best management practice portfolio: common glossary · pdf fileproduced the original itil ......
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This glossary:• Issubjecttotermsandconditionsagreedtoby
downloadingtheglossary
• UsesinternationalEnglish,whichhasbeenadoptedtoreflectandfacilitatetheinternationalusageoftheproducts
• FollowstherecenttrendintheBestManagementPracticepublicationstomoveawayfromcapitalizationotherthaninnormalEnglishusage
• Doesnotincludeeverytermthatisdefinedorexplainedinthemainguide
• Isthereforeatransitionalproductreflectingthetrenddiscussedabovebutstillincludesdefinitionsfromtheglossariesofsomepublicationsthatdon’tcomplywiththetrend.
AcknowledgementsBestManagementPracticewouldliketothankAdrianDooley(APMG),AlanFerguson(AFA),AndyMurray(Outperform)andGrahamWilliams(GSWConsultancyLtd),whoproducedtheoriginalPPMcommonglossary.
BestManagementPracticewouldalsoliketothankAshleyHanna(HP)andStuartRance(HP),whoproducedtheoriginalITILglossary(inEnglish)inMay2007.(ItwasupdatedbyAshleyHannainJuly2011.)
Best Management Practice portfolio: common glossary of terms and definitions
Version1,October2012
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Glossary of terms and definitions
Term Definition
abstraction Thelevelofafunctioninahierarchy.
accept (risk response) Ariskresponsetoathreatwhereaconsciousanddeliberatedecisionistakentoretainthethreat,havingdiscernedthatitismoreeconomicaltodosothantoattemptariskresponseaction.Thethreatshouldcontinuetobemonitoredtoensurethatitremainstolerable.
acceptance Generic –theactofacceptingorthestateofbeingacceptedoracceptable.
ITIL –FormalagreementthatanITservice,process,planorotherdeliverableiscomplete,accurate,reliableandmeetsitsspecifiedrequirements.Acceptanceisusuallyprecededbychangeevaluationortestingandisoftenrequiredbeforeproceedingtothenextstageofaprojectorprocess.Forexample,thetermserviceacceptancecriteriainITIL Service Transitionisdefinedas‘asetofcriteriausedtoensurethatanITservicemeetsitsfunctionalityandqualityrequirementsandthattheITserviceproviderisreadytooperatethenewITservicewhenithasbeendeployed’.
PPM –Theformalactofacknowledgingthattheprojecthasmetagreedacceptancecriteriaandtherebymettherequirementsofitsstakeholders.Forexample,inPRINCE2thetermacceptancecriteriaisdefinedas‘aprioritizedlistofcriteriathattheprojectproductmustmeetbeforethecustomerwillacceptit,i.e.measurabledefinitionsoftheattributesrequiredforthesetofproductstobeacceptabletokeystakeholders’.
access management TheprocessresponsibleforallowinguserstomakeuseofITservices,dataorotherassets.Accessmanagementhelpstoprotecttheconfidentiality,integrityandavailabilityofassetsbyensuringthatonlyauthorizedusersareabletoaccessormodifythem.Accessmanagementimplementsthepoliciesofinformationsecuritymanagementandissometimesreferredtoasrightsmanagementoridentitymanagement.
account manager Arolethatisverysimilartothatofthebusinessrelationshipmanager,butincludesmorecommercialaspects.MostcommonlyusedbyTypeIIIserviceproviderswhendealingwithexternalcustomers.
accountable Personallyanswerableforanactivity.Accountabilitycannotbedelegated,unlikeresponsibility.
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Term Definition
accounting TheprocessresponsibleforidentifyingtheactualcostsofdeliveringITservices,comparingthesewithbudgetedcosts,andmanagingvariancefromthebudget.
accounting officer Apublicsectorrole.Haspersonalresponsibilityfortheproprietyandregularityofthefinancesforwhichheorsheisanswerable;forthekeepingofproperaccounts;forprudentandeconomicaladministration;foravoidanceofwasteandextravagance;andfortheefficientandeffectiveuseofresources.Thisbringswithitaresponsibilityforgovernanceissues,andincludescustodianshipofriskmanagementanditsadoptionthroughouttheorganization.
accounting period Aperiodoftime(usuallyoneyear)forwhichbudgets,charges,depreciationandotherfinancialcalculationsaremade.See also financialyear.
accredited Officiallyauthorizedtocarryoutarole.Forexample,anaccreditedbodymaybeauthorizedtoprovidetrainingortoconductaudits.
active monitoring MonitoringofaconfigurationitemoranITservicethatusesautomatedregularcheckstodiscoverthecurrentstatus.See also passivemonitoring.
activity Generic –Afunction,mission,actionorcollectionofactions.
ITIL –Asetofactionsdesignedtoachieveaparticularresult.Activitiesareusuallydefinedaspartofprocessesorplans,andaredocumentedinprocedures.
PPM –Aprocess,functionortaskthatoccursovertime,hasrecognizableresultsandismanaged.Itisusuallydefinedaspartofaprocessorplan.
aggregated risk Theoveralllevelofrisktotheprogrammeorportfoliowhenalltherisksareviewedasatotalityratherthanindividually.Thiscouldincludetheoutputsofparticularscenariosorriskcombinations.
agile methods Principally,softwaredevelopmentmethodsthatapplytheprojectapproachof(often)usingshorttime-boxediterationswhereproductsareincrementallydeveloped.PRINCE2andMoVarecompatiblewithagileprinciples.
agreed service time (AST) Asynonymforservicehours,commonlyusedinformalcalculationsofavailability.See also downtime.
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Term Definition
agreement Adocumentthatdescribesaformalunderstandingbetweentwoormoreparties.Anagreementisnotlegallybinding,unlessitformspartofacontract.See also operationallevelagreement;servicelevelagreement.
alert Anotificationthatathresholdhasbeenreached,somethinghaschanged,orafailurehasoccurred.Alertsareoftencreatedandmanagedbysystemmanagementtoolsandaremanagedbytheeventmanagementprocess.
analytical modelling AtechniquethatusesmathematicalmodelstopredictthebehaviourofITservicesorotherconfigurationitems.Analyticalmodelsarecommonlyusedincapacitymanagementandavailabilitymanagement.See also modelling;simulationmodelling.
application SoftwarethatprovidesfunctionswhicharerequiredbyanITservice.EachapplicationmaybepartofmorethanoneITservice.Anapplicationrunsononeormoreserversorclients.See also applicationmanagement;applicationportfolio.
application management Thefunctionresponsibleformanagingapplicationsthroughouttheirlifecycle.
application portfolio Adatabaseorstructureddocumentusedtomanageapplicationsthroughouttheirlifecycle.Theapplicationportfoliocontainskeyattributesofallapplications.Theapplicationportfolioissometimesimplementedaspartoftheserviceportfolio,oraspartoftheconfigurationmanagementsystem.
application service provider (ASP) AnexternalserviceproviderthatprovidesITservicesusingapplicationsrunningattheserviceprovider’spremises.Usersaccesstheapplicationsbynetworkconnectionstotheserviceprovider.
application sizing Theactivityresponsibleforunderstandingtheresourcerequirementsneededtosupportanewapplication,oramajorchangetoanexistingapplication.ApplicationsizinghelpstoensurethattheITservicecanmeetitsagreedserviceleveltargetsforcapacityandperformance.
approval Theformalconfirmationthataproductiscompleteandmeetsitsrequirements(lessanyconcessions)asdefinedbyitsproductdescription.
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Term Definition
approver Thepersonorgroup(e.g.aprojectboard)whoisidentifiedasqualifiedandauthorizedtoapprovea(managementorspecialist)productasbeingcompleteandfitforpurpose.
architecture ThestructureofasystemorITservice,includingtherelationshipsofcomponentstoeachotherandtotheenvironmenttheyarein.Architecturealsoincludesthestandardsandguidelinesthatguidethedesignandevolutionofthesystem.
as-is state Thecurrentoperatingstructureandperformanceofthepartsofthebusinesswhichwillbeimpactedbyaprogramme.
assembly AconfigurationitemthatismadeupofanumberofotherCIs.Forexample,aserverCImaycontainCIsforCPUs,disks,memoryetc.;anITserviceCImaycontainmanyhardware,softwareandotherCIs.See also build;componentCI.
assessment Inspectionandanalysistocheckwhetherastandardorsetofguidelinesisbeingfollowed,thatrecordsareaccurate,orthatefficiencyandeffectivenesstargetsarebeingmet.See also audit.
asset Anyresourceorcapability.Theassetsofaserviceproviderincludeanythingthatcouldcontributetothedeliveryofaservice.Assetscanbeoneofthefollowingtypes:management,organization,process,knowledge,people,information,applications,infrastructureorfinancialcapital.See also customerasset;serviceasset;strategicasset.
asset management Agenericactivityorprocessresponsiblefortrackingandreportingthevalueandownershipofassetsthroughouttheirlifecycle.See also serviceassetandconfigurationmanagement;fixed-assetmanagement;softwareassetmanagement.
asset register Alistoffixedassetsthatincludestheirownershipandvalue.See also fixed-assetmanagement.
asset specificity Oneormoreattributesofanassetthatmakeitparticularlyusefulforagivenpurpose.Assetspecificitymaylimittheuseoftheassetforotherpurposes.
assumption Astatementthatistakenasbeingtrueforthepurposesofplanning,butwhichcouldchangelater.Anassumptionismadewheresomefactsarenotyetknown.Thereisariskthatassumptionsarenotcorrect.
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Term Definition
assurance Allthesystematicactionsnecessarytoprovideconfidencethatthetarget(system,process,organization,programme,project,outcome,benefit,capability,productoutput,deliverable)isappropriate.Appropriatenessmightbedefinedsubjectivelyorobjectivelyindifferentcircumstances.Theimplicationisthatassurancewillhavealevelofindependencefromthatwhichisbeingassured.See also projectassurance;qualityassurance.
attribute Generic –Aqualityorcharacteristicinherentinorascribedtosomeoneorsomething.
ITIL –Apieceofinformationaboutaconfigurationitem.Examplesarename,location,versionnumberandcost.AttributesofCIsarerecordedinaconfigurationmanagementdatabase(CMDB)andmaintainedaspartofaconfigurationmanagementsystem(CMS).See also relationship;configurationmanagementsystem.
PPM –Acharacteristicorinherentfeature.
audit Formalinspectionandverificationtocheckwhetherastandardorsetofguidelinesisbeingfollowed,thatrecordsareaccurate,orthatefficiencyandeffectivenesstargetsarebeingmet.Anauditmaybecarriedoutbyinternalorexternalgroups.See also assessment;certification.
audit committee Abodyofindependentdirectorswhoareresponsibleformonitoringtheintegrityofthefinancialstatementofthecompany;theeffectivenessofthecompany’sinternalauditfunction;theexternalauditor’sindependenceandobjectivity;andtheeffectivenessoftheauditprocess.
authority Therighttoallocateresourcesandmakedecisions(appliestoproject,stageandteamlevels).
authority matrix SeeRACI.
authorization Thepointatwhichanauthorityisgranted.
automatic call distribution (ACD) Useofinformationtechnologytodirectanincomingtelephonecalltothemostappropriatepersonintheshortestpossibletime.ACDissometimescalledautomatedcalldistribution.
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Term Definition
availability AbilityofanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemtoperformitsagreedfunctionwhenrequired.Availabilityisdeterminedbyreliability,maintainability,serviceability,performanceandsecurity.Availabilityisusuallycalculatedasapercentage.Thiscalculationisoftenbasedonagreedservicetimeanddowntime.ItisbestpracticetocalculateavailabilityofanITserviceusingmeasurementsofthebusinessoutput.
availability management (AM) TheprocessresponsibleforensuringthatITservicesmeetthecurrentandfutureavailabilityneedsofthebusinessinacost-effectiveandtimelymanner.Availabilitymanagementdefines,analyses,plans,measuresandimprovesallaspectsoftheavailabilityofITservices,andensuresthatallITinfrastructures,processes,tools,rolesetc.areappropriatefortheagreedserviceleveltargetsforavailability.See also availabilitymanagementinformationsystem.
availability management information system (AMIS)
Asetoftools,dataandinformationthatisusedtosupportavailabilitymanagement.See also serviceknowledgemanagementsystem.
availability plan AplantoensurethatexistingandfutureavailabilityrequirementsforITservicescanbeprovidedcost-effectively.
avoid (risk response) Ariskresponsetoathreatwherethethreateithercannolongerhaveanimpactorcannolongerhappen.
back-out Anactivitythatrestoresaserviceorotherconfigurationitemtoapreviousbaseline.Back-outisusedasaformofremediationwhenachangeorreleaseisnotsuccessful.
backup Copyingdatatoprotectagainstlossofintegrityoravailabilityoftheoriginal.
balanced scorecard AmanagementtooldevelopedbyDrsRobertKaplan(HarvardBusinessSchool)andDavidNorton.Abalancedscorecardenablesastrategytobebrokendownintokeyperformanceindicators.Performanceagainstthekeyperformanceindicators(KPIs)isusedtodemonstratehowwellthestrategyisbeingachieved.Abalancedscorecardhasfourmajorareas,eachofwhichhasasmallnumberofKPIs.Thesamefourareasareconsideredatdifferentlevelsofdetailthroughouttheorganization.
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Term Definition
baseline Generic –Ameasurement,calculation,orlocationusedasabasisforcomparison.
ITIL –Asnapshotthatisusedasareferencepoint.Manysnapshotsmaybetakenandrecordedovertimebutonlysomewillbeusedasbaselines.Forexample:
• AnITSMbaselinecanbeusedasastartingpointtomeasuretheeffectofaserviceimprovementplan
• AperformancebaselinecanbeusedtomeasurechangesinperformanceoverthelifetimeofanITservice
• Aconfigurationbaselinecanbeusedaspartofaback-outplantoenabletheITinfrastructuretoberestoredtoaknownconfigurationifachangeorreleasefails.
See also benchmark.
PPM –Areferencelevelagainstwhichanentityismonitoredandcontrolled.
baseline management product Atypeofmanagementproductthatdefinesaspectsoftheprojectand,onceapproved,issubjecttochangecontrol.
basic function Theprimarypurposeofanoutput,theonefunctionthatneverchangesunlesstheproductorserviceitselfdoes.Ifitisnotsatisfied,theoutputisworthless.Forexample,thepurposeofabusstopistoprovideapointwherepeoplewaitingareeasilyvisibletothebusdriver,sotheycanhailthebus.Ifitdoesn’tmeetthisneed,itmightaswellnotbebuilt.
benchmark Generic –Astandardbywhichsomethingcanbemeasuredorjudged.
ITIL –Abaselinethatisusedtocomparerelateddatasetsaspartofabenchmarkingexercise.Forexample,arecentsnapshotofaprocesscanbecomparedtoapreviousbaselineofthatprocess,oracurrentbaselinecanbecomparedtoindustrydataorbestpractice.See also benchmarking;baseline.
PPM –Aproductorprocessagainstwhichotherproductsorprocessesmaybecompared.
benchmarking Theprocessresponsibleforcomparingabenchmarkwithrelateddatasetssuchasamorerecentsnapshot,industrydataorbestpractice.Thetermisalsousedtomeancreatingaseriesofbenchmarksovertime,andcomparingtheresultstomeasureprogressorimprovement.ThisprocessisnotdescribedindetailwithinthecoreITILpublications.
