.


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Demand Management

Purpose and ObjectivesThe purpose of Demand Management is to assist the IT Service Provider inunderstanding and influencing customer demand for services, and the provision ofcapacity to meet these demands.

Objectives

Demand Management aims at minimizing uncertainty in demand to avoid excesscapacity.

Demand Management supports Capacity Management by providing reliable planningdata. It also tries to understand and possibly influence end-user behavior with regardto service usage.

Demand Management avoids unused excess capacity and insufficient capacity.

Key Concepts

Patterns of Business Activity (PBAs)Customer assets such as people, processes and applications all perform businessactivities, and because of the way these assets are organized or because of the

tasks they are completing, this activity will tend to be performed in patterns.

Once a PBA has been identified, a PBA profile should be drawn up and details aboutthe PBA documented. The following items need to be documented:

Classification: This indicates the type of PBA, and could refer to where it originates(user or automated), the type and impact of outcomes supported, and the type ofworkload supported.

Requirements: Such as performance, security, availability, privacy, latency ortolerance for delays.

Service asset requirements: Such as performance, security, availability, privacy,

latency or tolerance for delays.

Attributes: Such as frequency, volume, location and duration.

User Profiles (UP): User profiles are based on roles and responsibilities within. EachUP can be associated with one or more PBA. This ensures a systematic approach tounderstanding and managing demand from customers. They also require customersto better understand their own business activities and view them as consumers ofservices and producers of demand.


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Financial Management

The Financial Management process provides cost effective management and control

of IT assets and financial resources used in providing IT services.

Purpose

The purpose of financial management for IT services is to secure the appropriatelevel of funding to design, develop and deliver services that meet the strategy of theorganization.

Objectives

Financial Management generates meaningful critical performance data.

Most importantly, this gives an organization insight in the cost of IT, and the cost of aspecific service. This insight will help in determining investments and possiblechargeback models.

Financial Management deals with budgeting, planning, revenues, cost and marketanalysis. This helps in quantifying the value of IT services and value of serviceprovisioning assets.

ScopeFinancial management consists of three main processes:

Budgeting: This is the process of predicting and controlling the income andexpenditure of money within the organization. Budgeting consists of a periodicnegotiation cycle to set budgets (usually annual) and the monthly monitoring of thecurrent budgets.

Accounting: This is the process that enables the IT organization to account fully forthe way its money is spent (particularly the ability to identify costs by customer, byservice and by activity). It usually involves accounting systems, including ledgers,charts of accounts, journals etc. and should be overseen by someone trained in

accountancy.

Charging: This is the process required to bill customers for the services supplied tothem. This requires sound IT accounting practices and systems.


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Business Case

A business case clarifies the reason for undertaking a service or a processimprovement initiative.

Business case justifies the organizational goals that have been stated by theorganization as well as assess potential benefits and the resources and capabilitiesrequired.

The structure of a business case is as follows:

Introduction Presents the business objectives

Methods and assumptions Define the boundaries of the business case suchas the time period, the costs and the benefits

Businessimpacts The financial and non-financial business case results, suchas faster time to market, better customer retention or bigger market share

Risksandcontingency The probability that alternative results will emerge

Recommendations Specific actions recommended

Service Valuation

Financial Management of IT assists in the task of service valuation which is used tohelp the business and the IT Service Provider agree upon the value of the IT service.

Service Valuation helps to determine the balance demonstrating the total cost ofproviding an IT service against the total value offered to the business by the service.

Service Valuation focuses on two key concepts that apply in Financial Managementare:

Provisioning value Determines the minimum cost baseline for providing theservice

Service value potential Value-added component based on the customersperception of value from the service or expected marginal utility and warranty


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Business Relationship Management

PurposeThe purpose of the business relationship management process is two-fold:

To establish and maintain a business relationship between the serviceprovider and the customer based on understanding the customer and itsbusiness needs.

To identify customer needs and ensure that the service provider is able tomeet those needs as business needs change over time and betweencircumstances.

