Thursday, 26 January 2012

EXAM - Continual Service Improvement (CSI) Model

What would be the next step in the Continual Service Improvement (CSI) Model after:

1. What is the vision?
2. Where are we now?
3. Where do we want to be?
4. How do we get there?
5. Did we get there?
6. ?

A. What is the Return On Investment (ROI)?
B. How much did it cost?
C. How do we keep the momentum going?
D. What is the Value On Investment (VOI)?


----------------
Answer: C

There are 6 Steps Involved in CSI: 

Step # 1: What is the vision:
As an organization, the vision tells you where you would like to be. This includes all business missions, goals and objectives. The IT strategies should be in line with the vision of the business and if not, a change should be introduced.

Step # 2: Where are we now:
The second step is to assess the current situation of the business. Without realizing the current position of the business pertaining to its assets, organizations cannot make the appropriate decisions to move ahead.

Step # 3: Where do we want to be:
The third step is to understand the improvements that are required within an organization and agree to them. In this step, an organization needs to determine and focus on its measurable targets.

Step # 4: How do we get there:
The fourth step is to create a detailed CSI plan that provides explanations of the various improvements that are to be made to the business environment.

Step #5: Did we get there:
 The fifth step is to verify whether the measurements and metrics are in place or not. These help in confirming whether the goals of a business organization have been successfully met.

Step # 6: How do we keep the momentum going:
The sixth step of the CSI Model is to ensure that there has been an improvement in quality. The CSI Model works in a loop so after this step, the cycle begins again.

Tuesday, 24 January 2012

EXAM - Operational level agreement (OLA)


What is the BEST description of an Operational Level Agreement (OLA)?

A. An agreement between the service provider and another part of the same organization
B. An agreement between the service provider and an external organization
C. A document that describes to a customer how services will be operated on a day-to-day basis
D. A document that describes business services to operational staff

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Answer: A

An operational-level agreement (OLA) defines the interdependent relationships among the internal support groups of an organization working to support a service-level agreement (SLA). The agreement describes the responsibilities of each internal support group toward other support groups, including the process and timeframe for delivery of their services. The objective of the OLA is to present a clear, concise and measurable description of the service provider's internal support relationships.

OLA is sometimes expanded to other phrases but they all have the same meaning:
  • organizational-level agreement
  • operating-level agreement
  • operations-level agreement

EXAM - Self-help capabilities

Which of the following is NOT an example of Self-Help capabilities?

A. Requirement to always call the Service Desk for service requests
B. Web front-end
C. Menu-driven range of self help and service requests
D. A direct interface into the back-end process-handling software


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Answer: A

Friday, 20 January 2012

EXAM - Service Transition processes


Service Transition contains detailed descriptions of which processes?

A. Change Management, Service Asset and Configuration Management, Release and Deployment Management

B. Change Management, Capacity Management Event Management, Service Request Management

C. Service Level Management, Service Portfolio Management, Service Asset and Configuration Management

D. Service Asset and Configuration Management, Release and Deployment Management, Request Fulfilment

---------------
Answer: A

Following processes are part of the Service Transition:
  • Change Management 
  • Change Evaluation
  • Project Management (Transition Planning and Support)
  • Application Development 
  • Release and Deployment Management 
  • Service Validation and Testing 
  • Service Asset and Configuration Management 
  • Knowledge Management

ITIL V3 Certification Path

So you just passed Foundation exam and wish to continue your ITIL development but you are confused and don't know what to do next?

Well, you are not alone. ITIL has one of the most confusing certification schemes on the market with multiple pathways and, to be quite blunt, rather strange credit scheme.

So let's see where we stand...

Basically, there are 5 levels of qualifications:
  • ITIL Foundation
  • ITIL Intermediate Level   
  • ITIL Managing Across the Lifecycle
  • ITIL Expert Level
  • ITIL Master Qualification
Assuming you have successfully passed Foundation exam, Intermediate level is the next logical step and this is where things start to get complicated.

