Purpose

Service Operation is a critical phase of the ITSM lifecycle. Well planned and well implemented processes will be to no avail if the day-to-day operation of those processes is not properly conducted, controlled and managed. Nor will service improvements be possible if day-to-day activities to monitor performance, assess metrics and gather data are not systematically conducted during Service Operation.

Service Operation staff should have in place processes and support tools to allow them to have an overall view of Service Operation and delivery (rather than just the separate components, such as hardware, software applications and networks, that make up the end-to-end service from a business perspective) and to detect any threats or failures to service quality.

As services may be provided, in whole or in part, by one or more partner/supplier organizations, the Service Operation view of end-to-end service must be extended to encompass external aspects of service provision – and where necessary shared or interfacing processes and tools are needed to manage cross-organizational workflows.

Usage

This publication should be used in conjunction with the other four publications that make up the ITIL Service Lifecycle.

Readers should be aware that the best-practice guidelines in this and other volumes are not intended to be prescriptive. Each organization is unique and must ‘adapt and adopt’ the guidance for its own specific needs, environment and culture. This will involve taking into account the organization’s size, skills/resources, culture, funding, priorities and existing ITSM maturity and modifying the guidance as appropriate to suit the organization’s needs.

For organizations finding ITIL for the first time, some form of initial assessment to compare the organization’s current processes and practices with those recommended by ITIL would be a very valuable starting point. These assessments are described in more detail in the ITIL Continual Service Improvement publication.

Where significant gaps exist, it may be necessary to address them in stages over a period of time to meet the organization’s business priorities and keep pace with what the organization is able to absorb and afford

Date: 2014-12-29; view: 880