2. Introduction
ITIL is the most widely recognized framework for ITSM in the world. In the 20 years since it
was created, ITIL has evolved and changed its breadth and depth as technologies and business
practices have developed.
There are several sources for best practice including public frameworks, standards and the
proprietary knowledge of organizations and individuals. ITIL is the most widely recognized and
trusted source of best-practice guidance in the area of ITSM.
Why is ITIL successful?
ITIL embraces a practical approach to service management – do what works. And what works
is adapting a common framework of practices that unite all areas of IT service provision
towards a single aim – that of delivering value to the business.
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3. Introduction 1
ITIL, formally an acronym for Information Technology Infrastructure Library, is a set of
detailed practices for IT service management (ITSM) that focuses on aligning IT services with
the needs of business.
A framework and not a methodology, guidance more than standard, organizations need to
adopt and adapt the processes.
ITIL is part of a suite of best-practice publications for IT service management (ITSM). ITIL
provides guidance to service providers on the provision of quality IT services, and on the
processes, functions and other capabilities needed to support them.
ITIL underpins ISO/IEC 20000 (previously BS 15000), the International Service Management
Standard for IT service management, there are some differences between the ISO 20000
standard and the ITIL framework.
ITIL will provide a great and widely adopted framework, enabling you to reduce the cost of IT
operation, improve quality of services, increase user satisfaction and even improve
compliance. The ITIL framework is process oriented, explained in a structured and coherent
way that is simple to understand and follow. And, if implemented properly, ITIL is ISO 20000
compatible.
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4. Introduction 2
ITIL describes processes, procedures, tasks, and checklists which are not organization-
specific, but can be applied by an organization for establishing integration with the
organization's strategy, delivering value, and maintaining a minimum level of competency. It
allows the organization to establish a baseline from which it can plan, implement, and
measure. It is used to demonstrate compliance and to measure improvement.
Since July 2013, ITIL has been owned by AXELOS, a joint venture between Capita (an
international business process outsourcing and professional services company headquartered
in London) and the UK Cabinet Office.
ITIL is used by many hundreds of organizations around the world and offers best-practice
guidance to all types of organization that provide services. ITIL is not a standard that has to
be followed; it is guidance that should be read and understood, and used to create value for
the service provider and its customers. Organizations are encouraged to adopt ITIL best
practices and to adapt them to work in their specific environments in ways that meet their
needs.
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5. Service
Service
ITIL defines a Service as "a means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the ownership of
specific costs and risks."
Services facilitate outcomes by enhancing the performance of associated tasks and reducing the effect of constraints. These constraints may
include regulation, lack of funding or capacity, or technology limitations. The end result is an increase in the probability of desired outcomes.
Outcome-based service
An outcome-based definition of service moves IT organizations beyond business–IT alignment towards business–IT integration. Internal dialogue
and discussion on the meaning of services is an elementary step towards alignment and integration with a customer’s business.
Types of services
All services, whether internal or external, can be further classified in terms of how they relate to one another and their customers. Services can
be classified as core, enabling or enhancing.
Internal and external services
Internal services are delivered between departments or business units in the same organization. External services are delivered to external
customers. Internal services should be linked to external services in order to understand the contribution to business outcomes.
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6. Service Provider
There are three main types of service provider. While most aspects of service
management apply equally to all types of service provider, other aspects such
as customers, contracts, competition, market spaces, revenue and strategy
take on different meanings depending on the specific type.
The three types are:
Type I – internal service provider an internal service provider that is
embedded within a business unit. There may be several Type I service
providers within an organization.
Type II – shared services unit an internal service provider that provides
shared IT services to more than one business unit.
Type III – external service provider a service provider that provides IT
services to external customers (known to their customers as supplier).
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7. Stakeholders
Stakeholders have an interest in an organization, project or service etc. and may be
interested in the activities, targets, resources or deliverables from service management.
Examples include organizations, service providers, customers, consumers, users, partners,
employees, shareholders, owners and suppliers.
Users Those who use the service on a day-today basis. Users are distinct from customers, as
some customers do not use the IT service directly.
Suppliers Third parties responsible for supplying goods or services that are required to
deliver IT services. Examples of suppliers include commodity hardware and software vendors,
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 and agrees the service level targets.
Internal customers are people or departments who work in the same organization as the
service provider.
External customers are people who are not employed by the organization, or organizations
that are separate legal entities, that purchase services from the service provider in terms of
a legally binding contract or agreement.
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9. Service Management
ITIL definition “A set of specialised organizational capabilities for providing value
to customers in the from of services”.
Capabilities include functions and processes for managing services over a lifecycle.
Represent an organizations capacity, competency and confidence for action
The use of IT today has become the utility of business. Business today wants IT
services that behave like other utilities such as water, electricity or the telephone.
Simply having the best technology will not ensure that IT provides utility like
reliability. Professional, responsive, value driven service management is what
brings this quality of service to the business.
Service management is a set of specialized organizational capabilities for
providing value to customers in the form of services. The more mature a service
provider’s capabilities are, the greater is their ability to consistently produce
quality services that meet the needs of the customer in a timely and cost-
effective manner.
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10. 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 through an appropriate mix of people, process and information
technology.
