How To Use ITIL® 4 Create, Deliver and Support in the New Normal

Originally posted on The AXELOS Blog, March 2021 and written by Solmaz Purser, Project Editor, AXELOS

The past year has been tumultuous and unexpected, to say the least. Over a year on from the start of a pandemic that few ever expected, the world has certainly changed. Many people are now working from home. This was expected to be a temporary measure, but in some instances, people have been working from home for nearly a year. It would be fair to say that this is the new normal, where commutes now involve walking to a computer, and work social events are conducted via video conferencing.

This brings us to ITIL® 4;: Create, Deliver and Support (CDS) and how it can be used to help you in the new normal. The components of CDS are flexible and adaptable enough to be applied to any situation, such as surviving prolonged periods at home.

Relationship management

CDS explores the importance of relationship management, where a service manager acts as a point of contact and liaison between the various stakeholders. For those living with others, prolonged periods of contact in confined spaces can cause tempers to fray and arguments to erupt.

In these situations, it might help to nominate an impartial referee to settle any arguments. If that isn’t possible, remember another CDS principle about communication: good communication is vital and can use various types of media.

So, to avoid an argument, go to separate parts of your home. Any tension can be resolved later when both parties are less angry. Or, if you don’t think that a face-to-face argument is a good idea, conduct your argument via a messaging app, or with paper airplanes. CDS encourages the use of verbal and written communication, whatever works best.

Team culture

Effective communication and relationship management form part of the team culture. For a team to be successful there must be a cultural fit, where the team’s culture complements the persons. This applies to those who live together. If you are too different, it can cause problems.

For example, if one person is very tidy and another messy, this will eventually lead to resentment and arguments. However, these differences can be reconciled through social activities, such as board games, quizzes, or movie marathons. Each person also needs to remember that they are part of one household (or team) and need to take responsibility to maintain an effective environment. In other words, chores must be shared out equally!

Value streams

Many household chores can also be viewed as value streams. For example, the buying, preparing, cooking, and cleaning involved in meals is a series of steps taken to deliver value, which in this instance is food.

CDS can be applied to the meal preparation value stream by adopting value stream optimizing suggestions, such as eliminating work that does not create meaningful outcomes. So, if you include kale in your shopping list despite knowing that you won’t use or eat it, stop. Also, utilize time-saving devices. This could be a robotic vacuum cleaner that cleans as you work, fulfilling two actions at once.

Value stream outputs can also include information, which can be shared with other stakeholders to aid in ongoing management. So, after a meal, the other stakeholders can provide their opinion and evaluate the process from start to finish. The cook can then decide if they will cook that meal again or if they can improve the efficiency of the value stream. For example, by completing some of the washing up as the meal is cooking. This can also be added as an additional step in the value chain.

The components of CDS can be applied to any situation, including the new normal. This can be a great opportunity to practice applying CDS before the world (hopefully) goes back to the old normal.

To learn more; consider the following ITSM Academy certification courses:

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...

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. ...

What is the difference between Process Owner, Process Manager and Process Practitioner?

This article was originally published in 2015. With the Introduction of ITIL 4, some of this best practice has changed. See ITIL 4 and the Evolving Role of Roles . Updated Definitions in ITIL 4: Process Owner: In ITIL 4, the concept of 'processes' has expanded into broader 'practices.' Consequently, the Process Owner is now often referred to as the 'Practice Owner.' This individual is accountable for the overall design, performance, integration, and improvement of a specific practice within the organization. They ensure that the practice achieves its intended outcomes and aligns with the organization's objectives. Process Manager: Now commonly known as the 'Practice Manager' in ITIL 4, this role is responsible for the day-to-day management of the practice. The Practice Manager ensures that activities are carried out as intended, manages resources assigned to the practice, and oversees the practitioners performing the work. Process Practit...

Search