Service Design
Introduction
Overview
Service Design is
the service lifecycle phase that is responsible for designing appropriate, comprehensive and innovative
IT services.
Service Design is
the phase in the lifecycle following Service Strategy. In this perspective, Service Design has to meet the objectives of Service Strategy and apply the strategies into the design.
Purpose
The purpose of the service design
stage
of the lifecycle is to design IT services, together with the governing IT practices, processes
and policies to
realize the service provider's strategy and to facilitate the introduction of these services into supported environments ensuring quality
service
delivery,
customer
satisfaction and cost-
effective service provision.
Objectives
Objectives of Service Design include the following:
• Design services to deliver more effective and efficient IT and business solutions to satisfy business objectives
• Reduce, minimize or constrain the long-term costs of service provision
• Design efficient and effective processes for
design, transition, operation
and improvement of high quality IT services
• Design secure and resilient IT infrastructures
• Design measurements methods and metrics
• Produce
and maintain IT plans,
processes,
architectures,
frameworks
and documentations
• Develop the skills and capabilities within IT
• Contribute to the improvement
of the overall quality of IT services offered
Processes
The processes included
in the Service Design phase are:
• Service Level Management (design)
• Capacity Management
• Availability Management
• IT Service Continuity Management
• Information Security
Management
• Supplier Management
• Service Catalog Management
Many of these activities will reoccur in other lifecycle phases.
Introduction - Roles (Process Owner)
The process owner's accountabilities include:
• Sponsoring, designing and change managing the process and its metrics
• Defining the process
strategy
• Assisting with process design
• Ensuring that appropriate process
documentation is available and current
• Defining appropriate policies
and
standards to
be
employed throughout the
process
• Periodically auditing the process to ensure compliance to policy and standards
• Periodically reviewing the process strategy to ensure that it is still appropriate and change as required
• Communicating process
information or changes
as
appropriate to ensure
awareness
• Providing process resources
to
support
activities
required throughout the service lifecycle
• Ensuring that
process technicians have
the
required
knowledge and the required technical and business understanding to
deliver the process, and understand their role in the process
• Reviewing opportunities for
process enhancements
and for
improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the process
• Addressing issues with the running of the process
• Identifying improvement opportunities for inclusion in the CSI register
• Working with the CSI manager
and process manager
to review and prioritize
improvements in the CSI register
• Making improvements to the process.
Roles (Process Manager)
The process manager's accountabilities include:
• Working with the process owner to plan and coordinate
all process activities
• Ensuring that
all activities are carried
out as required throughout
the service
lifecycle
• Appointing people to the required roles
• Managing resources assigned
to the process
• Working with
service owners
and
other
process
managers to ensure
the smooth running of services
• Monitoring and reporting on process
performance
• Identifying improvement opportunities for inclusion in the CSI register
• Working with
the
CSI
manager and process
owner
to
review
and prioritize improvements in the CSI register
• Making improvements to the process implementation.
Roles (Process Practitioner)
The process practitioner's responsibilities typically include:
• Carrying out one or more activities of a process
• Understanding
how their role contributes to the overall delivery of service and creation of value for the business
• Working with other stakeholders, such as
their manager, co-workers, users and customers, to ensure that their contributions are effective
• Ensuring that inputs, outputs and interfaces for their activities are correct
• Creating
or updating records to show that
activities
have been carried out correctly
Roles (Service
Owner)
The service owner has the following responsibilities:
• Ensuring that the ongoing service
delivery and support meet agreed customer requirements
• Working
with business
relationship management
to understand
and translate
customer requirements into activities, measures or service components
that will ensure that the service
provider can meet those requirements
• Ensuring
consistent and appropriate communication with
customer(s) for service related enquiries and issues
• Assisting
in
defining service models and in
assessing
the impact
of new services
or
changes to
existing
services through
the
service portfolio
management process
• Identifying
opportunities
for service
improvements, discussing these with the customer and raising RFCs as appropriate
• Liaising
with the appropriate process owners throughout the service lifecycle
• Soliciting required
data, statistics
and
reports
for
analysis and to facilitate effective service
monitoring and performance
• Providing input in service
attributes such as performance, availability etc.
• Representing the service across the organization
• Understanding the service (components etc.)
• Serving as the point of escalation (notification) for major incidents relating to the service
• Representing the service in change advisory board (CAB) meetings
• Participating
in internal service review meetings (within IT)
• Participating
in external service review meetings (with the business)
• Ensuring that the service entry in
the
service catalog
is
accurate
and
is maintained
• Participating in negotiating
service level agreements
(SLAs)
and
operational level agreements (OLAs) relating to the service
• Identifying improvement
opportunities for inclusion
in the continual service
improvement (CSI) register
• Working with the CSI manager to review and prioritize improvements in the CSI
register
• Making improvements to the service.
Value to the Business
With a good design,
the IT organization is
able
to
deliver high-quality and cost effective services.
Some of the benefits obtainable from a good Service Design are:
• Reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
• Improved alignment, quality
and consistency of service.