Business relationship management ensures that the service provider understands

these changing needs. Business relationship management also assists the businessin articulating the value of a service.

Objectives

The objectives of business relationship management include:

Ensure high levels of customer satisfaction, indicating that the serviceprovider is meeting the customer's requirements.

Establish and maintain a constructive relationship between the service

provider and the customer based on understanding the customer and theirbusiness drivers.

Identify changes to the customer environment that could potentially impactthe type, level or utilization of services provided.

Establish and articulate business requirements for new services or changesto existing services.

Work with customers to ensure that services and service levels are able todeliver value.

Mediate in cases where there are conflicting requirements for services from

different business units.

Establish formal complaints and escalation processes for the customer.


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Scope

Business relationship management focuses on understanding how services meetcustomer requirements. To achieve this, the process must focus on understandingand communicating:

Business outcomes that the customer wants to achieve

Services that are currently offered to the customer, and the way in which theyare used by the customer

Technology trends that could impact current services and the customer, andthe nature of the potential impact

Levels of customer satisfaction, and what action plans have been put in placeto deal with the causes of dissatisfaction

How to optimize services for the future

How the service provider is represented to the customer. This at times meansraising concerns around commitments that the business made to IT but is notmeeting.

Business relationship management and service level management

While the Service level management (SLM) process exists to ensure that agreedachievable levels of service are provided to the customer and users, the business

relationship management process is focused on a more strategic perspective.

Business relationship management (BRM) takes as its mission the identification ofcustomer needs and ensuring that the service provider is able to meet the customers'needs. This process focuses on the overall relationship between the service providerand their customer, working to determine which services the service provider willdeliver.


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Service Design

Introduction

Overview

Service Design is the service lifecycle phase that is responsible for designingappropriate, comprehensive and innovative IT services.

Service Design is the phase in the lifecycle following Service Strategy. In thisperspective, Service Design has to meet the objectives of Service Strategy and applythe strategies into the design.

Purpose

The purpose of the service design stage of the lifecycle is to design IT services,together with the governing IT practices, processes and policies to realize the serviceprovider's strategy and to facilitate the introduction of these services into supportedenvironments ensuring quality service delivery, customer satisfaction and cost-effective service provision.

Objectives

Objectives of Service Design include the following:

Design services to deliver more effective and efficient IT and business solutionsto satisfy business objectives

Reduce, minimize or constrain the long-term costs of service provision

Design efficient and effective processes for design, transition, operation andimprovement of high quality IT services

Design secure and resilient IT infrastructures

Design measurements methods and metrics

Produce and maintain IT plans, processes, architectures, frameworks anddocumentations

Develop the skills and capabilities within IT

Contribute to the improvement of the overall quality of IT services offered


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Processes

The processes included in the Service Design phase are:

Service Level Management (design)

Capacity Management

Availability Management

IT Service Continuity Management

Information Security Management

Supplier Management

Service Catalog Management

Many of these activities will reoccur in other lifecycle phases.

Introduction - Roles (Process Owner)

The process owner's accountabilities include:

Sponsoring, designing and change managing the process and its metrics

Defining the process strategy

Assisting with process design

Ensuring that appropriate process documentation is available and current

Defining appropriate policies and standards to be employed throughout theprocess

Periodically auditing the process to ensure compliance to policy and standards

Periodically reviewing the process strategy to ensure that it is still appropriateand change as required

Communicating process information or changes as appropriate to ensure

awareness

Providing process resources to support activities required throughout theservice lifecycle

Ensuring that process technicians have the required knowledge and therequired technical and business understanding to deliver the process, andunderstand their role in the process


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Reviewing opportunities for process enhancements and for improving theefficiency and effectiveness of the process

Addressing issues with the running of the process

Identifying improvement opportunities for inclusion in the CSI register

Working with the CSI manager and process manager to review and prioritizeimprovements in the CSI register

Making improvements to the process.

