What is a Service?

This is perhaps one of the most important yet challenging questions in all of IT Service Management. In fact it makes ITSM possible (given the realization that it is IT Service Management). I pondered this question while having lunch and catching up on some industry reading about value and customers.

The ITIL© V3 definition of a service is as follows:

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

So given this definition, how do we know what exactly is a service? As a result of my pondering (and some sauce spilled on my blazer from my lunch) I came to a conclusion. Simply, a service is anything you do to help other people accomplish a goal. In other words it is “work done for other people”.

If a person could accomplish the work themselves, would they need service provided to them? Maybe, but often, they can’t do it as well, as cheaply, etc. As an example, let’s go back to the sauce from my sandwich that sat on my blazer. I don’t know about most of you, but I don’t have the knowledge or machinery needed to dry clear a tweed blazer. So I now faced the reality that I would have to take the blazer to a business that has the capabilities and resources needed to dry-clean my jacket.

Most people would agree that a clothes cleaning establishment is a service business. But why? Because they make it possible for me to accomplish my goal of a clean blazer without the specific costs and risks associated with expensive and complicated dry-cleaning equipment. I can pay them to complete a set of activities that takes my dirty coat and returns it to its clean condition (well maybe even cleaner condition, I can be quite a sloppy eater at times!)

This situation is true with Information Technology as well. If I need to accomplish the goal of communicating electronically with colleagues, then the IT department can help me do that. They can provide a set of technologies and actions that allows me to open an email program, type the letter and send it. Again, I do not need to have the costs and risks associated with owning Exchange servers or email clients. I can simply pay the IT department for that capability and reap the benefits!

So I hope you can see that in the end a service is something that gives us the ability to achieve whatever outcome we need to without all the costs and difficulties that may come with achieving a specific outcome.

Evaluating and Selecting ITSM Tools

I am often asked, what is the best ITSM tool? Which tools are ITIL compliant? The answer is, of course, “it depends!” Every organization has different needs, budgets and resources.

For now, there is no officially recognized “ITIL Compliant” designation. The OGC and APM Group have recently introduced a Software Assessment Scheme that will audit ITSM toolsets against specifically defined ITIL criteria. Going forward, you will be able to easily identify the tool suites that have met those requirements.

The starting point is a list of generic requirements. An integrated suite is preferable and should include as much of the following as possible:

• Service Portfoilio
• Service Catalog
• Service Design Tools
• Discovery/Deployment/Licensing Technology
• Workflow or process engines
• CMDB’S
• Configuration Management Systems (CMS)
• Self Help for Users
• Remote Control
• Diagnostic Utilities
• Reporting Tools/Dashboards
• Service Knowledge Management System (SKMS)

Depending on your requirements, goals, budget, ITSM maturity level, you may need one, several or all of the above technologies. A good suite will offer the flexibility to purchase only those modules that are currently needed by your organization with the option to add more over time.

The next step is to assess your current tools and their use. The assessment may reveal that you are not using existing tools to their fullest capability. Consider the following when evaluating existing tools and possible new purchases:

• Support for monitoring service levels, data structure, data handling and integration
• Integration of multi-vendor infrastructure components
• Conformity to internaltional open standards
• Flexibility in implemenatation usage and data sharing
• Useability
• Distributed clients with a centralized shared database
• Conversion requirements
• Data backup, control and security
• Support and scalability

The following are useful evaluation techniques:

1. Gather your Requirements. (Use the MoSCoW strategy for evaluating your requirements. Must haves (M), Should haves (S), Could haves (C), and our Won’t haves but would like to have (W)?)
2. From the MoSCoW list, create a Statement of Requirements (SOR).
3. Identify possible products
4. Determine a selection criteria
5. Evaluate products
6. Put together a short list of products
7. Score the final products
8. Rank the products
9. Select the product that meets your needs and budget

Please remember that a tool is NOT a magic bullet. Effective internal processes are critical to gaining efficiencies through tools. Tool success will likely depend on your planning, deployment, management and improvement of process.

While there are many good ITSM technologies in the marketplace today, it is important to select the one that meets your specific and unique requirements.