Helping Hand Questions for ITIL

The purpose of the service request management practice is to support the agreed quality of a service by handling all pre-defined, user-initiated service requests in an effective and user-friendly manner. Service request management is dependent upon well-designed processes and procedures, which are operationalized through tracking and automation tools to maximize the efficiency of the practice. To be handled optimally, service request management should follow these guidelines:

• Service requests and their fulfilment should be standardized and automated to the greatest degree possible.
• Policies should define which service requests will be fulfilled with limited or even no additional approvals so that fulfilment can be streamlined.
• The expectations of users regarding fulfilment times and costs should be clearly set, based on what the organization can realistically deliver.
• Opportunities for improvement should be identified and implemented to produce faster fulfilment times and take advantage of automation.

To protect the information needed by the organization to conduct its business. This includes understanding and managing risks to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information, as well as other aspects of information security such as authentication and non-repudiation.

It is important to understand the difference in these terms not just for clarity, but because outputs are much easier to measure than outcomes.

• Outputs are nearly always quantitative, with data available to show whether these have been delivered. Outputs are easy to report on and to validate. There is no grey area.
• Outcomes are more challenging to verify because they are both qualitative and quantitative. Whether your outcomes have been achieved will rely, to a great extent, on the perception of the people who receive the service. Perceptions are not easy to measure or report on, but it is essential you find a way to do so.