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Term Definition
benefit Themeasurableimprovementresultingfromanoutcomeperceivedasanadvantagebyoneormorestakeholders,andwhichcontributestowardsoneormoreorganizationalobjective(s).
benefits distribution matrix Anillustrationofthedistributionofbenefitsagainstdis-benefitsacrosstheorganization,i.e.thewinnersandlosersinachange.
benefits management Theidentification,definition,tracking,realizationandoptimizationofbenefits,usuallywithinaprogrammewhichcanincorporatebenefitsidentifiedviaanMoVstudy.
benefits realization Forprojects,thepracticeofaligningtheoutcomeassociatedwiththeprojectwiththeprojectedbenefitsclaimedinthebusinesscase.
benefits register Summarydocumentthatcontainskeyinformationfromthebenefitprofiles.
benefits review plan Aplanthatdefineshowandwhenameasurementoftheachievementoftheproject’sbenefitscanbemade.Iftheprojectisbeingmanagedwithinaprogramme,thisinformationmaybecreatedandmaintainedattheprogrammelevel.
benefits tolerance Thepermissibledeviationintheexpectedbenefitthatisallowedbeforethedeviationneedstobeescalatedtothenextlevelofmanagement.Benefitstoleranceisdocumentedinthebusinesscase.See also tolerance.
Best Management Practice TheBestManagementPracticeportfolioisownedbytheCabinetOffice,partofHMGovernment.FormerlyownedbyCCTAandthenOGC,theBestManagementPracticefunctionsmovedtotheCabinetOfficeinJune2010.TheBestManagementPracticeportfolioincludesguidanceonITservicemanagementandproject,programme,risk,portfolioandvaluemanagement.Thereisalsoamanagementmaturitymodelaswellasrelatedglossariesofterms.
best practice Generic –Provenapproaches,activities,methodsorprocessesthatproducebetterresultsthanotherapproaches.
ITIL –Provenactivitiesorprocessesthathavebeensuccessfullyusedbymultipleorganizations.ITILisanexampleofbestpractice.
PPM –Adefinedandprovenmethodofmanagingeventseffectively.
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Term Definition
billing Partofthechargingprocess.Billingistheactivityresponsibleforproducinganinvoiceorabillandrecoveringthemoneyfromcustomers.See also pricing.
border Thetime-boundlimitationsofatranche,i.e.whenend-of-tranchereviewsareheldandtheprogrammereceivesendorsementtomoveintothenexttranche.
boundary Thescopeofwhataprogrammewillcover;theextentofitsinfluenceandauthority.
brainstorming Atechniquethathelpsateamtogenerateideas.Ideasarenotreviewedduringthebrainstormingsession,butatalaterstage.Brainstormingisoftenusedbyproblemmanagementtoidentifypossiblecauses.
briefing meeting AmeetingattheoutsetofanMoVactivitywherethestudyleaderorparticipantsinanMoVactivityreceiveinformationonthesubjectunderreview.
British Standards Institution (BSI) TheUKnationalstandardsbody,responsibleforcreatingandmaintainingBritishstandards.Seewww.bsi-global.comformoreinformation.See also InternationalOrganizationforStandardization.
budget Alistofallthemoneyanorganizationorbusinessunitplanstoreceive,andplanstopayout,overaspecifiedperiodoftime.See also budgeting;planning.
budgeting Theactivityofpredictingandcontrollingthespendingofmoney.Budgetingconsistsofaperiodicnegotiationcycletosetfuturebudgets(usuallyannual)andtheday-to-daymonitoringandadjustingofcurrentbudgets.
build TheactivityofassemblinganumberofconfigurationitemstocreatepartofanITservice.Thetermisalsousedtorefertoareleasethatisauthorizedfordistribution–forexample,serverbuildorlaptopbuild.See also configurationbaseline.
build environment Acontrolledenvironmentwhereapplications,ITservicesandotherbuildsareassembledpriortobeingmovedintoatestorliveenvironment.
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11
Term Definition
business Anoverallcorporateentityororganizationformedofanumberofbusinessunits.InthecontextofITSM,thetermincludespublic-sectorandnot-for-profitorganizations,aswellascompanies.AnITserviceproviderprovidesITservicestoacustomerwithinabusiness.TheITserviceprovidermaybepartofthesamebusinessasitscustomer(internalserviceprovider)orpartofanotherbusiness(externalserviceprovider).
business as usual (BAU) Thewaythebusinessnormallyachievesitsobjectives.
business capacity management InthecontextofITSM,businesscapacitymanagementisthesub-processofcapacitymanagementresponsibleforunderstandingfuturebusinessrequirementsforuseinthecapacityplan.See also servicecapacitymanagement;componentcapacitymanagement.
business case Generic –Abusinesscasecapturesthereasoningforinitiatingaprojectortask.Itisoftenpresentedinawell-structuredwrittendocument,butmayalsosometimescomeintheformofashortverbalargumentorpresentation.Thelogicofthebusinesscaseisthat,wheneverresourcesoreffortareconsumed,theyshouldbeinsupportofaspecificbusinessneed.
ITIL –Justificationforasignificantitemofexpenditure.Thebusinesscaseincludesinformationaboutcosts,benefits,options,issues,risksandpossibleproblems.See also cost–benefitanalysis.
PPM –Thejustificationforanorganizationalactivity(strategic,programme,projectoroperational)whichtypicallycontainscosts,benefits,risksandtimescales,andagainstwhichcontinuingviabilityistested.
business case management Themannerinwhichaprogramme’srationale,objectives,benefitsandrisksarebalancedagainstthefinancialinvestment,andhowthisbalanceismaintained,adjustedandassessedduringtheprogramme.
business change authority Anindividualwhorepresentsagroupofbusinesschangemanagers,similartoaseniorbusinesschangemanager(BCM)orbusinesschangesponsor.
business change lifecycle Agenericnameusedtorepresentanyorganizationalprocessorframeworkwhichhelpstoguidethedeliveryofprogrammesandprojectsusingacollectionofrepeatableprocessesanddecisionpoints.
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12
Term Definition
business change manager (BCM) Theroleresponsibleforbenefitsmanagement,fromidentificationthroughtorealization,andforensuringthattheimplementationandembeddingofthenewcapabilitiesaredeliveredbytheprojects.Typicallyallocatedtomorethanoneindividualandalsoknownas‘changeagent’.
business change team Agroupofspecialistsappointedtosupportabusinesschangemanagerinthebusinesschangemanagementaspectsofbenefitsrealization.
business continuity management ITIL –Thebusinessprocessresponsibleformanagingrisksthatcouldseriouslyaffectthebusiness.Businesscontinuitymanagementsafeguardstheinterestsofkeystakeholders,reputation,brandandvalue-creatingactivities.Theprocessinvolvesreducingriskstoanacceptablelevelandplanningfortherecoveryofbusinessprocessesshouldadisruptiontothebusinessoccur.Businesscontinuitymanagementsetstheobjectives,scopeandrequirementsforITservicecontinuitymanagement.
PPM –Aholisticmanagementprocessthatidentifiespotentialimpactsthatthreatenanorganizationandprovidesaframeworkforbuildingresiliencewiththecapabilityforaneffectiveresponsethatsafeguardstheinterestsofitskeystakeholders,reputation,brandandvalue-creatingactivities.Themanagementofrecoveryorcontinuityintheeventofadisaster.Alsothemanagementoftheoverallprocessthroughtraining,rehearsalsandreviews,toensurethebusinesscontinuityplanstayscurrentanduptodate.
business continuity plan (BCP) Generic –Planningwhichidentifiestheorganization’sexposuretointernalandexternalthreatsandsynthesizeshardandsoftassetstoprovideeffectivepreventionandrecoveryfortheorganization,whilstmaintainingcompetitiveadvantageandvalue-systemintegrity.
ITIL –Aplandefiningthestepsrequiredtorestorebusinessprocessesfollowingadisruption.Theplanalsoidentifiesthetriggersforinvocation,peopletobeinvolved,communicationsetc.ITservicecontinuityplansformasignificantpartofbusinesscontinuityplans.
PPM –Aplanforthefastandefficientresumptionofessentialbusinessoperationsbydirectingrecoveryactionsofspecifiedrecoveryteams.
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13
Term Definition
business customer Arecipientofaproductoraservicefromthebusiness.Forexample,ifthebusinessisacarmanufacturer,thenthebusinesscustomerissomeonewhobuysacar.
business impact analysis (BIA) Businessimpactanalysisistheactivityinbusinesscontinuitymanagementthatidentifiesvitalbusinessfunctionsandtheirdependencies.Thesedependenciesmayincludesuppliers,people,otherbusinessprocesses,ITservicesetc.BusinessimpactanalysisdefinestherecoveryrequirementsforITservices.Theserequirementsincluderecoverytimeobjectives,recoverypointobjectivesandminimumserviceleveltargetsforeachITservice.
business objective Theobjectiveofabusinessprocess,orofthebusinessasawhole.Businessobjectivessupportthebusinessvision,provideguidancefortheITstrategy,andareoftensupportedbyITservices.
business operations Theday-to-dayexecution,monitoringandmanagementofbusinessprocesses.
business perspective AnunderstandingoftheserviceproviderandITservicesfromthepointofviewofthebusiness,andanunderstandingofthebusinessfromthepointofviewoftheserviceprovider.
business process Aprocessthatisownedandcarriedoutbythebusiness.Abusinessprocesscontributestothedeliveryofaproductorservicetoabusinesscustomer.Forexample,aretailermayhaveapurchasingprocessthathelpstodeliverservicestoitsbusinesscustomers.ManybusinessprocessesrelyonITservices.
business relationship management
Theprocessresponsibleformaintainingapositiverelationshipwithcustomers.Businessrelationshipmanagementidentifiescustomerneedsandensuresthattheserviceproviderisabletomeettheseneedswithanappropriatecatalogueofservices.Thisprocesshasstronglinkswithservicelevelmanagement.
business relationship manager (BRM)
Aroleresponsibleformaintainingtherelationshipwithoneormorecustomers.Thisroleisoftencombinedwiththeservicelevelmanagerrole.
business risk Failuretoachievebusinessobjectives/benefits.
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14
Term Definition
business service Aservicethatisdeliveredtobusinesscustomersbybusinessunits.Forexample,deliveryoffinancialservicestocustomersofabank,orgoodstothecustomersofaretailstore.SuccessfuldeliveryofbusinessservicesoftendependsononeormoreITservices.AbusinessservicemayconsistalmostentirelyofanITservice–forexample,anonlinebankingserviceoranexternalwebsitewhereproductorderscanbeplacedbybusinesscustomers.See also customer-facingservice.
business service management Themanagementofbusinessservicesdeliveredtobusinesscustomers.Businessservicemanagementisperformedbybusinessunits.
business unit Generic –Alogicalelementorcomponentofacompany.
ITIL –Asegmentofthebusinessthathasitsownplans,metrics,incomeandcosts.Eachbusinessunitownsassetsandusesthesetocreatevalueforcustomersintheformofgoodsandservices.
PPM –Adiscretecomponentofanorganization.
call Atelephonecalltotheservicedeskfromauser.Acallcouldresultinanincidentoraservicerequestbeinglogged.
call centre Anorganizationorbusinessunitthathandleslargenumbersofincomingandoutgoingtelephonecalls.See also servicedesk.
call type Acategorythatisusedtodistinguishincomingrequeststoaservicedesk.Commoncalltypesareincident,servicerequestandcomplaint.
capability Generic –Usuallytakentomeanthequalities,attributesandfeaturesthatcanbeusedordeveloped.
ITIL –Theabilityofanorganization,person,process,application,ITserviceorotherconfigurationitemtocarryoutanactivity.Capabilitiesareintangibleassetsofanorganization.See also resource.
PPM –Thecompletedsetofprojectoutputsrequiredtodeliveranoutcome;thisexistspriortotransition.Itisaservice,functionoroperationthatenablestheorganizationtoexploitopportunities.
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15
Term Definition
Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)
AprocessimprovementapproachdevelopedbytheSoftwareEngineeringInstitute(SEI)ofCarnegieMellonUniversity,US.CMMIprovidesorganizationswiththeessentialelementsofeffectiveprocesses.Itcanbeusedtoguideprocessimprovementacrossaproject,adivisionoranentireorganization.CMMIhelpsintegratetraditionallyseparateorganizationalfunctions,setprocessimprovementgoalsandpriorities,provideguidanceforqualityprocesses,andprovideapointofreferenceforappraisingcurrentprocesses.Seewww.sei.cmu.edu/cmmiformoreinformation.See also maturity.
capacity ThemaximumthroughputthataconfigurationitemorITservicecandeliver.ForsometypesofCI,capacitymaybethesizeorvolume–forexample,adiskdrive.
capacity management TheprocessresponsibleforensuringthatthecapacityofITservicesandtheITinfrastructureisabletomeetagreedcapacity-andperformance-relatedrequirementsinacost-effectiveandtimelymanner.CapacitymanagementconsidersallresourcesrequiredtodeliveranITservice,andisconcernedwithmeetingboththecurrentandfuturecapacityandperformanceneedsofthebusiness.Capacitymanagementincludesthreesub-processes:businesscapacitymanagement,servicecapacitymanagement,andcomponentcapacitymanagement.See also capacitymanagementinformationsystem.
capacity management information system (CMIS)
Asetoftools,dataandinformationthatisusedtosupportcapacitymanagement.See also serviceknowledgemanagementsystem.
capacity plan AplanusedtomanagetheresourcesrequiredtodeliverITservices.TheplancontainsdetailsofcurrentandhistoricusageofITservicesandcomponents,andanyissuesthatneedtobeaddressed(includingrelatedimprovementactivities).Theplanalsocontainsscenariosfordifferentpredictionsofbusinessdemandandcostedoptionstodelivertheagreedserviceleveltargets.
capacity planning Theactivitywithincapacitymanagementresponsibleforcreatingacapacityplan.
capital budgeting Thepresentcommitmentoffundsinordertoreceiveareturninthefutureintheformofadditionalcashinflowsorreducedcashoutflows.
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Term Definition
capital cost Thecostofpurchasingsomethingthatwillbecomeafinancialasset–forexample,computerequipmentandbuildings.Thevalueoftheassetdepreciatesovermultipleaccountingperiods.See also operationalcost.
capital expenditure (CAPEX) Seecapitalcost.
capitalization Identifyingmajorcostascapital,eventhoughnoassetispurchased.Thisisdonetospreadtheimpactofthecostovermultipleaccountingperiods.Themostcommonexampleofthisissoftwaredevelopment,orpurchaseofasoftwarelicence.
categorization Splittingaportfoliointoorganizationallyappropriatecategoriesorsegments–forexample,byinitiativetypeorinvestmentobjective.Theorganization’sinvestmentcriteriacanbetailoredtosuiteachcategoryofinvestment.
category Anamedgroupofthingsthathavesomethingincommon.Categoriesareusedtogroupsimilarthingstogether.Forexample,costtypesareusedtogroupsimilartypesofcost.Incidentcategoriesareusedtogroupsimilartypesofincident,whileCItypesareusedtogroupsimilartypesofconfigurationitem.
centre of excellence AcoordinatingfunctionforallorpartofP3RMensuringchangeisdeliveredconsistentlyandwell,throughstandardprocessesandcompetentstaff.Itmayprovidestandards,consistencyofmethodsandprocesses,knowledgemanagement,assuranceandtraining.Itmayalsoprovidestrategicoversight,scrutinyandchallengeacrossanorganization’sportfolioofprogrammesandprojects.ItmaybeafunctionwithinawiderscopeofP3OormaybetheonlyfunctionofaP3O.Thisfunctionprovidesafocalpointfordrivingtheimplementationofimprovementstoincreasetheorganization’scapabilityandcapacityinprogrammeandprojectdelivery.
certification Issuingacertificatetoconfirmcompliancetoastandard.Certificationincludesaformalauditbyanindependentandaccreditedbody.Thetermisalsousedtomeanawardingacertificatetoprovideevidencethatapersonhasachievedaqualification.