• Easier implementation of new or changed services.
• More effective service performance.
• Improved IT governance.
• More effective Service Management and IT process.
• Improved information
and decision-making.
Overview of Service Design
The Service Design stage aims to design service solutions
to meet
the changing requirements of the business.
All designs must reflect the goals and objectives of the business. This means that the design
team will have
to know the key
strategies in the Service Strategy,
the IT solutions and applications to
be used, the services to be offered, the resources and capabilities of the IT organization, the market trends, the costing and the operational
workflow.
The key output of the Service Design stage is the design of service solutions to meet the changing
requirements of the business.
When designing these solutions,
input from
many
different
areas
needs
to be considered within the various activities involved
in
designing the service
solution, from
identifying and analyzing
requirements,
through
to
building
a solution
and
SDP to
hand
over
to
Service Transition.
In order to develop effective and efficient service solutions that meet and continue to meet the requirements of the business and the needs of IT, it is essential that all the inputs and needs of all other areas and processes are reconsidered within each of the Service Design
activities. This will ensure that all service solutions are consistent
and compatible with
existing
solutions and will meet the expectations
of
the customers and users.
This will most effectively be achieved by consolidating these facets of the key processes into
all of these Service
Design
activities, so that all inputs are automatically referenced every time a new or changed
service solution is produced.
Role
Some of the roles of Service Design Manager
include the following:
• Taking
the
overall
service strategies
and
ensuring
they
are reflected
in the
Service Design practice
• Designing the functional aspects of the services
• Producing quality, secure and resilient designs for new or improved services, technology architecture,
processes or measurement systems
• Producing and maintaining all design documentation
• Producing and maintaining all necessary
Service Design Packages
• Measuring the effectiveness and efficiency of the Service Design process
Service Portfolio
and Service
Catalog
Service Portfolio is produced
as part of Service Strategy. Service Portfolio contains
the Service Catalog.
Service Portfolio
has a
role to maintain and provide
a central
accurate
set
of information
on all services.
The Service Portfolio represents the
commitments and investments made by a service provider to all customers and market spaces. It also includes current contractual commitments, new service
developments and ongoing service improvement programs; as well as
third-party services. The Service Portfolio contains information relating to
every service and its current status within the organization.
Service Catalog is a subset of Service Portfolio. The Service Catalog should contain details of all operational services or those being prepared for transition to the live environment. These include details of services and
activities
in the Service
Operations and Service Transition lifecycles. The Catalog contains
a customer-facing view of IT services that
enables them to understand
the
services
offered,
the processes involved and quality of service to be expected.
Service Design
Package
Service Design Package (SDP) defines a
set of design constraints against which the service
release
and new or
changed service
will
be
developed
and
built. This package is then passed from
Service Design to Service
Transition. It is produced during the design stage for each new cycle, major change to a
service, removal of a service,
or changes to the Service Design Package itself.
The SDP contains:
• Details and requirements of the Services: the service, it's functionality and the conditions under which the service
has to be delivered
• Service Design: the details of the required capacity, availability, continuity etc. for the specific service
• Assessment: review of the service
conditions and how they can be achieved
• Service Lifecycle Plan: the expected duration and condition of the service to be
operational
Service Design
Aspects
There are several aspects of designs that are crucial to the overall integrated output of Service Design.
There are 5 major aspects of Service Design:
• The design of the service solutions: In designing service solutions, a formal and structured
approach is necessary,
this is to ensure that the new services are at the right cost, functionality, quality and within the time frame.
• The design of Service
Management Systems
and Tools for the management and control of services
throughout
their
lifecycle: The most effective way
of managing all aspects of services through their lifecycle is
by using appropriate management systems and tools to support and automate efficient
processes. The Service Portfolio is the most critical management system used to support all processes and describes a provider’s services in terms of business value.
• The design of the technology and management architecture and tools required
to provide the services: Provides the overall strategic blueprints for the development
and
deployment
of an
IT infrastructure. This includes policies, operations, documentation and improvement plans.
• The design
of the processes needed to design, transition, operate
and improve the services: Helps
to
understand
the
distinctive features of a process. A process includes roles, responsibilities,
tools and
management controls. Process control
enables
the
processes
to be performed in a controlled,
consistent, effective and efficient manner.
• The design of the measurement systems, methods and metrics for the services,
the architecture
and
their constituent
components and
the
processes: Monitoring and measuring processes is
vital to
manage and control design processes. The four types of metrics are Progress, Compliance, Effectiveness and Efficiency.
The “Four Ps”
The implementation
of ITIL® service management as a practice is about preparing and planning the effective
and efficient use of the “Four Ps”.
The 4 Ps are:
• People: Communication, training and clear definitions of
roles and responsibilities for
all parties involved are
essential. This aspect of the “Four Ps” is concerned with the “soft” side of IT.
• Processes: “Processes” is where ITIL® enters the design mechanism.
It relates to the end-to-end delivery of services
based on process flows. The ITIL® processes are covered as a phased lifecycle.