Roles (Process Manager)

The process manager's accountabilities include:

Working with the process owner to plan and coordinate all process activities

Ensuring that all activities are carried out as required throughout the servicelifecycle

Appointing people to the required roles

Managing resources assigned to the process

Working with service owners and other process managers to ensure thesmooth running of services

Monitoring and reporting on process performance


Working with the CSI manager and process owner to review and prioritizeimprovements in the CSI register

Making improvements to the process implementation.


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Roles (Process Practitioner)

The process practitioner's responsibilities typically include:

Carrying out one or more activities of a process

Understanding how their role contributes to the overall delivery of service andcreation of value for the business

Working with other stakeholders, such as their manager, co-workers, users andcustomers, to ensure that their contributions are effective

Ensuring that inputs, outputs and interfaces for their activities are correct

Creating or updating records to show that activities have been carried outcorrectly

Roles (Service Owner)

The service owner has the following responsibilities:

Ensuring that the ongoing service delivery and support meet agreed customerrequirements

Working with business relationship management to understand and translatecustomer requirements into activities, measures or service components that willensure that the service provider can meet those requirements

Ensuring consistent and appropriate communication with customer(s) forservice related enquiries and issues

Assisting in defining service models and in assessing the impact of newservices or changes to existing services through the service portfoliomanagement process

Identifying opportunities for service improvements, discussing these with thecustomer and raising RFCs as appropriate

Liaising with the appropriate process owners throughout the service lifecycle

Soliciting required data, statistics and reports for analysis and to facilitateeffective service monitoring and performance

Providing input in service attributes such as performance, availability etc.

Representing the service across the organization

Understanding the service (components etc.)


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Serving as the point of escalation (notification) for major incidents relating to theservice

Representing the service in change advisory board (CAB) meetings

Participating in internal service review meetings (within IT)

Participating in external service review meetings (with the business)

Ensuring that the service entry in the service catalog is accurate and ismaintained

Participating in negotiating service level agreements (SLAs) and operationallevel agreements (OLAs) relating to the service

Identifying improvement opportunities for inclusion in the continual serviceimprovement (CSI) register

Working with the CSI manager to review and prioritize improvements in the CSIregister

Making improvements to the service.

Value to the Business

With a good design, the IT organization is able to deliver high-quality and costeffective services.

Some of the benefits obtainable from a good Service Design are:

Reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Improved alignment, quality and consistency of service.

Easier implementation of new or changed services.

More effective service performance.

Improved IT governance.

More effective Service Management and IT process.

Improved information and decision-making.


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Overview of Service Design

The Service Design stage aims to design service solutions to meet the changingrequirements of the business.

All designs must reflect the goals and objectives of the business. This means that thedesign team will have to know the key strategies in the Service Strategy, the ITsolutions and applications to be used, the services to be offered, the resources andcapabilities of the IT organization, the market trends, the costing and the operationalworkflow.

The key output of the Service Design stage is the design of service solutions to meetthe changing requirements of the business. When designing these solutions, inputfrom many different areas needs to be considered within the various activitiesinvolved in designing the service solution, from identifying and analyzingrequirements, through to building a solution and SDP to hand over to Service

Transition.

In order to develop effective and efficient service solutions that meet and continue tomeet the requirements of the business and the needs of IT, it is essential that all theinputs and needs of all other areas and processes are reconsidered within each ofthe Service Design activities. This will ensure that all service solutions are consistentand compatible with existing solutions and will meet the expectations of thecustomers and users. This will most effectively be achieved by consolidating thesefacets of the key processes into all of these Service Design activities, so that allinputs are automatically referenced every time a new or changed service solution isproduced.

RoleSome of the roles ofService Design Managerinclude the following:

Taking the overall service strategies and ensuring they are reflected in theService Design practice

Designing the functional aspects of the services

Producing quality, secure and resilient designs for new or improved services,technology architecture, processes or measurement systems

Producing and maintaining all design documentation

Producing and maintaining all necessary Service Design Packages

Measuring the effectiveness and efficiency of the Service Design process


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Service Portfolio and Service Catalog

Service Portfolio is produced as part of Service Strategy. Service Portfolio containsthe Service Catalog.