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17
Term Definition
champion–challenger model Atechniquewherebyeveryoneisexpectedtocomplywiththedefinedportfolioprocesses(thecurrent‘champion’)butanyonecanrecommendachange(a‘challenger’).Onceadopted,the‘challenger’becomesthenew‘champion’process.Suchchallengersshouldbeencouragedasawayofensuringengagementacrosstheorganization,andthenumberofsubmissionsreceivedshouldbemonitoredonaregularbasis.
change Theaddition,modificationorremovalofanythingthatcouldhaveaneffectonITservices.Thescopeshouldincludechangestoallarchitectures,processes,tools,metricsanddocumentation,aswellaschangestoITservicesandotherconfigurationitems.
change advisory board (CAB) Agroupofpeoplewhosupporttheassessment,prioritization,authorizationandschedulingofchanges.Achangeadvisoryboardisusuallymadeupofrepresentativesfrom:allareaswithintheITserviceprovider;thebusiness;andthirdpartiessuchassuppliers.
change authority Apersonorgrouptowhichtheprojectboardmaydelegateresponsibilityfortheconsiderationofrequestsforchangeoroff-specifications.Thechangeauthoritymaybegivenachangebudgetandcanapprovechangeswithinthatbudget.
change budget Themoneyallocatedtothechangeauthorityavailabletobespentonauthorizedrequestsforchange.
change control Theprocedurethatensuresthatallchangesthatmayaffecttheproject’sagreedobjectivesareidentified,assessedandeitherapproved,rejectedordeferred.
change evaluation TheprocessresponsibleforformalassessmentofaneworchangedITservicetoensurethatriskshavebeenmanagedandtohelpdeterminewhethertoauthorizethechange.
change history Informationaboutallchangesmadetoaconfigurationitemduringitslife.ChangehistoryconsistsofallthosechangerecordsthatapplytotheCI.
change initiative Aprogrammeorproject.
change management Theprocessresponsibleforcontrollingthelifecycleofallchanges,enablingbeneficialchangestobemadewithminimumdisruptiontoITservices.
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18
Term Definition
change manager Reportstothebusinesschangemanager(BCM)andmayoperateataprojectleveltosupportbenefitsrealization,namelyfocusontherealizationofaparticularbenefit.
change model Arepeatablewayofdealingwithaparticularcategoryofchange.Achangemodeldefinesspecificagreedstepsthatwillbefollowedforachangeofthiscategory.Changemodelsmaybeverycomplexwithmanystepsthatrequireauthorization(e.g.majorsoftwarerelease)ormaybeverysimplewithnorequirementforauthorization(e.g.passwordreset).See also changeadvisoryboard;standardchange.
change proposal Adocumentthatincludesahigh-leveldescriptionofapotentialserviceintroductionorsignificantchange,alongwithacorrespondingbusinesscaseandanexpectedimplementationschedule.Changeproposalsarenormallycreatedbytheserviceportfoliomanagementprocessandarepassedtochangemanagementforauthorization.Changemanagementwillreviewthepotentialimpactonotherservices,onsharedresources,andontheoverallchangeschedule.Oncethechangeproposalhasbeenauthorized,serviceportfoliomanagementwillchartertheservice.
change record Arecordcontainingthedetailsofachange.Eachchangerecorddocumentsthelifecycleofasinglechange.Achangerecordiscreatedforeveryrequestforchangethatisreceived,eventhosethataresubsequentlyrejected.Changerecordsshouldreferencetheconfigurationitemsthatareaffectedbythechange.Changerecordsmaybestoredintheconfigurationmanagementsystem,orelsewhereintheserviceknowledgemanagementsystem.
change request Seerequestforchange.
change schedule Adocumentthatlistsallauthorizedchangesandtheirplannedimplementationdates,aswellastheestimateddatesoflonger-termchanges.Achangescheduleissometimescalledaforwardscheduleofchange,eventhoughitalsocontainsinformationaboutchangesthathavealreadybeenimplemented.
change window Aregular,agreedtimewhenchangesorreleasesmaybeimplementedwithminimalimpactonservices.Changewindowsareusuallydocumentedinservicelevelagreements.
chargeable item AdeliverableofanITservicethatisusedincalculatingchargestocustomers–forexample,numberoftransactions,numberofdesktopPCs.
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Term Definition
charging RequiringpaymentforITservices.ChargingforITservicesisoptional,andmanyorganizationschoosetotreattheirITserviceproviderasacostcentre.See also chargingprocess;chargingpolicy.
charging policy Apolicyspecifyingtheobjectiveofthechargingprocessandthewayinwhichchargeswillbecalculated.See also cost.
charging process Theprocessresponsiblefordecidinghowmuchcustomersshouldpay(pricing)andrecoveringmoneyfromthem(billing).ThisprocessisnotdescribedindetailwithinthecoreITILpublications.
charter Adocumentthatcontainsdetailsofanewservice,asignificantchangeorothersignificantproject.Chartersaretypicallyauthorizedbyserviceportfoliomanagementorbyaprojectmanagementoffice.Thetermcharterisalsousedtodescribetheactofauthorizingtheworkrequiredtocompletetheservicechangeorproject.See also changeproposal;servicecharter;projectportfolio.
checkpoint Ateam-level,time-drivenreviewofprogress.
checkpoint report Aprogressreportoftheinformationgatheredatacheckpoint,whichisgivenbyateamtotheprojectmanagerandwhichprovidesreportingdataasdefinedintheworkpackage.
chief executive officer (CEO) Describestheroleinacommercialorganizationwiththehighestlevelofauthorityforthetotalmanagementofthebusiness.
chief financial officer (CFO) Describestheroleinacommercialorganizationwiththehighestlevelofauthorityforthemanagementofthefinancialrisks,planningandreportingforabusiness.ThisrolewillgenerallyreporttotheCEO.
chief information officer (CIO) Describestheroleinacommercialorganizationwiththehighestlevelofauthorityforthemanagementofinformationtechnologyforthebusiness.ThisrolewillgenerallyreporttotheCEObutmayalsoreporttotheCFOinsmallerorganizations.
chief operating officer (COO) Describestheroleinacommercialorganizationwiththehighestlevelofauthorityforthedevelopment,design,managementandimprovementoftheopensystemsthatcreateanddelivertheorganization’sproductsand/orservices.ThisrolewillgenerallyreporttotheCEO.
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Term Definition
chronological analysis Atechniqueusedtohelpidentifypossiblecausesofproblems.Allavailabledataabouttheproblemiscollectedandsortedbydateandtimetoprovideadetailedtimeline.Thiscanmakeitpossibletoidentifywhicheventsmayhavebeentriggeredbyothers.
CI type Acategorythatisusedtoclassifyconfigurationitems.TheCItypeidentifiestherequiredattributesandrelationshipsforaconfigurationrecord.CommonCItypesincludehardware,document,useretc.
classification Theactofassigningacategorytosomething.Classificationisusedtoensureconsistentmanagementandreporting.Configurationitems,incidents,problems,changesetc.areusuallyclassified.
clear line of sight Atechniquethatseekstoensureatransparentchainfromstrategicintentthroughtobenefitsrealization.
client Agenerictermthatmeansacustomer,thebusinessorabusinesscustomer.Forexample,‘clientmanager’maybeusedasasynonymfor‘businessrelationshipmanager’.Thetermisalsousedtomean:
• Acomputerthatisuseddirectlybyauser–forexample,aPC,ahandheldcomputeroraworkstation
• Thepartofaclient/serverapplicationthattheuserdirectlyinterfaceswith–forexample,anemailclient.
closed Thefinalstatusinthelifecycleofanincident,problem,changeetc.Whenthestatusisclosed,nofurtheractionistaken.
closure Theactofchangingthestatusofanincident,problem,changeetc.toclosed.
closure notification Advicefromtheprojectboardtoinformallstakeholdersandthehostsitesthattheprojectresourcescanbedisbandedandsupportservices,suchasspace,equipmentandaccess,demobilized.Itshouldindicateaclosuredateforcoststobechargedtotheproject.
closure recommendation Arecommendationpreparedbytheprojectmanagerfortheprojectboardtosendasaprojectclosurenotificationwhentheboardissatisfiedthattheprojectcanbeclosed.
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21
Term Definition
COBIT SeeControlOBjectivesforInformationandrelatedTechnology(COBIT).
code of practice Aguidelinepublishedbyapublicbodyorastandardsorganization,suchasISOorBSI.Manystandardsconsistofacodeofpracticeandaspecification.Thecodeofpracticedescribesrecommendedbestpractice.
cold standby Seegradualrecovery.
commercial off the shelf (COTS) Pre-existingapplicationsoftwareormiddlewarethatcanbepurchasedfromathirdparty.
communication management strategy
Adescriptionofthemeansandfrequencyofcommunicationbetweentheprojectandtheproject’sstakeholders.
communications plan Aplanofthecommunicationsactivitiesduringtheorganizationalactivity(strategic,programme,projectoroperational)thatwillbeestablishedandmaintained.Typicallycontainswhen,what,howandwithwhominformationflows.
competence Theabilityofanindividualtodosomethingwell.
compliance Ensuringthatastandardorsetofguidelinesisfollowed,orthatproper,consistentaccountingorotherpracticesarebeingemployed.
component Ageneraltermthatisusedtomeanonepartofsomethingmorecomplex.Forexample,acomputersystemmaybeacomponentofanITservice,andanapplicationmaybeacomponentofareleaseunit.Componentsthatneedtobemanagedshouldbeconfigurationitems.
component capacity management (CCM)
Thesub-processofcapacitymanagementresponsibleforunderstandingthecapacity,utilizationandperformanceofconfigurationitems.Dataiscollected,recordedandanalysedforuseinthecapacityplan.See also businesscapacitymanagement;servicecapacitymanagement.
component CI Aconfigurationitemthatispartofanassembly–forexample,aCPUormemoryCImaybepartofaserverCI.
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Term Definition
component failure impact analysis (CFIA)
Atechniquethathelpstoidentifytheimpactofconfigurationitem(CI)failureonITservicesandthebusiness.AmatrixiscreatedwithITservicesononeaxisandCIsontheother.ThisenablestheidentificationofcriticalCIs(thatcouldcausethefailureofmultipleITservices)andfragileITservices(thathavemultiplesinglepointsoffailure).
computer telephony integration (CTI)
Computertelephonyintegrationisageneraltermcoveringanykindofintegrationbetweencomputersandtelephonesystems.Itismostcommonlyusedtorefertosystemswhereanapplicationdisplaysdetailedscreensrelatingtoincomingoroutgoingtelephonecalls.See also automaticcalldistribution;interactivevoiceresponse.
concession Anoff-specificationthatisacceptedbytheprojectboardwithoutcorrectiveaction.
concurrency Ameasureofthenumberofusersengagedinthesameoperationatthesametime.
confidentiality Asecurityprinciplethatrequiresthatdatashouldonlybeaccessedbyauthorizedpeople.
configuration Generic –Agenerictermusedtodescribeagroupofproductsoritemsthatworktogethertodeliveraproductorservice.
ITIL –AgenerictermusedtodescribeagroupofconfigurationitemsthatworktogethertodeliveranITservice,orarecognizablepartofanITservice.Configurationisalsousedtodescribetheparametersettingsforoneormoreconfigurationitems.
PPM –Agenerictermusedtodescribeagroupofproductsoritemsthatworktogethertodeliveraproductorservice,orarecognizablepartofaproductorservice.Aconfigurationmaybeaconfigurationitemofalargerconfiguration.
configuration baseline Thebaselineofaconfigurationthathasbeenformallyagreedandismanagedthroughthechangemanagementprocess.Aconfigurationbaselineisusedasabasisforfuturebuilds,releasesandchanges.
configuration control Theactivityresponsibleforensuringthatadding,modifyingorremovingaconfigurationitemisproperlymanaged–forexample,bysubmittingarequestforchangeorservicerequest.
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Term Definition
configuration identification Theactivityresponsibleforcollectinginformationaboutconfigurationitemsandtheirrelationships,andloadingthisinformationintotheconfigurationmanagementdatabase(CMDB).Configurationidentificationisalsoresponsibleforlabellingtheconfigurationitemsthemselves,sothatthecorrespondingconfigurationrecordscanbefound.
configuration item (CI) Generic –Componentitemthatisunderchangecontrol.
ITIL –AnycomponentorotherserviceassetthatneedstobemanagedinordertodeliveranITservice.Informationabouteachconfigurationitemisrecordedinaconfigurationrecordwithintheconfigurationmanagementsystem(CMS)andismaintainedthroughoutitslifecyclebyserviceassetandconfigurationmanagement.Configurationitemsareunderthecontrolofchangemanagement.TheytypicallyincludeITservices,hardware,software,buildings,peopleandformaldocumentationsuchasprocessdocumentationandservicelevelagreements.
PPM –Anentity(asset)thatissubjecttoconfigurationmanagement.Theentity(asset)maybeacomponentofaproduct,aproduct,orasetofproductsinarelease.
configuration item record Arecordthatdescribesthestatus,versionandvariantofaconfigurationitem,andanydetailsofimportantrelationshipsbetweenthem.
configuration management Generic –Themeansofcontrollingchangestoasetofconfigurationitems.
ITIL –Seeserviceassetandconfigurationmanagement.
PPM –Technicalandadministrativeactivitiesconcernedwiththecreation,maintenanceandcontrolledchangeofconfigurationthroughoutthelifeofaproduct.
configuration management database (CMDB)
Adatabaseusedtostoreconfigurationrecordsthroughouttheirlifecycle.Theconfigurationmanagementsystem(CMS)maintainsoneormoreconfigurationmanagementdatabases(CMDBs),andeachdatabasestoresattributesofconfigurationitems,andrelationshipswithotherconfigurationitems.
configuration management strategy
Adescriptionofhowandbywhomtheproject’sproductswillbecontrolledandprotected.
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Term Definition
configuration management system (CMS)
Generic –Asetoftools,dataorinformationthatisusedtosupportconfigurationmanagement.
ITIL –Asetoftools,dataandinformationthatisusedtosupportserviceassetandconfigurationmanagement.TheCMSispartofanoverallserviceknowledgemanagementsystemandincludestoolsforcollecting,storing,managing,updating,analysingandpresentingdataaboutallconfigurationitemsandtheirrelationships.TheCMSmayalsoincludeinformationaboutincidents,problems,knownerrors,changesandreleases.TheCMSismaintainedbyserviceassetandconfigurationmanagementandisusedbyallITservicemanagementprocesses.See also configurationmanagementdatabase.
