IT Service Management Based on ITIL® 2011 Edition

■  1.1   BACKGROUND

Since the year 2000, technological developments such as smartphones, tablets, cloud services, near-field-content, Wi-Fi, and especially social media have had a tremendous effect on the world we live in. With the emergence of extremely powerful hardware, highly versatile software and super-fast networks – and their wide-spread acceptance and use – organizations worldwide have been able to develop their information-dependent products and services to a greater extent, and to bring them to the market much faster. These, as well as many other socio-economic and political developments have marked the superimposition of the information age upon the industrial age. In this "information age", where everything is connected, the dissemination of data and information has become faster and more dynamic as well as a worldwide phenomenon.

Quoting from one of Bob Dylan’s1 songs titled "The Times They Are A-Changin" is quite appropriate here as indeed the traditional view and role of the Information Technology organization (IT) are dramatically altered based on the above. To be successful, organizations will need to be as nimble as possible in order to react to rapidly changing market demands and technologies. First, there is a movement concerning renaming IT to Information Services (IS). Second, cloud computing is becoming a more viable option and a more common solution. This is a result of organizations realizing that technology is not always one of their core competences and that outsourcing provides them with a more accurate and predictable cost structure.

Organizations should also start considering the significant impact of the arrival in the workplace of extremely technology-savvy employees. These new employees have been using technology almost since birth; they are not only the early adopters of mobile technologies but of social media as well. Information is now at their fingertips and they will expect the same in the workplace. In addition to this new generation of employees, organizations need to consider how they will handle the same demands from their existing and potential customers.

There are numerous books, whitepapers, and articles2 about the need to break down vertical business silos and shift the business model to more horizontal processes, thus "flattening" the organization. The authors of these documents are advocating that decision-making powers should be increasingly bestowed on the employees. Again, according to these various sources, an important advantage of process-oriented organizations is that processes can be designed to support a customer-oriented approach. This has made the alignment between the IT organization (responsible for supplying information) and the customer (responsible for using these information systems in their business) increasingly significant. This is usually known as Business-IT Alignment (BITA).

It is against this background that the world of IT Service Management (ITSM) has arisen and gained in popularity.

The above authors are not wrong, nor are they lacking vision; on the contrary. As organizations gained more experience with the process-oriented approach of ITSM, it became clear that these processes must be managed coherently. Moreover, it became obvious that the introduction of a process-oriented work method meant a major change for organizations that were primarily line and project-oriented. Culture and change management are crucial elements for a successful organizational design. Change management here refers to business change, as well as changes in attitudes, aptitudes, behaviors, the adoption of frameworks and methodologies adapted to suit the organizational needs.

The truth about processes and BITA is that organizations have always used processes and IT has always been part of the organization. However, we must acknowledge that processes are often conducted in isolation by a few individuals or groups. Processes are often neither shared nor documented. One of the causes for the above is that many people believe that "knowledge is power"3, as illustrated in the following two quotes:

Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.

- Kofi Annan

Knowledge is power. Information is power. The secreting or hoarding of knowledge or information may be an act of tyranny camouflaged as humility.

- Robin Morgan

In the author’s opinion, "knowledge sharing is power".

Another important lesson learned was that the IT organization must not lose itself in a process culture. Just like the one-sided project-oriented organization, a one-sided process-oriented organization was not the optimum type of business. Balance was, as always, the magic word. In addition, it became clear that the customer-oriented approach required that an end-to-end and user-centric approach must be followed: it was of no help to the user to know that "the server was still in operation" if the information system was not available at the user’s workplace. IT services must be viewed in a larger context. The need for the recognition of the Service Lifecycle, and the management of IT services in light of that lifecycle, became a concern.

