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Figure 4.8 Actionable components of service definitions in terms of utility

Being able to define services in an actionable manner has its advantages from a strategic perspective. It removes ambiguity from decision making and avoids misalignment between what customers want and what service providers are organized and capable enough to deliver.

Figure 4.9 Actionable components of service definitions in terms of warranty

Well-constructed definitions make it easier to visualize patterns across Service catalogues and portfolios that earlier were hidden due to unstructured definitions (Figure 4.9). Patterns bring clarity to decisions across the Service Lifecycle. Table 4.3 shows the type of questions that can guide analysis of service definitions to make them actionable.

Service type

Utility (Part A and B)

What services do we provide?

Who are our customers?

What outcomes do we support?

How do they create value for their customers?

What constraints do our customers face?

Customer assets

Service assets

Which customer assets do we support?

Who are the users of our services?

What assets do we deploy to provide value?

How do we deploy our assets?

Activity or task

Warranty

What type of activity do we support?

How do we track performance?

How do we create value for them?

What assurances do we provide?

Table 4.3 Analysis of service definitions for action

Without the context in which the customers use services it is difficult to completely define value. Without complete definition of value, there cannot be complete production of value. As a result, outcomes are not fulfilled to the customer’s satisfaction.

However, it is not to say that a service cannot be developed without a customer in hand. It simply means that the story of a service begins either with the needs of a specific customer or a category of customers (i.e. market space). Customer needs exist and are fulfilled independent of service providers or their services. However, value for a customer rests on not only fulfilment of these needs, but also how they are fulfilled, and often at what risks and costs. Certain services create value by preventing or recovering from undesirable conditions or states. In such cases customers may desire a change in the risks to which their assets may be exposed. In either case, the second-order effect of services is that the changes they produce, or prevent, have a positive and usually measurable effect on the performance and outcomes of the customer’s business.

These types of questions and others of a similar nature are crucial for an organization to consider in the implementation of a strategic approach to service management. They are applied by all types of service providers, internal and external. What changes is the context and meaning of certain ideas such as customers, contracts, competition, market spaces, revenue and strategy. In fact, these clarifying questions are particularly important for internal service providers who typically operate within the realm of an enterprise or government agency, have customers who are also owners, and whose strategic objectives may not always be clear.

4.2.3 Service Portfolio, Pipeline and Catalogue

The Service Portfolio represents the commitments and investments made by a service provider across all customers and market spaces. It represents present contractual commitments, new service development, and ongoing service improvement plans initiated by Continual Service Improvement (Figure 4.10). The portfolio also includes third-party services, which are an integral part of service offerings to customers. Some third-party services are visible to the customers while others are not. Chapter 5 provides further guidance on how to develop and manage portfolios.

Figure 4.10 Service Portfolio

The portfolio management approach helps managers prioritize investments and improve the allocation of resources. Changes to portfolios are governed by policies and procedures. Portfolios instil a certain financial discipline necessary to avoid making investments that will not yield value. Service Portfolios represent the ability and readiness of a service provider to serve customers and market spaces. The Service Portfolio is divided into three phases: Service Catalogue, Service Pipeline and Retired Services (Figure 4.11).

Figure 4.11 Service Pipeline and Service Catalogue

The Service Portfolio represents all the resources presently engaged or being released in various phases of the Service Lifecycle. Each phase requires resources for completion of projects, initiatives and contracts. This is a very important governance aspect of Service Portfolio Management (SPM). Entry, progress and exit are approved only with approved funding and a financial plan for recovering costs or showing profit as necessary. The Portfolio should have the right mix of services in the pipeline and catalogue to secure the financial viability of the service provider. The Service Catalogue is the only part of the Portfolio that recovers costs or earns profits.

In summary, SPM is about maximizing value while managing risks and costs. The value realization is derived from better service delivery and customer experiences. Through SPM, managers are better able to understand qualityrequirements and related delivery costs. They can then seek to reduce costs through alternative means while maintaining service quality. The SPM journey begins with documenting the organization’s standardized services, and as such has strong links to Service level management, particularly the Service Catalogue (Figure 4.12).

