ITIL Foundation Service Management Foundations and Key Concepts Syllabus

Which consumer role defines requirements and is responsible for the outcomes of consuming a service?

The customer.

Besides customer, user and sponsor, give examples of other stakeholders in service management.

Individual employees of the provider, shareholders, suppliers and partners, government/regulatory bodies, social/community groups, and charities. Each may have different definitions of value.

Define utility.

Utility is the functionality offered by a product or service to meet a particular need. It is what the service does and can be summarised as 'fit for purpose'.

Define warranty.

Warranty is the assurance that a product or service will meet agreed requirements. It is how the service performs and can be summarised as 'fit for use'.

Contrast utility and warranty using the 'fit for' phrases.

Utility = 'fit for purpose' (what the service does, removes constraints or supports performance). Warranty = 'fit for use' (how it performs, addressing availability, capacity, security and continuity).

What conditions must both utility and warranty satisfy for a service to facilitate the desired outcomes?

Both must be present: utility must be fit for purpose (deliver the required functionality) AND warranty must be fit for use (meet agreed performance levels) at the same time.

What aspects of a service does warranty typically address?

Warranty typically addresses service levels aligned to consumer needs, such as availability, capacity, security/information assurance, and continuity (often expressed as agreed conditions).

For utility to be confirmed, what must a service do?

It must either support the performance of the consumer OR remove constraints from the consumer (or both). Both conditions are not required, but at least one must be met.

Define value in ITIL 4.

Value is the perceived benefits, usefulness and importance of something.

Why is value described as subjective in ITIL 4?

Because value is defined by the perception of the stakeholders; what is valuable to one stakeholder may not be valuable to another, so value depends on the recipient's perspective.

What is value co-creation?

The principle that value is not delivered in a one-directional way by the provider, but is created jointly through an active collaboration between the service provider and the service consumer (and other stakeholders).

Why has the view of service relationships shifted from 'value delivery' to 'value co-creation'?

Because increasingly the relationship between providers and consumers is interactive: both contribute to mutual value. Consumers contribute by stating requirements, using the service, providing resources and feedback, so value is created collaboratively rather than simply handed over.

Give examples of how a service consumer contributes to value co-creation.

By defining requirements, participating in the design and improvement of services, providing resources or assets, using the service correctly, and giving feedback to the provider.

Define cost in the context of the value equation.

Cost is the amount of money spent on a specific activity or resource. From the consumer's perspective there are costs removed by the service and costs imposed by the service.

From the consumer's perspective, what are the two types of cost involved in a service?

Costs removed from the consumer by the service (part of the value proposition) and costs imposed on the consumer by the service (the cost of consumption, the total cost of using the service).

Define risk in the context of the value equation.

Risk is a possible event that could cause harm or loss, or make it more difficult to achieve objectives. It can also be defined as uncertainty of outcome and can be positive or negative.

From the consumer's perspective, what are the two types of risk associated with a service?

Risks removed from the consumer by the service (risks the provider takes on) and risks imposed on the consumer by the service (e.g. risks introduced by the provider, such as a provider going out of business or a security breach).

How do cost and risk relate to the definition of a service?

A service enables value co-creation by facilitating outcomes the consumer wants WITHOUT the consumer having to manage specific costs and risks. The provider removes certain costs and risks, while potentially imposing others; net value depends on this balance.

Define an output.

An output is a tangible or intangible deliverable of an activity.

Define an outcome.

An outcome is a result for a stakeholder enabled by one or more outputs.

Distinguish between an output and an outcome with an example.

An output is a deliverable (e.g. a photograph, or a working camera). An outcome is the result enabled by that output (e.g. capturing and preserving a memory). Providers help consumers achieve outcomes by delivering outputs.

Why is the distinction between outputs and outcomes important to service providers?

Because consumers value outcomes, not just outputs. A provider that focuses only on producing outputs without ensuring desired outcomes risks delivering something that does not create value for the consumer.

What is a service relationship?

A cooperation between a service provider and a service consumer. Service relationships include service provision, service consumption, and service relationship management.

Name the three components of the service relationship model.

1) Service provision, 2) Service consumption, and 3) Service relationship management.

Define service provision.

Activities performed by an organisation to provide services. It includes managing provider resources, ensuring access to those resources for users, fulfilling agreed service actions, service level management, and continual improvement. It may also include the supply of goods.

Define service consumption.

Activities performed by an organisation to consume services. It includes managing the consumer's resources needed to use the service, performing user actions, receiving (acquiring) goods if required, and providing feedback.

Define service relationship management.

Joint activities performed by a service provider and a service consumer to ensure continual value co-creation based on agreed and available service offerings.

When goods are supplied within a service relationship, what changes hands and what does not?

Ownership of goods is transferred from provider to consumer; the consumer then takes responsibility for their future use. With shared resources/access, ownership is typically NOT transferred. With service actions, nothing is transferred but the action is performed for the consumer.

What is a service offering?

A formal description of one or more services, designed to address the needs of a target consumer group. A service offering may include goods, access to resources, and service actions.

What three things may a service offering include?

1) Goods (ownership transferred to the consumer), 2) Access to resources (granted/licensed under agreed terms, ownership not transferred), and 3) Service actions (actions performed by the provider to address consumer needs).

What is a service agreement?

A documented agreement between a service provider and a service consumer that identifies the services to be provided and the agreed service levels (the terms governing the service relationship).

Give an example of goods, access to resources, and service actions within a service offering.

Goods: a mobile phone handset given to the customer. Access to resources: a mobile network or data allowance the customer may use under terms. Service actions: user support / help desk assistance performed by provider staff.

What is a configuration of resources, and why are products described this way?

A product is built by selecting and combining an organisation's resources (people, information and technology, value streams and processes, partners and suppliers) in a particular arrangement (configuration) designed to deliver value to a defined group of consumers.

Why might a consumer not see all of a product's components?

Because products are typically complex and not fully visible to the consumer; the provider determines which components and how much of the product the consumer sees and can use, tailoring this through service offerings.

What is the relationship between value, outcomes, costs and risks for a consumer evaluating a service?

A consumer assesses value by weighing the outcomes the service helps achieve and the costs/risks removed against the costs/risks imposed. Value increases when desired outcomes are supported and costs/risks are reduced, and decreases when new costs/risks are introduced.

Can an organisation be both a service provider and a service consumer? Explain.

Yes. Most organisations play both roles. They provide services to their customers while simultaneously consuming services from suppliers and partners, often acting as both within a network of service relationships.

Why does ITIL 4 emphasise that the provider and consumer roles are not fixed?

Because the same organisation takes the provider role in some relationships and the consumer role in others depending on context; recognising this helps manage the full network of service relationships and value co-creation.

What outcome should service relationship management aim to ensure?

Continual value co-creation between provider and consumer, based on agreed and available service offerings, by maintaining the cooperation and trust needed throughout the service relationship.

Summarise the difference between a product and a service in ITIL 4.

A product is a configuration of an organisation's resources designed to offer value to consumers (often complex and not fully visible). A service is the means of enabling value co-creation by facilitating outcomes consumers want, without them managing specific costs and risks. Products underpin services delivered through service offerings.