Inside intermediate level there are two ways you can take:
  • Service Lifecycle
  • Service Capability
Service lifecycle is for you if you are working in management or if you are team leader and it contains following modules:

  • Service Strategy Qualification 
  • Service Design Qualification
  • Service Transition
  • Service Operation Qualification
  • Continual Service Improvement
On the other hand if you are working as a process manager or are more focused on  day-to-day execution of ITIL practices, the Service Capability modules is the way to and they contain:
  • Service Offerings and Agreements 
  • Release, Control and Validation
  • Operational Support and Analysis
  • Planning, Protection and Optimization
However, if you want to get the next stage of ITIL qualification, one of these streams is simply not enough because of the above mentioned unique credit system.

Basically, ITIL Managing Across the Lifecycle qualification is a go-between the Intermediate qualification and ITIL Expert Level and is concerned with the knowledge required to implement and manage the necessary skills associated with use of the Lifecycle practices.

ITIL Expert level of qualification is aimed at those individuals who are interested in demonstrating a superior level of knowledge of the ITIL Scheme in its entirety.





Thursday, 19 January 2012

EXAM - Patterns of business activity (PBA)


Which process is primarily supported by the analysis of Patterns of Business Activity (PBA)?

A. Availability Management
B. Demand Management
C. Financial Management
D. Service Level Management

---------------
Answer: B

PBA analysis requires careful study of the customers business to truly understand the customer demand cycle.
Therefore, patterns of business activity are used to help the service provider understand and plan for different levels of Business Activity.

EXAM - RACI Model


What is a RACI model used for?

A. Defining roles and responsibilities
B. Monitoring services
C. Performance analysis
D. Recording Configuration Items

---------------
Answer: A


RACI is a model used to help define Roles and Responsibilities.
RACI stands for
  • Responsible
  • Accountable
  • Consulted
  • Informed.

The Concept Of Service - Value proposition and composition (02/02)

Alongside value proposition, equally important aspect of services is the service
value composition.

If you remember, value proposition is all about delivering value but service value
composition is about ensuring that the service has utility and warranty.

Utility is often described as being "fit for purpose" while warranty is described as being "fit for use".

So basically, a service is said to have utility if it meets the purpose for which it is designed or it has utility if it has the functionalities that enhance performance or remove constraints, thereby helping customers achieve the outcome for which they need the service.

Decision whether a service has utility ultimately lies with the customer.

On the other hand, service has warranty if it can achieve the desired outcome securely, quickly and consistently. As with the utility, the warranty of a service is valued by the customer on the way how it is delivered.

Great thing about warranty is that it ensures that the service is always offered with the same value and is available when needed. Basically, warranty ensures customer satisfaction.

So to conclude, a service that has both utility and warranty, can create value and ensure customer satisfaction.

If the service doesn't have both utility and warranty the service provider needs to refine and improve the service until it delivers what the customer needs.

Wednesday, 18 January 2012

The Concept Of Service - Value proposition and composition (01/02)

By definition, a service should create value for the company, person or group. One of the most important aspects of each service is its service value proposition. Service value proposition refers to the value that the service generates for customers. Customers assess the value based on how the service enhances performance and reduces costs and risks.

A strong value proposition enables service providers to position their services in the
market. Value proposition clearly communicates the benefits of their services and can provide a competitive advantage over other service providers.

Patterns are usually used by service providers to generate the value proposition of services. Pattern is defined as a design or a model that helps simplify the delivery of a complex service. To create a pattern, you first identify the customer's needs.

You then break down the service by asking two questions:
  • What tasks does the service include? 
  • And how can it be delivered? 
By doing so, a pattern provides a blueprint for quickly providing a service and achieving various outcomes. A pattern also helps in determining how flexible a service is in a way that it helps identify the various ways in which a service can be delivered.

Additionally, it is also useful for service providers to break down services into small tasks. This enables service providers to better manage the costs and risks associated with the particular service.

The Concept Of Service - Definition of a service

A service is often defined as an action or a method that helps create value for customers. This value can be assessed based on how successful the action was in achieving customer outcomes.

Services increase the probability of achieving successful customer outcomes by removing constraints that hamper performance or by enhancing performance.

In some cases, services can go beyond enhancing performance and removing constraints by directly achieving desired outcome.

 An important characteristic of delivering IT services is that the risks and costs associated with them are borne by the service provider alone. The customer has no responsibility for them.