Due to the fast growing dependency of business upon information, the quality of information services in companies is being increasingly subjected to stricter internal and external requirements. The role of standards is becoming more and more important, and frameworks of "best practices" help with the development of a management system to meet these requirements. Organizations that are not in control of their processes will not be able to realize great results on the level of the Service Lifecycle and the end-to-end-management of those services. Organizations that do not have their internal organization in order will also not achieve great results. For these reasons, all these aspects are handled alongside each other in the course of this book.

■  1.2   WHY THIS BOOK

This book has been developed for all those responsible for setting up and delivering the information services. Additionally, it contains a lot of useful information for those who are responsible for strategic information issues. This is supported by both the description of the Service Lifecycle, as documented in ITIL and by the description of the processes that are associated with it. The ITIL core books are very extensive: almost 2000 pages. These ITIL core books can be used for a thorough study of contemporary best practices of ITSM. This book provides the reader with an easy-to-read comprehensive introduction to the broad library of ITIL core books. And finally, the contents of this book cover the specifications for the ITIL Foundation exam from AXELOS; this book has proven useful in preparing for this exam.

In 2007 Version 3 of the ITIL framework was published. This version offered a new concept or ITSM. Additional to the processes approach the concept of the lifecycle approach was introduced with ITIL V3. In 2011 a second edition of ITIL V3 was published. This new ITIL 2011 Edition is comprised mostly of cosmetic, grammatical, and syntactic modifications.

ITIL offers a systematic approach to the delivery of quality of IT services. It provides a detailed description of most of the important processes for an IT organization, and includes information about procedures, tasks, roles, and responsibilities. These can be used as a basis for tailoring the framework to the needs of individual organizations.

Over the years, ITIL has become much more than a series of useful books about ITSM. The framework for the "best practice" in ITSM is promoted and further developed and influenced by advisors, educators, trainers, and suppliers. These suppliers include a wide variety of technological solutions such as hardware, software, and cloud computing products. Since the 1990s, ITIL has grown from a theoretical framework to the de facto approach and philosophy shared by the people who work with it in practice.

Being an extended framework of best practices for ITSM itself, the advantages and disadvantages of frameworks in general, described in Section 2.6, are also applicable to ITIL. Of course, ITIL was developed because of the advantages mentioned earlier. Many of the pointers from "best practices" are intended to avoid potential problems or, if they do occur after all, to solve them.

ITIL examinations

For the new 2011 Edition of ITIL, the syllabuses for all qualifications have been updated. The most significant changes relate to new/modified section numbers as well as improved wording and/or clarification for some learning objectives and section details.

At the publication date of this book, well over 2 million people worldwide have achieved one or more levels of ITIL certification.

There are four qualification levels relating to the ITIL framework. They are:

■   Foundation Level

■   Intermediate Level (Lifecycle Stream & Capability Stream)

■   ITIL Expert

■   ITIL Master

For more information about the ITIL V3 Qualification Scheme, please visit

http://www.itil-officialsite.com.

■  1.3   ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED IN ITIL

Cabinet Office and AXELOS

Initially ITIL was a product of CCTA, a UK government organization. In 2001 CCTA was incorporated by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) who became the new owner of ITIL. As a result, the UK Government became the owner of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), including the copyrights and trademark rights, of ITIL. Since June 2010 the operational and control tasks were in the hands of the Cabinet Office.

On 1 July 2013 a new organization was created for the further development and exploitation of ITIL and the PPM portfolio (including PRINCE2): AXELOS. This Limited company is a joint venture of the Cabinet Office and Capita PLC. As a result, this joint venture became the new owner of ITIL and the PPM portfolio. The UK government holds 49 percent of the shares of AXELOS while Capita PLC holds the remaining 51 percent.

itSMF

The target group for this publication is anyone who is involved or interested in ITSM. A professional organization, working on the development of the ITSM field, has been created especially for this target group.

