Introduction to Service Management Flashcards
What is a service?
A service is a means of delivering value to customers by facilitating the outcomes customers want to achieve.
What is an outcome?
An outcome is the result of carrying out an activity, following a process, delivering a service, etc. (It can stand for intended results, as well as actual results).
What is an IT service? How is it different from a generic service?
An IT service is a service delivered by an IT service provider, and is made up of a combination of Information Technology, people, and processes.
Why are services so valuable, over goods?
A service, unlike a good, is divorced from the risks and costs that can come from owning a good.
What are customer-facing services? What forms are there?
Customer-facing services are services that can be seen by the customer? There are three forms:
- Internal Customer-Facing: An IT service that directly supports a process managed by another business unit.
- External Customer-Facing: An IT service that is directly provided to an external customer.
- Supporting: A supporting service is not used directly by the business, but is required by the service provider to deliver customer-facing services (ex. A backup service).
Why do we differentiate between internal and external customer-facing services?
We differentiate between internal and external customer-facing services because we want to be able to distinguish between services that support an internal business activity, and those that actually achieve business outcomes/goals. The difference makes a big deal in the visible contribution to the business’s goals.
What are the three categories that all services, internal or external, can be categorized into?
Core Services - Core services deliver the basic outcomes that the customer desires. These are what the customer is willing to pay money for.
Enabling Services - Enabling services are the services necessary to deliver a core service. They’re not offered to the customer directly, but in a way are still used by them.
Enhancing Services - Enhancing services are services that add on to a core service to make it more attractive to the customer. They don’t fulfill customer requirements, but instead enhance the experience.
What is a service package?
A service package is a collection of two or more services that have been combined to offer a solution to a specific type of customer/business need. A package can contain any number of the three forms of service, as well as other service packages.
Define how the value of a service is determined.
The value of a service is determined by the level to which the service meets a customer’s expectations, or allows them to achieve their business goals. This means the value of a service can vary from customer to customer.
When does a service contribute value to an organization?
A service only contributes value to an organization when its value is perceived to be higher than the cost of obtaining it. That is, the cost to use the service is outweighed by the benefit of using it.
What are the two factors that make up a service’s value?
Utility - What the customer gets from the service (also known as “fitness for purpose”). This is the functionality of the product or service in meeting a particular need, or to put it simply, what it does.
Warranty - How the service is delivered (also known as “fitness for use”). This is the assurance that the service will meet its agreed requirements. It refers to the service’s availability, continuity, and security, or to put it simply, how it’s delivered.
What is a service asset?
A service asset is any resource or capability used by a service provider to deliver services to a customer.
What is a resource?
A resource is a generic term for anything that might help to deliver an IT service. This could include things like infrastructure, people, money, and so on. Resources are considered assets of their organization. Duh.
What is a capability?
A capability is the ability to carry out an activity. Capabilities are very nebulous, but are possessed by people, processes, applications, other services, etc. Capabilities are the intangible assets of an organization, and are generally knowledge-intensive, experience-driven, information-based, and rooted in the organization’s people, processes, and technologies (they are the result of these).
Which is harder for other organizations to duplicate, resources or capabilities? Why is that?
It is much harder for organizations to duplicate capabilities. Capabilities are developed over time, through the acquisition and use of resources.
What are some examples of resources?
Some examples of resources would be things like capital, infrastructure, applications, information, and people (as in, the number of).
What are some examples of capabilities?
Some examples of capabilities are management, organization & structure, processes, knowledge, and people (as in, experience, skills, relationships).
What is a Service Design Package?
A service design package is a set of documents (or just one document) that defines all aspects of a service and its requirements through its entire lifecycle.
What is an Operational Level Agreement?
An operational level agreement is an agreement that is necessary to deliver the quality of service agreed to in the service level agreement.
What are the main goals of service management?
The main goals of service management are to:
- Understand the services the organization is providing.
- Ensure the services actually facilitate the outcomes the customers want.
- Understand the value of their services to the customer.
- Understand and manage the costs and risks associated with the services.
What is the “core” of service management?
The heart of service management is exploiting an organization’s resources, through the use of its capabilities, into services. It’s alchemy!
What does it take to be a stakeholder?
Stakeholders are anyone that has an interest in an organization, project, service, what have you.
What is a service provider?
A service provider is an organization supplying one or more services to customers, be they internal or external. Very simple.
What are the three types of service providers?
Type I - Internal Service Provider: An internal service provider is one that is embedded within a business unit.
Type II - Shared Services Unit: A shared services unit is an internal service provider that provides IT services to multiple business units.
Type III - External Service Provider: Guess. Just guess.