Introduction To Service Life Cycle

ITIL is a public framework that describes Best Practice in IT service management. It provides a framework for the governance of IT, the ‘service wrap’, and focuses on the  continual measurement and improvement of the quality of IT service delivered, from both a business and a customer
perspective. This focus is a major factor in ITIL’s worldwide success and has contributed to its prolific usage and to the key benefits obtained by those organizations deploying the techniques and processes throughout their
organizations. Some of these benefits include:

• increased user and customer satisfaction with IT services improved service availability, directly leading to increased business profitsand revenue.

• financial savings from reduced rework, lost time, improved resource management and usage

• improved time to market for new products and services
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• improved decision making and optimized risk.

ITIL was published between 1989 and 1995 by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO) in the UK on behalf of the Central Communications and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) – now subsumed within the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). Its early use was principally confined to the
UK and Netherlands. A second version of ITIL was published as a set of revised books between 2000 and 2004. The initial version of ITIL consisted of a library of 31 associated books coveringall aspects of IT service provision. This initial version was then revised and replaced by seven, more closely connected and consistent books (ITIL V2) consolidated within an overall framework. This second version became universally accepted and is now used in many countries by thousands of
organizations as the basis for effective IT service provision. In 2007, ITIL V2
was superseded by an enhanced and consolidated third version of ITIL,
consisting of five core books covering the service lifecycle, together with the
Official Introduction.
The five core books cover each stage of the service lifecycle , from the
initial definition and analysis of business requirements in Service Strategy and
Service Design, through migration into the live environment within Service
Transition, to live operation and improvement in Service Operation and
Continual Service Improvement.
All service solutions and activities should be driven by business needs and
requirements. Within this context they must also reflect the strategies and
policies of the service provider organization
These additional sources of information will provide:
knowledge and skills: information on the experience and knowledge
needed to exploit (and gained through) ITIL
speciality topics: specific areas of interest, such as outsourcing
templates
governance methods: details of methods that have been successfully used
to govern Service Management systems and activities
standards alignment: information on the alignment of ITIL with
international standards
executive introduction: introductory guides for executives and senior
managers on the benefits and value of using ITIL
study aids: additional guides that can be used by students studying ITIL,
particularly on accredited training courses
qualifications: a set of qualifications based around the core publications
and their use within the industry
quick wins: details of potential quick wins and benefits that can be
obtained from the adoption of ITIL practices
scalability: how to scale service management implementation for specific
organizations, such as very small or very large businesses
update service: a web-based service providing regular updates on the
progress and ongoing development of ITIL.