ITIL v3 Foundation Study Notes

Service Management as a Practice gives an introduction to the definition and

practice of service management according to the ITIL framework for the ITIL v3
Foundation Certification.
Why IT Service Management is needed?
Higher IT service quality is always required while fewer resources are

available
Users are not interested in the processes / technology, rather they just

need to utilize the service to achieve business goals

As users are usually not directly responsible for the costs of IT services,

they would endlessly request more and more IT services with higher and
higher standards / quality
Changes to business and technology happen continually that would

affect IT systems and processes

Nowadays, IT services are increasingly provided as business

services to the external customers (e.g. in the past, bank customers would
need to go to a local bank to request a transaction with the bank teller who
would make use of the IT system to retrieve the account and record the
transaction; nowadays, customers would directly make transaction online or
in ATMs where the IT services are directly used by the customers)

The need to balance IT services request and quality with available resources

to deliver the maximum value to the business -> IT service management

What is IT Service Management?
IT Service

[definition] A service is a means of delivering value to customers by

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

e.g. Email service: business users just make use of email service for
communication needs, the management, cost and risks (e.g. security,
hardware, virus, etc.) are not their concerns

outcome is the result of carrying out an activity, including intended and

actual results

two types of customers: internal (within the same organization) and

external (outside the organization)

external services provide a more direct and visible contribution to the

business outcome than internal services
[definition] IT Service A service provided by an IT service provider. An IT

service is made up of a combination of information technology, people and

processes. A customer-facing IT service directly supports the business
processes of one or more customers and its service level targets should be
defined in a service level agreement. Other IT services, called supporting
services, are not directly used by the business but are required by the service
provider to deliver customer-facing services.
IT Services consist of taking care the design, implementation and

maintenance of all the components that are required to fulfill a business

objective for the users (i.e. IT and business integration, not just IT and
business alignment)
Values of IT services

Create values for the business by supporting business processes

Create values for end customers

Reduce costs / increase productivity (enhance performance)

Manage costs / risks / issues more effectively

Reduce / remove constraints (e.g. not enough bandwidth)

Facilitate achievement of outcomes (e.g. students registering for a

class)

Customer Satisfaction is at the core of judgment of the quality of the

services. Service costs (total cost of ownership (TOC), return on investment

(ROI) or overall cost) will be a major factor to be considered by the customers.
Types of services according to the value for customers

Core Services: required directly by customers to deliver an intended

outcome
Enabling Services: needed to ensure core services can be delivered

successfully, not visible to customers

Enhancing Services: created to add features / values to the

customers, not essential

Types of IT services according to the customer types

Supporting Services (infrastructure services): not directly visible to

customers, managed with operation level agreements

Internal Customerfacing Services: enable internal customers to

carry out its business process, managed with service level agreements
External Customerfacing Services: used by the external customers,

can be the business process itself, managed with contracts

A service package is a collection of two or more [generic] services that

have been combined to offer a solution to a specific type of customer need or to
underpin specific business outcomes. A service package may consists of any
types of services. The generic services used in this way can achieve economy of
scale.

In case if there is a need for giving options on warranty and/or utility for
components of a service package, different service level packages can be

offered as service options.

Stakeholders

[definition] Stakeholders are individuals or groups that have an interest in

an organization, service, or project and are potentially interested or engaged in
the activities, resources, targets, or deliverables from service management.

Internal stakeholders: within the service provider organization

External stakeholders: outside customers, users, suppliers (vendors,

network providers)
[definition] Service providers are organizations supplying services to one or

more internal or external customers.

IT Service Management
[definition] Service Management is a set of specialized organizational

capabilities for providing value to customers in the form of services.

Capabilities: functions and processes for managing services over a

lifecycle

Specialized: in strategy, design, transition, operation, and continual

improvement

The capabilities represent a service organizations capacity,

competency, and confidence for action.The act of transforming
resources into valuable services is at the core of service
management. Without these capabilities, a service organization is merely a
bundle of resources that by itself has relatively low intrinsic value for
customers.
[definition] IT Service Management: The implementation and management

of quality IT services that meet the needs of the business. IT service

management is performed by IT service providers (to internal or external
customers) through an appropriate mix of people, process and information
technology.

Make use of best practices (a set of generic (high level) guidelines

based on the successful experiences of a number of organizations) in
service management, adapt and apply for the business to save cost and
improve quality

[definition] Good practice could be either an application of best

practice, or an input into best practice

Types of IT Service Providers

Type I: Internal Service Provider service providers located within

the business unit, maybe several internal service providers within an

organization
Type II: Shared Services Unit supports several business units, e.g.

centralized IT department
Type III: External Service Provider delivers services to external

customers
Suppliers vs Providers

suppliers only provide an element of the service which is not visible to

the customer
Process
A process is a set of activities designed to turn input(s) into output(s) to

accomplish a specificobjective (need to be measurable, expressing in terms

business benefits for business goals), often including feedback (report,
measurements (metrics)) from the output to be used for process improvements
Processes may include roles, responsibilities, tools and management controls

(actions, dependencies, and sequence) and are supported by the enablers

(resources and capabilities).
The process is considered effective if all the objectives of the output are

met.
Each process is owned by a process owner responsible for the process and

improvement, ensuring the process meets the defined objectives

Once defined, processes need to be documented and

controlled (repeatable and manageable)