• Products: There are now a number
of tools available
to IT organizations
that are considered “ITIL® compatible” and have been developed to complement
IT Service Management
procedures. These tools can assist in the implementation and running of IT services.
• Partners: Suppliers and the management of suppliers, partners, manufacturers and vendors are essential to the provision of quality IT services.
Technology and Architecture
Technology and architecture that are going to be applied across the service lifecycle
are determined and designed during Service Design.
Automation of processes is widely applied in IT organizations. Automation supports integration of processes
such as for the purpose
of
measuring performance,
knowledge management, improved utility and warranty
as well as reduced risks and costs.
Service Operation needs an integrated IT Service Management Technology
(Toolset) that enables it to be managed efficiently. The core functionalities of the Toolset include:
• Self Help: This capability
is supported
with some form
of web
front-end. A
menu-driven range of self-help and service requests is offered.
• Workflow or Process Engine: This capability allows
the
pre-definition and control of defined processes to be automatically managed.
• Integrated CMS: This capability allows
the
organization’s IT infrastructure
assets, components,
services
and Configuration items to be held in a centralized location
and linked to Incidents, Problem, Known Error and Change
records.
• Discovery/Deployment/Licensing Technology: This capability allows
the process to run from any location on the network, deploy new software
to target locations,
and automatic comparison of software
licenses details and license numbers
• Remote Control: This capability
enables the Service Desk analysts and other support groups to take control of the users’ desk-top for investigation or
correct settings
• Diagnostic Utilities: This capability creates and use diagnostic scripts
and utilities to assist with earlier diagnosis of incidents
• Reporting: This capability incorporates good reporting and can be used to input data to industry-standard reporting
packages.
• Dashboards: This capability allows ‘at a glance’ visibility of the overall IT service performance and availability levels.
• Integration
with
Business
Service
Management: Business applications
and tools need to
be interfaced with ITSM support tools to give the require d functionality
Service Design
Tools helps in simplifying
the development of Service
Design by providing graphical views of the service and its constituent components.
Service Design tools and techniques can be used for:
• Hardware design
• Software design
• Environmental design
• Process design
• Data design
The tools and techniques are many and varied, including both proprietary and non- proprietary, and are useful in:
• Speeding up the design process
• Ensuring that standards
and conventions are followed
• Offering prototyping, modeling and simulation facilities
• Enabling “What if?” scenarios to be examined
• Enabling checking and correlation of interfaces and dependencies
• Validating designs before they are developed
and implemented to ensure that they satisfy and fulfill their intended requirements
Developing Service
Designs can
be
simplified
by
the
use
of
tools that provide graphical views of the service and its constituent components.
Competence and Skills - Service Management
The specific roles within ITIL service management all
require specific skills, attributes and competences from the people involved to enable them to work effectively and efficiently. However, whatever the role, it is imperative
that the person carrying out that role has the following attributes:
• Awareness of the business priorities, objectives and business drivers.
• Awareness of the role IT plays in enabling the business objectives to be met.
• Customer service skills.
• Awareness of what IT can deliver to the business, including latest capabilities.
• The competence, knowledge and information necessary
to complete their role.
• The ability to use,
understand
and
interpret
the best
practice, policies
and procedures to ensure adherence.
• Skills such as Management Skills, Communication Skills, Negotiation skills and an analytical mind.
The following are examples of attributes required in many of the roles, dependent on the organization and the specific roles assigned:
Management skills:
Both from a person
management perspective
and from the overall control of process
Ability
to handle meetings:
Organizing, chairing, and documenting
meetings
and ensuring
that actions are followed up
Communication skills: An important element of all roles is raising awareness of the processes in place to ensure buy-in and conformance. An ability to communicate at all levels within the organization will be imperative
Articulateness: Both written (e.g. for reports) and verbal
Negotiation
skills:
Are required for several aspects,
such
as
procurement and
contracts
An analytical mind: To analyze metrics produced
from the activity.
Competence and Skills Framework
Standardizing job
titles, functions, roles and responsibilities can simplify service management and human resource management.
Many service providers use a common framework of reference for competence and skills to support activities such as skill audits, planning future skill requirements, organizational development programs and resource allocation.
The Skills Framework for the Information
Age (SFIA)
is an example of a common reference model for the
identification
of the skills needed to develop
effective
IT services, information systems and technology.
SFIA defines seven
generic levels
at which tasks
can be
performed,
with
the associated professional skills required for each level.
A second dimension defines core competencies that can be combined with the professional skills.
SFIA is used by many IT service providers to identify career development
opportunities.
Training
Training in service
management helps service providers to build and maintain their service management capability. Training needs must be matched to the requirements for competence and professional development.
The official ITIL qualification scheme
enables
organizations to
develop the competence of
their personnel through approved training courses. The courses help students to gain knowledge of ITIL best practices, develop their competencies and gain a recognized qualification. The scheme has four levels:
• Foundation level
• Intermediate level
• ITIL Expert
• ITIL Master
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