Lesson 4 - ITIL SVS

ITIL® 4 Foundation
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The ITIL Service Value System
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
Describe the ITIL service value system
Describe the nature, use, and interaction of the guiding principles
Explain the use of the guiding principles

Service Value System (SVS)
ITIL Service Value System (SVS)
The ITIL service value system (SVS) describes how all the components and activities of
the organization work together as a system to enable value creation.
Figure 4.1 The ITIL service value system
Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2019. Used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved, Page 37
SVS ensures that the organization continually co-creates value with all stakeholders
through the use of products and services.
• The components, activities, and

organization’s resources can be
configured in multiple combinations.
• This requires the coordination of

activities and practices of all parties to
be truly effective.
Opportunities represent the possibilities of adding value to stakeholders or improving

the organization.
Demand is the need or desire for products and services.
The SVS can enable the creation of different types of value for a wide group of stakeholders
Opportunity, Demand, and Value
Opportunity and demand trigger activities within the ITIL SVS that lead to value creation.
• Opportunities can trigger work within

the system even when there is no
demand.
• Organizations should prioritize new or

changed services with opportunities for
improvement to ensure their resources
are correctly allocated.
Components of SVS
● Guiding principles guide an organization in all

circumstances.
● Governance refers to the means by which an
organization is directed and controlled.
● Service value chain is a set of interconnected
activities that an organization performs to
deliver a valuable product.
● Practices are a set of organizational resources
designed for performing work.
● Continual improvement is a recurring
organizational activity performed at all levels.
Siloed Organizations
Organizational silos are a challenge to organizations.
● Resistance to change
Organizational ● Difficulty in accessing information and specialized
silos occur when expertise
there is: ● Reduced efficiency that increases both cost and risk
● Difficulty in communication or collaboration
● Cannot act quickly to take advantage of

opportunities
Siloed
● Are unable to make effective decisions about
organizations:
changes
● Can cause organizational practices to become silos
The ITIL SVS
The ITIL SVS has been specifically designed to enable flexibility and discourage siloed working.
The ITIL SVS
• Organizations should be able to define and redefine their

value streams in a flexible, yet safe and efficient manner.
• The ITIL guiding principles guide the overall improvement

of the organization.
• The guiding principles create a foundation for a shared

culture across the organization that discourages silos.
The ITIL SVS supports many work approaches with a flexible value-oriented operating model.
The ITIL Guiding Principles
A guiding principle is a recommendation that guides an organization in all circumstances.
• The guiding principles help organizations adopt and

adapt ITIL guidance to their specific needs.
• They help to integrate multiple methods into an overall

Guiding approach to service management.
Principles
• They are universally applicable to all initiatives.
• They encourage and support continual improvement at

all levels.
Progress iteratively with Collaborate and

Focus on value Start where you are
feedback promote visibility
Think and work Keep it simple and Optimize and

holistically practical automate
Focus on Value
The organization should create value for itself, its customers, and other stakeholders.
Identify the service consumer
Know the consumer’s perspective of value
Map value to the intended outcomes that change over time
Know the customer experience (CX) or the user experience (UX)

Applying the Principle: Focus on Value
01
Know how service consumers
use each service.
02
Encourage a focus on value
among all staff.
03
Focus on value during operational
activities and improvement
04 initiatives.
Focus on the value in every step
of the improvement initiative.
Start Where You Are
Before starting an improvement initiative, consider what is already available to be leveraged.
• Decisions should be based on accurate information

obtained through direct observation and appropriate
measurement.
• Obtaining data from the source avoids assumptions

that can have a negative impact on the budget and
timeline. Recognize that
sometimes
nothing from the
current state can
be reused.
When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.

—Goodhart’s law
Role of Measurement
Measurement should be used to support the analysis of what has been observed.
Recognize that
sometimes
nothing from the
current state can
be reused.
A service desk that focuses on time taken to resolve incidents shall mainly focus on minimizing
the negative impact to the customer instead of just resolving.
Metrics should be meaningful and related to the desired outcome.