In 1991 the Information Technology Service Management Forum (itSMF), originally known as the Information Technology Infrastructure Management Forum (ITIMF), was set up as a UK association. In 1994, a sister-association was established in the Netherlands, following the UK example. Since then, independent itSMF organizations have been set up in nearly fifty countries, spread across the globe, and the number of "chapters" continues to grow. All itSMF organizations operate under the umbrella organization, itSMF International (itSMF-I).

The itSMF is aimed at the entire professional area of ITSM. It promotes the exchange of information and experiences that IT organizations can use to improve their service provision. The itSMF is also involved in the use and quality of the various standards and methods that are important in the field. One of these is ITIL. The itSMF-I contributes to the promotion of the role of ITIL.

Certification, examination, and accreditation

AXELOS is responsible for managing the ITIL copyrights, the certification of the ITIL examinations and the accreditation of examination institutes. AXELOS is also responsible for the publication of the ITIL certification system and for the official ITIL publications (manuals).

In 2014 AXELOS has accredited seven Exam Institutes (EIs) for the distribution around the globe of the ITIL exams:

■   BCS-ISEB CERT-IT,

■   CSME, DANSK IT,

■   DF Certifiering AB,

■   EXIN,

■   LCS (Loyalist Certification Services),

■   PEOPLECERT Group,

■   TÜV SÜD Akademie.

For more information, see www.itil-officialsite.com.

■  1.4   DIFFERENCES FROM PREVIOUS EDITIONS

Previous editions of this book have played a key role in the distribution of ideas on ITSM and ITIL for many years. The title has been translated into thirteen languages and is recognized as the most practical introduction to the leading "best practices" in this field. Earlier editions of this book focused on the content of three books from the ITIL series (Version 2): Service Support, Service Delivery, and Security Management, and placed them in a broader context of quality management.

The main difference between ITIL Version 2 and 3 lies in the Service Lifecycle, introduced in Version 3. Where the scope of Version 2 focused on single practices, clustered in Delivery, Support, and Security Management, the scope in Version 3 takes the entire Service Lifecycle into account.

■  1.5   STRUCTURE OF THIS BOOK

This book starts with an introduction on the backgrounds and general principles of ITSM and the context for ITIL (Chapter 1). It describes the parties involved in the development of best practices and standards for ITSM, and the basic premises and standards that are used.

The body of the book is set up in two large parts: Part 1 deals with the Service Lifecycle and the four functions in ITIL, Part 2 deals with the individual processes that are described in ITIL.

Part 1, consisting of Chapters 2 and 3, introduces the Service Lifecycle, in the context of ITSM and IT Governance. It discusses principles of organizational maturity, and the benefits and risks of following a service management framework. The section introduces and discusses the functions involved in service management good practices. This enables the reader to better relate the processes in Part 2, and their related concepts and activities, back to the "people aspect" of ITSM.

In Part 2, consisting of Chapters 4 to 8, each of the phases in the Service Lifecycle are discussed in detail, following the structure of the ITIL core books: Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation, and Continual Service Improvement. These chapters provide a detailed view on the characteristics of the Service Lifecycle, its structure and its elements. The main points of each phase are presented in a consistent way to aid readability and clarity.

Each of these processes is described in an identical manner, in terms of:

1.   Introduction (containing: Goal, Objectives, Scope, Value for the business)

2.   Activities, methods and techniques

3.   Management information

4.   Interfaces

5.   Triggers

6.   Inputs

7.   Outputs

8.   Critical Success Factors

9.   Metrics

10. Challenges

11. Risks

The Appendices provide useful sources for the reader. Appendix A is a reference list of the sources used in this book is provided. Appendix B offers an overview of the most important differences between ITIL V3 (2007) and ITIL 2011 Edition.

■  1.6   HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Readers who are primarily interested in the Service Lifecycle can focus on Part 1 of the book, and pick whatever they need on functions and processes from Part 2.

Readers who are primarily interested in the functions and processes and are not ready for a lifecycle approach yet, or who prefer a process approach, can read the introductory chapters, and then focus on the functions and processes of their interest.

