ITIL V4 Glossary Flashcards
Terms
1
Q
acceptance criteria
A
A list of minimum requirements that a service or service component must meet for it to be acceptable to key stakeholders.
2
Q
Agile
A
An umbrella term for a collection of frameworks and techniques that together enable teams and individuals to work in a way that is typified by collaboration prioritization iterative and incremental delivery and timeboxing.There are several specific methods (or frameworks) that are classed as Agile such as Scrum Lean and Kanban.
3
Q
architecture management practice
A
The practice of providing an understanding of all the different elements that make up an organization and how those elements relate to one another.
4
Q
asset register
A
A database or list of assets capturing key attributes such as ownership and financial value.
5
Q
availability
A
The ability of an IT service or other configuration item to perform its agreed function when required.
6
Q
availability management practice
A
The practice of ensuring that services deliver agreed levels of availability to meet the needs of customers and users.
7
Q
baseline
A
A report or metric that serves as a starting point against which progress or change can be assessed.
8
Q
best practice
A
A way of working that has been proven to be successful by multiple organizations.
9
Q
big data
A
The use of very large volumes of structured and unstructured data from a variety of sources to gain new insights.
10
Q
business analysis practice
A
The practice of analysing a business or some element of a business defining its needs and recommending solutions to address these needs and/or solve a business problem and create value for stakeholders.
11
Q
business case
A
A justification for expenditure of organizational resources providing information about costs benefits options risks and issues.
12
Q
business impact analysis (BIA)
A
A key activity in the practice of service continuity management that identifies vital business functions and their dependencies.
13
Q
business relationship manager (BRM)
A
A role responsible for maintaining good relationships with one or more customers.
14
Q
call
A
An interaction (e.g. a telephone call) with the service desk. A call could result in an incident or a service request being logged.
15
Q
call/contact centre
A
An organization or business unit that handles large numbers of incoming and outgoing calls and other interactions.
16
Q
capability
A
The ability of an organization person process application configuration item or IT service to carry out an activity.
17
Q
capacity and performance management practice
A
The practice of ensuring that services achieve agreed and expected performance levels satisfying current and future demand in a cost-effective way.
18
Q
capacity planning
A
The activity of creating a plan that manages resources to meet demand for services.
19
Q
change
A
The addition modification or removal of anything that could have a direct or indirect effect on services.
20
Q
change authority
A
A person or group responsible for authorizing a change.
21
Q
change enablement practice
A
The practice of ensuring that risks are properly assessed authorizing changes to proceed and managing a change schedule in order to maximize the number of successful service and product changes.
22
Q
change model
A
A repeatable approach to the management of a particular type of change.
23
Q
change schedule
A
A calendar that shows planned and historical changes.
24
Q
charging
A
The activity that assigns a price for services.
25
cloud computing
A model for enabling on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provided with minimal management effort or provider interaction.
26
compliance
The act of ensuring that a standard or set of guidelines is followed or that proper consistent accounting or other practices are being employed.
27
confidentiality
A security objective that ensures information is not made available or disclosed to unauthorized entities.
28
configuration
An arrangement of configuration items (CIs) or other resources that work together to deliver a product or service. Can also be used to describe the parameter settings for one or more CIs.
29
configuration item (CI)
Any component that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service.
30
configuration management database (CMDB)
A database used to store configuration records throughout their lifecycle. The CMDB also maintains the relationships between configuration records.
31
configuration management system (CMS)
A set of tools data and information that is used to support service configuration management.
32
configuration record
A record containing the details of a configuration item (CI). Each configuration record documents the lifecycle of a single CI. Configuration records are stored in a configuration management database.
33
continual improvement practice
The practice of aligning an organization’s practices and services with changing business needs through the ongoing identification and improvement of all elements involved in the effective management of products and services.
34
continuous deployment
An integrated set of practices and tools used to deploy software changes into the production environment. These software changes have already passed pre-defined automated tests.
35
continuous integration/continuous delivery
An integrated set of practices and tools used to merge developers’ code build and test the resulting software and package it so that it is ready for deployment.
36
control
The means of managing a risk ensuring that a business objective is achieved or that a process is followed.
37
cost
The amount of money spent on a specific activity or resource.
38
cost centre
A business unit or project to which costs are assigned.
39
critical success factor (CSF)
A necessary precondition for the achievement of intended results.
40
culture
A set of values that is shared by a group of people including expectations about how people should behave ideas beliefs and practices.
