THE ITIL SERVICE MANAGEMENT MODEL
Whether services are being provided by an internal unit of the organisation or contracted to an external agency, all services should be driven solely by business needs and judged by the value that they provide to the organisation. Decision-making therefore rests with the business. Within this context, services must also reflect the defined strategies and policies of the service provider organisation, which is particularly significant for external providers.
Figure 1.3 illustrates how the service lifecycle is initiated from a change in
requirements at the business level. These new or changed requirements are
identified and agreed at the service strategy stage and documented. Each of these ‘packages’ will have an associated defined set of business outcomes.
The package is passed to the service design stage where a service solution is produced, defining everything necessary to take this service through the remaining stages of the lifecycle. Solutions may be developed internally or consist of bought-in components that are integrated internally.
The design definition is passed to the service transition stage, where the service is built, evaluated, tested and validated, and transitioned into the live environment, where it enters the live service operation stage. The transition phase is also responsible for supporting the service in its early life and the phasing out of any services that are no longer required.
Service operation focuses on providing effective and efficient operational services to deliver the required business outcomes and value to the customer. This is where any value is actually delivered and measured.