Figure 4.12 Elements of a Service Portfolio and Service Catalogue

4.2.3.1 Service Catalogue

The Service Catalogue is the subset of the Service Portfolio visible to customers. It consists of services presently active in the Service Operation phase and those approved to be readily offered to current or prospective customers. Items can enter the Service Catalogue only after due diligence has been performed on related costs and risks. Resources are engaged to fully support active services.

The Catalogue is useful in developing suitable solutions for customers from one or more services. Items in the Catalogue can be configured and suitably priced to fulfil a particular need. The Service Catalogue is an important tool for Service Strategy because it is the virtual projection of the service provider’s actual and present capabilities. Many customers are only interested in what the provider can commit now, rather than in future. The value of future possibilities is discounted in the present.

It serves as a service order and demand channelling mechanism. It communicates and defines the policies, guidelines and accountability required for SPM. It defines the criteria for what services fall under SPM and the objective of each service. It acts as the acquisition portal for customers, including pricing and service-level commitments, and the terms and conditions for service provisioning. It is in the Service Catalogue that services are decomposed into components; it is where assets, processes and systems are introduced with entry points and terms for their use and provisioning. As providers may have many customers or serve many businesses, there may be multiple Service Catalogues projected from the Service Portfolio. In other words, a Service Catalogue is an expression of the provider’s operationalcapability within the context of a customer or market space.

The Service Catalogue is also a visualization tool for SPM decisions. It is in the catalogue that demand for services comes together with the capacity to fulfil it. Customer assets attached to a businessoutcome are sources of demand (Figure 4.13). In particular, they have expectations of utility and warranty. If any items in the catalogue can fulfil those expectations, a connection is made resulting in a service contract or agreement. Catalogue items are clustered into Lines of Service (LOS) based on common patterns of business activity (PBA) they can support.

Figure 4.13 Service Catalogue and Demand Management

LOS performing well are allocated additional resources to ensure continued performance and anticipate increases in demand for those services. Items performing above a financial threshold are deemed viable services. An effort is to be made to make them popular by introducing new attributes, new service level packages (SLP), improved matching with sources of demand, or by new pricing policies. If performance drops below a threshold, then they are marked for retirement. A new Service Transitionproject is initiated and a Transition Plan is drafted to phase out the service.

Services with poor financial performance may be retained in the Catalogue with adequate justification. Some catalogue services may have strategic use of such contingency for another service and contractual obligations to a few early customers. Whatever the justification, it must be approved by senior leadership who may choose to subsidize. This issue differs with Type I (internal) providers who are often required to maintain a catalogue of service, regardless of their independent financial viability.

A subset of the Service Catalogue may be third-party or outsourced services. These are services that are offered to customers with varying levels of value addition or combination with other Catalogue items. The Third-Party Catalogue may consist of core service packages (CSP) and SLP. It extends the range of the Service Catalogue in terms of customers and market spaces. Third-party services may be used to address underserved or unserved demand (Figure 4.13) until items in the Service Pipeline are phased into operation. They can also be used as a substitute for services being phased out of the Catalogue. Sourcing is not only an important strategic option but can also be an operational necessity. Section 6.5 provides more guidance on sourcing strategy.

Candidate suppliers of the Third-Party Catalogue may be evaluated using the eSourcing Capability Model for Service Providers (eSCM-SP™) developed by Carnegie Mellon University.

4.2.3.2 Service Pipeline

The Service Pipeline consists of services under development for a given market space or customer. These services are to be phased into operation by Service Transition after completion of design, development, and testing. The pipeline represents the service provider’s growth and strategic outlook for the future. The general health of the provider is reflected in the pipeline. It also reflects the extent to which new service concepts and ideas for improvement are being fed by Service Strategy, Service Design and Continual Improvement. Good Financial Management is necessary to ensure adequate funding for the pipeline.

4.2.3.3 Retired services

Some services in the Catalogue are phased out or retired. Phasing out of services is part of Service Transition. This is to ensure that all commitments made to customers are duly fulfilled and service assets are released from contracts. When services are phased out, the related knowledge and information are stored in a knowledge base for future use. Phased-out services are not available to new customers or contracts unless a special business case is made. Such services may be reactivated into operations under special conditions and SLAs that are to be approved by senior management. This is necessary because such services may cost a lot more to support and may disrupt economies of scale and scope.

4.2.3.4 The role of Service Transition