41
customer
The role that defines the requirements for a service and takes responsibility for the outcomes of service consumption.
42
customer experience (CX)
The sum of functional and emotional interactions with a service and service provider as perceived by a service customer.
43
dashboard
A real-time graphical representation of data.
44
deliver and support
The value chain activity that ensures services are delivered and supported according to agreed specifications and stakeholders’ expectations.
45
demand
Input to the service value system based on opportunities and needs from internal and external stakeholders.
46
deployment
The movement of any service component into any environment.
47
deployment management practice
The practice of moving new or changed hardware software documentation processes or any other service component to live environments.
48
design and transition
The value chain activity that ensures products and services continually meet stakeholder expectations for quality costs and time to market.
49
design thinking
A practical and human-centred approach used by product and service designers to solve complex problems and find practical and creative solutions that meet the needs of an organization and its customers.
50
development environment
An environment used to create or modify IT services or applications.
51
DevOps
An organizational culture that aims to improve the flow of value to customers. DevOps focuses on culture automation Lean measurement and sharing (CALMS).
52
digital transformation
The evolution of traditional business models to meet the needs of highly empowered customers with technology playing an enabling role.
53
disaster
A sudden unplanned event that causes great damage or serious loss to an organization. A disaster results in an organization failing to provide critical business functions for some predetermined minimum period of time.
54
disaster recovery plans
A set of clearly defined plans related to how an organization will recover from a disaster as well as return to a pre-disaster condition considering the four dimensions of service management.
55
driver
Something that influences strategy objectives or requirements.
56
effectiveness
A measure of whether the objectives of a practice service or activity have been achieved.
57
efficiency
A measure of whether the right amount of resources have been used by a practice service or activity.
58
emergency change
A change that must be introduced as soon as possible.
59
engage
The value chain activity that provides a good understanding of stakeholder needs transparency continual engagement and good relationships with all stakeholders.
60
environment
A subset of the IT infrastructure that is used for a particular purpose for example a live environment or test environment. Can also mean the external conditions that influence or affect something.
61
error
A flaw or vulnerability that may cause incidents.
62
error control
Problem management activities used to manage known errors.
63
escalation
The act of sharing awareness or transferring ownership of an issue or work item.
64
event
Any change of state that has significance for the management of a service or other configuration item.
65
external customer
A customer who works for an organization other than the service provider.
66
failure
A loss of ability to operate to specification or to deliver the required output or outcome.
67
feedback loop
A technique whereby the outputs of one part of a system are used as inputs to the same part of the system.
68
four dimensions of service management
The four perspectives that are critical to the effective and efficient facilitation of value for customers and other stakeholders in the form of products and services.
69
goods
Tangible resources that are transferred or available for transfer from a service provider to a service consumer together with ownership and associated rights and responsibilities.
70
governance
The means by which an organization is directed and controlled.
71
identity
A unique name that is used to identify and grant system access rights to a user person or role.
72
improve
The value chain activity that ensures continual improvement of products services and practices across all value chain activities and the four dimensions of service management.
73
incident
An unplanned interruption to a service or reduction in the quality of a service.
74
incident management
The practice of minimizing the negative impact of incidents by restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible.
75
information and technology
One of the four dimensions of service management. It includes the information and knowledge used to deliver services and the information and technologies used to manage all aspects of the service value system. information security management practiceThe practice of protecting an organization by understanding and managing risks to the confidentiality integrity and availability of information.
76
information security policy
The policy that governs an organization’s approach to information security management.
77
infrastructure and platform management practice
The practice of overseeing the infrastructure and platforms used by an organization. This enables the monitoring of technology solutions available including solutions from third parties.
78
integrity
A security objective that ensures information is only modified by authorized personnel and activities.
79
internal customer
A customer who works for the same organization as the service provider.
80
Internet of Things
The interconnection of devices via the internet that were not traditionally thought of as IT assets but now include embedded computing capability and network connectivity.
81
IT asset
Any financially valuable component that can contribute to the delivery of an IT product or service.
82
IT asset management practice
The practice of planning and managing the full lifecycle of all IT assets.
83
IT infrastructure
All of the hardware software networks and facilities that are required to develop test deliver monitor manage and support IT services.
84
IT service
A service based on the use of information technology.
85
ITIL
Best-practice guidance for IT service management.
86
ITIL guiding principles
Recommendations that can guide an organization in all circumstances regardless of changes in its goals strategies type of work or management structure.
87
ITIL service value chain
An operating model for service providers that covers all the key activities required to effectively manage products and services.
