Why are all four dimensions of service management constrained or influenced by external factors?

To support a holistic approach to service management, ITIL defines 4 dimensions that collectively are critical to the effective and efficient facilitation of value for customers and other stakeholders in the form of products and services. These are:

• Organizations and people
• Information and technology
• Partners and suppliers
• Value streams and processes

These four dimensions represent perspectives which are relevant to the whole SVS (Service Value System), including the entirety of the service value chain and all ITIL practices. The four dimensions are constrained or influenced by several external factors that are often beyond the control of the SVS.

Failing to address all four dimensions properly may result in services becoming undeliverable, or not meeting expectations of quality or efficiency. The four dimensions of service management apply to all services being managed, as well as to the SVS in general. It is therefore essential that these perspectives should be considered for every service, and that each one should be addressed when managing and improving the SVS at all levels.

To support a holistic approach to service management, ITIL® 4 defines four dimensions. These dimensions are critical to the effective and efficient facilitation of value for customers and other stakeholders in the form of products and services. The four dimensions must be considered for every service.

The four dimensions are relevant to all elements of the Service Value System (SVS). Failing to consider all of the four dimensions can lead to services that offer poor quality or efficiency or may even mean services aren’t delivered at all. The four dimensions can overlap and interact in unpredictable ways. The dimensions are:

·         Organizations and People

·         Information and Technology

·         Partners and Suppliers

·         Value streams and Processes.

Organizations and people

In the modern world the complexity of organizations is growing. It is important to ensure that the way an organization is structured and managed, as well as its roles, responsibilities, and systems of authority and communication, is well defined and supports its overall strategy and operating model.

Information and technology

The second dimension of service management is information and technology. Information and Technology applies both to service management and to the services which is being managed

When applied to the SVS, the information and technology dimension includes the knowledge and  information necessary for the management of services, as well as the technologies required.  It also incorporates the relationships between different components of the SVS, such as the inputs and outputs of activities and practices.

Partners and Suppliers

The third dimension of service management is partners and suppliers. Every organization and its service depends to some extent on services provided by other organizations.

The partners and suppliers dimension encompasses an organization’s relationships with other organizations that are involved in the design, development, deployment, delivery, support and/or continual improvement of services. This dimension also incorporates contracts and other agreements between the organization and its partners or suppliers.

Value streams and processes

The fourth dimension of service management is value streams and processes. Like the other dimensions, the value streams and processes dimension is applicable to both the SVS in general, and to specific products and services.

In both contexts it defines the activities, workflows, controls, and procedures needed to achieve agreed objectives. Applied to the organization and its SVS, the value streams and processes dimension is concerned with how the various parts of the organization work in an integrated and coordinated way to enable value creation through products and services.

The dimension focuses on what activities the organization undertakes and how they are organized, as well as how the organization ensures that it is enabling value creation for all stakeholders efficiently and effectively.

External factors

Service providers do not operate in isolation. They are affected by many external factors, and work in dynamic and complex environments that can exhibit high degrees of volatility and uncertainty and impose constraints on how the service provider can work.

To analyze these external factors, frameworks such as the PESTLE (or PESTEL) model are used. PESTLE is an acronym for the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental.

Can the 4 dimensions of service management be affected by external factors?

What are the factors that impact the four dimensions of service management?

What type of factors are the four dimensions influenced and affected by?

What is the likely result of an organization failing to address all four dimensions of service management?