Service Port fo l io has a role to maintain and provide a central accurate set ofinformation on all services. The Service Portfolio represents the commitments andinvestments made by a service provider to all customers and market spaces. It alsoincludes current contractual commitments, new service developments and ongoingservice improvement programs; as well as third-party services. The Service Portfoliocontains information relating to every service and its current status within theorganization.

Service Catalogis a subset of Service Portfolio. The Service Catalog should containdetails of all operational services or those being prepared for transition to the liveenvironment. These include details of services and activities in the Service

Operations and Service Transition lifecycles. The Catalog contains a customer-facingview of IT services that enables them to understand the services offered, theprocesses involved and quality of service to be expected.

Service Design Package

Service Design Package (SDP) defines a set of design constraintsagainst which theservice release and new or changed service will be developed and built. Thispackage is then passed from Service Design to Service Transition. It is producedduring the design stage for each new cycle, major change to a service, removal of aservice, or changes to the Service Design Package itself.

The SDP contains:

Details and requirements of the Services: the service, it's functionality and theconditions under which the service has to be delivered

Service Design: the details of the required capacity, availability, continuity etc.for the specific service

Assessment: review of the service conditions and how they can be achieved

Service Lifecycle Plan: the expected duration and condition of the service to beoperational


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Service Design Aspects

There are several aspects of designs that are crucial to the overall integrated outputof Service Design.

There are 5 major aspects of Service Design:

The design of the service solutions: In designing service solutions, a formal andstructured approach is necessary, this is to ensure that the new services are atthe right cost, functionality, quality and within the time frame.

The design of Service Management Systems and Tools for the managementand control of services throughout their lifecycle: The most effective way ofmanaging all aspects of services through their lifecycle is by using appropriatemanagement systems and tools to support and automate efficient processes.The Service Portfolio is the most critical management system used to support

all processes and describes a providers services in terms of business value.

The design of the technology and management architecture and tools requiredto provide the services: Provides the overall strategic blueprints for thedevelopment and deployment of an IT infrastructure. This includes policies,operations, documentation and improvement plans.

The design of the processes needed to design, transition, operate and improvethe services: Helps to understand the distinctive features of a process. Aprocess includes roles, responsibilities, tools and management controls.Process control enables the processes to be performed in a controlled,consistent, effective and efficient manner.

The design of the measurement systems, methods and metrics for the services,the architecture and their constituent components and the processes:Monitoring and measuring processes is vital to manage and control designprocesses. The four types of metrics are Progress, Compliance, Effectivenessand Efficiency.


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The Four Ps

The implementation of ITIL service management as a practice is about preparingand planning the effective and efficient use of the Four Ps.

The 4 Ps are:

People: Communication, training and clear definitions of roles andresponsibilities for all parties involved are essential. This aspect of the FourPs is concerned with the soft side of IT.

Processes: Processes is where ITIL enters the design mechanism. It relatesto the end-to-end delivery of services based on process flows. The ITILprocesses are covered as a phased lifecycle.

Products: There are now a number of tools available to IT organizations that

are considered ITIL compatible and have been developed to complement ITService Management procedures. These tools can assist in the implementationand running of IT services.

Partners: Suppliers and the management of suppliers, partners, manufacturersand vendors are essential to the provision of quality IT services.

Technology and Architecture

Technology and architecture that are going to be applied across the service lifecycleare determined and designed during Service Design.

Automat ion of processesis widely applied in IT organizations. Automation supportsintegration of processes such as for the purpose of measuring performance,knowledge management, improved utility and warranty as well as reduced risks andcosts.

Service Operation needs an integrated IT Service Management Technology(Toolset) that enables it to be managed efficiently.