88
ITIL value chain activity
A step of the value chain that an organization takes in the creation of value.
89
Kanban
A method for visualizing work identifying potential blockages and resource conflicts and managing work in progress
90
key performance indicator (KPI)
An important metric used to evaluate the success in meeting an objective.
91
knowledge management practice
The practice of maintaining and improving the effective efficient and convenient use of information and knowledge across an organization.
92
known error
A problem that has been analysed but has not been resolved.
93
Lean
An approach that focuses on improving workflows by maximizing value through the elimination of waste.
94
lifecycle
The full set of stages transitions and associated statuses in the life of a service product practice or other entity.
95
live
Refers to a service or other configuration item operating in the live environment.
96
live environment
A controlled environment used in the delivery of IT services to service consumers.AKA production environment maintainability The ease with which a service or other entity can be repaired or modified.
97
major incident
An incident with significant business impact requiring an immediate coordinated resolution.
98
management system
Interrelated or interacting elements that establish policy and objectives and enable the achievement of those objectives.
99
maturity
A measure of the reliability efficiency and effectiveness of an organization practice or process.
100
mean time between failures (MTBF)
A metric of how frequently a service or other configuration item fails.
101
mean time to restore service (MTRS)
A metric of how quickly a service is restored after a failure.
102
measurement and reporting
The practice of supporting good decision-making and continual improvement by decreasing levels of uncertainty.
103
metric
A measurement or calculation that is monitored or reported for management and improvement.
104
minimum viable product (MVP)
A product with just enough features to satisfy early customers and to provide feedback for future product development.
105
mission
A short but complete description of the overall purpose and intentions of an organization.
106
model
A representation of a system practice process service or other entity that is used to understand and predict its behaviour and relationships.
107
modelling
The activity of creating maintaining and utilizing models.
108
monitoring
Repeated observation of a system practice process service or other entity to detect events and to ensure that the current status is known.
109
monitoring and event management practice
The practice of systematically observing services and service components and recording and reporting selected changes of state identified as events.
110
obtain/build
The value chain activity that ensures service components are available when and where they are needed and that they meet agreed specifications.
111
operation
The routine running and management of an activity product service or other configuration item.
112
operational technology
The hardware and software solutions that detect or cause changes in physical processes through direct monitoring and/or control of physical devices such as valves pumps etc.
113
organization
A person or a group of people that has its own functions with responsibilities authorities and relationships to achieve its objectives.
114
organizational change management practice
The practice of ensuring that changes in an organization are smoothly and successfully implemented and that lasting benefits are achieved by managing the human aspects of the changes.
115
organizational resilience
The ability of an organization to anticipate prepare for respond to and adapt to unplanned external influences.
116
organizational velocity
The speed effectiveness and efficiency with which an organization operates. Organizational velocity influences time to market quality safety costs and risks.
117
organizations and people
One of the four dimensions of service management. It ensures that the way an organization is structured and managed as well as its roles responsibilities and systems of authority and communication is well defined and supports its overall strategy and operating model.
118
outcome
A result for a stakeholder enabled by one or more outputs.
119
output
A tangible or intangible deliverable of an activity.
120
outsourcing
The process of having external suppliers provide products and services that were previously provided internally.
121
partners and suppliers
One of the four dimensions of service management. It encompasses the relationships an organization has with other organizations that are involved in the design development deployment delivery support and/or continual improvement of services.
122
partnership
A relationship between two organizations that involves working closely together to achieve common goals and objectives.
123
performance
A measure of what is achieved or delivered by a system person team practice or service.
124
pilot
A test implementation of a service with a limited scope in a live environment.
125
plan
The value chain activity that ensures a shared understanding of the vision current status and improvement direction for all four dimensions and all products and services across an organization.
126
policy
Formally documented management expectations and intentions used to direct decisions and activities.
127
portfolio management practice
The practice of ensuring that an organization has the right mix of programmes projects products and services to execute its strategy within its funding and resource constraints.
128
post-implementation review (PIR)
A review after the implementation of a change to evaluate success and identify opportunities for improvement.
129
practice
A set of organizational resources designed for performing work or accomplishing an objective.
130
problem
A cause or potential cause of one or more incidents.
131
problem management practice
The practice of reducing the likelihood and impact of incidents by identifying actual and potential causes of incidents and managing workarounds and known errors.
132
procedure
A documented way to carry out an activity or a process.
133
process
A set of interrelated or interacting activities that transform inputs into outputs. Processes define the sequence of activities and their dependencies.