Readers who want a thorough introduction to ITIL, exploring its scope and main characteristics, can read Part 1 on the Lifecycle, and add as many of the processes from Part 2 as required.

This book aims to provide support to a variety of approaches to ITSM based on ITIL.

This book covers all exams specs for the ITIL Foundation exam and is therefore a useful tool when preparing for this exam. However, this book covers more subjects than the exam specs. If a reader intends to study only the subject of the exam specs, he should best rely on the Preparation Guide (ITIL Foundation Syllabus), available through:

http://www.itil-officialsite.com/Qualifications/ITILQualificationLevels/ITILFoundation.aspx.

Additionally this book offers a useful support when preparing for the ITIL Intermediate examination (lifecycle and capability exams).

The official ITIL Glossary, the official list of all ITIL terminology, is available via the product page for this book on www.vanharen.net.

_______

1   Bob Dylan – American singer, songwriter, musician (1941 - )

2   See Appendix A for some examples

3   Attributed to Sir Frances Bacon (Viscount of Saint Alban, 1561 – 1626)

■  2.1   BASIC CONCEPTS

The information provision role and system have grown and changed since the launch of ITIL Version 2 (in 2000/02). IT supports and is part of an increasing number of goods and services. In the business world, the information provision role has changed as well: the role of the IT organization role is no longer just supporting, but has become the baseline for the creation of business value.

ITIL intends to include and provide insight into the new role of IT in all its complexity and dynamics. To that end, a new service management approach has been chosen that does not center on processes, but focuses on the Service Lifecycle.

Before describing the Service Lifecycle, we first need to explain some basic concepts.

2.1.1   Best practice

ITIL is presented as a best practice. This is an approach or method that has proven itself in practice. These good practices can be a solid backing for organizations that want to improve their IT services. In such cases, the best thing to do is to select a generic standard or method that is accessible to everyone – ITIL®, COBIT®, CMMI®, PRINCE2®, and ISO/IEC 20000®, for example. One of the benefits of these freely accessible generic standards is that they can be applied to a number of real-life environments and situations.

2.1.2   Service

A service is about creating value for the customer. ITIL defines a service as follows:

A service is a means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes the customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs or risks.

The above definition is not very useful when trying to provide additional details. Table 2.1 provides further explanation about the above definition.

Table 2.1 Definition of key terms in the service definition

Outcomes are possible from the performance of tasks, and they are limited by a number of constraints. Services enhance performance and reduce the pressure of constraints.

IT service

IT services are offered by IT service providers. ITIL’s definition of an IT service is:

An IT service is a combination of people, processes, and technology. A customer oriented IT service offers a direct support to the business processes of one or more customers; the service level targets involved have to be specified in a service level agreement. Other IT services, also known as supporting services, will not be used directly by the business, but are services that are required for the service provider in order to be able to offer customer oriented services. The service provider purchases supporting services from internal or external suppliers.

Three groups of services

ITIL makes a distinction between three groups of client oriented services: core, enabling and enhancing (see Table 2.2).

A service provider may decide to offer a custom (unique) service to a small group of customers. The cost price for this will be very high because of the development costs and specific resources required. The market for these services will therefore be very limited. Therefore many service providers follow the strategy that enables them to deliver the more generic service to a large group of customers. Bundling these services into one group will result in an economy of scale. In this way the service providers are able to offer a variety of service packages to their customers. A service package is a collection of two or more services that have been combined to help deliver specific business outcomes. It is also possible that a service or service package is offered in different levels of utility (fitness for purpose) and warranty (fitness for use). For example as bronze, silver or gold service level packages.

Table 2.2 Three types of customer related services

Utility and warranty of a service

From the customer’s point of view, value is subjective. Although, at its core, value consists of achieving business objectives, it is influenced by the customer’s perceptions and preferences. From a service provider point of view, the value of a service is created by combining two primary elements: utility (fitness for purpose) and warranty (fitness for use). These two elements work together to achieve the desired outcomes upon which the customer and the business base their perceptions of a service.

