itil study guide

acceptance criteria

A list of minimum requirements that a service or service component must meet for it to be acceptable to key stakeholders

Agile

An umbrella term for a collection of frameworks and techniques that together enable teams and individuals to work in a way that is typified by collaboration, prioritization, iterative and incremental delivery, and timeboxing.

architecture management practice

The practice of providing an understanding of all the different elements that make up an organization and how those elements relate to one another

asset register

A database or list of assets, capturing key attributes such as ownership and financial value

availability

The ability of an IT service or other configuration item to perform its agreed function when required

availability management practice

The practice of ensuring that services deliver agreed levels of availability to meet the needs of customers and users.

best practice

A way of working that has been proven to be successful by multiple organizations

big data

The use of very large volumes of structured and unstructured data from a variety of sources to gain new insights

business analysis practice

The practice of analysing a business or some element of a business, defining its needs and recommending solutions to address these needs and/or solve a business problem, and create value for stakeholders

business case

A justification for expenditure of organizational resources, providing information about costs, benefits, options, risks, and issues.

business impact analysis (BIA)

A key activity in the practice of service continuity management that identifies vital business functions and their dependencies

business relationship manager (BRM)

A role responsible for maintaining good relationships with one or more customers

call

An interaction (e.g. a telephone call) with the service desk. A call could result in an incident or a service request being logged

call/contact centre

An organization or business unit that handles large numbers of incoming and outgoing calls and other interactions

capability

The ability of an organization, person, process, application, configuration item, or IT service to carry out an activity

capacity and performance management practice

The practice of ensuring that services achieve agreed and expected performance levels, satisfying current and future demand in a cost-effective way

capacity planning

The activity of creating a plan that manages resources to meet demand for services

change

The addition, modification, or removal of anything that could have a direct or indirect effect on services

change authority

A person or group responsible for authorizing a change

change control practice

The practice of ensuring that risks are properly assessed, authorizing changes to proceed and managing a change schedule in order to maximize the number of successful service and product changes

change model

A repeatable approach to the management of a particular type of change

change schedule

A calendar that shows planned and historical changes

charging

The activity that assigns a price for services

cloud computing

A model for enabling on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provided with minimal management effort or provider interaction

compliance

The act of ensuring that a standard or set of guidelines is followed, or that proper, consistent accounting or other practices are being employed

confidentiality

A security objective that ensures information is not made available or disclosed to unauthorized entities

baseline

A report or metric that serves as a starting point against which progress or change can be assessed

configuration

An arrangement of configuration items (CIs) or other resources that work together to deliver a product or service. Can also be used to describe the parameter settings for one or more CIs

configuration item (CI)

Any component that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service

configuration management database (CMDB)

A database used to store configuration records throughout their lifecycle. The CMDB also maintains the relationships between configuration records

configuration management system (CMS)

A set of tools, data, and information that is used to support service configuration management

configuration record

A record containing the details of a configuration item (CI). Each configuration record documents the lifecycle of a single CI. Configuration records are stored in a configuration management database.

continual improvement practice

The practice of aligning an organization's practices and services with changing business needs through the ongoing identification and improvement of all elements involved in the effective management of products and services

continuous deployment

An integrated set of practices and tools used to deploy software changes into the production environment. These software changes have already passed pre-defined automated tests

continuous integration / continuous delivery

An integrated set of practices and tools used to merge developers' code, build and test the resulting software, and package it so that it is ready for deployment

control

The means of managing a risk, ensuring that a business objective is achieved, or that a process is followed

cost

The amount of money spent on a specific activity or resource.

cost centre

A business unit or project to which costs are assigned

critical success factor (CSF)

A necessary precondition for the achievement of intended results

culture

A set of values that is shared by a group of people, including expectations about how people should behave, ideas, beliefs, and practices.

customer

A person who defines the requirements for a service and takes responsibility for the outcomes of service consumption

customer experience (CX)

The sum of functional and emotional interactions with a service and service provider as perceived by a service consumer

dashboard

A real-time graphical representation of data

deliver and support

The value chain activity that ensures services are delivered and supported according to agreed specifications and stakeholders' expectations

demand

Input to the service value system based on opportunities and needs from internal and external stakeholders

continual improvement practice

The practice of aligning an organization's practices and services with changing business needs through the ongoing identification and improvement of all elements involved in the effective management of products and services

continuous deployment

An integrated set of practices and tools used to deploy software changes into the production environment. These software changes have already passed pre-defined automated tests

deployment

The movement of any service component into any environment

deployment management practice

The practice of moving new or changed hardware, software, documentation, processes, or any other service component to live environments

design and transition

The value chain activity that ensures products and services continually meet stakeholder expectations for quality, costs, and time to market

design thinking

A practical and human-centred approach used by product and service designers to solve complex problems and find practical and creative solutions that meet the needs of an organization and its customers

development environment

An environment used to create or modify IT services or applications

DevOps

An organizational culture that aims to improve the flow of value to customers. DevOps focuses on culture, automation, Lean, measurement, and sharing (CALMS).

