Chapter overview

Usage

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 metric s 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 component s, such as hardware, software application s and networks, that make up the end-to-end service from a business perspective) and to detect any threat s 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 process es and tools are needed to manage cross-organizational workflows.

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 guideline s 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/ resource s, 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

Chapter 2 introduces the concept of Service Management as a practice. Here, Service Management is positioned as a strategic and professional component of any organization. This chapter also provides an overview of Service Operation as a critical component of the Service Management Practice.

The key principles of Service Operation are covered in Chapter 3 of this publication. These principles outline some of the basic concepts and principles on which the rest of the publication is based.

Chapter 4 covers the processes performed within Service Operation – most of the Service Operation processes are reactive because of the nature of the work being performed to maintain IT Service s in a robust, stable condition. This chapter also covers proactive processes to emphasize that the aim of Service Operation is stability – but not stagnation. Service Operation should be constantly looking at ways of doing things better and more cost-effectively, and the proactive processes have an important role to play here.

Chapter 5 covers a number of Common Service Operation activities, which are groups of activities and procedure s performed by Service Operation Functions. These specialized, and often technical, activities are not processes in the true sense of the word, but they are all vital for the ability to deliver quality IT services at optimal cost.

Chapter 6 covers the organizational aspects of Service Operation – the individuals or groups who carry out Service Operation processes or activities – and includes some guidance on Service Operation organization structures.

Chapter 7 describes the tools and technology that are used during Service Operation.

Chapter 8 covers some aspects of implementation that will need to be considered before the operational phase of the lifecycle becomes active.

Chapter 9 highlights the challenges, Critical Success Factors and risk s faced during Service Operation, while the Afterword summarizes and concludes the publication.

ITIL does not stand alone in providing guidance to IT managers and the appendices outline some of the key supplementary frameworks, methodologies and approaches that are commonly used in conjunction with ITIL during Service Operation

Дата добавления: 2014-12-23