Padgett-Beale: Presentation to IT Governance Board on ITIL
Introduction
Technology is advancing faster every day. There are so many avenues
being opened for advancement such as cloud computing, machine
learning and blockchain just to mention a few. It is imperative for any
organization to stay relevant and successful to explore these advances
to increase operational agility and increase the velocity of value-added
initiatives. ITIL 4 provides organizations the framework to address
these new service management models and to properly utilize current
and future technology.
Definition and History of ITIL
ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a framework
designed to standardize the selection, planning, delivery, maintenance,
and overall lifecycle of IT services within a business”. (Bigelow &
Montgomery, n.d.). ITIL was developed in the 1980s by the Central
Computing and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) in the United
Kingdom. The purpose was to improve the quality of the IT services
provided and to achieve better quality at lower cost. Although
significant technological changes have been made since that time, the
founding principles that ITIL was created from still exits today.
Service Value System and the Four Dimensions
The ITIL service value system (SVS) includes holistic governance
principles that allow organizations to continually align their operations
with the strategic direction set out by executive leadership. The ITIL 4
principles outline four dimensions that are needed to create high
quality products and services.
1. Organizations and people – This dimension outlines people
aspects of service management to be considered when designing,
operating, and changing service offerings
2. Value streams and processes – This dimension outlines how a
value stream flows across various activities from supply to
demand.
3. Information and technology – The focus of this dimension is on
the information created, stored, and managed in relation to the
advancements in technology that effects the methods
implemented.
4. Partner and suppliers – This dimension outlines the procedures to
be followed concerning the relationship between internal service
departments and those organizations that involved with the
design and development of solutions to achieve the strategic
objectives.
The SVS revolves around the input of opportunities\demand and
resolves those issues to solutions by applying the components of
guiding principles, governance, practices, and continual improvement.
ITIL 4 Management Practices
The ITIL service value system (SVS) highlights 14 general management
practices, 17 service management practices, and three technical
management practices. These practices draw from and support the
four dimensions previously mentioned and outline how they are
managed and developed. General management practices include
architecture management, project management, and risk management.
Service management practices includes subjects such as incident
management, IT asset management, and business analysis. Technical
management practices include deployment management, infrastructure
and platform management, and software development management.
Governance is essential to the management of these practices to
ensure that the overall goals and intentions of the organization aligns
with strategic goals and objectives.
Summary
There are many benefits that can be experienced from the
implementation of ITIL practices within an organization. The
implementation results in a significant improvement in better goal
alignment between IT departments and the business. There is an
improvement in service timelines and customer satisfaction. There is
also a reduction in costs due to better utilization and resources. The
most important point for an organization to implement ITIL training
and implementation is the flexibility it allows a service department to
adapt to changing technological needs.
References
Bigelow, S. & Montgomery, J. (n.d.). ITIL (Information Technology
Infrastructure Library). TechTarget. Retrieved from techtarget.com:
https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/definition/ITIL
Stewart, M. (2019 July). What are the Four Dimensions of ITIL 4? IFS
assist. Retrieved from info.axiossystems.com:
https://info.axiossystems.com/blog/what-are-the-four-dimensions-of-
itil-4
Stuart, R. (2019 February). Everything You Officially Need to Know
About ITIL 4. SysAid. Retrieved from sysaid.com:
https://www.sysaid.com/blog/itil/everything-you-officially-need-to-
know-about-itil-4