This is because only service provider has the skills to manage the risks and costs. Additionally, the service provider is better placed to manage risks and costs of services by spreading them across multiple customers.

EXAM - Processes needed to operate a new service


Defining the processes needed to operate a new service is part of:

A. Service Design: Design the processes
B. Service Strategy: Develop the offerings
C. Service Transition: Plan and prepare for deployment
D. Service Operation: IT Operations Management

---------------
Answer: A

The ITIL Service Design (SD) volume provides good-practice guidance on the design of IT services, processes, and other aspects of the service management effort. Significantly, design within ITIL is understood to encompass all elements relevant to technology service delivery, rather than focusing solely on design of the technology itself.
As such, service design addresses how a planned service solution interacts with the larger business and technical environments, service management systems required to support the service, processes which interact with the service, technology, and architecture required to support the service, and the supply chain required to support the planned service.
Within ITIL, design work for an IT service is aggregated into a single service design package (SDP). Service design packages, along with other information about services, are managed within the service catalogues. List of covered processes:
  • Design coordination (Introduced in ITIL 2011 Edition)
  • Service Catalogue
  • Service level Management
  • Availability Management
  • Capacity Management
  • IT Service Continuity Management (ITSCM)
  • Information Security Management System
  • Supplier Management

EXAM - Risk Management Concerns

Which of the following should NOT be a concern of Risk Management?

A. To ensure that the organization can continue to operate in the event of a major disruption or disaster
B. To ensure that the workplace is a safe environment for its employees and customers
C. To ensure that the organization assets, such as information, facilities and building are protected from
threats, damage or loss
D. To ensure only the change requests with mitigated risks are approved for implementation



----------------
Answer: D

Risk is often defined as  the uncertainty of outcome, whether positive opportunity or negative threat.
The objective of Risk Management is to identify, assess and control risks. This includes analyzing the value of assets to the business, identifying threats to those assets, and evaluating how vulnerable each asset is to those threats.

Risks are addressed within several processes in ITIL but there is no dedicated Risk Management process and risk management is often called "lost process of ITIL V3". However, ITIL v3 does call for coordinated risk assessment exercise.

Tuesday, 17 January 2012

EXAM - Definition of Release Unit


Which of these is the BEST description of a release unit?

A. The portion of a service or IT infrastructure that is normally released together
B. The smallest part of a service or IT infrastructure that can be independently changed
C. The portion of a service or IT infrastructure that is changed by a particular release
D. A metric for measuring the effectiveness of the Release and Deployment Management process

---------------
Answer: A

Just as change management begins with defining which activities will require a change record, release management begins with documenting which components will be released simultaneously.

ITIL defines a release unit as the set of components that get upgraded, installed, or changed all at the same time.

As a simple example, often the next version of a business application requires new versions of middleware software products. This means that the application and the middleware form a release unit, because they are deployed at the same time.

Measuring effects before and after ITIL implementation

One of the reasons management wants to get ITIL in house is to be more efficient. And in order to prove improve efficiencies, your IT organisation must measure the effectiveness of processes before and after ITIL.
Begin your implementation by benchmarking the activities of the IT organisation to determine how well it’s performing. The owner of ITIL, Office of Government Commerce (OGC), provides online resources that you can use to assess the IT organisation. OGC also provides worksheet that is downloadable from their Web page. To perform basic assessment, you’ll need to answer various sets of questions for each of the processes. For example, the evaluation for Incident Management includes questions like, “Is the business need for a Service Desk clearly identified and understood?” and “Does the Service Desk provide a status update to the customer on the closure of incidents?“

Just take the test and score the results. Basically, the result of the test will usually tend to be much better than you expect because majority of the organisations have at least basic sets of processes in place. However, it is the way these processes work together that shows the true value of your IT readiness.

Why ITIL scares IT managers?

According to the great article at the Network World (http://www.networkworld.com) there are several reasons why your organisation may resist implementation of ITIL.

To directly quote the article:

"The resistance comes from fear, according to ITIL experts and industry watchers, who argue that education around ITIL, its potential benefits and challenges would help implementations get off the ground more quickly. For one, the premise of re-aligning IT operations around standard processes intimidates most non-believers, and the recent updates to the framework, ITIL Version 3, is causing confusion among many IT managers that started adopting ITIL Version 2.

