4 The ITIL Framework

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ITIL provides comprehensive “best practice” guidelines on all aspects of “end-to-end” Service Management and covers the complete spectrum of people, processes, products and the use of partners. ITIL was initially designed and developed in the 1980s but has recently been revised and updated to bring it in line with modern practices, distributed computing and the internet. ITIL is the most widely used management approach to the delivery and support of IT services and infrastructure, world-wide. ITIL and its constituent modules were scoped and developed within an overall framework.

Figure 2 : The ITIL Framework

Figure 2 shows the overall environment and structure within which the modules were produced. It illustrates the relationship that each of the modules has with the business and the technology. From the diagram it can be seen how The Business Perspective module is more closely aligned to the business and the ICT Infrastructure Management module is more closely aligned with the technology itself. The Service Delivery and Service Support modules provide the heart of the process framework.

These seven modules constitute the core of ITIL. Its recent revision has improved the structure of ITIL, and the new scope, contents and relationships of the various modules are in essence as follows.

Service Delivery: covers the processes required for the planning and delivery of quality IT services and looks at the longer term processes associate with improving the quality of IT services delivered.

Service Support: describes the processes associated with the day-to day support and maintenance activities associated with the provision of IT services.

ICT Infrastructure Management (ICT IM): covers all aspects of ICT Infrastructure Management from identification of business requirements through the tendering process, to the testing, installation, deployment, and ongoing operation and optimisation of the ICT components and IT services.

Planning to Implement Service Management: examines the issues and tasks involved in planning, implementing and improving Service Management processes within an organisation. It also addresses the issues associated with addressing Cultural and Organisational Change, the development of a vision and strategy and the most appropriate method of approach.

Application Management: describes how to manage applications from the initial business need, through all stages in the application lifecycle, up to and including retirement. It places emphasis on ensuring that IT projects and strategies are tightly aligned with those of the business throughout the application lifecycle, to ensure that the business obtains best value from its investment.

The Business Perspective: provides advice and guidance to help IT personnel to understand how they can contribute to the business objectives and how their roles and services can be better aligned and exploited to maximise that contribution.

Security Management: details the process of planning and managing a defined level of security for information and IT services, including all aspects associated with reaction to security Incidents. It also includes the assessment and management of risks and vulnerabilities, and the implementation of cost justifiable countermeasures.

Figure 3 illustrates the scope of each of the core ITIL modules together with the main deliverables from each of the individual processes, as shown within each of the individual process boxes. The lines between processes indicate where the deliverables of each process are principally used outside of their own process area.

Figure 3 : The Deliverables and Interfaces

Each of the separate modules is expanded in the following sections.

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