134
product
A configuration of an organization’s resources designed to offer value for a consumer.
135
production environment
live environment. A controlled environment used in the delivery of IT services to service consumers.
136
programme
A set of related projects and activities and an organization structure created to direct and oversee them.
137
project
A temporary structure that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more outputs (or products) according to an agreed business case. project management practiceThe practice of ensuring that all an organization’s projects are successfully delivered.
138
quick win
An improvement that is expected to provide a return on investment in a short period of time with relatively small cost and effort.
139
record
A document stating results achieved and providing evidence of activities performed.
140
recovery
The activity of returning a configuration item to normal operation after a failure.
141
recovery point objective (RPO)
The point to which information used by an activity must be restored to enable the activity to operate on resumption.
142
recovery time objective (RTO)
The maximum acceptable period of time following a service disruption that can elapse before the lack of business functionality severely impacts the organization.
143
relationship management practice
The practice of establishing and nurturing links between an organization and its stakeholders at strategic and tactical levels.
144
release
A version of a service or other configuration item or a collection of configuration items that is made available for use.
145
release management practice
The practice of making new and changed services and features available for use.
146
reliability
The ability of a product service or other configuration item to perform its intended function for a specified period of time or number of cycles.
147
request catalogue
A view of the service catalogue providing details on service requests for existing and new services which is made available for the user.
148
request for change (RFC)
A description of a proposed change used to initiate change enablement.
149
resolution
The action of solving an incident or problem.
150
resource
Personnel material finance or other entity that is required for the execution of an activity or the achievement of an objective. Resources used by an organization may be owned by the organization or used according to an agreement with the resource owner.
151
retire
The act of permanently withdrawing a product service or other configuration item from use.
152
risk
A possible event that could cause harm or loss or make it more difficult to achieve objectives. Can also be defined as uncertainty of outcome and can be used in the context of measuring the probability of positive outcomes as well as negative outcomes.
153
risk assessment
An activity to identify analyse and evaluate risks.
154
risk management practice
The practice of ensuring that an organization understands and effectively handles risks.
155
service
A means of enabling value co-creation by facilitating outcomes that customers want to achieve without the customer having to manage specific costs and risks.
156
service action
Any action required to deliver a service output to a user. Service actions may be performed by a service provider resource by service users or jointly.
157
service architecture
A view of all the services provided by an organization. It includes interactions between the services and service models that describe the structure and dynamics of each service.
158
service catalogue
Structured information about all the services and service offerings of a service provider relevant for a specific target audience.
159
service catalogue management practice
The practice of providing a single source of consistent information on all services and service offerings and ensuring that it is available to the relevant audience.
160
service configuration management practice
The practice of ensuring that accurate and reliable information about the configuration of services and the configuration items that support them is available when and where needed.
161
service consumption
Activities performed by an organization to consume services. It includes the management of the consumer’s resources needed to use the service service actions performed by users and the receiving (acquiring) of goods (if required).
162
service continuity management practice
The practice of ensuring that service availability and performance are maintained at a sufficient level in case of a disaster.
163
service design practice
The practice of designing products and services that are fit for purpose fit for use and that can be delivered by the organization and its ecosystem.
164
service desk
The point of communication between the service provider and all its users.
165
service desk practice
The practice of capturing demand for incident resolution and service requests.
166
service financial management practice
The practice of supporting an organization’s strategies and plans for service management by ensuring that the organization’s financial resources and investments are being used effectively.
167
service level
One or more metrics that define expected or achieved service quality.
168
service level agreement (SLA)
A documented agreement between a service provider and a customer that identifies both services required and the expected level of service.
169
service level management practice
The practice of setting clear business-based targets for service performance so that the delivery of a service can be properly assessed monitored and managed against these targets.
170
service management
A set of specialized organizational capabilities for enabling value for customers in the form of services.
171
service offering
A formal description of one or more services designed to address the needs of a target consumer group. A service offering may include goods access to resources and service actions.
172
service owner
A role that is accountable for the delivery of a specific service.
173
service portfolio
A complete set of products and services that are managed throughout their lifecycles by an organization.
174
service provider
A role performed by an organization in a service relationship to provide services to consumers.
175
service provision
Activities performed by an organization to provide services. It includes management of the provider’s resources configured to deliver the service; ensuring access to these resources for users; fulfilment of the agreed service actions; service level management; and continual improvement. It may also include the supply of goods.
