Collecting and Analyzing Requirements

Every ITSM framework and standard references the need to meet "customer requirements". Unfortunately, there is less attention paid to the process of collecting and managing those requirements.

I am happy to report that the ITIL Service Design book contains some good high level guidance on "Requirements Engineering" (Section 5.1). Requirements Engineering is defined as

"the approach by which sufficient rigor is introduced into
the process of understanding and documenting business
and user requirements and ensuring traceability of changes
to each requirement."

The section goes on to to describe a Requirements Catalog for documenting and managing changes to requirements. It also describes techniques and tools for gathering, analyzing and validating requirements with customers.

ITIL defines three levels of requirements: Functional, Management and Operational and Usability.

The Service Design book is particularly good for those who do not have a background in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). I would highly recommend it to everyone involved in process design, implementation and operational management.

Comments

Four Service Characteristics

Recently I came across several articles by researchers and experts that laid out definitions and characteristics of services. ITIL provides us with a definition that can help drive the creation of value-laden services: A means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks. An area that ITIL is not so clear is in terms of service characteristics. Several researchers and experts put forth that services have four basic characteristics (IHIP): Intangibility—Services are the results of actions not things. They have no physical presence and represent a logical set of elements. One way to think of service is “work done for others.” Heterogeneity—Also known as “variability”; services are unique items because of the mechanisms used to deliver services, which is people. Because the people element adds variability, the service is variable. This holds true, especially for the value proposition—not eve...

From the Four Ps to the Four Dimensions: ITIL (Version 5)

By Donna Knapp and Lisa Schwartz For years, people , process , and technology (PPT) provided a widely recognized framework for balancing and integrating the components needed to achieve effective performance and outcomes. In the ITIL v3 Service Design publication, this perspective expanded to the four Ps: people , processes , products , and partners . ITIL 4 developed these ideas further through the four dimensions of service management. ITIL (Version 5) carries the same four dimensions forward into digital product and service management, emphasizing their importance throughout the product and service lifecycle. The four dimensions are: Organizations and people Information and technology Partners and suppliers Value streams and processes These dimensions provide complementary perspectives for managing digital products and services. They apply across the ITIL Value System, including its management practices and the activities through which products and ser...

What Is A Service Offering?

The ITIL 4 Best Practice Guidance defines a “Service Offering” as a description of one or more services designed to address the needs of a target customer or group. As a service provider, we can’t stop there! We must know what the contracts of our service offering are and be able to put them into context as required by the customer. Let’s explore the three elements that comprise a Service Offering. A “Service Offering” may include: Goods, Access to Resources, and Service Actions 1. Goods – When we think of “Goods” within a service offering these are the items where ownership is transferred to the consumer and the consumer takes responsibility for the future use of these goods. Example of goods that are being provided in the offering – If this is a hotel service then toiletries or chocolates are yours to take with you. You the consumer own these and they are yours to take with you. ...

Search