Exin ITILFND - ITIL – Foundation (v4)

The second step is to conduct an objective current-state assessment of existing services and service management practices. This should include consideration of the users’ perception of the value being received, along with a review of people’s competencies and skills, the processes and procedures involved, the capabilities of the available technological solutions and the prevailing organizational culture. The success of an improvement initiative depends on a clear and accurate understanding of the starting point and the required impact of the initiative.

For example, an organization can measure the current net promoter score (NPS) from a customer satisfaction survey, conduct a benchmark survey against its competitors or review findings of operational statistics or audit reports to understand its current state. If this step is skipped, the current state will not be understood and there will not be an objective baseline measurement against which improvement can be measured.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-continual-improvement/

The purpose of the release management practice is to make new and changed services and features available for use.

Release: A version of a service or other configuration item, or a collection of configuration items, that is made available for use.

https://wiki.process-symphony.com.au/framework/lifecycle/process/release-management-itil-4/

In order to be aligned to customer outcomes and expectations, SLM requires focus and effort to engage and listen to the requirements, issues, concerns, and daily needs of customers:

Engagement is needed to understand and confirm the actual ongoing needs and requirements of customers, not simply what is interpreted by the service provider or has been agreed several years before. ITIL4 refers to value as being co-created, since it needs the input and validation of customers.

Listening is important as a relationship-building and trust-building activity, to show customers that they are valued and understood. This helps to move the provider away from always being in ‘solution mode’ and to build new, more constructive partnerships. Each customer is unique, and the service provider must not have a one-size-fits-all approach.

The activities of engaging and listening provide a great opportunity to build improved relationships and to focus on what really needs to be delivered. They also give service delivery staff an experience-based understanding of the day-to-day work that is done with their technology, enabling them to deliver a more business-focused service. When the customer is engaged and listened to, they feel valued and their perception of the service and service management activities improves.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-service-level-management/

Individual metrics without a specified service context are unhelpful. They should relate to defined outcomes and not simply operational metrics. This can be achieved with balanced bundles of metrics, such as customer satisfaction and key business outcomes.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-service-level-management/#:~:text=Service%20Level%20Agreements%20(SLAs) &text=Individual%20metrics%20without%20a%20specified,satisfaction%20and%20key%20business%20outcomes.

The purpose of the SLM practice is to set clear business-based targets for service performance, so that the delivery of a service can be properly assessed, monitored, and managed against these targets. SLM involves service level activities, including:

Defining service levels

Documenting

Actively managing them

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-service-level-management/

To protect the information needed by the organization to conduct its business. This includes understanding and managing risks to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information, as well as other aspects of information security such as authentication and non-repudiation.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-management-practices/

A service relationship is defined as the cooperation between a service provider and service consumer. Service relationships are established between two or more organizations to co-create value. An organization can play the role of provider or consumer interchangeably, depending on the situation.

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-key-concepts-service-management/#:~:text=and%20stakeholder%20management.-,Service%20Relationships,interchangeably%2C%20depending%20on%20the%20situation .

https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itil-service-request-management/