Applying the Principle: Start Where You Are
Look Determine Apply Recognize
Look at what Determine if Apply risk Recognize that

already exists. successful practices management sometimes
or services can be skills in the nothing from the
replicated. decision-making current state can
process. be reused.
Progress Iteratively with Feedback
Organize work into small, manageable sections to execute them in a timely manner.
• Improvement iterations can be sequential or

simultaneous.
• Individual iterations should be managed.
• The need of an iteration may be altered or even

eliminated.
• Seeking feedback before, during, and after each

iteration will ensure that actions are focused and
appropriate.
Progress Iteratively with Feedback
A feedback loop is a situation where part of the output is used for a new input.
Well-constructed feedback mechanisms facilitate

understanding of the:
• End user and customer perception of the value

created
• Efficiency and effectiveness of value chain
activities
• Effectiveness of service governance and
management controls
• Interfaces between the organization and its
partner and supplier network
• Demand for products and services
Working in a timeboxed, iterative manner with feedback loops ensures greater flexibility, faster
responses, and an overall improvement in quality.
Applying the Principle: Progress Iteratively with Feedback
Receive feedback at all times

Understand the big picture but
for a constantly changing
ensure steady progress.
ecosystem.
Use minimum viable product.

Collaborate and Promote Visibility
Right people in the right role ensures more buy-in, more relevance and increased likelihood of long-
term success.
• Agile, lean, and other ITSM frameworks will

not work without effective collaboration.
• It is important to identify and manage all

stakeholder groups.
A stakeholder is anyone who has a stake in the organization’s activities.
Stakeholder collaboration includes:
• Developers working with other internal teams
• Suppliers collaborating with the organization
• Relationship managers collaborating with service

consumers
• Customers collaborating with each other
• Internal and external suppliers collaborating with

each other
Poor visibility of work affects decision-making and impacts the organization’s ability to
improve internal capabilities.
Understand the flow of

work in progress.
01
Identify bottlenecks Uncover waste.

and excess capacity.
02 03
Applying the Principle: Collaborate and Promote Visibility
Collaboration does not

mean consensus.
Communicate in a way the

audience can hear.
Decisions can only be

made on visible data.
Think and Work Holistically
A holistic approach to service management requires an understanding of how all the parts of an
organization work together.
Demand Value
It requires an end-to-end visibility of how demand is captured and translated into outcomes.
Applying the Principle: Think and Work Holistically
Recognize the complexity of

Remember that collaboration is
the systems.
key to thinking and working
holistically. 01
02
Look for patterns in the needs 03

and interactions between
system elements.
04
Remember that automation
can facilitate working
holistically.
Keep It Simple and Practical
Outcome-based thinking should be used to produce practical solutions that deliver

valuable outcomes.
• Use the minimum number of steps to

accomplish an objective.
• Ensure that actions contribute to value

creation.
• Start with an uncomplicated approach and

then add controls, activities, or metrics
when needed.
• Be mindful of competing objectives.

Applying the Principle: Keep It Simple and Practical
Every activity should Simplicity is the ultimate

01 02
create value. sophistication.
Do fewer things, but do Respect the time of the

03 04
them better. people involved.
Simple practices are easier 06 Quick wins allow organizations to

05
to understand and follow. demonstrate progress and
manage stakeholder expectations.
Optimize and Automate
Optimization refers to the action of making something effective and useful.
Understand and agree to the

Assess the current state of the
context in which the proposed
proposed optimization.
optimization exists.
Ensure the optimization has the Agree to what the future state and
appropriate level of stakeholder priorities of the organization should
engagement and commitment. be.
Execute the improvements in an Continually monitor the impact of

iterative way. optimization.
Optimize and Automate
Automation is the use of technology to perform a step or series of steps correctly and consistently
with limited or no human intervention.
• Automating frequent and repetitive tasks helps organizations scale up and allows
human resources to be used for complex decision-making.
• The simplest form of automation involves standardizing and streamlining manual
tasks to allow decisions to be made automatically.
Applying the Principle: Optimize and Automate
When optimizing and

Simplify and optimize before automating, consider the
automating following guiding principles:
Progress Keep it
iteratively with simple and
feedback practical
Focus on Start where

Define your metrics value you are
Principle Interaction
• Ensure that the principles interact with and

are dependant on each other.
• Consider the relevance of each principle and

how they apply together.
Governance
Governance
Governance
Governance is realized through the following activities:
Evaluate Direct Monitor
The governing body The governing body assigns The governing body
evaluates the organization responsibility for, and monitors the
on a regular basis as directs the preparation and performance of the
stakeholders’ needs and implementation of, organization and its
external circumstances organizational strategy and practices, products, and
evolve. policies. services.
SVS Governance
The governing body needs to make sure that:
● The service value chain and the organization’s practices work

in line with the direction given by the governing body.
● The governing body of the organization maintains oversight

