The Best of Service Design, Part 1

We continue our "Best of" blog series by moving into Service Design.

The Service Design Package

Originally Published in 2010

I have gotten many questions about what value does the Service Design Package provide?

We first must understand that all design activities are triggered by changes in business needs or service improvements. In order to design and deliver IT services that meet the changing needs of the customers and the business, clear, concise and unambiguous specifications of the requirements must be documented and agreed.

The SDP is where we document and agree to

Requirements – What the business wants and how they plan to use this new service. Define who all of the stakeholders are

Service Design – Functionality of this new or changed service (SOR). Service levels to be delivered (SLRs, SLAs). Operational management requirements (OLAs, Contracts). Overall design and topology. Defined outcomes and deliverables.

Organizational Readiness Assessment – Do we have the financial, technical, organizational resources and capabilities to meet the needs of the business? Have we assessed the business benefit this service will deliver?

Service Lifecycle Plan – Overall plan to cover the five stages of the service lifecycle including details for transitioning, operation and CSI of the new service.

Service Transition Plan – Overall transition strategy. Define objectives. State policy and do risk assessment.

Service Operational Plan – Overall operational strategy. Define objectives. State policy and do risk assessment

Service Acceptance Criteria - Document to ensure that the service meets its expected functionality and quality. The service provider is ready to deliver and support the new service.

With this document in hand we can insure that the service delivered will meet the agreed needs of the customer and the business the first time with minimum of rework and interruption. It will insure that availability, capacity, security and continuity can be assured thereby delivering value to the business.

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