The core functionalities of the Toolset include:

Self Help: This capability is supported with some form of web front-end. Amenu-driven range of self-help and service requests is offered.

Workflow or Process Engine: This capability allows the pre-definition andcontrol of defined processes to be automatically managed.

Integrated CMS: This capability allows the organizations IT infrastructureassets, components, services and Configuration items to be held in acentralized location and linked to Incidents, Problem, Known Error and Changerecords.


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Discovery/Deployment/Licensing Technology: This capability allows theprocess to run from any location on the network, deploy new software to targetlocations, and automatic comparison of software licenses details and licensenumbers

Remote Control: This capability enables the Service Desk analysts and othersupport groups to take control of the users desk-top for investigation or correctsettings

Diagnostic Utilities: This capability creates and use diagnostic scripts andutilities to assist with earlier diagnosis of incidents

Reporting: This capability incorporates good reporting and can be used to inputdata to industry-standard reporting packages.

Dashboards: This capability allows at a glance visibility of the overall IT serviceperformance and availability levels.

Integration with Business Service Management: Business applications andtools need to be interfaced with ITSM support tools to give the require dfunctionality

Service Design Toolshelps in simplifying the development of Service Design byproviding graphical views of the service and its constituent components.

Service Design tools and techniques can be used for:

Hardware design

Software design

Environmental design

Process design

Data design

The tools and techniques are many and varied, including both proprietary and non-proprietary, and are useful in:

Speeding up the design process

Ensuring that standards and conventions are followed

Offering prototyping, modeling and simulation facilities Enabling What if? scenarios to be examined

Enabling checking and correlation of interfaces and dependencies

Validating designs before they are developed and implemented to ensure thatthey satisfy and fulfill their intended requirements

Developing Service Designs can be simplified by the use of tools that providegraphical views of the service and its constituent components.


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Competence and Skills - Service Management

The specific roles within ITIL service management all require specific skills, attributesand competences from the people involved to enable them to work effectively andefficiently. However, whatever the role, it is imperative that the person carrying outthat role has the following attributes:

Awareness of the business priorities, objectives and business drivers.

Awareness of the role IT plays in enabling the business objectives to be met.

Customer service skills.

Awareness of what IT can deliver to the business, including latest capabilities.

The competence, knowledge and information necessary to complete their role.

The ability to use, understand and interpret the best practice, policies andprocedures to ensure adherence.

Skills such as Management Skills, Communication Skills, Negotiation skills andan analytical mind.

The following are examples of attributes required in many of the roles, dependent onthe organization and the specific roles assigned:

Management skills: Both from a person management perspective and from theoverall control of process

Ability to handle meetings: Organizing, chairing, and documenting meetings andensuring that actions are followed up

Communication skills: An important element of all roles is raising awareness of theprocesses in place to ensure buy-in and conformance. An ability to communicate atall levels within the organization will be imperative

Articulateness: Both written (e.g. for reports) and verbal

Negotiation skills: Are required for several aspects, such as procurement andcontracts

An analytical mind: To analyze metrics produced from the activity.


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Competence and Skills Framework

Standardizing job titles, functions, roles and responsibilities can simplify servicemanagement and human resource management.

Many service providers use a common framework of reference for competence andskills to support activities such as skill audits, planning future skill requirements,organizational development programs and resource allocation.

The Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) is an example of a commonreference model for the identification of the skills needed to develop effective ITservices, information systems and technology.

SFIA defines seven generic levels at which tasks can be performed, with theassociated professional skills required for each level.

A second dimension defines core competencies that can be combined with theprofessional skills.

SFIA is used by many IT service providers to identify career developmentopportunities.

Training

Training in service management helps service providers to build and maintain theirservice management capability. Training needs must be matched to the requirementsfor competence and professional development.