of the SVS.
● Both the governing body and management at all levels

maintain alignment through a clear set of shared principles
and objectives.
● The governance and management at all levels are continually

improved to meet expectations of the stakeholders.
Key Takeaways
The SVS includes the service value chain activities supported by an

organization’s universal and holistic practices.
The guiding principles help organizations adopt and adapt ITIL to

their context. The principles include:
• Focus on value
• Start where you are
• Progress iteratively with feedback
• Collaborate and promote visibility
• Think and work holistically
• Keep it simple and practical
• Optimize and automate
Governance is realized through the activities such as evaluate,

direct and monitor.
Knowledge Check
Knowledge
Check
What is the purpose of the SVS?
1
a. It guides the organization.
b. It ensures that the organization continually co-creates value with all stakeholders.
c. It typically addresses areas such as availability, capacity, security levels, and continuity.
d. None of the above

Knowledge
Check
What is the purpose of the SVS?
1
a. It guides the organization.
b. It ensures that the organization continually co-creates value with all stakeholders.
c. It typically addresses areas such as availability, capacity, security levels, and continuity.
d. None of the above
The correct answer is B
SVS ensures that the organization continually co-creates value with all stakeholders through the use and
management of products and services.
Knowledge
Check
What is a guiding principle?
2
a. It is a process.
b. It is a means by which an organization is directed and controlled.
c. It is a recommendation that guides an organization in all circumstances.
d. All of the above

Knowledge
Check
What is a guiding principle?
2
a. It is a process.
b. It is a means by which an organization is directed and controlled.
c. It is a recommendation that guides an organization in all circumstances.
d. All of the above
The correct answer is C
A guiding principle is a recommendation that guides an organization in all circumstances.

Knowledge
Check
Which of the following is a guiding principle?
3
a. Focus of value
b. Start where you are
c. Think and work holistically
d.
All of the options
Knowledge
Check
Which of the following is a guiding principle?
3
a. Focus of value
b. Start where you are
c. Think and work holistically
d.
All of the options
The correct answer is D
There are seven guiding principles. Focus of value, start where you are, and think and work holistically are
a few of them.

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ITIL® 4 Foundation

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Describe the ITIL service value system

Describe the nature, use, and interaction of the guiding principles

Explain the use of the guiding principles

Figure 4.1 The ITIL service value system

• The components, activities, and

• This requires the coordination of

Figure 4.1 The ITIL service value system

Opportunities represent the possibilities of adding value to stakeholders or improving

Figure 4.1 The ITIL service value system

Demand is the need or desire for products and services.

Figure 4.1 The ITIL service value system

• Opportunities can trigger work within

• Organizations should prioritize new or

Figure 4.1 The ITIL service value system

● Guiding principles guide an organization in all

Organizational silos are a challenge to organizations.

● Cannot act quickly to take advantage of

• Organizations should be able to define and redefine their

• The ITIL guiding principles guide the overall improvement

• The guiding principles create a foundation for a shared

A guiding principle is a recommendation that guides an organization in all circumstances.

• The guiding principles help organizations adopt and

• They help to integrate multiple methods into an overall

• They encourage and support continual improvement at

Progress iteratively with Collaborate and

Think and work Keep it simple and Optimize and

Identify the service consumer

Know the consumer’s perspective of value

Map value to the intended outcomes that change over time

Know the customer experience (CX) or the user experience (UX)

Before starting an improvement initiative, consider what is already available to be leveraged.

• Decisions should be based on accurate information

• Obtaining data from the source avoids assumptions

When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.

Metrics should be meaningful and related to the desired outcome.

Look Determine Apply Recognize

Look at what Determine if Apply risk Recognize that

• Improvement iterations can be sequential or

• Individual iterations should be managed.

• The need of an iteration may be altered or even

• Seeking feedback before, during, and after each

Well-constructed feedback mechanisms facilitate

• End user and customer perception of the value

Receive feedback at all times

Use minimum viable product.

• Agile, lean, and other ITSM frameworks will

• It is important to identify and manage all

A stakeholder is anyone who has a stake in the organization’s activities.

Stakeholder collaboration includes:

• Developers working with other internal teams

• Suppliers collaborating with the organization

• Relationship managers collaborating with service

• Customers collaborating with each other

• Internal and external suppliers collaborating with

Understand the flow of

Identify bottlenecks Uncover waste.

Collaboration does not

Communicate in a way the

Decisions can only be

Recognize the complexity of

Look for patterns in the needs 03

Outcome-based thinking should be used to produce practical solutions that deliver