ITIL is a framework of best practices for IT service management. It consists of five stages: service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation, and continual service improvement. The service strategy stage involves defining customer needs and IT strategy, as well as developing the service portfolio, demand management, and financial management processes. The goal is to establish policies and standards to govern IT service delivery and management.

1. Service Strategy
Quick Start—An Overview of ITIL
Start

2. An Overview of ITIL, Service Strategy2
ITIL®
is a registered trademark of Axelos Limited. All rights reserved.
First things first, what is ITIL?
The only thing standing between you and learning all about the IT
Infrastructure Library (ITIL for short) is learning to speak the language.
The phraseology. The fuzzwords. Let’s start with a basic definition
and then break it down into five stages. That’s right, five stages you
can count on one hand, so you’ll implement ITIL in no time.
Warning: This will increase
your brain activity
Learning ITIL®
is not easy. First, there’s confusion. “What the blank
is ITIL?” Then comes denial. “Why, ITIL, why?” Next acceptance…and
the “I can’t stay awake past one page” phase where your brain shuts
off and you fall into an ITIL-induced coma. This shouldn’t happen.
Sure, ITIL can be a bit dry. But this eBook will help you through it.
We’ll even throw in a few puns and corny jokes to make
sure you’re awake.
So grab a water bottle. Stay hydrated. And turn your
brain on to learn ITIL
NEXT >< BACK

3. ITIL 2011 Glossary Definition
ITIL is a non-prescriptive framework of best practices that a company
uses to set a baseline for IT service delivery. From here they can
strategize, implement new services or changes to current services,
and measure the success—or lack thereof.
Translation:
You know that feeling when you’re watching Netflix and your Internet
goes down? Not fun. You’re not a happy camper. That’s how
employees feel when the systems they use stop running at work—
only it’s your boss who’s not a happy camper. ITIL is the thing that
helps your IT remain afloat and keep everyone happy.
ITIL is a best practice that IT uses to keep your Internet, systems,
apps, and gadgets up and running. Companies use ITIL to improve
the way they provide services. This way your employees and
customers remain happy campers.
To top it off, ITIL is not specific to any industry or type of business
(the non-prescriptive part). ITIL is a general framework customized
to each business’s needs. This can be both good and bad for you,
the implementer. Flexibility and openness is great. But the less
strictly defined a rule is, the harder it is to follow.
An Overview of ITIL, Service Strategy3
Umm…Come again?
NEXT >< BACK

4. How does ITIL work? Five Stages at a Glance
Service Strategy
Define needs, assets,
and strategy
Service Design
Design services and the
supporting elements
Service Transition
Develop services, the supporting
elements, and the methods of
implementation
Service Operation
Deploy said services. Includes
maintenance, error resolution,
and making sure the end-user
is happy
Continual Service
Improvement
Collect data on performance
Compare to strategy standards
Change for improvement
An Overview of ITIL, Service Strategy4
You are here.
NEXT >< BACK

5. Stage 1: Service Strategy
First off, there are two very important terms that you must become
familiar with to learn Service Strategy. These are basic, universal
truths—like gravity and the Force (please don’t sue us, Lucas!).
Note: Make sure to keep an eye out for words marked in red, as
these are terms you should know.
Means of delivering value to a customer without requiring the
customer to own specific costs and risks.
Structured sets of activities designed to achieve a specific objective.
Processes have four basic characteristics:
• Transform inputs into outputs
• They deliver results to a specific customer or stakeholder
• They are measurable
• They are triggered by specific events
Processes
Services
A TERM TO LEARN
A TERM TO LEARN
An Overview of ITIL, Service Strategy5
Processes. The word alone may make you
feel like grabbing a beer (or doing something
healthier like meditating), but processes
can make your life a lot easier—especially in
the world of ITIL. The first four stages of ITIL
consist of a series of processes that resolve
specific tasks for each stage of IT Service
Management.
NEXT >< BACK