176
service relationship
A cooperation between a service provider and service consumer. Service relationships include service provision service consumption and service relationship management.
177
service relationship management
Joint activities performed by a service provider and a service consumer to ensure continual value co-creation based on agreed and available service offerings.
178
service request
A request from a user or a user’s authorized representative that initiates a service action which has been agreed as a normal part of service delivery.
179
service request management practice
The practice of supporting the agreed quality of a service by handling all pre-defined user-initiated service requests in an effective and user-friendly manner.
180
service validation and testing practice
The practice of ensuring that new or changed products and services meet defined requirements.
181
service value system (SVS)
A model representing how all the components and activities of an organization work together to facilitate value creation.
182
software development and management practice
The practice of ensuring that applications meet stakeholder needs in terms of functionality reliability maintainability compliance and auditability.
183
sourcing
The activity of planning and obtaining resources from a particular source type which could be internal or external centralized or distributed and open or proprietary.
184
specification
A documented description of the properties of a product
185
sponsor
The role that authorizes budget for service consumption. Can also be used to describe an organization or individual that provides financial or other support for an initiative.
186
stakeholder
A person or organization that has an interest or involvement in an organization product service practice or other entity.
187
standard
A document established by consensus and approved by a recognized body that provides for common and repeated use mandatory requirements guidelines or characteristics for its subject.
188
standard change
A low-risk pre-authorized change that is well understood and fully documented and which can be implemented without needing additional authorization.
189
status
A description of the specific states an entity can have at a given time.
190
strategy management practice
The practice of formulating the goals of an organization and adopting the courses of action and allocation of resources necessary for achieving those goals.
191
supplier
A stakeholder responsible for providing services that are used by an organization.
192
supplier management practice
The practice of ensuring that an organization’s suppliers and their performance levels are managed appropriately to support the provision of seamless quality products and services.
193
support team
A team with the responsibility to maintain normal operations address users’ requests and resolve incidents and problems related to specified products services or other configuration items.
194
system
A combination of interacting elements organized and maintained to achieve one or more stated purposes.
195
systems thinking
A holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the way that a system’s constituent parts work interrelate and interact over time and within the context of other systems.
196
technical debt
The total rework backlog accumulated by choosing workarounds instead of system solutions that would take longer.
197
test environment
A controlled environment established to test products services and other configuration items.
198
third party
A stakeholder external to an organization.
199
throughput
A measure of the amount of work performed by a product service or other system over a given period of time.
200
transaction
A unit of work consisting of an exchange between two or more participants or systems.
201
use case
A technique using realistic practical scenarios to define functional requirements and to design tests.
202
user
The role that uses services.
203
user experience (UX)
The sum of the functional and emotional interactions with a service and service provider as perceived by a user.
204
utility
The functionality offered by a product or service to meet a particular need. Utility can be summarized as ‘what the service does’ and can be used to determine whether a service is ‘fit for purpose’. To have utility a service must either support the performance of the consumer or remove constraints from the consumer. Many services do both.
205
utility requirements
Functional requirements which have been defined by the customer and are unique to a specific product.
206
validation
Confirmation that the system product service or other entity meets the agreed specification.
207
value
The perceived benefits usefulness and importance of something.
208
value stream
A series of steps an organization undertakes to create and deliver products and services to consumers.
209
value streams and processes
One of the four dimensions of service management. It defines the activities workflows controls and procedures needed to achieve the agreed objectives.
210
vision
A defined aspiration of what an organization would like to become in the future.
211
warranty
Assurance that a product or service will meet agreed requirements. Warranty can be summarized as ‘how the service performs’ and can be used to determine whether a service is ‘fit for use’. Warranty often relates to service levels aligned with the needs of service consumers. This may be based on a formal agreement or it may be a marketing message or brand image. Warranty typically addresses such areas as the availability of the service its capacity levels of security and continuity. A service may be said to provide acceptable assurance or ‘warranty’ if all defined and agreed conditions are met.
212
warranty requirements
Typically non-functional requirements captured as inputs from key stakeholders and other practices.
213
waterfall method
A development approach that is linear and sequential with distinct objectives for each phase of development.
214
work instruction
A detailed description to be followed in order to perform an activity.
215
workaround
A solution that reduces or eliminates the impact of an incident or problem for which a full resolution is not yet available. Some workarounds reduce the likelihood of incidents.
216
workforce and talent management practice
The practice of ensuring that an organization has the right people with the appropriate skills and knowledge and in the correct roles to support its business objectives.