PPM –Thesetofprocesses,toolsanddatabasesthatareusedtomanageconfigurationdata.Typically,aprojectwillusetheconfigurationmanagementsystemofeitherthecustomerorsupplierorganization.
configuration record Arecordcontainingthedetailsofaconfigurationitem.Eachconfigurationrecorddocumentsthelifecycleofasingleconfigurationitem.Configurationrecordsarestoredinaconfigurationmanagementdatabaseandmaintainedaspartofaconfigurationmanagementsystem.
configuration structure Thehierarchyandotherrelationshipsbetweenalltheconfigurationitemsthatcompriseaconfiguration.
constraints Therestrictionsorlimitationsthataprojectisboundby.ThesemaybechallengedduringanMoVstudy.
consult Togivegroupsorindividualstheopportunitytocontributetoandmakerecommendationsonanactionordocument.
contingency Somethingthatisheldinreserve,typicallytohandletimeandcostvariances,orrisks.PRINCE2doesnotadvocatetheuseofcontingencybecauseestimatingvariancesaremanagedbysettingtolerances,andrisksaremanagedthroughappropriateriskresponses(includingthefallbackresponsethatiscontingentontheriskoccurring).
contingency planning Theprocessofidentifyingandplanningappropriateresponsestobetakenwhenariskactuallyoccurs.
contingent plan Plansintendedforuseonlyifrequired,e.g.ifariskresponseisnotsuccessful.Oftencalledfallbackplans.
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25
Term Definition
continual service improvement (CSI)
Astageinthelifecycleofaservice.ContinualserviceimprovementensuresthatservicesarealignedwithchangingbusinessneedsbyidentifyingandimplementingimprovementstoITservicesthatsupportbusinessprocesses.TheperformanceoftheITserviceprovideriscontinuallymeasuredandimprovementsaremadetoprocesses,ITservicesandITinfrastructureinordertoincreaseefficiency,effectivenessandcost-effectiveness.Continualserviceimprovementincludestheseven-stepimprovementprocess.Althoughthisprocessisassociatedwithcontinualserviceimprovement,mostprocesseshaveactivitiesthattakeplaceacrossmultiplestagesoftheservicelifecycle.See also Plan-Do-Check-Act.
continual service improvement (CSI) register
Adatabaseorstructureddocumentusedtorecordandmanageimprovementopportunitiesthroughouttheirlifecycle.
continuous availability Anapproachordesigntoachieve100%availability.AcontinuouslyavailableITservicehasnoplannedorunplanneddowntime.
continuous operation AnapproachordesigntoeliminateplanneddowntimeofanITservice.NotethatindividualconfigurationitemsmaybedowneventhoughtheITserviceisavailable.
contract Alegallybindingagreementbetweentwoormoreparties.
control Ameansofmanagingarisk,ensuringthatabusinessobjectiveisachievedorthataprocessisfollowed.Examplesofcontrolincludepolicies,procedures,roles,RAID,doorlocksetc.Acontrolissometimescalledacountermeasureorsafeguard.Controlalsomeanstomanagetheutilizationorbehaviourofaconfigurationitem,systemorITservice.
Control OBjectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT)
COBITprovidesguidanceandbestpracticeforthemanagementofITprocesses.ItispublishedbyISACAinconjunctionwiththeITGovernanceInstitute(ITGI).Seewww.isaca.orgformoreinformation.
control perspective AnapproachtothemanagementofITservices,processes,functions,assetsetc.TherecanbeseveraldifferentcontrolperspectivesonthesameITservice,processetc.,allowingdifferentindividualsorteamstofocusonwhatisimportantandrelevanttotheirspecificrole.ExamplesofcontrolperspectiveincludereactiveandproactivemanagementwithinIToperations,oralifecycleviewforanapplicationprojectteam.
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26
Term Definition
control processes TheISO/IEC20000processgroupthatincludeschangemanagementandconfigurationmanagement.
core service Aservicethatdeliversthebasicoutcomesdesiredbyoneormorecustomers.Acoreserviceprovidesaspecificlevelofutilityandwarranty.Customersmaybeofferedachoiceofutilityandwarrantythroughoneormoreserviceoptions.See also enablingservice;enhancingservice;ITservice;servicepackage.
corporate or programme standards
Theseareoverarchingstandardsthattheprojectmustadhereto.Theywillinfluencethefourprojectstrategies(communicationmanagementstrategy,configurationmanagementstrategy,qualitymanagementstrategyandriskmanagementstrategy)andtheprojectcontrols.
corporate portfolio Thetotalityofthechangeinitiativeswithinanorganization;itmaycompriseanumberofprogrammes,standaloneprojectsandotherinitiativesthatachievecongruenceofchange.
corporate portfolio board Onenameforthebodywithintheorganizationthathasauthoritytomakedecisionsaboutthecompositionandprioritizationoftheorganization’sportfolioofprogrammesandprojects.Thismaybethecorporateboard,andinMoP(Management of Portfolios)itisalsoreferredtoasthe‘portfoliodirectiongroup’or‘investmentcommittee’.
corrective action Asetofactionstoresolveathreattoaplan’stolerancesoradefectinaproduct.
cost Theamountofmoneyspentonaspecificactivity,ITserviceorbusinessunit.Costsconsistofrealcost(money),notionalcost(suchaspeople’stime)anddepreciation.
cost centre Generic –Anaccountingtermforapartofanorganizationtowhichcostscanbeallocated.
ITIL –Abusinessunitorprojecttowhichcostsareassigned.Acostcentredoesnotchargeforservicesprovided.AnITserviceprovidercanberunasacostcentreoraprofitcentre.
PPM –Anaccountingtermusedtodescribeadivision,businessunitorpartofanorganizationthatdoesnotdirectlycontributetoachievingprofitforacompany.Itindirectlycontributestotheorganizationbyprovidingaserviceorsupportfunctiontoprofit-makingpartsoftheorganization.
cost driver Anactivitythatresultsinacost.
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Term Definition
cost element Themiddlelevelofcategorytowhichcostsareassignedinbudgetingandaccounting.Thehighest-levelcategoryiscosttype.Forexample,acosttypeof‘people’couldhavecostelementsofpayroll,staffbenefits,expenses,training,overtimeetc.Costelementscanbefurtherbrokendowntogivecostunits.Forexample,thecostelement‘expenses’couldincludecostunitsofhotels,transport,mealsetc.
cost management Ageneraltermthatisusedtorefertobudgetingandaccounting,andissometimesusedasasynonymforfinancialmanagement.
cost model Aframeworkusedinbudgetingandaccountinginwhichallknowncostscanberecorded,categorizedandallocatedtospecificcustomers,businessunitsorprojects.See also costtype;costelement;costunit.
cost tolerance Thepermissibledeviationinaplan’scostthatisallowedbeforethedeviationneedstobeescalatedtothenextlevelofmanagement.Costtoleranceisdocumentedintherespectiveplan.See also tolerance.
cost type Thehighest-levelcategorytowhichcostsareassignedinbudgetingandaccounting–forexample,hardware,software,people,accommodation,externalandtransfer.See also costelement;costunit.
cost unit Thelowest-levelcategorytowhichcostsareassigned,costunitsareusuallythingsthatcanbeeasilycounted(e.g.staffnumbers,softwarelicences)orthingseasilymeasured(e.g.CPUusage,electricityconsumed).Costunitsareincludedwithincostelements.Forexample,acostelementof‘expenses’couldincludecostunitsofhotels,transport,mealsetc.See also costtype.
cost–benefit analysis Anactivitythatanalysesandcomparesthecostsandthebenefitsinvolvedinoneormorealternativecoursesofaction.See also businesscase;internalrateofreturn;netpresentvalue;returnoninvestment;valueoninvestment.
cost-effectiveness Ameasureofthebalancebetweentheeffectivenessandcostofaservice,processoractivity.Acost-effectiveprocessisonethatachievesitsobjectivesatminimumcost.See also keyperformanceindicator;returnoninvestment;valueformoney.
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28
Term Definition
countermeasure Canbeusedtorefertoanytypeofcontrol.Thetermismostoftenusedwhenreferringtomeasuresthatincreaseresilience,faulttoleranceorreliabilityofanITservice.
course corrections Changesmadetoaplanoractivitythathasalreadystarted,toensurethatitwillmeetitsobjectives.Coursecorrectionsaremadeasaresultofmonitoringprogress.
crisis management Crisismanagementistheprocessresponsibleformanagingthewiderimplicationsofbusinesscontinuity.Acrisismanagementteamisresponsibleforstrategicissuessuchasmanagingmediarelationsandshareholderconfidence,anddecideswhentoinvokebusinesscontinuityplans.
critical path Thelineconnectingthestartofanactivitynetworkwiththefinalactivityinthatnetworkthroughthoseactivitieswithzerofloat,i.e.thoseactivitieswhereanydelaywillaffecttheenddateoftheentireplan.Theremaybemorethanonesuchpath.Thesumoftheactivitydurationsonthecriticalpathwilldeterminetheenddateoftheplan.
critical success factor (CSF) Generic –Aneventormeasuredefiningsuccess.
ITIL –SomethingthatmusthappenifanITservice,process,plan,projectorotheractivityistosucceed.Keyperformanceindicatorsareusedtomeasuretheachievementofeachcriticalsuccessfactor.Forexample,acriticalsuccessfactorof‘protectITserviceswhenmakingchanges’couldbemeasuredbykeyperformanceindicatorssuchas‘percentagereductionofunsuccessfulchanges’,‘percentagereductioninchangescausingincidents’etc.
PPM –Aneventormeasureofactivitydefiningsuccessfuldeliverybyaproject,businessunitororganization.
cross-cutting Atermusedinthepublicsectortodescribeissuesthataffectmorethanonepolicydepartment.
cross-organizational programme Aprogrammerequiringthecommittedinvolvementofmorethanoneorganizationtoachievethedesiredoutcomes;alsoreferredtoasa‘cross-cutting’programme.
CSI register Seecontinualserviceimprovement(CSI)register.
culture Asetofvaluesthatissharedbyagroupofpeople,includingexpectationsabouthowpeopleshouldbehave,theirideas,beliefsandpractices.See also vision.
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Term Definition
customer Generic –Thepersonwhoispaying.Mayalsobeknownastheclient,buyerorpurchaser.
ITIL –Someonewhobuysgoodsorservices.ThecustomerofanITserviceprovideristhepersonorgroupwhodefinesandagreestheserviceleveltargets.Thetermisalsosometimesusedinformallytomeanuser–forexample,‘Thisisacustomer-focusedorganization.’
PPM –Thepersonorgroupwhocommissionedtheworkandwillbenefitfromtheendresults.
customer agreement portfolio AdatabaseorstructureddocumentusedtomanageservicecontractsoragreementsbetweenanITserviceprovideranditscustomers.EachITservicedeliveredtoacustomershouldhaveacontractorotheragreementthatislistedinthecustomeragreementportfolio.See also customer-facingservice;servicecatalogue;serviceportfolio.
customer asset Anyresourceorcapabilityofacustomer.See also asset.
customer portfolio AdatabaseorstructureddocumentusedtorecordallcustomersoftheITserviceprovider.Thecustomerportfolioisthebusinessrelationshipmanager’sviewofthecustomerswhoreceiveservicesfromtheITserviceprovider.See also customeragreementportfolio;servicecatalogue;serviceportfolio.
customer’s quality expectations Astatementaboutthequalityexpectedfromtheprojectproduct,capturedintheprojectproductdescription.
customer-facing service AnITservicethatisvisibletothecustomer.Thesearenormallyservicesthatsupportthecustomer’sbusinessprocessesandfacilitateoneormoreoutcomesdesiredbythecustomer.Alllivecustomer-facingservices,includingthoseavailablefordeployment,arerecordedintheservicecataloguealongwithcustomer-visibleinformationaboutdeliverables,prices,contactpoints,orderingandrequestprocesses.OtherinformationsuchasrelationshipstosupportingservicesandotherCIswillalsoberecordedforinternalusebytheITserviceprovider.
daily log Usedtorecordproblems/concernsthatcanbehandledbytheprojectmanagerinformally.
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Term Definition
dashboard Generic –Graphicalrepresentationoflargeamountofdecision-supportinginformation.
ITIL –AgraphicalrepresentationofoverallITserviceperformanceandavailability.Dashboardimagesmaybeupdatedinrealtime,andcanalsobeincludedinmanagementreportsandwebpages.Dashboardscanbeusedtosupportservicelevelmanagement,eventmanagementandincidentdiagnosis.
PPM –Atechniquetorepresentvastamountsofdecision-supportinformationatanamalgamatedlevelusingtabularandgraphicrepresentationsuchasgraphsandtrafficlights.See also managementdashboard.
Data-to-Information-to-Knowledge-to-Wisdom (DIKW)
Awayofunderstandingtherelationshipsbetweendata,information,knowledgeandwisdom.DIKWshowshoweachofthesebuildsontheothers.
decision point Apointintheprogressofaprogrammeorprojectatwhichsignificantdecisionsaremade.
decision-conferencing Atechniquewherebymanagersconsideranddebateinafacilitatedworkshop:therelativeweightingstoattachtotheorganization’sstrategicobjectives;thecriteriatobeusedtoassessstrategiccontributionineachcase;andthescorestoallocatetoindividualinitiatives.Inthiswaytheportfoliogovernancebodycomestoacollectivedecisiononthecompositionoftheportfolio.Thishasbeenfoundtobeveryeffectiveintermsofoptimizingportfolioreturnsandalsoresultsinenhancedcommitmenttotheportfolioandtotheportfoliomanagementprocesses.
definitive media library (DML) Oneormorelocationsinwhichthedefinitiveandauthorizedversionsofallsoftwareconfigurationitemsaresecurelystored.Thedefinitivemedialibrarymayalsocontainassociatedconfigurationitemssuchaslicencesanddocumentation.Itisasinglelogicalstorageareaeveniftherearemultiplelocations.Thedefinitivemedialibraryiscontrolledbyserviceassetandconfigurationmanagementandisrecordedintheconfigurationmanagementsystem.
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Term Definition
deliverable Generic –Theendresultarisingfromanendeavour.
ITIL –Somethingthatmustbeprovidedtomeetacommitmentinaservicelevelagreementoracontract.Itisalsousedinamoreinformalwaytomeanaplannedoutputofanyprocess.
PPM –Aspecialistproduct(thetangibleorintangibleartefact)thatisproduced,constructedorcreatedasaresultofaplannedactivityandhandedovertoauser(s).
See also output.
demand management Theprocessresponsibleforunderstanding,anticipatingandinfluencingcustomerdemandforservices.Demandmanagementworkswithcapacitymanagementtoensurethattheserviceproviderhassufficientcapacitytomeettherequireddemand.Atastrategiclevel,demandmanagementcaninvolveanalysisofpatternsofbusinessactivityanduserprofiles,whileatatacticallevelitcaninvolvetheuseofdifferentialchargingtoencouragecustomerstouseITservicesatlessbusytimes,orrequireshort-termactivitiestorespondtounexpecteddemandorthefailureofaconfigurationitem.
Deming Cycle SeePlan-Do-Check-Act.
dependencies (plan) Therelationshipbetweenproductsoractivities.Forexample,thedevelopmentofProductCcannotstartuntilProductsAandBhavebeencompleted.Dependenciescanbeinternalorexternal.Internaldependenciesarethoseunderthecontroloftheprojectmanager.Externaldependenciesarethoseoutsidethecontroloftheprojectmanager–forexample,thedeliveryofaproductrequiredbythisprojectfromanotherproject.
dependency Generic –Adirectorindirectrelianceofonethingonanother.
ITIL –Thedirectorindirectrelianceofoneprocessoractivityonanother.