6. Other important features of this stage include the development of
the organization’s ability to collect value (payment) and manage
cost and risks.
Words to Know: Utility and Warranty
Now for the formal definition you’ve been waiting for…
ITIL 2011 Glossary Definition
Service strategy establishes an overall strategy for IT services and for
IT service management
Translation:
This is where you collect information on the business objectives of the
service provider, the demand and needs of potential users, the cost
of the services to the service provider, and how much customers can
be charged for these services. All of this is combined to establish and
later manage the high level policies and standards that govern how
the service provider operates.
An Overview of ITIL, Service Strategy6
NEXT >< BACK

7. Now that you totally love learning about ITIL processes, here are
the four main service strategy processes you should know on your
journey to learn all things ITIL.
Service Strategy Processes
Develops service concepts in preparation for selection of
services to be provided
Organizes the process by which services are identified, described,
evaluated, selected, and chartered
• Maintains the Service Portfolio:
• Contains Service Pipeline (developing services),
Service Catalog (current services), and Retired Services
• Identifies business value provided by a service
• Answers strategic questions: Strengths, weaknesses,
priorities, risks allocation of resources?
• Tracks investment in service throughout lifecycle
Service Strategy Management
Service Portfolio Management
A TERM TO LEARN
A TERM TO LEARN
An Overview of ITIL, Service Strategy7
NEXT >< BACK

8. Responsible for understanding and influencing customer demand
for services and establishing the capacity to meet these demands
• Strategize, Identify, and Analyze
– User profiles
– Workload variations
– Patterns of business activity (PBA)
Ensures customer expectations don’t exceed their budget and
that the service provider is able to meet those expectations
Managing an IT Service Provider’s budgeting,
accounting and charging
• Enhances decision making throughout the ITIL lifecycle
by promoting cost awareness
• Aids in the reduction of costs to the service provider
• Provides the ability to know different types of cost
(i.e. direct, fixed, variable, etc.)
Demand Management
IT Financial Management
A TERM TO LEARN
A TERM TO LEARN
An Overview of ITIL, Service Strategy8
NEXT >< BACK

9. What’s the next stage, you ask…
Read the next eBook to learn all about the Service Design stage.
This is where services are defined to meet all the solution
requirements collected as a part of Service Strategy.
An Overview of ITIL, Service Strategy9
Service Strategy
Service Design
Service Transition
Service Operation
Continual Service Improvement
NEXT >< BACK
eBook 1
eBook 2
eBook 3
eBook 4
eBook 5

10. The 50,000 ft. view of ITIL.
Service Strategy
Strategy Generation
Service Portfolio Mgt.
Risk Management
Demand Mgt.
Financial Mgt.
Service Design
Service Catalogue Mgt.
Service Level Mgt.
Supplier Mgt.
Availability Mgt.
Capacity Mgt.
Information Security Mgt.
IT Service Content Mgt.
Service Transition
Release and
Deployment Mgt.
Change Mgt.
Transition Planning
and Support
Service Knowledge Mgt.
Evaluation Mgt.
Service Asset and
Configuration Mgt.
Service Validation
and Testing Mgt.
Service Operation
Request fulfillment
Incident Mgt.
Access Mgt.
Problem Mgt.
Event Mgt.
Continual Service
Improvement
Service
Measurement
Service Reporting
You are here.
An Overview of ITIL, Service Strategy10
ITIL at a Glance—A Quick Review
For those of you who are short on time, here you'll find all of the
concepts covered in this eBook series (as well as some additional
ITIL facts) in a simple chart. Use this cheat sheet for reviewing the
main concepts.
NEXT >< BACK

11. © 2016 ServiceNow, Inc. All rights reserved.
ServiceNow believes information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. This publication could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. The information is subject to change
without notice. Changes are periodically added to the information herein; these changes will be incorporated in new editions of the publication. ServiceNow may make improvements and/or changes in
the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this publication at any time. Reproduction of this publication without prior written permission is forbidden. The information in this publication is provided
“as is.” ServiceNow makes no representations or warranties of any kind, with respect to the information in this publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a
particular purpose. ServiceNow and the ServiceNow logo are registered trademarks of ServiceNow. All other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
An Overview of ITIL, Service Strategy11
SN-EB-ITILSTRATEGY-032016< BACK