Utility is the functionality offered by a product or service to meet a particular need. Utility can be summarized as "what the service does, or fit for purpose". Utility refers to those aspects of a service that contribute to tasks associated with achieving outcomes: the removal of constraints and an increase in performance.

Warranty is an assurance that a product or service will meet its agreed requirements. Warranty refers to the ability of a service to be available when needed, to provide the required capacity, and to provide the required reliability in terms of continuity and security. Warranty can be summarized as "how the service is delivered or fit for use".

Figure 2.1   Services are designed, built, and delivered with both utility and warranty

(source: AXELOS)

2.1.3   Service management

In order to offer and provide services, the service provider must effectively and efficiently manage the entire lifecycle of the services. Transforming the service provider’s capabilities and resources into valuable services is the core of service management. Service management is also a professional practice supported by an extensive body of knowledge, experience, and skills.

ITIL defines service management as:

Service management is a set of specialized organizational capabilities for providing value to customers in the form of services.

2.1.4   ITSM

An IT organization is, by definition, a service provider. It uses the principles of service management to ensure the successful delivery of the outcomes desired by the customers.

Table 2.3 ITSM and IT service providers

The IT service provider must utilize ITSM effectively and efficiently. By managing IT from the business perspective (as opposed to simply being a technology broker) the service provider will generate higher organizational performance and create greater value.

2.1.5   Service providers

There are three main types of service provider. Although almost all aspects of service management apply equally to all types of service provider, there are certain aspects that take on different meanings depending on the type of provider. These aspects include terms such as customers, contracts, competition, market spaces, revenue, and strategy.

Table 2.4 Service provider types

2.1.6   Stakeholders in service management

A stakeholder is an individual or a group that has a vested interest in an organization, project, service, etc. Of interest to the stakeholders are such service management deliverables as activities, targets, resources, etc.

Table 2.5 Stakeholders

2.1.7   Assets, resources, and capabilities

The use of assets forms the basis for the relationship between service providers and their customers. Each relationship involves an interaction between the assets of each party.

Table 2.6 Assets

Resources and capabilities are two types of asset used by both service providers and customers. Resources are direct inputs for production; they are "consumed or modified". According to ITIL the most important resources are: financial capital, applications, infrastructure, information, and people. Capabilities represent an organization’s ability to coordinate, control, and deploy the resources. According to ITIL the capabilities of an organization are found in people, knowledge, processes, organization, and management.

■  2.2   FUNCTIONS AND PROCESSES

2.2.1   Functions

ITIL defines service management as a set of specialized organizational capabilities that have been developed by an organization. Using these capabilities a IT service provider is able to provide value to customers in the form of services. These capabilities are taking shape as functions and processes. Well implemented functions and processes enable an IT service provider to manage services throughout their entire lifecycle.

It is of the utmost importance for anyone in an organization, especially in the IT organization, to understand the difference between a function and a process.

A function is a subdivision of an organization that is specialized in fulfilling a specified type of work, and is responsible for specific end results. Functions are semi-autonomous groupings with capabilities and resources that are required for their performance and results. They have their own set of tasks, roles, and area of responsibilities as well as their own body of knowledge.

A poor coordination between functions combined with an inward focus leads to the rise of "silos". This does not benefit the success of the organization. Processes run through the hierarchical structure of functions; functions often share many processes. This is how processes contribute to an ever improved coordination between functions.

Table 2.7 Organizational structure breakdown

According to ITIL four important functions are required in the design, testing, deployment and improvement of IT services:

1.   Service Desk

2.   IT Operations Management

3.   Technical Management and

4.   Application Management

These functions will be described in Chapter 3. Additional to these four functions ITIL contains 26 processes. These processes will be described in Chapter 4 to 8.

Table 2.8 The four functions in ITIL