PPM –Anactivity,outputordecisionthatisrequiredtoachievesomeaspectoftheprogramme.Itcanbeinternalorexternaltotheprogramme.
deployment Theactivityresponsibleformovementofneworchangedhardware,software,documentation,processetc.totheliveenvironment.Deploymentispartofthereleaseanddeploymentmanagementprocess.
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Term Definition
depreciation Ameasureofthereductioninvalueofanassetoveritslife.Thisisbasedonwearingout,consumptionorotherreductionintheusefuleconomicvalue.
design Anactivityorprocessthatidentifiesrequirementsandthendefinesasolutionthatisabletomeettheserequirements.See also servicedesign.
design authority Aroleorfunction(permanent,temporaryorvirtual)thatprovidesexpertspecialistadviceorownssomecorporatefunction,service,standardorstrategythatwillbeaffected,oramajorprogrammeoutcomeorchangethatneedstobecontrolled.ThiscouldbeanITorpropertyinfrastructuredesign,oramajorservicecontract;itcouldalsobeabusinessprocessmodelortheprogrammeorcorporateblueprint.Thedesignauthorityprovidesexpertiseandguidanceonaspecificareatoensurethereisappropriatealignmentandcontrolwhenchangesarebeingplannedandimplemented.Ataprogrammelevelthisrolemayadviseorownthebusinessblueprintmanagementonbehalfoftheprogrammemanager.Attheenterpriselevel,thisrolemaymanagetheenterprisearchitectureoftheorganization.
design coordination Theprocessresponsibleforcoordinatingallservicedesignactivities,processesandresources.DesigncoordinationensurestheconsistentandeffectivedesignofneworchangedITservices,servicemanagementinformationsystems,architectures,technology,processes,informationandmetrics.
detection Astageintheexpandedincidentlifecycle.Detectionresultsintheincidentbecomingknowntotheserviceprovider.Detectioncanbeautomaticortheresultofauserlogginganincident.
development TheprocessresponsibleforcreatingormodifyinganITserviceorapplicationreadyforsubsequentreleaseanddeployment.Developmentisalsousedtomeantheroleorfunctionthatcarriesoutdevelopmentwork.ThisprocessisnotdescribedindetailwithinthecoreITILpublications.
development environment AnenvironmentusedtocreateormodifyITservicesorapplications.Developmentenvironmentsarenottypicallysubjectedtothesamedegreeofcontrolastestorliveenvironments.See also development.
development pipeline Theinitiativesunderdevelopment,conceptandfeasibilitytesting,priortoformalinclusionintheportfolioas‘live’programmesandprojects.
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Term Definition
diagnosis Astageintheincidentandproblemlifecycles.Thepurposeofdiagnosisistoidentifyaworkaroundforanincidentortherootcauseofaproblem.
diagnostic script Astructuredsetofquestionsusedbyservice-deskstafftoensuretheyaskthecorrectquestions,andtohelpthemclassify,resolveandassignincidents.Diagnosticscriptsmayalsobemadeavailabletouserstohelpthemdiagnoseandresolvetheirownincidents.
differential charging AtechniqueusedtosupportdemandmanagementbychargingdifferentamountsforthesamefunctionofanITserviceunderdifferentcircumstances–forexample,reducedchargesoutsidepeaktimes,orincreasedchargesforuserswhoexceedabandwidthallocation.
direct cost ThecostofprovidinganITservicewhichcanbeallocatedinfulltoaspecificcustomer,costcentre,projectetc.–forexample,thecostofprovidingnon-sharedserversorsoftwarelicences.See also indirectcost.
directory service AnapplicationthatmanagesinformationaboutITinfrastructureavailableonanetwork,andcorrespondinguseraccessrights.
disaster recovery planning Aseriesofprocessesthatfocusonrecovery,principallyinresponsetophysicaldisasters.Thisactivityformspart,butnotthewhole,ofbusinesscontinuityplanning.
dis-benefit Outcomesperceivedasnegativebyoneormorestakeholders.Dis-benefitsareactualconsequencesofanactivitywhereas,bydefinition,ariskhassomeuncertaintyaboutwhetheritwillmaterialize.
document Informationinreadableform.Adocumentmaybepaperorelectronic–forexample,apolicystatement,servicelevelagreement,incidentrecordordiagramofacomputer-roomlayout.See also record.
downtime ThetimewhenanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemisnotavailableduringitsagreedservicetime.TheavailabilityofanITserviceisoftencalculatedfromagreedservicetimeanddowntime.
driver Somethingthatinfluencesstrategy,objectivesorrequirements–forexample,newlegislationortheactionsofcompetitors.
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Term Definition
DSDM Atern AnagileprojectdeliveryframeworkdevelopedandownedbytheDSDMconsortium.Aternusesatime-boxedanditerativeapproachtoproductdevelopmentandiscompatiblewithPRINCE2.
early life support (ELS) Astageintheservicelifecyclethatoccursattheendofdeploymentandbeforetheserviceisfullyacceptedintooperation.Duringearlylifesupport,theserviceproviderreviewskeyperformanceindicators,servicelevelsandmonitoringthresholdsandmayimplementimprovementstoensurethatservicetargetscanbemet.Theserviceprovidermayalsoprovideadditionalresourcesforincidentandproblemmanagementduringthistime.
early warning indicator (EWI) Aleadingindicatorforanorganizationalobjectivemeasuredultimatelybyakeyperformanceindicator(KPI).
earned value analysis Amethodformeasuringprojectperformance.Itindicateshowmuchofthebudgetshouldhavebeenspentinviewoftheamountofworkdonesofarandthetask.
economies of scale ThereductioninaveragecostthatispossiblefromincreasingtheusageofanITserviceorasset.See also economiesofscope.
economies of scope ThereductionincostthatisallocatedtoanITservicebyusinganexistingassetforanadditionalpurpose–forexample,deliveringanewITservicefromanexistingITinfrastructure.See also economiesofscale.
effectiveness Ameasureofwhethertheobjectivesofaprocess,serviceoractivityhavebeenachieved.Aneffectiveprocessoractivityisonethatachievesitsagreedobjectives.See also keyperformanceindicator.
efficiency Ameasureofwhethertherightamountofresourcehasbeenusedtodeliveraprocess,serviceoractivity.Anefficientprocessachievesitsobjectiveswiththeminimumamountoftime,money,peopleorotherresources.See also keyperformanceindicator.
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Term Definition
embedding Generic –Theactofmakingsomethinganintegralpartofabiggerwhole.
MoV –Theconsolidationofskillsandconceptsinagivenorganization.
PRINCE2 –WhatanorganizationneedstodotoadoptPRINCE2asitscorporateprojectmanagementmethod.See also,incontrast,tailoring,whichdefineswhataprojectneedstodotoapplythemethodtoaspecificprojectenvironment.
emergency change Achangethatmustbeintroducedassoonaspossible–forexample,toresolveamajorincidentorimplementasecuritypatch.Thechangemanagementprocesswillnormallyhaveaspecificprocedureforhandlingemergencychanges.See also emergencychangeadvisoryboard.
emergency change advisory board (ECAB)
Asubgroupofthechangeadvisoryboardthatmakesdecisionsaboutemergencychanges.Membershipmaybedecidedatthetimeameetingiscalled,anddependsonthenatureoftheemergencychange.
emergent programme Aprogrammethatsubsumesoneormorepre-existingprojectsintoacoherentalignmentwithcorporatepolicyandstrategy.
enabling service Aservicethatisneededinordertodeliveracoreservice.Enablingservicesmayormaynotbevisibletothecustomer,buttheyarenotofferedtocustomersintheirownright.See also enhancingservice.
end goal Theultimateobjectiveofaprogramme–thesameasthe‘to-bestate’or‘futurestate’.
end project report Areportgivenbytheprojectmanagertotheprojectboardthatconfirmsthehandoverofallproductsandprovidesanupdatedbusinesscaseandanassessmentofhowwelltheprojecthasperformedagainstitsprojectinitiationdocumentation.
end stage assessment Thereviewbytheprojectboardandprojectmanageroftheendstagereporttodecidewhethertoapprovethenextstageplan.Accordingtothesizeandcriticalityoftheproject,thereviewmaybeformalorinformal.Theauthoritytoproceedshouldbedocumentedasaformalrecord.
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Term Definition
end stage report Areportgivenbytheprojectmanagertotheprojectboardattheendofeachmanagementstageoftheproject.Thisprovidesinformationabouttheprojectperformanceduringthestageandtheprojectstatusatstageend.
end user Thepersonwhousesthefinaloutputofaprojectordeliveredservice.
enhance (risk response) Ariskresponseforanopportunitythatseekstoincreasetheprobabilityand/orimpacttomakeitmorecertain.
enhancing service Aservicethatisaddedtoacoreservicetomakeitmoreattractivetothecustomer.Enhancingservicesarenotessentialtothedeliveryofacoreservicebutareusedtoencouragecustomerstousethecoreservicesortodifferentiatetheserviceproviderfromitscompetitors.See also enablingservice;excitementfactor.
enterprise financial management Thefunctionandprocessesresponsibleformanagingtheoverallorganization’sbudgeting,accountingandchargingrequirements.Enterprisefinancialmanagementissometimesreferredtoasthe‘corporate’financialdepartment.See also financialmanagementforITservices.
enterprise project (or P3RM) management (EPM)
Atermusuallyreferredtobysoftwarevendorsinrelationtosoftware(i.e.EPMtools)thatassistsanorganizationtomanageacrossmultipleprojectsandprogrammedeliveryusingacommonresourcepoolthroughtostrategicanalysisofinvestmentthroughportfoliomanagement.Thistermdoesnotreflecttheactualofferingsofthetoolsinthattheygenerallycansupportatportfolio,programmeandproject(P3RM)level.
environment AsubsetoftheITinfrastructurethatisusedforaparticularpurpose–forexample,liveenvironment,testenvironment,buildenvironment.Alsousedintheterm‘physicalenvironment’tomeantheaccommodation,airconditioning,powersystemetc.Environmentisusedasagenerictermtomeantheexternalconditionsthatinfluenceoraffectsomething.
error AdesignflawormalfunctionthatcausesafailureofoneormoreITservicesorotherconfigurationitems.Amistakemadebyapersonorafaultyprocessthatimpactsaconfigurationitemisalsoanerror.
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Term Definition
escalation Anactivitythatobtainsadditionalresourceswhentheseareneededtomeetserviceleveltargetsorcustomerexpectations.EscalationmaybeneededwithinanyITservicemanagementprocess,butismostcommonlyassociatedwithincidentmanagement,problemmanagementandthemanagementofcustomercomplaints.Therearetwotypesofescalation:functionalescalationandhierarchicescalation.
eSourcing Capability Model for Client Organizations (eSCM-CL)
Aframeworktohelporganizationsintheiranalysisanddecision-makingonservicesourcingmodelsandstrategies.ItwasdevelopedbyCarnegieMellonUniversityintheUS.See also eSourcingCapabilityModelforServiceProviders.
eSourcing Capability Model for Service Providers (eSCM-SP)
AframeworktohelpITserviceprovidersdeveloptheirITservicemanagementcapabilitiesfromaservicesourcingperspective.ItwasdevelopedbyCarnegieMellonUniversityintheUS.See also eSourcingCapabilityModelforClientOrganizations.
esteem value Anattributeofanarticleorservicethatisdesiredpurelyforreasonsofpersonalinterestorpreference,orforthesocialcachetitbestows.
estimation Theuseofexperiencetoprovideanapproximatevalueforametricorcost.Estimationisalsousedincapacityandavailabilitymanagementasthecheapestandleastaccuratemodellingmethod.
evaluation criteria Ameansbywhichtoassesstherelativevalueorperformanceofdifferentoptions.
event AchangeofstatethathassignificanceforthemanagementofanITserviceorotherconfigurationitem.ThetermisalsousedtomeananalertornotificationcreatedbyanyITservice,configurationitemormonitoringtool.EventstypicallyrequireIToperationspersonneltotakeactions,andoftenleadtoincidentsbeinglogged.
event management Theprocessresponsibleformanagingeventsthroughouttheirlifecycle.EventmanagementisoneofthemainactivitiesofIToperations.
event-driven control Acontrolthattakesplacewhenaspecificeventoccurs.Thiscouldbe,forexample,theendofastage,thecompletionoftheprojectinitiationdocumentation,orthecreationofanexceptionreport.Itcouldalsoincludeorganizationaleventsthatmayaffecttheproject,suchastheendofthefinancialyear.
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Term Definition
exception Asituationwhereitcanbeforecastthattherewillbeadeviationbeyondthetolerancelevelsagreedbetweenprojectmanagerandprojectboard(orbetweenprojectboardandcorporateorprogrammemanagement).
exception assessment Thisisareviewbytheprojectboardtoapprove(orreject)anexceptionplan.
exception plan Thisisaplanthatoftenfollowsanexceptionreport.Forastageplanexception,itcoverstheperiodfromthepresenttotheendofthecurrentstage.Iftheexceptionwereatprojectlevel,theprojectplanwouldbereplaced.
exception report Adocumentcontainingdetailsofoneormorekeyperformanceindicatorsorotherimportanttargetsthathaveexceededdefinedthresholds.Examplesincludeservicelevelagreementtargetsbeingmissedorabouttobemissed,andaperformancemetricindicatingapotentialcapacityproblem.
exchange value Thevalueofaparticulararticleorserviceconsideredasitsworthinexchangeforanotheritem,suchasgold.
excitement attribute Seeexcitementfactor.
excitement factor Anattributeaddedtosomethingtomakeitmoreattractiveormoreexcitingtothecustomer.Forexample,arestaurantmayprovideafreedrinkwitheverymeal.See also enhancingservice.
executive Thesingleindividualwithoverallresponsibilityforensuringthataprojectmeetsitsobjectivesanddeliverstheprojectedbenefits.Thisindividualshouldensurethattheprojectmaintainsitsbusinessfocus,thatithasclearauthorityandthatthework,includingrisks,isactivelymanaged.Theexecutiveisthechairoftheprojectboard.Heorsherepresentsthecustomerandisresponsibleforthebusinesscase.
expanded incident lifecycle Detailedstagesinthelifecycleofanincident.Thestagesaredetection,diagnosis,repair,recoveryandrestoration.Theexpandedincidentlifecycleisusedtohelpunderstandallcontributionstotheimpactofincidentsandtoplanforhowthesecouldbecontrolledorreduced.
expected value Thisiscalculatedbymultiplyingtheestimatedaverageimpactbytheestimatedprobabilitypercentage.Alsoknownasexpectedmonetaryvaluewheretheestimatedaverageimpactisacost.
