FAQ: ITIL Reference Processes

This page offers answers to a number of common questions related to ITIL implementation initiatives and ITIL reference processes. Click on a subject heading below to view the answers relating to your selection.

 

Can I obtain Subsets of the full ITIL V3 Reference Process Model?

We do not recommend breaking up the ITIL Process Map into portions, and therefore subsets are not available.

The reason for this is that the ITIL processes typically have numerous Inputs coming from, and Outputs going to, related processes (for example, Incident Management is feeding information into Problem Management). A good understanding of those interrelationships is critical for any ITIL initiative, so we took great pains to depict precisely how information is flowing between the ITIL processes.

As a result, destroying these links by breaking up the ITIL Reference Model into portions would deprive you of one of the main benefits you get from our product.

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How was the ITIL Process Map V3 created from the ITIL V3 books?

A Reference Process Model must be applicable in the Real World

The new set of ITIL books contains some 2000 pages of Best Practice recommendations, while our Reference Process Model consists of about 25 overview diagrams and some 104 detailed process flows, plus 84 checklists and templates.

The ITIL Process Map V3 is therefore not so much about presenting every single detail in a different format – rather, it depicts the essential contents in an easily accessible and understandable way, so that you can instantly make use of the ITIL recommendations in your ITIL project.

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A Reference Process Model is subject to strict Rules

By definition, a process model must explicitly state which activities are to be carried out in what order, and what outputs are to be produced for subsequent processes. Redundancies are not allowed – any activity can occur only once within a well-defined process, with clearly assigned responsibilities for its execution.

Books, in contrast, can get away with being less strict. Statements like "Risk must be analyzed and managed during all stages of Service Transition" are perfectly suitable for books. When developing a process model, however, it must be precisely defined how and when risks are analyzed and who is responsible for that task.

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The ITIL Process Map V3 was developed with those Prerequisites in Mind

In short, creating the ITIL Process Map meant extracting the essentials from the ITIL books, sorting out redundancies, and translating the text-based content into clear-cut activity flows. This required a lot of expertise and effort - the present version 3 of the ITIL Process Map took us about 2 years to develop.

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Is the ITIL Process Map V3 a complete representation of all ITIL V3 processes?

The ITIL Process Map V3 offers complete coverage of the five ITIL V3 core volumes (the 'ITIL V3 Service Lifecycle') Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation and Continual Service Improvement.

This includes completely revised versions of all processes known from ITIL V2.

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Where does the ITIL Process Map V3 differ from the ITIL books?

When creating the ITIL Process Map, we introduced improvements to the ITIL process structure in a few areas. According to our own experiences, this will significantly enhance the chances of a successful ITIL implementation:

 

Proper Assignment of Responsibility for Risk Management

ITIL V3 calls for "coordinated risk assessment exercises", so we assigned clear responsibilities for managing risks by introducing a specific Risk Management process.

Having a basic Risk Management process in place will also provide a good starting point for applying best-practice Risk Management frameworks like M_o_R (as recommended in the ITIL V3 books)

 

Dedicated Compliance Management Process

Compliance is an increasingly important topic for IT organizations, because it must be ensured that IT services, processes and systems comply with enterprise policies and legal requirements. This called for introducing a specific Compliance Management process.

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Dedicated IT Architecture Management Process

Having a well-defined architecture blueprint in place is very important for IT organizations. As a consequence, we defined specific IT Architecture Management process.

 

Full-featured Project Management Process

The Transition Planning and Support process was enhanced to provide a full-featured Project Management process.

This will also provide a good starting point for introducing best-practice Project Management frameworks like PRINCE2 or PMBOK (as recommended in the ITIL V3 books).

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The Capacity Manager takes Care of Demand Management

The chapter on Demand Management in the Service Strategy book does not offer enough substance to justify a separate Demand Management process and a dedicated Demand Manager role.

At the same time, the Capacity Manager is well placed to perform those activities. The approach to influence service demand in the ITIL Process Map is as follows: The Capacity Manager identifies "Suggestions to Influence Service Demand". Those suggestions will be considered during Service Reviews as part of Continual Service Improvement.

 

"Seven-Step Improvement Process" as a Checklist

The "Seven-Step Improvement Process" presented in the ITIL V3 books is in fact the description of a methodology which can be universally applied to identify shortcomings in services and processes and to implement improvements. The principles it contains are applied in a number of ITIL processes, most importantly in Service Design (e.g. in the Service Level Management, Capacity Management, and Availability Management processes).

As a result, the "Seven-Step Improvement Process" cannot be treated as a standalone ITIL process, and there is no such process in the ITIL Process Map V3. The "Seven-Step Improvement" principles, however, are included in a checklist.

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Service Measurement: An integral Part of several ITIL Processes

Service Measurement is embedded into various ITIL Processes: For example, Capacity and Availability Management will be involved in the definition of metrics and measurement requirements during Service Design, and will also take care of the actual data gathering.

The ITIL Process Map treats Service Measurement as part of those processes and does not feature a Service Measurement process as part of Continual Service Improvement.

 

Service Reporting: An integral Part of several ITIL Processes

Service Reporting is embedded into various ITIL Processes: For example, Service Level Management produces the Service Level Report, which in turn is compiled from other reports like the ones from Capacity and Availability Management.

The ITIL Process Map treats Service Reporting as part of those processes and does not feature a Service Reporting process as part of Continual Service Improvement.

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How does the ITIL Process Map V3 deal with ITIL "Functions"?

In various parts of the new books, ITIL V3 refers to "Functions" rather than "Processes". For instance, Service Level Management is introduced as a Process and IT Facilities Management as a Function.

Much confusion stems from the fact that in the real world there are often "Functions" and "Processes" with identical names: For example, the Facilities Management team (a "Function") will perform a set of facilities-related activities, which as a whole are called the Facilities Management process.

As a result, the ITIL Process Map V3 features a Facilities Management process even though, strictly speaking, the ITIL books define Facilities Management as a Function.

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