To help address fears and reduce confusion, ITIL expert and author Linh Ho compiled a list of the most common fears she encounters in customer environments and detailed some ways to keep the anxiety around ITIL at bay. Ho, product marketing manager at Compuware, also served as a reviewer on the ITIL V3 foundation books and is co-author of the itSMF's Six Sigma for IT Management book. Ho also worked for business service management vendor Proxima Technology before it was acquired by Compuware earlier this year. She says that the industry is working toward reducing the confusion around ITIL.

"We are often on the front lines talking to customers and find that there is a lot of fear and confusion out there today," Ho says. "We are working to demystify and help abate fears." "

Here are couple of things you might encounter when you try to implement ITIL in your organisation:

Fear of change
Fear of Measurement 
Process limitations
Investment
Buzzword bandwagon
Process selection
Complexity
Executive expectations
Organisation size
Stifled creativity      

EXAM - Service Level Agreement (SLA)


A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is:

A. The part of a contract that specifies responsibilities of each party
B. An agreement between the Service Provider and an internal organization
C. An agreement between a Service Provider and an external supplier
D. An agreement between the Service Provider and their customer

---------------
Answer: D

A service-level agreement is a part of a service contract where the level of service is formally defined. In practice, the term SLA is sometimes used to refer to the contracted delivery time (of the service) or performance. As an example, internet service providers will commonly include service level agreements within the terms of their contracts with customers to define the level(s) of service being sold in plain language terms. In this case the SLA will typically have a technical definition in terms of mean time between failures (MTBF), mean time to repair or mean time to recovery (MTTR); various data rates; throughput; jitter; or similar measurable details.

SLAs are also defined at different levels:
  • Customer-based SLA: An agreement with an individual customer group, covering all the services they use. For example, an SLA between a supplier (IT service provider) and the finance department of a large organization for the services such as finance system, payroll system, billing system, procurement/purchase system, etc.
  • Service-based SLA: An agreement for all customers using the services being delivered by the service provider. For example:
    • A car service station offers a routine service to all the customers and offers certain maintenance as a part of offer with the universal charging.
    • A mobile service provider offers a routine service to all the customers and offers certain maintenance as a part of offer with the universal charging
    • An email system for the entire organization. There are chances of difficulties arising in this type of SLA as level of the services being offered may vary for different customers (for example, head office staff may use high-speed LAN connections while local offices may have to use a lower speed leased line).
  • Multilevel SLA: The SLA is split into the different levels, each addressing different set of customers for the same services, in the same SLA.
  • Corporate-level SLA: Covering all the generic service level management (often abbreviated as SLM) issues appropriate to every customer throughout the organization. These issues are likely to be less volatile and so updates (SLA reviews) are less frequently required.
  • Customer-level SLA: covering all SLM issues relevant to the particular customer group, regardless of the services being used.
  • Service-level SLA: covering all SLM issue relevant to the specific services, in relation to this specific customer group.

Monday, 16 January 2012

EXAM - Three types of metrics

What are the three types of metrics that an organization should collect to support Continual Service Improvement (CSI)?

A. Return On Investment (ROI), Value On Investment (VOI), quality
B. Strategic, tactical and operational
C. Critical Success Factors (CSFs), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), activities
D. Technology, process and service

----------------
Answer: D

Explanation:
There are 3 types of metrics that an organization will need to collect to support CSI activities as well as other process activities:

* Technology Metrics: Often associated with component and application-based metrics such as performance, availability etc. The various design architects and technical specialists are responsible for defining the technology metrics.

* Process Metrics: Captured in the form of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and activity metrics for the service management processes which determine the overall health of a process. Four key questions KPIs can help answer are centered on quality, performance, value and compliance. CSI uses these metrics to identify improvement opportunities for each process. The various Process Owners are responsible for defining the metrics for the process they are responsible for coordinating and managing.

* Service Metrics: The results of the end-to-end service. Component metrics are used to calculate the service metrics. The Service Level Manager(s) and Service Owners are responsible for defining appropriate service metrics.