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Term Definition
expenditure Consumptionofresources.
expert reference group Ateamofsubject-matterexpertsthatcanbeusedinaP3RMorganizationtoprovideinput,adviceandchallengetotheroleaccountableforanoutputoroutcometoensurethatitreflectsthewiderexperienceratherthananindividual’sperspectiveonly.Itisimportanttonotethattheroleaccountablefortheoutputoroutcomemaintainsthefinaldecisionandshouldnottreatanexpertreferencegroupasacommittee.Anexpertreferencegroupmaybedrawntogetheratpointsintimeormaybefullyallocatedtoaprojectorprogramme.
exploit (risk response) Ariskresponseforanopportunitythatseekstomaketheuncertainsituationcertain.
external customer AcustomerwhoworksforadifferentbusinessfromtheITserviceprovider.See also externalserviceprovider;internalcustomer.
external metric AmetricthatisusedtomeasurethedeliveryofITservicetoacustomer.Externalmetricsareusuallydefinedinservicelevelagreementsandreportedtocustomers.See also internalmetric.
external service provider AnITserviceproviderthatispartofadifferentorganizationfromitscustomer.AnITserviceprovidermayhavebothinternalandexternalcustomers.See also outsourcing;TypeIIIserviceprovider.
facilitation Atechniquebywhichastudyleadertakesateamthroughaseriesofprocessesortechniquesinacollaborativemanner,resultingintheirtakingownershipoftheoutputs.
facilities management ThefunctionresponsibleformanagingthephysicalenvironmentwheretheITinfrastructureislocated.Facilitiesmanagementincludesallaspectsofmanagingthephysicalenvironment–forexample,powerandcooling,buildingaccessmanagement,andenvironmentalmonitoring.
failure Lossofabilitytooperatetospecification,ortodelivertherequiredoutput.ThetermmaybeusedwhenreferringtoITservices,processes,activities,configurationitemsetc.Afailureoftencausesanincident.
fallback (risk response) Ariskresponsetoathreatbyputtinginplaceafallbackplanfortheactionsthatwillbetakentoreducetheimpactofthethreatshouldtheriskoccur.
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Term Definition
fallback plan Seecontingentplan.
fast recovery Arecoveryoptionthatisalsoknownashotstandby.FastrecoverynormallyusesadedicatedfixedfacilitywithcomputersystemsandsoftwareconfiguredreadytoruntheITservices.Fastrecoverytypicallytakesupto24hoursbutmaybequickerifthereisnoneedtorestoredatafrombackups.
fault See error.
fault tolerance TheabilityofanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemtocontinuetooperatecorrectlyafterthefailureofacomponentpart.See also countermeasure;resilience.
fault tree analysis (FTA) Atechniquethatcanbeusedtodetermineachainofeventsthathascausedanincident,ormaycauseanincidentinthefuture.FaulttreeanalysisrepresentsachainofeventsusingBooleannotationinadiagram.
feasibility study Anearlystudyofaproblemtoassesswhetherornotasolutionisfeasible.Thestudywillnormallyscopetheproblem,identifyandexploreanumberofsolutionsandmakearecommendationonwhatactiontotake.Partoftheworkindevelopingoptionsistocalculateanoutlinebusinesscaseforeachasoneaspectofcomparison.
feedback log Adocumentthatisusedtocapture,trackandensurethatallstakeholderfeedbackisdealtwith.
financial management Agenerictermusedtodescribethefunctionandprocessesresponsibleformanaginganorganization’sbudgeting,accountingandchargingrequirements.Enterprisefinancialmanagementisthespecifictermusedtodescribethefunctionandprocessesfromtheperspectiveoftheoverallorganization.FinancialmanagementforITservicesisthespecifictermusedtodescribethefunctionandprocessesfromtheperspectiveoftheITserviceprovider.
financial management for IT services
ThefunctionandprocessesresponsibleformanaginganITserviceprovider’sbudgeting,accountingandchargingrequirements.FinancialmanagementforITservicessecuresanappropriateleveloffundingtodesign,developanddeliverservicesthatmeetthestrategyoftheorganizationinacost-effectivemanner.See also enterprisefinancialmanagement.
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41
Term Definition
financial year Anaccountingperiodcovering12consecutivemonths.Afinancialyearmaystartonanydate(forexample,1Aprilto31March).
first-line support Thefirstlevelinahierarchyofsupportgroupsinvolvedintheresolutionofincidents.Eachlevelcontainsmorespecialistskills,orhasmoretimeorotherresources.See also escalation.
fishbone diagram SeeIshikawadiagram.
fit for purpose Theabilitytomeetanagreedlevelofutility.Fitforpurposeisalsousedinformallytodescribeaprocess,configurationitem,ITserviceetc.thatiscapableofmeetingitsobjectivesorservicelevels.Beingfitforpurposerequiressuitabledesign,implementation,controlandmaintenance.
fit for use Theabilitytomeetanagreedlevelofwarranty.Beingfitforuserequiressuitabledesign,implementation,controlandmaintenance.
fixed asset Atangiblebusinessassetthathasalong-termusefullife–forexample,abuilding,apieceofland,aserverorasoftwarelicence.See also serviceasset;configurationitem.
fixed cost AcostthatdoesnotvarywithITserviceusage–forexample,thecostofserverhardware.See also variablecost.
fixed facility Apermanentbuilding,availableforusewhenneededbyanITservicecontinuityplan.See also portablefacility;recoveryoption.
fixed-asset management Theprocessresponsiblefortrackingandreportingthevalueandownershipoffixedassetsthroughouttheirlifecycle.Fixed-assetmanagementmaintainstheassetregisterandisusuallycarriedoutbytheoverallbusiness,ratherthanbytheITorganization.Fixed-assetmanagementissometimescalledfinancialassetmanagementandisnotdescribedindetailwithinthecoreITILpublications.
follow the sun Amethodologyforusingservicedesksandsupportgroupsaroundtheworldtoprovideseamless24/7service.Calls,incidents,problemsandservicerequestsarepassedbetweengroupsindifferenttimezones.
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Term Definition
follow-on action recommendations
Recommendedactionsrelatedtounfinishedwork,ongoingissuesandrisks,andanyotheractivitiesneededtotakeaproducttothenextphaseofitslife.Thesearesummarizedandincludedintheendstagereport(forphasedhandover)andendprojectreport.
fulfilment Performingactivitiestomeetaneedorrequirement–forexample,byprovidinganewITservice,ormeetingaservicerequest.
full-time equivalent (FTE) Atechniqueusedtomeasurehuman-resourceinvolvementinaproject,programmeoroperationalactivities.Itisgenerallyrequiredwherehumanresourcesareallocatedacrossmultipleroles(e.g.70%allocatedtoaprojectand30%allocatedtobusinessoperations).AnFTEof1meansthatapersonorthesumofallpeople’seffortis100%allocatedtoanactivity,basedonthenumberofworkinghoursavailable,treatmentofovertimeandotherparameters.
function Generic –Anactioncarriedoutbyadevice,personoradepartmentwithinanorganization.
ITIL –Ateamorgroupofpeopleandthetoolsorotherresourcestheyusetocarryoutoneormoreprocessesoractivities–forexample,theservicedesk.Thetermalsohastwoothermeanings:
• Anintendedpurposeofaconfigurationitem,person,team,processorITservice.Forexample,onefunctionofanemailservicemaybetostoreandforwardoutgoingmails,whilethefunctionofabusinessprocessmaybetodespatchgoodstocustomers.
• Toperformtheintendedpurposecorrectly,asin‘Thecomputerisfunctioning.’
PPM –Whatsomethingdoes,expressedasanactiveverbandameasurablenoun(ascloselyaspossible).Itmaybetangible(e.g.bearsweight)orintangible(e.g.operatesintuitively).
function analysis Amethodofanalysingfunctionstoshowappropriatelinkages.
Function Analysis Systems Technique
AbbreviatedtoFAST,thistechniqueusesahierarchyoffunctions,expressedinonedirectiontoaddress‘how’theyaredelivered,andinanothertoaddress‘why’.
function diagram Adiagramexpressingahierarchyoffunctions.
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Term Definition
functional escalation Transferringanincident,problemorchangetoatechnicalteamwithahigherlevelofexpertisetoassistinanescalation.
gap analysis Anactivitythatcomparestwosetsofdataandidentifiesthedifferences.Gapanalysisiscommonlyusedtocompareasetofrequirementswithactualdelivery.See also benchmarking.
gated review Astructuredreviewofaproject,programmeorportfolioaspartofformalgovernancearrangementscarriedoutatkeydecisionpointsinthelifecycletoensurethatthedecisiontoinvestasperagreedbusinesscasesandplansremainsvalid.
gateway reviews Independentassurancereviewsthatoccuratkeydecisionpointswithinthelifecycleofaprogrammeorproject.
given ApreconditiononthescopeofanMoVstudy,whichmustbesatisfied.
governance Ensuresthatpoliciesandstrategyareactuallyimplemented,andthatrequiredprocessesarecorrectlyfollowed.Governanceincludesdefiningrolesandresponsibilities,measuringandreporting,andtakingactionstoresolveanyissuesidentified.
governance (corporate) Theongoingactivityofmaintainingasoundsystemofinternalcontrolbywhichthedirectorsandofficersofanorganizationensurethateffectivemanagementsystems,includingfinancialmonitoringandcontrolsystems,havebeenputinplacetoprotectassets,earningcapacityandthereputationoftheorganization.
governance (portfolio) Encompassesthestructures,accountabilitiesandpolicies,standardsandprocessesfordecision-makingwithinanorganizationinordertoanswerthekeystrategicquestions‘Arewedoingtherightthings?’,‘Arewedoingthemtherightway?’and‘Arewerealizingthebenefits?’
governance (programme) Thefunctions,responsibilities,processesandproceduresthatdefinehowaprogrammeissetup,managedandcontrolled.
governance (project) Thoseareasofcorporategovernancethatarespecificallyrelatedtoprojectactivities.Effectivegovernanceofprojectmanagementensuresthatanorganization’sprojectportfolioisalignedtotheorganization’sobjectives,isdeliveredefficientlyandissustainable.
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Term Definition
government policy Thetranslationofagovernment’spoliticalprioritiesandprinciplesintoprogrammesandcoursesofactiontodeliverdesiredchanges.
gradual recovery Arecoveryoptionthatisalsoknownascoldstandby.Gradualrecoverytypicallyusesaportableorfixedfacilitythathasenvironmentalsupportandnetworkcabling,butnocomputersystems.ThehardwareandsoftwareareinstalledaspartoftheITservicecontinuityplan.Gradualrecoverytypicallytakesmorethanthreedays,andmaytakesignificantlylonger.
guideline Adocumentdescribingbestpractice,whichrecommendswhatshouldbedone.Compliancewithaguidelineisnotnormallyenforced.See also standard.
handover Thetransferofownershipofasetofproductstotherespectiveuser(s).Thesetofproductsisknownasarelease.Theremaybemorethanonehandoverinthelifeofaproject(phaseddelivery).ThefinalhandovertakesplaceintheClosingaProjectprocess.
hard value analysis Asubsetofvalueengineeringforaprojectthatseekstomaximizethevalueofaphysicaloutput.See also valueengineering.
health check Ahealthcheckisaqualitytoolthatprovidesasnapshotofthestatusofaproject,programmeortheportfolio.Thepurposeofahealthcheckistogainanobjectiveassessmentofhowwelltheproject,programmeorportfolioisperformingrelativetoitsobjectivesandanyrelevantprocessesorstandards.AhealthcheckdiffersfromagatedreviewinthatitisatoolusedforassurancepurposesbytheP3Otoinformspecificactionsorcapabilitymaturitydevelopmentplans,whereasagatedreviewispartofformalgovernancearrangements.
hierarchic escalation Informingorinvolvingmoreseniorlevelsofmanagementtoassistinanescalation.
high availability Anapproachordesignthatminimizesorhidestheeffectsofconfiguration-itemfailurefromtheusersofanITservice.High-availabilitysolutionsaredesignedtoachieveanagreedlevelofavailabilityandmakeuseoftechniquessuchasfaulttolerance,resilienceandfastrecoverytoreducethenumberandimpactofincidents.
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Term Definition
highlight report Atime-drivenreportfromtheprojectmanagertotheprojectboardonstageprogress.
horizon scanning Thesystematicexaminationofpotentialthreats,opportunitiesandlikelyfuturedevelopmentswhichareatthemarginsofcurrentthinkingandplanning.
host site Asitewhereprojectworkisbeingundertaken(forexample,anofficeorconstructionsite).
hot standby Seefastrecovery;immediaterecovery.
hub and spoke AtermtodescribeasystemoforganizationaldesignforP3Owherethereisacentralizedoffice(thehub)connectedtoanumberofsmallerdecentralizedoffices(thespokes)eachwithasub-setofthecentralizedoffice’sbusinessobjectives,functionsandservices.Allinformationandprocesses(connections)arearrangedsothattheymovealongspokestothehubatthecentre.Ahub-and-spokemodelprovidesthebenefitofscalabilityforlargeorganizationsandsupportsbusinessownershipbymaintainingalevelofdecentralization.
hurdle rate of return Thetargetrateofreturnsetbyanorganization,whichpotentialinvestmentsneedtoachieveinordertobeconsideredforfunding.Alsousedasthediscountratetoconvertfuturecashflowsintothenetpresentvalue.
ICT Informationandcommunicationstechnology.
identity Auniquenamethatisusedtoidentifyauser,personorrole.Theidentityisusedtograntrightstothatuser,personorrole.ExampleidentitiesmightbetheusernameSmithJortherole‘changemanager’.
immediate recovery Arecoveryoptionthatisalsoknownashotstandby.ProvisionismadetorecovertheITservicewithnosignificantlossofservicetothecustomer.Immediaterecoverytypicallyusesmirroring,loadbalancingandsplit-sitetechnologies.
impact Ameasureoftheeffectofanincident,problemorchangeonbusinessprocesses.Impactisoftenbasedonhowservicelevelswillbeaffected.Impactandurgencyareusedtoassignpriority.
impact (of risk) Impactistheresultofaparticularthreatoropportunityactuallyoccurring.
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Term Definition
incident AnunplannedinterruptiontoanITserviceorreductioninthequalityofanITservice.Failureofaconfigurationitemthathasnotyetaffectedserviceisalsoanincident–forexample,failureofonediskfromamirrorset.
incident management Theprocessresponsibleformanagingthelifecycleofallincidents.Incidentmanagementensuresthatnormalserviceoperationisrestoredasquicklyaspossibleandthebusinessimpactisminimized.
incident record Arecordcontainingthedetailsofanincident.Eachincidentrecorddocumentsthelifecycleofasingleincident.
indirect cost ThecostofprovidinganITservicewhichcannotbeallocatedinfulltoaspecificcustomer–forexample,thecostofprovidingsharedserversorsoftwarelicences.Alsoknownasoverhead.See also directcost.
inform InthecontextofaRACItable,toadviseagrouporindividualofachangeoradecision.InMSP,thisistypicallyusedinthecontextofsomethingthataffectsactivitiesordocumentcreation.
information hub Thecentralizedelementofthehub-and-spokemodelforP3Ointermsofinformationflows.Itsupportshighlightandexception-basedreportingforprojects,programmesand/orportfoliosbyamalgamatinginformationwiththeprocessandinformationownedbythecentraloffice.See also hubandspoke.
information security management (ISM)
Theprocessresponsibleforensuringthattheconfidentiality,integrityandavailabilityofanorganization’sassets,information,dataandITservicesmatchtheagreedneedsofthebusiness.InformationsecuritymanagementsupportsbusinesssecurityandhasawiderscopethanthatoftheITserviceprovider,andincludeshandlingofpaper,buildingaccess,phonecallsetc.fortheentireorganization.See also securitymanagementinformationsystem.
information security management system (ISMS)
Theframeworkofpolicy,processes,functions,standards,guidelinesandtoolsthatensuresanorganizationcanachieveitsinformationsecuritymanagementobjectives.See also securitymanagementinformationsystem.
information security policy Thepolicythatgovernstheorganization’sapproachtoinformationsecuritymanagement.
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47
Term Definition
information system Seemanagementinformationsystem.
information technology (IT) Theuseoftechnologyforthestorage,communicationorprocessingofinformation.Thetechnologytypicallyincludescomputers,telecommunications,applicationsandothersoftware.Theinformationmayincludebusinessdata,voice,images,videoetc.InformationtechnologyisoftenusedtosupportbusinessprocessesthroughITservices.
Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)
SeeITIL.
informed customer Anindividual,teamorgroupwithfunctionalresponsibilitywithinanorganizationforensuringthatspendonIS/ITorotherprocurementisdirectedtobesteffect,i.e.thatthebusinessisreceivingvalueformoneyandcontinuestoachievethemostbeneficialoutcome.ThetermisoftenusedinrelationtotheoutsourcingofIT/IS.Sometimesalsocalled‘intelligentcustomer’.
infrastructure service Atypeofsupportingservicethatprovideshardware,networkorotherdata-centrecomponents.Thetermisalsousedasasynonymforsupportingservice.
inherent risk Theexposurearisingfromaspecificriskbeforeanyactionhasbeentakentomanageit.
initiation stage Theperiodfromwhentheprojectboardauthorizesinitiationtowhenitauthorizestheproject(ordecidesnottogoaheadwiththeproject).ThedetailedplanningandestablishmentoftheprojectmanagementinfrastructureiscoveredbytheInitiatingaProjectprocess.
insourcing UsinganinternalserviceprovidertomanageITservices.TheterminsourcingisalsousedtodescribetheactoftransferringtheprovisionofanITservicefromanexternalserviceprovidertoaninternalserviceprovider.See also servicesourcing.
integrity Asecurityprinciplethatensuresdataandconfigurationitemsaremodifiedonlybyauthorizedpersonnelandactivities.Integrityconsidersallpossiblecausesofmodification,includingsoftwareandhardwarefailure,environmentaleventsandhumanintervention.
interactive voice response (IVR) Aformofautomaticcalldistributionthatacceptsuserinput,suchaskeypressesandspokencommands,toidentifythecorrectdestinationforincomingcalls.
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Term Definition
intermediate recovery Arecoveryoptionthatisalsoknownaswarmstandby.Intermediaterecoveryusuallyusesasharedportableorfixedfacilitythathascomputersystemsandnetworkcomponents.Thehardwareandsoftwarewillneedtobeconfigured,anddatawillneedtoberestored,aspartoftheITservicecontinuityplan.Typicalrecoverytimesforintermediaterecoveryareonetothreedays.
internal customer AcustomerwhoworksforthesamebusinessastheITserviceprovider.See also externalcustomer;internalserviceprovider.
internal metric AmetricthatisusedwithintheITserviceprovidertomonitortheefficiency,effectivenessorcost-effectivenessoftheITserviceprovider’sinternalprocesses.InternalmetricsarenotnormallyreportedtothecustomeroftheITservice.See also externalmetric.
internal rate of return (IRR) Atechniqueusedtohelpmakedecisionsaboutcapitalexpenditure.Itcalculatesafigurethatallowstwoormorealternativeinvestmentstobecompared.Alargerinternalrateofreturnindicatesabetterinvestment.See also netpresentvalue;returnoninvestment.
internal service provider AnITserviceproviderthatispartofthesameorganizationasitscustomer.AnITserviceprovidermayhavebothinternalandexternalcustomers.See also insourcing;TypeIserviceprovider;TypeIIserviceprovider.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
TheInternationalOrganizationforStandardization(ISO)istheworld’slargestdeveloperofstandards.ISOisanon-governmentalorganizationthatisanetworkofthenationalstandardsinstitutesof156countries.Seewww.iso.orgforfurtherinformationaboutISO.
International Standards Organization
SeeInternationalOrganizationforStandardization(ISO).
internet service provider (ISP) Anexternalserviceproviderthatprovidesaccesstotheinternet.MostISPsalsoprovideotherITservices,suchaswebhosting.
investment decision Thedecisiontoproceedwithaprogrammeorproject.Alsodescribestheentirelifecycleofaprogrammeorprojectfrominception(pre-start-up)touse(closure).
invocation Initiationofthestepsdefinedinaplan–forexample,initiatingtheITservicecontinuityplanforoneormoreITservices.
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Term Definition
Ishikawa diagram Atechnique,originallydevisedbyKaoruIshikawa,thathelpsateamtoidentifyallthepossiblecausesofaproblem.Theoutputofthistechniqueisadiagramthatlookslikeafishbone.
ISO 9000 Agenerictermthatreferstoanumberofinternationalstandardsandguidelinesforqualitymanagementsystems.Seewww.iso.orgformoreinformation.See also InternationalOrganizationforStandardization.
ISO 9001 Aninternationalstandardforqualitymanagementsystems.See also ISO9000;standard.
ISO/IEC 20000 AninternationalstandardforITservicemanagement.
ISO/IEC 27001 Aninternationalspecificationforinformationsecuritymanagement.ThecorrespondingcodeofpracticeisISO/IEC27002.See also standard.
ISO/IEC 27002 Aninternationalcodeofpracticeforinformationsecuritymanagement.ThecorrespondingspecificationisISO/IEC27001.See also standard.
issue Arelevanteventthathashappened,wasnotplannedandrequiresmanagementaction.Itcouldbeaproblem,benefit,query,concern,changerequestorriskthathasoccurred.
issue actionee Aroleorindividualresponsibleforthemanagementandcontrolofallaspectsofindividualissues,includingtheimplementationofthemeasurestakeninrespectofeachissue.
issue register Aregisterusedtocaptureandmaintaininformationonalloftheissuesthatarebeingmanagedformally.Theissueregistershouldbemonitoredbytheprojectmanageronaregularbasis.
issue report Areportcontainingthedescription,impactassessmentandrecommendationsforarequestforchange,off-specificationoraproblem/concern.Itiscreatedonlyforthoseissuesthatneedtobehandledformally.
IT accounting Seeaccounting.
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Term Definition
IT infrastructure Allofthehardware,software,networks,facilitiesetc.thatarerequiredtodevelop,test,deliver,monitor,controlorsupportapplicationsandITservices.Thetermincludesalloftheinformationtechnologybutnottheassociatedpeople,processesanddocumentation.
IT operations ActivitiescarriedoutbyIToperationscontrol,includingconsolemanagement/operationsbridge,jobscheduling,backupandrestore,andprintandoutputmanagement.IToperationsisalsousedasasynonymforserviceoperation.
IT operations control ThefunctionresponsibleformonitoringandcontroloftheITservicesandITinfrastructure.See also operationsbridge.
IT operations management ThefunctionwithinanITserviceproviderthatperformsthedailyactivitiesneededtomanageITservicesandthesupportingITinfrastructure.IToperationsmanagementincludesIToperationscontrolandfacilitiesmanagement.
IT service AserviceprovidedbyanITserviceprovider.AnITserviceismadeupofacombinationofinformationtechnology,peopleandprocesses.Acustomer-facingITservicedirectlysupportsthebusinessprocessesofoneormorecustomersanditsserviceleveltargetsshouldbedefinedinaservicelevelagreement.OtherITservices,calledsupportingservices,arenotdirectlyusedbythebusinessbutarerequiredbytheserviceprovidertodelivercustomer-facingservices.See also coreservice;enablingservice;enhancingservice;service;servicepackage.
IT service continuity management (ITSCM)
TheprocessresponsibleformanagingrisksthatcouldseriouslyaffectITservices.ITservicecontinuitymanagementensuresthattheITserviceprovidercanalwaysprovideminimumagreedservicelevels,byreducingtherisktoanacceptablelevelandplanningfortherecoveryofITservices.ITservicecontinuitymanagementsupportsbusinesscontinuitymanagement.
IT service continuity plan AplandefiningthestepsrequiredtorecoveroneormoreITservices.Theplanalsoidentifiesthetriggersforinvocation,peopletobeinvolved,communicationsetc.TheITservicecontinuityplanshouldbepartofabusinesscontinuityplan.
IT service management (ITSM) TheimplementationandmanagementofqualityITservicesthatmeettheneedsofthebusiness.ITservicemanagementisperformedbyITserviceprovidersthroughanappropriatemixofpeople,processandinformationtechnology.See also servicemanagement.
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Term Definition
IT Service Management Forum (itSMF)
TheITServiceManagementForumisanindependentorganizationdedicatedtopromotingaprofessionalapproachtoITservicemanagement.TheitSMFisanot-for-profitmembershiporganizationwithrepresentationinmanycountriesaroundtheworld(itSMFchapters).TheitSMFanditsmembershipcontributetothedevelopmentofITILandassociatedITservicemanagementstandards.Seewww.itsmf.comformoreinformation.
IT service provider AserviceproviderthatprovidesITservicestointernalorexternalcustomers.
IT steering group (ISG) AformalgroupthatisresponsibleforensuringthatbusinessandITserviceproviderstrategiesandplansarecloselyaligned.AnITsteeringgroupincludesseniorrepresentativesfromthebusinessandtheITserviceprovider.AlsoknownasITstrategygrouporITsteeringcommittee.
ITIL® Asetofbest-practicepublicationsforITservicemanagement.OwnedbytheCabinetOffice(partofHMGovernment),ITILgivesguidanceontheprovisionofqualityITservicesandtheprocesses,functionsandothercapabilitiesneededtosupportthem.TheITILframeworkisbasedonaservicelifecycleandconsistsoffivelifecyclestages(servicestrategy,servicedesign,servicetransition,serviceoperationandcontinualserviceimprovement),eachofwhichhasitsownsupportingpublication.ThereisalsoasetofcomplementaryITILpublicationsprovidingguidancespecifictoindustrysectors,organizationtypes,operatingmodelsandtechnologyarchitectures.Seewww.itil-officialsite.comformoreinformation.
job description Adocumentthatdefinestheroles,responsibilities,skillsandknowledgerequiredbyaparticularperson.Onejobdescriptioncanincludemultipleroles–forexample,therolesofconfigurationmanagerandchangemanagermaybecarriedoutbyoneperson.
job scheduling PlanningandmanagingtheexecutionofsoftwaretasksthatarerequiredaspartofanITservice.JobschedulingiscarriedoutbyIToperationsmanagement,andisoftenautomatedusingsoftwaretoolsthatrunbatchoronlinetasksatspecifictimesoftheday,week,monthoryear.
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Term Definition
Kano model Amodel,developedbyNoriakiKano,thatisusedtohelpunderstandcustomerpreferences.TheKanomodelconsidersattributesofanITservicegroupedintoareassuchasbasicfactors,excitementfactorsandperformancefactors.
Kepner and Tregoe analysis Astructuredapproachtoproblemsolving.Theproblemisanalysedintermsofwhat,where,whenandtowhatextent.Possiblecausesareidentified,themostprobablecauseistested,andthetruecauseisverified.
key performance indicator (KPI) Generic –Ameasureofperformance.
ITIL –AmetricthatisusedtohelpmanageanITservice,process,plan,projectorotheractivity.Keyperformanceindicatorsareusedtomeasuretheachievementofcriticalsuccessfactors.Manymetricsmaybemeasured,butonlythemostimportantofthesearedefinedaskeyperformanceindicatorsandusedtoactivelymanageandreportontheprocess,ITserviceoractivity.Theyshouldbeselectedtoensurethatefficiency,effectivenessandcost-effectivenessareallmanaged.
PPM –Ameasureofperformancethatisusedtohelpanorganizationdefineandevaluatehowsuccessfulitisinmakingprogresstowardsitsorganizationalobjectives.
knowledge base Alogicaldatabasecontainingdataandinformationusedbytheserviceknowledgemanagementsystem.
knowledge management Theprocessresponsibleforsharingperspectives,ideas,experienceandinformation,andforensuringthattheseareavailableintherightplaceandattherighttime.Theknowledgemanagementprocessenablesinformeddecisions,andimprovesefficiencybyreducingtheneedtorediscoverknowledge.See also Data-to-Information-to-Knowledge-to-Wisdom;serviceknowledgemanagementsystem.
known error Aproblemthathasadocumentedrootcauseandaworkaround.Knownerrorsarecreatedandmanagedthroughouttheirlifecyclebyproblemmanagement.Knownerrorsmayalsobeidentifiedbydevelopmentorsuppliers.
known error database (KEDB) Adatabasecontainingallknownerrorrecords.Thisdatabaseiscreatedbyproblemmanagementandusedbyincidentandproblemmanagement.Theknownerrordatabasemaybepartoftheconfigurationmanagementsystem,ormaybestoredelsewhereintheserviceknowledgemanagementsystem.
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53
Term Definition
known error record Arecordcontainingthedetailsofaknownerror.Eachknownerrorrecorddocumentsthelifecycleofaknownerror,includingthestatus,rootcauseandworkaround.Insomeimplementations,aknownerrorisdocumentedusingadditionalfieldsinaproblemrecord.
leadership Theabilitytodirect,influenceandmotivateotherstowardsabetteroutcome.
Lean Amanagementprocessaimedateliminatingwasteinthesupplychain.
lessons log Aninformalrepositoryforlessonsthatapplytothisprojectorfutureprojects.
lessons report Areportthatdocumentsanylessonsthatcanbeusefullyappliedtootherprojects.Thepurposeofthereportistoprovokeactionsothatthepositivelessonsfromaprojectbecomeembeddedintheorganization’swayofworkingandtheorganizationisabletoavoidthenegativelessonsonfutureprojects.
lifecycle ThevariousstagesinthelifeofanITservice,configurationitem,incident,problem,changeetc.Thelifecycledefinesthecategoriesforstatusandthestatustransitionsthatarepermitted.Forexample:
• Thelifecycleofanapplicationincludesrequirements,design,build,deploy,operate,optimize
• Theexpandedincidentlifecycleincludesdetection,diagnosis,repair,recoveryandrestoration
• Thelifecycleofaservermayinclude:ordered,received,intest,live,disposedetc.
line of service (LOS) Acoreserviceorservicepackagethathasmultipleserviceoptions.Alineofserviceismanagedbyaserviceownerandeachserviceoptionisdesignedtosupportaparticularmarketsegment.
live ReferstoanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemthatisbeingusedtodeliverservicetoacustomer.
live environment AcontrolledenvironmentcontainingliveconfigurationitemsusedtodeliverITservicestocustomers.
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Term Definition
logs Informalrepositoriesmanagedbytheprojectmanagerthatdonotrequireanyagreementbytheprojectboardontheirformatandcomposition.PRINCE2hastwologs:thedailylogandthelessonslog.
lower-order function Afunctioncontributingtothedeliveryofabasicfunction.Theseareoftenimportanttoasuccessfulproductorservice.
maintainability AmeasureofhowquicklyandeffectivelyanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemcanberestoredtonormalworkingafterafailure.Maintainabilityisoftenmeasuredandreportedasmeantimetorestoreservice(MTRS).MaintainabilityisalsousedinthecontextofsoftwareorITservicedevelopmenttomeanabilitytobechangedorrepairedeasily.
major incident Thehighestcategoryofimpactforanincident.Amajorincidentresultsinsignificantdisruptiontothebusiness.
manageability AninformalmeasureofhoweasilyandeffectivelyanITserviceorothercomponentcanbemanaged.
management board Agenerictermusedtodescribeeitherprojectmanagementboards,programmemanagementboardsorportfoliomanagementboards,oranycombinationbasedontheP3Ocontext.
management by exception Atechniquebywhichvariancesfromplanthatexceedapre-setcontrollimitareescalatedforaction–forexample,wherespendsexceedbudgetby10%.
management dashboard Atechniquetorepresentvastamountsofdecision-supportinformationatanamalgamatedlevelusingtabularandgraphicrepresentationsuchasgraphsandtrafficlights.
management information Informationthatisusedtosupportdecision-makingbymanagers.ManagementinformationisoftengeneratedautomaticallybytoolssupportingthevariousITservicemanagementprocesses.Managementinformationoftenincludesthevaluesofkeyperformanceindicators,suchas‘percentageofchangesleadingtoincidents’or‘first-timefixrate’.