digital transformation

The evolution of traditional business models to meet the needs of highly empowered customers, with technology playing an enabling role

disaster

A sudden unplanned event that causes great damage or serious loss to an organization. A disaster results in an organization failing to provide critical business functions for some predetermined minimum period of time

disaster recovery plans

A set of clearly defined plans related to how an organization will recover from a disaster as well as return to a pre-disaster condition, considering the four dimensions of service management

driver

Something that influences strategy, objectives, or requirements

effectiveness

A measure of whether the objectives of a practice, service or activity have been achieved

efficiency

A measure of whether the right amount of resources have been used by a practice, service, or activity.

emergency change

A change that must be introduced as soon as possible

engage

The value chain activity that provides a good understanding of stakeholder needs, transparency, continual engagement, and good relationships with all stakeholders

environment

A subset of the IT infrastructure that is used for a particular purpose, for example a live environment or test environment. Can also mean the external conditions that influence or affect something

error

A flaw or vulnerability that may cause incidents

error control

Problem management activities used to manage known errors

escalation

The act of sharing awareness or transferring ownership of an issue or work item

event

Any change of state that has significance for the management of a service or other configuration item

external customer

A customer who works for an organization other than the service provider

failure

A loss of ability to operate to specification, or to deliver the required output or outcome

feedback loop

A technique whereby the outputs of one part of a system are used as inputs to the same part of the system

four dimensions of service management

The four perspectives that are critical to the effective and efficient facilitation of value for customers and other stakeholders in the form of products and services

goods

Tangible resources that are transferred or available for transfer from a service provider to a service consumer, together with ownership and associated rights and responsibilities

governance

The means by which an organization is directed and controlled

identity

A unique name that is used to identify and grant system access rights to a user, person, or role

improve

The value chain activity that ensures continual improvement of products, services, and practices across all value chain activities and the four dimensions of service management

incident

An unplanned interruption to a service or reduction in the quality of a service

incident management

The practice of minimizing the negative impact of incidents by restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible

information and technology

One of the four dimensions of service management. It includes the information and knowledge used to deliver services, and the information and technologies used to manage all aspects of the service value system

information security management practice

The practice of protecting an organization by understanding and managing risks to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information.

information security policy

The policy that governs an organization's approach to information security management

infrastructure and platform management practice

The practice of overseeing the infrastructure and platforms used by an organization. This enables the monitoring of technology solutions available, including solutions from third parties

integrity

A security objective that ensures information is only modified by authorized personnel and activities

internal customer

A customer who works for the same organization as the service provider

Internet of Things

The interconnection of devices via the internet that were not traditionally thought of as IT assets, but now include embedded computing capability and network connectivity

IT asset

Any financially valuable component that can contribute to the delivery of an IT product or service

IT asset management practice

The practice of planning and managing the full lifecycle of all IT assets

IT infrastructure

All of the hardware, software, networks, and facilities that are required to develop, test, deliver, monitor, manage, and support IT services

IT service

A service based on the use of information technology

ITIL

Best-practice guidance for IT service management

ITIL guiding principles

Recommendations that can guide an organization in all circumstances, regardless of changes in its goals, strategies, type of work, or management structure

ITIL service value chain

An operating model for service providers that covers all the key activities required to effectively manage products and service

Kanban

A method for visualizing work, identifying potential blockages and resource conflicts, and managing work in progress

key performance indicator (KPI)

An important metric used to evaluate the success in meeting an objective

knowledge management practice

The practice of maintaining and improving the effective, efficient, and convenient use of information and knowledge across an organization

known error

A problem that has been analysed but has not been resolved

Lean

An approach that focuses on improving workflows by maximizing value through the elimination of waste

lifecycle

The full set of stages, transitions, and associated statuses in the life of a service, product, practice, or other entity.

live

Refers to a service or other configuration item operating in the live environment.

live environment

A controlled environment used in the delivery of IT services to service consumers

maintainability

The ease with which a service or other entity can be repaired or modified

major incident

An incident with significant business impact, requiring an immediate coordinated resolution