The official ITIL qualification scheme enables organizations to develop thecompetence of their personnel through approved training courses. The courses helpstudents to gain knowledge of ITIL best practices, develop their competencies andgain a recognized qualification. The scheme has four levels:

Foundation level

Intermediate level

ITIL Expert

ITIL Master


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Ensure that all parties adopt a common framework of standard, reusabledesign practices in the form of activities, processes and supporting systems,whenever appropriate

Monitor and improve the performance of the service design lifecycle stage.

Scope

The scope of the design coordination process includes all design activity, particularlyall new or changed service solutions that are being designed for transition into (or outof, in the case of a service retirement) the live environment.

The scope does not include:

Responsibility for any activities or processes outside of the design stage of theservice lifecycle

Responsibility for designing the detailed service solutions themselves or theproduction of the individual parts of the SDPs. These are the responsibility of theindividual projects or service management processes.


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Service Level Management

IntroductionThe Service Level Management process improves business aligned IT service qualityand instigate actions to eliminate poor service.

Purpose and Objectives

Service Level Management is responsible for ensuring that goals and objectives ofthe Service Strategy, Service Design and Service Operation meet internal as well asexternal targets.

The purpose of the SLM process is to ensure that all current and planned IT services

are delivered to agreed achievable targets. This is accomplished through a constantcycle of negotiating, agreeing, monitoring, reporting on and reviewing IT servicetargets and achievements, and through instigation of actions to correct or improvethe level of service delivered.

The objectives of Service Level Management are to:

Define, document, agree, monitor, measure, report and review the level of ITservices provided

Provide and improve the relationship and communication with the business andcustomers

Ensure that specific and measurable targets are developed for all IT services

Monitor and improve customer satisfaction with the quality of service delivered

Ensure that IT and the customers have a clear and unambiguous expectation ofthe level of service to be delivered

Ensure that proactive measures to improve the levels of service delivered areimplemented wherever it is cost justifiable to do so

The significance of Service Level Management lies in its ability to manage Service

Level Agreements, internally or externally.

There are several types of agreements that play important roles in the Servicelifecycle.

Service Level Requirements (SLR): Targets and responsibilities documentedand agreed for proposed new or changed service.

Service Level Agreement (SLA): A written agreement between the IT serviceprovider and the customer regarding the service targets and responsibilities ofboth parties.


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Operational Level Agreement (OLA): An agreement between an IT serviceprovider and another division within the same organization that assists withdelivering the services.

Underpinning Contract (UC): A contract between an IT service provider and anexternal supplier.

Scope

Service Level Management (SLM) should provide a point of regular contact andcommunication to the customers and business managers of an organization inrelation to service levels. In this context, it should represent the IT service provider tothe business, and the business to the IT service provider.

The SLM process should include:

Cooperation with the business relationship management process: this includesdevelopment of relationships with the business as needed to achieve the SLMprocess objectives

Negotiation and agreement of future service level requirements and targets,and the documentation and management of SLRs for all proposed new orchanged services

Negotiation and agreement of current service level requirements and targets,and the documentation and management of SLAs for all operational services

Development and management of appropriate OLAs to ensure that targets arealigned with SLA targets

Review of all supplier agreements and underpinning contracts with suppliermanagement to ensure that targets are aligned with SLA targets

Proactive prevention of service failures, reduction of service risks andimprovement in the quality of service, in conjunction with all other processes

Reporting and management of all service level achievements and review of allSLA breaches

Periodic review, renewal and/or revision of SLAs, service scope and OLAs as

appropriate


Reviewing and prioritizing improvements in the CSI register

Instigating and coordinating SIPs for the management, planning andimplementation of service and process improvements.


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Designing SLA Frameworks

Service Level Management must design the most appropriate SLA structure toensure that all services and customers are covered in a manner best suited to theorganizations needs.

There are a number of potential agreement options, such as the following:

Service-based SLA SLA covers one service, for all the customers of that service.

Difficulties may arise if the specific requirements of different customersvary for the same service.

Difficulties may also arise in determining who should be the signatories to

such an agreement.

