Four Dimensions of Service Management

Question 1

What are the Four Dimensions?

Answer 1

1. Organization and people
2. Information and technology
3. Partners and suppliers
4. Value streams and processes

• Represent a holistic approach to service management

Question 2

Dimension 1: Organization and People

Answer 2

SG:
1. Formal organizational structures

2. Roles, responsibilities, and systems of authority and communication
3. Skills and competencies of teams or individual members, management and leadership styles

___

• Formal organizational structures (systems of authority and communication
• Culture
• Staffing and competencies
• Roles and responsibilities

Ensure the above are well defined and supports the org’s strategy and operating model

Org needs a culture that supports its objectives

• Shared values
• Leaders championing and advocating these values
• Trust and transparency
• Communication

Question 3

Dimension 2: Information and Technology

Answer 3

SG:
1. Information, knowledge, technologies necessary for service management

2. Relationships between different components of the SVS, e.g., inputs and outputs of activities and practices
3. Information created, managed, and used in the course of service provision and consumption, and the technologies that support and enable a particular service.
4. Exchange of information between different services and service components

___

Question 4

Dimension 3: Partners and Suppliers

Answer 4

SG:
1. Relationships with other orgs that are involved in the design, development, deployment, delivery, support, and/or continual improvement of services

2. Contracts and other agreements between the org and its partners/suppliers
   _____

• Service relationship between organizations
• Organization’s partner and supplier strategy
• Factors influencing strategies
• Service integration and management

Every organization and service depends on services provided by other organizations

Incorporates contracts and agreements between org and partners or suppliers

Suggested to use a “Service integrator”

Partners and supplier strategy should be based on org’s goals, culture and business environment

e.g. Demand patterns (seasonal, variability)

Question 5

Dimension 4: Value Streams and Processes

Answer 5

SG:
1. Working of various parts of the org in an integrated and coordinated way to enable value creation through products and services

2. Activities, workflows, controls, and procedures needed to achieve agreed objectives
3. Identification and understanding of the various value streams and structuring the orgs service and product portfolios around value streams
4. Identification and removal of barriers to workflow and non-value-add activities (waste)

____

Activities, workflows, controls, and procedures needed to achieve agreed objectives

Generic operating model: Service value chain (SVC)
SVC is generic but can follow different patterns (i.e. streams = SVS)

Question 6

Value stream (Definition)

Answer 6

A series of steps an organization take to create and deliver products and services to consumers

• Defined by organizations for each product/service
• Optimized using automation or emerging technologies
• Enable orgs to analyze current state and make improvements

Question 7

Process (Definition)

Answer 7

A set of interrelated or interacting activities that transform inputs into outputs

• A process takes one or more defined inputs and turns them into defined outputs
• Processes define the sequence of actions and their dependencies
• A structured set of activities designed to accomplish a specific objective
• Detailed in procedures, outline who is involved along with work instructions

Question 8

External factors: PESTLE

Answer 8

Political
Economic
Social
Technological
Legal
Environmental