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11. ITIL Service Lifecycle
The ITIL core consists of five lifecycle publications. Each provides part of the guidance
necessary for an integrated approach as required by the ISO/IEC 20000 standard
specification. The five publications are:
Service Strategy
Service Design
Service Transition
Service Operation
Continual Service Improvement
Each stage relies on service principles, processes, roles and performance measures,
and each stage is dependent on the other lifecycle stages for inputs and feedback. A
constant set of checks and balances throughout the Service Lifecycle ensures that as
business demand changes with business need, the services can adapt and respond
effectively to them.
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13. Processes
“A structured set of Activities designed to accomplish a specific objective”
Processes define actions, dependencies and sequence. Well-defined processes can
improve productivity within and across organizations and functions. Process
characteristics include:
- Measurability We are able to measure the process in a relevant manner. It is
performance driven. Managers want to measure cost, quality and other variables
while practitioners are concerned with duration and productivity.
- Specific results the reason a process exists is to deliver a specific result. This
result must be individually identifiable and countable.
- Customers Every process delivers its primary results to a customer or
stakeholder. Customers may be internal or external to the organization, but the
process must meet their expectations.
- Responsiveness to specific triggers while a process may be ongoing or iterative,
it should be traceable to a specific trigger.
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15. Functions
“A team or group of people and the tools and other resources they use to
carry out one ore more processes or activities”
A function is a team or group of people and the tools or other resources they
use to carry out one or more processes or activities. In larger organizations, a
function may be broken out and performed by several departments, teams
and groups, or it may be embodied within a single organizational unit (e.g.
the service desk)
For the service lifecycle to be successful, an organization will need to clearly
define the roles and responsibilities required to undertake the processes and
activities involved in each lifecycle stage. These roles will need to be
assigned to individuals, and an appropriate organization structure of teams,
groups or functions will need to be established and managed.
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16. Roles
“A role is a set of responsibilities, activities and authorities granted to a person or team. A Role is defined in a
Process or Function. One person or team may have multiple Roles”
RACI is an acronym for the four main roles of being:
Responsible The person or people responsible for correct execution – for getting the job done
Accountable The person who has ownership of quality and the end result. Only one person can be
accountable for each task
Consulted The people who are consulted and whose opinions are sought. They have involvement through
input of knowledge and information
Informed The people who are kept up to date on progress. They receive information about process
execution and quality.
Service Owner - The service owner is accountable for the delivery of a specific IT service.
Process Owner - The process owner role is accountable for ensuring that a process is fit for purpose
Process Manager - The process manager role is accountable for operational management of a process
Process Practitioner - A process practitioner is responsible for carrying out one or more process activities
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17. Service Strategy
ITIL Service Strategy provides best-practice guidance for the service strategy
stage of the ITIL service lifecycle.
The purpose of the service strategy stage of the service lifecycle is to define
the perspective, position, plans and patterns that a service provider needs to
be able to execute to meet an organization’s business outcomes.
5 Processes
Service Portfolio Management Process
Business Relationship Management Process
Financial Management for IT Services Process
Strategy Management for IT Services Processes
Demand Management Processes
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18. Service Design
Design new and changed services in order to meet business objectives
A stage in the lifecycle of a service. Service design includes the design of the services, governing practices,
processes and policies required to realize the service provider’s strategy and to facilitate the introduction
of services into supported environments.
Service design includes the following processes:
- Design coordination
- Service catalogue management
- Service level management
- Availability management
- Capacity management
- IT-service continuity management
- Information security management
- Supplier management
Although these processes are associated with service design, most processes have activities that take place
across multiple stages of the service lifecycle.
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19. Service Transition
How to move new or changed services from design to operation.
A stage in the lifecycle of a service. Service transition ensures that new, modified or retired services meet the
expectations of the business as documented in the service strategy and service design stages of the lifecycle.
Service transition includes the following processes:
- Change Management.
- Release and deployment Management.
- Service asset and configuration Management.
- Knowledge Management.
- Transition planning and support.
- Service validation and testing (not part of ITIL foundation).
- Change evaluation (not part of ITIL foundation).
Although these processes are associated with service transition, most processes have activities that take place
across multiple stages of the service lifecycle.
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20. Service Operation
A stage in the lifecycle of a service. Service operation coordinates and carries out the activities and processes required to deliver and manage services at
agreed levels to business users and customers. Service operation also manages the technology that is used to deliver and support services.
Operation and Support of Live Services.
Service operation includes the following processes:
- Event Management.
- Incident Management.
- Request fulfilment.
- Problem Management.
- Access management.
Service operation also includes the following functions:
- Service desk.
- Technical Management.
- IT operations Management (Facilities Management and IT Operations Control).
- Application management.
Although these processes and functions are associated with service operation, most processes and functions have activities that take place across multiple
stages of the service lifecycle.
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21. Continual Service Improvement
A stage in the lifecycle of a service. Continual service improvement ensures
that services are aligned with changing business needs by identifying and
implementing improvements to IT services that support business processes.
The performance of the IT service provider is continually measured and
improvements are made to processes, IT services and IT infrastructure in order
to increase efficiency, effectiveness and cost effectiveness. Continual service
improvement includes the seven step improvement process. Although this
process is associated with continual service improvement, most processes have
activities that take place across multiple stages of the service lifecycle.
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