Process Characteristics:

Measurable (performance based e.g. cost, quality, productivity,

duration)

Deliver specific identifiable and countable results

Meet the expectations of the customers / stakeholders

Respond to specific events (called triggers)

Business Process, IT Process and IT Service

IT teams provide the service to enable the business process to be

automated.
IT team will need to take reference to the ITIL best practice of IT

processes to deal with a particular business process

Benefits of Process Automation with IT Service:

Capacity Management Improve quality, i.e. can respond to variation

in demand, less time restrictions

Optimization handle complex tasks better

Measurement for improvement as human factor is ruled out

Reduce costs (users can self-serve) and risks (human errors)

Knowledge Capture reduce variations as the process is well studied

and documented
The tasks should be well studied and only simple and routine tasks with

recognizable patterns can be automated

Areas of service management ideal for automation:

design and modeling (for project and forecasting)

service catalog (capture demand for services)

pattern recognition and analysis

classification, prioritizing and routing

detection and monitoring

routine service requests

Functions and Roles

[definition] Function: A team or group of people and the tools they use

(resources) to carry out one or more processes or activities

Functions are self-contained units responsible to carry out the tasks to

create specific outcomes

provide structure and stability to the organization

have their own body of knowledge accumulated through experience

e.g. technical management, application management, operations

management functions, service desk
[definition] Role: A set of responsibilities, activities and authorities granted to

a person or team

triggers to play the role are determined by processes (by the linemanager)

one person/team can take up several roles in different context

e.g. change management role, capacity management role

Defined roles in ITIL:

Group a number of people performing similar activities, not formal

structure

Team a more formal structure for people working together with a

common objective

Department a formal organizational structure with a hierarchical

structure

Division a number of departments forming a self-contained unit

Why Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)?

ITIL is recognized as a world-wide best-practice approach for delivering IT services

and IT service management by focusing on the processes, functions, and
capabilities required to support IT services in businesses. It helps organizations to
gain competitive advantage by ensuring they are utilizing the best-practice
approaches to IT available helping IT services to meet the needs of the customers
within the budget in an cost-effective way. There are different sources of the best
practices: proprietary knowledge / internal experience, standards / industry practice
and training and education / academic research.

ITIL is considered one of the standards containing the body of knowledge in best
practice and is being adapted by organizations worldwide to establish and improve
capabilities in service management.

It works as ITIL embraces a practical approach with a common framework

Vendor-neutral not tied to any technology, platform or industry, owned by

the UK Government
Non-prescriptive designed for all types of organizations, advocates adopt

and adapt, doesnt specify how the best practices are to be structured or
carried out
Best practice accumulated through experiences by service providers

worldwide
ITIL enables organizations to deliver benefits, values and return on investment on a
sustainable approach. It allows a cultural shift by the adoption of standard approach
to service management across the entire organization.
ITIL standardizes the strategic approach to the management of services, the
performing organizations just need to make minor adjustments to meet their
business needs. This is the core of ITILs approach to service management.
The ITIL Service Lifecycle
ITIL consists of the following components:

The ITIL Core: a set of five publications containing the best practice
guidance applicable to all organizations providing services

The ITIL Complementary Guidance: a auxiliary set of publications

(online or printed) detailing the application of ITIL to specific industries,
organization and technology platform

Organizations practicing ITIL may get certified under ISO/IEC 20000

1. Service Strategy

Guidance for organizations on

how to think and act in a strategic manner

how to turn service management into strategic assets for strategic

growth by understanding the cost and value of the services

how to clarify relationships between various services, systems, or

processes and the business models, strategies, or objectives

2. Service Design
Guidance for organizations on

how to design and develop services / service management processes

how to convert strategic objectives into portfolios of services and

service assets
applicable for existing services requiring changes / improvements

integrate people, process, products and partners

3. Service Transition

Guidance for organizations on

how to build and test the services

how to transit new / improved services into operation (live

environment)

how to effectively realize the Service Strategy as planned in Service

Design in Service Operation and control risks

how to manage changes of services / service management

combine release management, program management and risk management

in the context of service management

from testing to live; from one organization to another
4. Service Operation

Guidance for organizations on

how to coordinate daily operation and deploy the services to operation

how to deliver value with quality, efficiency and effectiveness by

service operation and support

how to maintain stability while allowing for changes

how to exercise reactive and proactive control

how to support operation through new models and architectures (e.g.

web services, mobile e-commerce, cloud computing, etc.)
Execute the plans and measure the results

A critical capability as strategic objectives are realized in operation

5. Continual Service Improvement

Guidance for organizations on

measurement, reporting and improvement on services, processes and

technology for every stage in the lifecycle

how to continually monitor, maintain and create value to users through

better design, transition and operation

how to link improvement efforts and outcomes with service strategy,

design, and transition through the closed-loop PDCA (plan, do, check, act)
model

how to continually align to changing business needs

Combine quality management, change management and capability

improvement
Conclusion: ITIL v3 Foundation Concepts
This ITIL v3 Foundation study note provides an overview of the components of the
ITIL framework and the ITIL lifecycle (Service Strategy, Service Design, Service
Transition, Service Operation and Continual Service Improvement) and definitions of
terms like IT Service, IT Service Management, Process, Function and Role.