ITSM Midterm Review Notes


Demming Cycle

  • Plan-Do-Check-Act: A model for continuous improvement in IT Service Management (ITSM).

Key Concepts

  • Service:

  • Facilitates outcomes that customers want to achieve.

  • Enables value co-creation without burdening the customer with costs and risks.

  • Cost:

  • The total amount spent, including:

    • Costs removed from the consumer by the service.

    • Costs imposed on the consumer by the service.

  • Risk:

  • Potential events that could cause harm or loss.

  • Challenges achieving objectives due to uncertainties.

  • Value:

  • The perceived benefits, usefulness, and importance of services or products.

  • Utility:

  • The functionality that a product or service provides to meet specific needs.

  • Warranty:

  • Guarantee that a product/service meets agreed requirements, answering:

    • How does the product work when needed?

    • How does the service perform?

7 C’s of Communication

  • Clear: Information is easily understandable.

  • Correct: Free from errors or inaccuracies.

  • Complete: Fully covers the necessary information.

  • Concrete: Specific and detailed rather than vague.

  • Concise: Expresses ideas in a brief manner.

  • Considered: Thoughtfully prepared and respectful.

  • Courteous: Polite and respectful communication.

Communication Cycle Model

  • Focuses on ensuring effective communication throughout ITSM processes.

ITIL Guiding Principles

  1. Focus on Value: Determine and deliver value for the customer.

  2. Start Where You Are: Evaluate current services and processes before making changes.

  3. Progress Iteratively with Feedback: Implement changes incrementally to gather feedback.

  4. Collaborate and Promote Visibility: Ensure transparency and teamwork throughout processes.

  5. Think and Work Holistically: View services as interconnected systems to optimize.

  6. Keep it Simple and Practical: Avoid unnecessary complexity for efficiency.

  7. Optimize and Automate: Use technology to enhance processes where possible.

Service Value Chain

  • Framework for transforming demand into practical outcomes through ITSM.

IT Asset Life Cycle

  • Configuration Management Database (CMDB): Repository of assets and their configurations.

  • Types of Change: Differentiate between:

  • Normal Change: Standard and scheduled changes.

  • Emergency Change: Rapid changes required for urgent issues.

Incident Management

  • Purpose: To manage and resolve incidents effectively.

  • Definition: An incident is an unplanned interruption to a service.

  • Characteristics:

  • Should be logged, managed, and measured against customer expectations (i.e., SLAs).

  • Resolution times must be documented, prioritized, and communicated.

Service Desk

  • Acts as the point of contact for users to report incidents and request services.

Problem Management

  • Purpose: To reduce the impact of incidents by identifying causes.

  • Definition: A problem is a known or potential cause of one or more incidents.

  • Known Error: A recognized problem with established workarounds but unresolved.

Service Level Management

  • Purpose: Establish business targets for service performance.

  • Benefits:

  • Provides visibility into service performance.

  • Establishes a framework for assessing and monitoring SLAs.

  • Conducts service reviews to align services with organizational needs.

  • Captures and reports service performance issues to allow for continuous improvement.