ITIL 4 has rolled out a new model for value creation: the Service Value System. This system is representative of how all the components and activities of an organization come together to facilitate value creation through IT-enabled services. Central to this system is the Service Value Chain. This is an operating model for delivery of services through six key activities, which can be combined in a variety of ways to provide a flexible set of value streams.
Because of its flexibility the Service Value Chain can support numerous approaches to service delivery, including DevOps and centralized IT. This also allows for new or emerging methodologies, making the Service Value Chain highly adaptable and resilient to changing requirements.
Value Streams
While the activities in the value chain are universal, and high-level key inputs and outputs are a solid foundation, individual value streams are created for specific purposes. As an example, consider the value stream for resolving an E-mail Incident. If we consider all the resources, practices, activities, inputs and outputs, the value stream might look something like this:
Key Service Value Chain Activities
The six key activities of the Service Value Chain are Plan, Improve, Engage, Design and Transition, Obtain/Build, and Deliver and Support. Each of these contributes to value creation by transforming various inputs into specific outputs. These inputs may be external, or they may come from other activities within the value chain itself. Each activity is supported by one or more Practices. This combination of Service Value Chain activities and practices is then transformed into a value stream for specific tasks, or to respond to situations.
The Service Value Chain has key inputs and outputs for each activity. Inputs can come from external sources, such as Governance; they also come from other activities in the Service Value Chain, such as Improve, Engage, and Obtain/Build. Similarly, outputs can be provided to external consumers, as well as to other activities within the Service Value Chain.
Plan
The Plan activity ensures understanding of the vision, current status, and improvement direction for all four dimensions, as well as products and services across the organization. This is a very strategic activity.
Improve
The Improve activity’s purpose is the continual improvement of products, services and practices across all the Service Value Chain activities and the four dimensions of service management.
Engage
The Engage activity provides understanding of stakeholder needs, transparency, and good relationships with all stakeholders. This activity takes requirements from customers and transforms them into design requirements for the Design and Transition activity.
Design and Transition
Design and Transition ensures that services and products meet stakeholder expectations, considering quality, cost and time-to-market. The primary focus is to take the requirements from Engage and provide specifications for Obtain/Build. This activity also delivers new and changed services and products to the Deliver and Support activity.
Obtain/Build
The Obtain/Build activity is responsible for ensuring that all service components are available when and where needed, and that they meet the agreed specifications. Requirements delivered by Design and Transition are transformed into service components that are, in turn, provided to the Deliver and Support activity, as well as to Design and Transition.
Deliver and Support
Deliver and Support delivers services and products to the customer, ensuring that such delivery meets agreed specifications and the stakeholders’ expectations. This is where the proverbial rubber meets the road, and where the customer sees and co-creates value. Its primary inputs are the services and products delivered by Design and Transition, as well as service components delivered by Obtain/Build.
As one can see, each activity engages in a highly interdependent lifecycle, all leading to value creation for stakeholders. Individual streams include specific roles and responsibilities, and these are dependent on the service or product being provided. As each activity transforms its inputs to specific outputs, new activities take over, further developing the overall value chain. The Improve activity is the overarching guide to gradual and continual improvement in all activities and value streams.
The Service Value Chain exists as the core of the ITIL 4 Service Value System, it is informed and impacted by each of the other aspects of the Service Value System. Through this interaction and the six key activities of the Service Value Chain, value is delivered to stakeholders in the form of services and products.
FAQs
The Service Value Chain is an operating model, which outlines the key activities required torespond to demand and facilitate value realizationthrough the creation and management ofproducts and services. Each organisation will allocate the Service Value Chain according to their business needs.
Which of the following describes the ITIL service value chain? ›
The ITIL service value chain - is a flexible model for creation, delivery, and continual improvement of services. It enables organizations to adapt to the changing demands of stakeholders effectively, efficiently, and expediently.
What statement about service value chain is correct? ›
The correct answer is B. Each value chain activity uses different combinations of practices to convert inputs into outputs. In the ITIL 4 framework, the service value chain is a key concept that represents the set of interconnected activities performed by an organization to deliver value to its customers.
What is described by the service value system ITIL 4? ›
“The ITIL service value system describes how all the components and activities of the organization work together as a system to enable value creation.
What is an example of a service value chain? ›
Restoring a live service is a real-world example of a Service Value Chain map. In this example, the following Service Value Chain activities take place: Demand – the customer has a need for his mail service to be restored. Engage – the customer engages the Service Desk via the phone.
What is the value chain of a service? ›
The term value chain refers to the various business activities and processes involved in creating a product or performing a service. A value chain can consist of multiple stages of a product or service's lifecycle, including research and development, sales, and everything in between.
What should be the focus of a service value chain? ›
1)The service value chain should focus on opportunities and demand that are available which can be approached through relevant principles with the main idea of continual improvement in the different initiatives which are applied.
What is the ITIL service value system quizlet? ›
The SVS describes how all the components and activities of the organization work together as a system to enable value creation. (Page 36) The key inputs to the SVS are: Opportunity and Demand. Opportunities: options or possibilities to add value for stakeholders.
What is the value of ITIL service strategy? ›
Value of ITIL Service Strategy
An increased ability to understand and express the links between the IT service assets of the service provider, its activities, and the crucial outcomes achieved by its customers as a result of using their services.
What is the correct sequence of the value chain? ›
The value chain includes initial design, materials sourcing, manufacturing, marketing, sale, delivery and after-sale service. If that sounds a lot like a supply chain, it should. Value chains encompass more business activities than supply chains, but the main difference is their customer-focused point of view.
Demand triggers the delivery of products and services, and - in turn - value. Products and services, and - in turn - value, are outputs of the service value chain.
What is the value chain theory? ›
A value chain is a series of consecutive steps that go into the creation of a finished product, from its initial design to its arrival at a customer's door. The chain identifies each step in the process at which value is added, including the sourcing, manufacturing, and marketing stages of its production.
What is the first component of the ITIL 4 service value system? ›
The first component of the Service Value System are the guiding principles. The seven ITIL guiding principles are recommendations that can guide an organization in all circ*mstances regardless of changes in its goals, strategies, type of work, or management structure.
What are the key inputs to the ITIL service value system? ›
Opportunity and demand are the key inputs to the service value system. Opportunities are the ones which exist in the market and signify the available options or various possibilities enabling the service provider to add value to all the stakeholders or improve the organization's capability to provide services.
Which is not a service value chain activity in ITIL 4? ›
Plan • Engage • Delivery and Support •Practice (Correct) ExplanationPractice is not an activity in the service value chain. The six activities within the service value chain are plan, improve, engage, design and transition, obtain/build, and deliver and support.
Which is not a service value chain in ITIL 4? ›
Plan • Engage • Delivery and Support •Practice (Correct) ExplanationPractice is not an activity in the service value chain. The six activities within the service value chain are plan, improve, engage, design and transition, obtain/build, and deliver and support.
What is the difference between ITIL 4 value chain and value stream? ›
The service value chain refers to activities that lie at the heart of the service value system. Value streams offer more detailed descriptions of the activities needed to respond to specific types of demand and opportunity.
What is the value chain model of the service industry? ›
A value chain is a model that includes every step a company goes through — from the initial idea through delivery to the customer — to create a good or service. The value chain includes initial design, materials sourcing, manufacturing, marketing, sale, delivery and after-sale service.
