ISO 20000 Service Portfolio Template

ISO 20000 focuses considerably upon the definition, planning and management of services. Clause 4.2 of the standard "Design and transition of new or changed services", implicitly suggests an approach that requires an understanding of how services can be managed. Whilst the standard does not explicitly require a "Service Portfolio", its needs in terms of definition of services, governance, planning and delivery of services require the existence of a comprehensive record of services that the Service Portfolio is perfectly designed for it. The Service Portfolio enables the Service Management System (SMS) to effectively track, evaluate and control all IT services, to ensure that they consistently meet their agreed requirements and deliver value to the business. It is the strategic document that underpins all other processes in IT Service Management.

Key Components of an ISO 20000 Service Portfolio Template

A comprehensive ISO 20000 Service Portfolio Template will contain information about each service that will enable decision-making and service management of these services. While there may be variations, here are some components that are essential:

Service Identification and Description

Each service will be defined and identified.

• Unique Service ID: Unique tracking ID for the service
  
  
• Service Name: Easily understood (by IT as well as business) name of the service
  
  
• Service Owner: The person owning the service, including the responsibility for its life cycle and business value
  
  
• Service Manager: The person responsible for the day-to-day running of the service
  
  
• Service Description: Brief idea of the service, what it provides and what it encompasses

Service Lifecycle Status

The status of the service in its life cycle will provide important context about its management.

• Current Status: Whether the service is in the pipeline (planned/under development), live (operational) or retired (no longer offered)
  
  
• Date of Entry/Update: Date at which service was added or last updated
  
  
• Next Review Date: Date of next scheduled review of the service

Business Value and Alignment

This is possibly the most important area, as it provides the link with business strategy.

• Business Justification / Objective: What business objective or needs this service is designed to meet
  
  
• Target Audience / Customers: Who are the target customers or users of the service
  
  
• Key Business Benefits: What quantified or qualitative business benefits the service provides
  
  
• Strategic Alignment: The extent to which this service supports the organisations strategic objectives and vision

Service Specifications and Characteristics

Details about the characteristics of each service.

• Service Level Agreements (SLAs): The KPIs (e.g. availability, performance, etc.),  targets and accountability related to the service
  
  
• Underpinning Contracts (UCs) / Operational Level Agreements (OLAs): Contracts or agreements between the organisation and others (internal or external) to achieve the SLAs
  
  
• Dependencies: Any services, infrastructure or external suppliers that the service relies upon or which the service supports
  
  
• Criticality / Priority: The level with which the service is seen as prioritised (critical, high, medium, low)
  
  
• Risks Associated: Risk to the service, and any mitigation measures
  
  
• Cost Model / Pricing (if applicable): Cost (or charging) model of the service
  
  
• Security Requirements: Security controls and policies applying to the service
  
  
• Compliance Requirements: Regulatory, legal or other industry requirements that are applicable to the service (e.g. GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS)

Resources and Capabilities

Details about what resources are required to support the service.

• Required Resources: Staffing and technology resources needed for the service
  
  
• Required Capabilities: Skills and capabilities, including processes, required to run the service

Continual Service Improvement (CSI) Opportunities

Opportunities to improve the service.

• Identified Improvements: Opportunities for improving the service
  
  
• Performance Trends: Performance trends that might influence improvements to the service

Benefits of a Well-Defined ISO 20000 Service Portfolio Template

Having a clearly defined Service Portfolio using an effective template brings many advantages to an organisation working towards an ISO 20000 certification and to its overall services:

1. Enhanced service governance and control: Provides a single point of information about services to enable owners and managers to oversee service management

2. Improved decision-making and resource allocation: Enables strategic conversations about which services to grow, retire, improve, etc.

3. Greater transparency and communication: Enables a consolidated understanding of IT services amongst stakeholders

4. Better alignment of IT services with business strategy: Ensures that each IT service directly relates to specific business needs and objectives

5. Streamlined compliance with ISO 20000 requirements: Supports many of the requirements in ISO 20000, especially those relating to service definition, managing services and the integration of ITSM processes

6. Facilitates service rationalisation and optimisation: Enables identification of opportunities to consolidate services and to improve efficiency

7. Supports effective change management and service transitions: Provides background information on the services to enable effective impact assessments and change analysis

8. Improved risk management: Provides knowledge about risks associated with services

Implementing and Maintaining an ISO 20000 Service Portfolio

Creating a Service Portfolio is an ongoing process. There are several considerations to ensure effective creation of your Service Portfolio.

• Getting Started: From Concept to Creation
  
  
• Stakeholder Engagement: Engage key stakeholders such as business leaders, service managers, service owners, finance teams to get an understanding of business value
  
  
• Data Gathering and Analysis: Gather information about existing and planned services. This may include interviewing and workshops.
  
  
• Tool Selection: whilst spreadsheets can be used, it is advised to evaluate ITSM tools or service portfolio management tools, especially for larger scale requirements

Best Practices for Ongoing Service Portfolio Management

1. Regular Reviews and Updates: Conduct regular reviews of the Service Portfolio (frequency may be decided by stakeholders) with owners, managers and other relevant parties to ensure that the information remains accurate, up to date and reflects changing organisational priorities

2. Version Control: Version control should be in place to ensure that the Service Portfolio can be tracked and audited as it changes over time. Version control is also key to ISO 20000 compliance

3. Linking with Other ITSM Processes: Ensure that the Service Portfolio is linked with Service Catalogue (the services available to customers), Change Management (impact of changes on services), Financial Management (costing and pricing of services) and Continual Service Improvement (CSI)

4. Training and Communication: Ensure that service owners, service managers, and other relevant staff are trained and informed about the Service Portfolio, its purpose and its changing contents

5. Automating Data Collection and Reporting: Automate the collection of relevant information and reporting where appropriate

Conclusion: Your Strategic Compass for Service Excellence

An ISO 20000 Service Portfolio Template is a vital piece for any organisation aiming for ISO 20000 compliant service management. By defining and managing each service, linking these with business objectives and managing these in an integrated way, an organisation will not only meet the ISO 20000 requirements but also create the conditions for successful IT Service Management.