Multiple classes of service may also be used to increase the effectivenessof service-based SLAs.

Customer-based SLA SLA is an agreement with an individual customer group, covering all

services they use.

Customers often prefer such an agreement, as all of their requirementsare covered in a single document.

Only one signatory is normally required, which simplifies the issue.

Multi-based SLA

Multi-level SLAs usually constitutes three layers:

Corporate level: Covers all the generic SLM issues appropriate toevery customer throughout the organization

Customer level: Covers all SLM issues relevant to the particularcustomer group or business unit, regardless of the service beingused

Service level: Covers all SLM issues relevant to the specific service,

in relation to a specific customer group


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Producing SLRs

A draft of the SLR is one of the earliest activities within the Service Design stage. It isadvisable to involve customers from the outset.

To produce the draft, start with a first outline draft of the performance targets and themanagement and operational requirements. Consult other processes for realistictargets. Use this draft for in-depth discussion with business, which may requireseveral iterations.

Provisional targets should also be included within a pilot SLA. It is also important toestablish procedures for agreements of SLRs for new services being developed orprocured.

The SLR will gradually be refined as the service progresses through the stages of itslifecycle. This pilot or draft SLA should be developed alongside the service itself, and

should be signed and formalized before the service is introduced into live use.

Activities

Activities performed within Service Level Management are:

Determine, negotiate, document and agree on requirements for new orchanged services in SLRs.

Monitor and measure service performance achievements.

Compile, measure and improve customer satisfaction.

Produce service reports.

Conduct service reviews and initiate improvements within a ServiceImprovement Program/Plan (SIP).

Review and revise SLAs, OLAs, contracts and underpinning agreements.

Develop and document contracts and relationships within business market.

Develop, maintain and operate procedures relating to complaints andcompliments.

Log and manage all complaints and compliments.

Provide appropriate management information to assist in performancemanagement.

Make available and maintain up-to-date SLM document template and standards.


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Service Reviews

Periodic review meetings must be held with customers to review the serviceachievement, preferably on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Actions must be placed upon the customer and provider as appropriate to improveweak areas where targets are not being met.

Particular attention should be focused on each branch of service level to determineexactly what caused the loss of service and what can be done to prevent anyrecurrence.

Depending on the cause of loss of service, it may be necessary to review,renegotiate or review-agree different service targets or agreements.

A Service Level Agreement Monitoring Chart (SLAM) is used to help monitor and

report achievements against Service Level Targets. A SLAM Chart is typically colourcoded to show whether each agreed Service Level Target has been met, missed, ornearly missed during each of the previous 12 months.

Service Improvement Program (SIP)

Where an underlying difficulty has been identified that is adversely impacting onservice quality, SLM, along with Problem Management and Availability Management,instigate an SIP to identify and implement whatever actions are necessary toovercome the difficulties and restore service quality.

SIP initiatives may also focus on such issues as user training service and system

testing and documentation.

The SIP needs to be owned and managed, with all improvement actions beingassessed for risk and impact on services, customers and the business.


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Key Process Indicators

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and metrics are used to judge the efficiency andeffectiveness of the SLA activities and SIP (Service Improvement Plan) progress.These metrics cover both the subjective and objective measurements:

Subjective measurements: Improvements in customer satisfaction

Objective measurements: Number/percentage of service targets being met

Number and severity of service breaches

Number of services with updated SLAs

Number of services with timely reports and active service reviews

Challenges

There are cases where challenges will be encountered. These challenges need to beproactively, as well as reactively dealt with. Challenges that are not properly dealtwith may adversely affect the strategy, designs, plans and desired outcomes of theprocess.

Some of the challenges in Service Level Management are:

To identify the suitable customer representative within the IT organization

To designate appropriate representatives within the IT organization

To acquire commitment from the Service Desk

To formalize and communicate the agreements


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Roles

The main responsibilities of the Service Level Manger are:

Achievement of goals for SLM process

Awareness of changing business needs

Considering Service Requ

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