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55
Term Definition
management information system (MIS)
Asetoftools,dataandinformationthatisusedtosupportaprocessorfunction.Examplesincludetheavailabilitymanagementinformationsystemandthesupplierandcontractmanagementinformationsystem.See also serviceknowledgemanagementsystem.
Management of Risk (M_o_R®) Systemicapplicationofpolicies,procedures,methodsandpracticestothetasksofidentifyingandassessingrisks,andthenplanningandimplementingriskresponses.Thisprovidesadisciplinedenvironmentforproactivedecision-making.
Management of Value (MoV®) Asystematicmethodtodefinewhatvaluemeansfororganizations,andtocommunicateitclearlytomaximizevalueacrossportfolios,programmes,projectsandoperations.
Management of Value (MoV) board
AgroupofseniormanagerswhoadvisetheMoVseniorpractitioneronthedeliveryoftheMoVimplementationplan.
Management of Value (MoV) implementation plan
TheplanfordeliveringtheMoVstrategy.
Management of Value (MoV) programme
AseriesofinterrelatedMoVstudiesacrossamajorprojectorlargeorganization’sservicereview.
Management of Value (MoV) programme plan
TheplanforapplyingMoVtoaprogramme.
Management of Value (MoV) progress report
Aregularreportdescribingthecurrentprogressthathasbeenmadeindeliveringthebenefitsofavalue-improvingproposal.
Management of Value (MoV) project plan
TheplanforapplyingMoVtoaproject.
Management of Value (MoV) steering group
SeeManagementofValue(MoV)board.
Management of Value (MoV) study
Acombinationofactivitiesincludingpreparation,analysisworkshop(s),decisionbuilding,reportingandimplementation.
Management of Value (MoV) study handbook
AcollationbythestudyleaderofalltheinformationrequiredforsuccessfulteamparticipationinanMoVstudy.
Management of Value (MoV) study team
ThepeoplewhoactivelycontributetoanMoVstudy.
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Term Definition
Management of Value (MoV) workshop
Agatheringofstakeholdersanddisciplinesrelatingtoaparticularstudy,facilitatedtoguideparticipantsthroughtheMoVapproach.
management product Aproductthatwillberequiredaspartofmanagingtheproject,andestablishingandmaintainingquality(forexample,highlightreport,endstagereportetc.).Themanagementproductsstayconstant,whateverthetypeofproject,andcanbeusedasdescribed,orwithanyrelevantmodifications,forallprojects.Therearethreetypesofmanagementproduct:baselines,recordsandreports.
management stage Thesectionofaprojectthattheprojectmanagerismanagingonbehalfoftheprojectboardatanyonetime,attheendofwhichtheprojectboardwillwishtoreviewprogresstodate,thestateoftheprojectplan,thebusinesscaseandrisks,andthenextstageplaninordertodecidewhethertocontinuewiththeproject.
management system Theframeworkofpolicy,processes,functions,standards,guidelinesandtoolsthatensuresanorganizationorpartofanorganizationcanachieveitsobjectives.Thistermisalsousedwithasmallerscopetosupportaspecificprocessoractivity–forexample,aneventmanagementsystemorriskmanagementsystem.See also system.
Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®)
ABestManagementPracticepublication/methodrepresentingprovenprogrammemanagementgoodpracticeinsuccessfullydeliveringtransformationalchange,drawnfromtheexperiencesofbothpublic-andprivate-sectororganizations.
mandate InformationcreatedexternallytoaprojectorprogrammethatformsthetermsofreferenceandisusedtostartupaPRINCE2projectoridentifyanMSPprogramme.Amandatemaybeinitiatedthroughanunstructuredapproach,oritmaybederivedfromstrategicplanning,businessplanningorportfoliomanagementprocesses.
manual workaround Aworkaroundthatrequiresmanualintervention.ManualworkaroundisalsousedasthenameofarecoveryoptioninwhichthebusinessprocessoperateswithouttheuseofITservices.Thisisatemporarymeasureandisusuallycombinedwithanotherrecoveryoption.
margin Theflexibilitythataprogrammehasforachievingitsblueprint,benefitsandbusinesscase.
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Term Definition
marginal cost Theincreaseordecreaseinthecostofproducingonemore,oroneless,unitofoutput–forexample,thecostofsupportinganadditionaluser.
market space OpportunitiesthatanITserviceprovidercouldexploittomeetthebusinessneedsofcustomers.MarketspacesidentifythepossibleITservicesthatanITserviceprovidermaywishtoconsiderdelivering.
matrix management Atypeoforganizationalmanagementinwhichhumanresourceswithsimilarskillsarepooledtogetherfortheassignmentofworktootherpartsofanorganization.Inthisapproach,thereisaseparationbetweenlinemanagementandlineofauthorityinthatapersonmayreporttoseveralproject,programmeorbusinessmanagerstoundertakemultipleworkassignmentsatdifferenttimesbuthavealineofauthoritytoadifferentmanageraltogether.
maturity Ameasureofthereliability,efficiencyandeffectivenessofaprocess,function,organizationetc.Themostmatureprocessesandfunctionsareformallyalignedtobusinessobjectivesandstrategy,andaresupportedbyaframeworkforcontinualimprovement.
maturity level Generic –Arecognizedpositionwithinamodelassessingperformance.
ITIL –Anamedlevelinamaturitymodel,suchastheCarnegieMellonCapabilityMaturityModelIntegration.
PPM –Awell-definedevolutionaryplateautowardsachievingamatureprocess(fivelevelsareoftencited:initial,repeatable,defined,managedandoptimizing).
maturity model Amethodofassessingorganizationalcapabilityinagivenareaofskill.
mean time between failures (MTBF)
Ametricformeasuringandreportingreliability.MTBFistheaveragetimethatanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemcanperformitsagreedfunctionwithoutinterruption.Thisismeasuredfromwhentheconfigurationitemstartsworking,untilitnextfails.
mean time between service incidents (MTBSI)
Ametricusedformeasuringandreportingreliability.ItistheaveragetimefromwhenasystemorITservicefails,untilitnextfails.MTBSIisequaltoMTBFplusMTRS.
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58
Term Definition
mean time to repair (MTTR) TheaveragetimetakentorepairanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemafterafailure.MTTRismeasuredfromwhentheconfigurationitemfailsuntilitisrepaired.MTTRdoesnotincludethetimerequiredtorecoverorrestore.Itissometimesincorrectlyusedinsteadofmeantimetorestoreservice.
mean time to restore service (MTRS)
TheaveragetimetakentorestoreanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemafterafailure.MTRSismeasuredfromwhentheconfigurationitemfailsuntilitisfullyrestoredanddeliveringitsnormalfunctionality.See also maintainability;meantimetorepair.
metric Somethingthatismeasuredandreportedtohelpmanageaprocess,ITserviceoractivity.See also keyperformanceindicator.
middleware Softwarethatconnectstwoormoresoftwarecomponentsorapplications.Middlewareisusuallypurchasedfromasupplier,ratherthandevelopedwithintheITserviceprovider.See also commercialofftheshelf.
milestone Asignificanteventinaplan’sschedule,suchascompletionofkeyworkpackages,atechnicalstageoramanagementstage.
mission Ashortbutcompletedescriptionoftheoverallpurposeandintentionsofanorganization.Itstateswhatistobeachieved,butnothowthisshouldbedone.See also vision.
model Arepresentationofasystem,process,ITservice,configurationitemetc.thatisusedtohelpunderstandorpredictfuturebehaviour.
modelling Atechniquethatisusedtopredictthefuturebehaviourofasystem,process,ITservice,configurationitemetc.Modellingiscommonlyusedinfinancialmanagement,capacitymanagementandavailabilitymanagement.
monitor control loop Monitoringtheoutputofatask,process,ITserviceorotherconfigurationitem;comparingthisoutputtoapredefinednorm;andtakingappropriateactionbasedonthiscomparison.
monitoring Repeatedobservationofaconfigurationitem,ITserviceorprocesstodetecteventsandtoensurethatthecurrentstatusisknown.
MoV SeeManagementofValue.
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Term Definition
MSP SeeManagingSuccessfulProgrammes.
near-shore Provisionofservicesfromacountrynearthecountrywherethecustomerisbased.ThiscanbetheprovisionofanITservice,orofsupportingfunctionssuchasaservicedesk.See also offshore;onshore.
needs Thebenefitsthatareeitheressentialordesiredfromtheresourcesappliedtoagivenproject.
net present value (NPV) Atechniqueusedtohelpmakedecisionsaboutcapitalexpenditure.Itcomparescashinflowswithcashoutflows.Positivenetpresentvalueindicatesthataninvestmentisworthwhile.See also internalrateofreturn;returnoninvestment.
normal change Achangethatisnotanemergencychangeorastandardchange.Normalchangesfollowthedefinedstepsofthechangemanagementprocess.
normal service operation Anoperationalstatewhereservicesandconfigurationitemsareperformingwithintheiragreedserviceandoperationallevels.
notional charging AnapproachtochargingforITservices.Chargestocustomersarecalculatedandcustomersareinformedofthecharge,butnomoneyisactuallytransferred.Notionalchargingissometimesintroducedtoensurethatcustomersareawareofthecoststheyincur,orasastageduringtheintroductionofrealcharging.
objective Generic –Theintendedoutcomeorgoal.
ITIL –Theoutcomesrequiredfromaprocess,activityororganizationinordertoensurethatitspurposewillbefulfilled.Objectivesareusuallyexpressedasmeasurabletargets.Thetermisalsoinformallyusedtomeanarequirement.
PPM –Theintendedoutcomeorgoalofaprogramme,projectororganization.
off the shelf Seecommercialofftheshelf.
Office of Government Commerce (OGC)
OGC(formerownerofBestManagementPractice)anditsfunctionshavemovedintotheCabinetOfficeaspartofHMGovernment.Seewww.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
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Term Definition
off-project specialist or expert SomeonewithknowledgeandexperienceinthesubjectoftheMoVactivitieswhoisnotinvolvedintheprogrammeproject.MaybeinvitedtocontributetoanMoVstudytochallengetheMoVstudyteammembersandimprovetheobjectivityoftheirproposals.
offshore Provisionofservicesfromalocationoutsidethecountrywherethecustomerisbased,oftenonadifferentcontinent.ThiscanbetheprovisionofanITservice,orofsupportingfunctionssuchasaservicedesk.See also near-shore;onshore.
off-specification Somethingthatshouldbeprovidedbytheproject,butcurrentlyisnot(orisforecastnottobe)provided.Thismightbeamissingproductoraproductnotmeetingitsspecifications.Itisonetypeofissue.
OGC Gateway™ reviews OGCGatewayisthemainstayoftheMajorProjectsAuthority(MPA)assuranceprocess.Itisapeerreviewoftheprogressanddeliveryconfidenceatkey‘gates’intheprojectlifecycle,andprovidesrecommendationstotheseniorresponsibleowner(SRO)onwhichhe/sheisaccountabletotheMPA.Thisisaninterview-basedreviewcompleted,includingthereport,inlessthanaweek.
one version of the truth Atechniquewherebyeachelementofportfolioprogressreporting(costs,benefits,progressetc.)isderivedfromanagreedsourcemanagedbytheportfoliooffice.Individualinitiativesandotherorganizationalfunctionswillprovidedatainputsinrelationtocost,benefit,deliveryprogress,resourcerequirements,dependencyandriskstatus–andtoanagreedschedule.Theresultingconsolidateddatawillberecognizedastheauthoritativesourceofinformationonportfolioprogressusedformonitoring,reportingandmanagementdecision-making.
onshore Provisionofservicesfromalocationwithinthecountrywherethecustomerisbased.See also near-shore;offshore.
operate Toperformasexpected.Aprocessorconfigurationitemissaidtooperateifitisdeliveringtherequiredoutputs.Operatealsomeanstoperformoneormoreoperations.Forexample,tooperateacomputeristodotheday-to-dayoperationsneededforittoperformasexpected.
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Term Definition
operation Day-to-daymanagementofanITservice,systemorotherconfigurationitem.Operationisalsousedtomeananypredefinedactivityortransaction–forexample,loadingamagnetictape,acceptingmoneyatapointofsale,orreadingdatafromadiskdrive.
operational Thelowestofthreelevelsofplanninganddelivery(strategic,tactical,operational).Operationalactivitiesincludetheday-to-dayorshort-termplanningordeliveryofabusinessprocessorITservicemanagementprocess.Thetermisalsoasynonymforlive.
operational and maintenance acceptance
Aspecifictypeofacceptancebythepersonorgroupwhowillsupporttheproductonceitishandedoverintotheoperationalenvironment.
operational cost ThecostresultingfromrunningtheITservices,whichofteninvolvesrepeatingpayments–forexample,staffcosts,hardwaremaintenanceandelectricity.Alsoknownascurrentexpenditureorrevenueexpenditure.See also capitalexpenditure.
operational expenditure (OPEX) Seeoperationalcost.
operational level agreement (OLA)
AnagreementbetweenanITserviceproviderandanotherpartofthesameorganization.ItsupportstheITserviceprovider’sdeliveryofITservicestocustomersanddefinesthegoodsorservicestobeprovidedandtheresponsibilitiesofbothparties.Forexample,therecouldbeanoperationallevelagreementbetween:
• TheITserviceproviderandaprocurementdepartmenttoobtainhardwareinagreedtimes
• Theservicedeskandasupportgrouptoprovideincidentresolutioninagreedtimes.
See also servicelevelagreement.
operational risk Failuretoachievebusiness/organizationalobjectivesduetohumanerror,systemfailuresandinadequateprocedureandcontrols.
operations Businessasusualinanorganization.
operations bridge AphysicallocationwhereITservicesandITinfrastructurearemonitoredandmanaged.
operations control SeeIToperationscontrol.
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Term Definition
operations management SeeIToperationsmanagement.
opportunity Anuncertaineventthatwouldhaveafavourableimpactonobjectivesorbenefitsifitoccurred.
opportunity cost Acostthatisusedindecidingbetweeninvestmentchoices.Opportunitycostrepresentstherevenuethatwouldhavebeengeneratedbyusingtheresourcesinadifferentway.Forexample,theopportunitycostofpurchasinganewservermayincludenotcarryingoutaserviceimprovementactivitythatthemoneycouldhavebeenspenton.Opportunitycostanalysisisusedaspartofadecision-makingprocess,butopportunitycostisnottreatedasanactualcostinanyfinancialstatement.
optimism bias DefinedbytheHMTreasuryGreen Book asthedemonstratedsystematictendencyforappraiserstobeover-optimisticaboutkeyprojectparameters,includingcapitalcosts,operatingcosts,worksdurationandbenefitsdelivery.Toaddressthis,adjustmentsshouldbemadetotheestimatesofprogrammeandprojectcosts,benefitsandworksdurationbasedonempiricaldata.StandardadjustmentsareincludedintheHMTreasury’sGreen Book andontheHMTreasury’swebsite.
optimize Review,planandrequestchanges,inordertoobtainthemaximumefficiencyandeffectivenessfromaprocess,configurationitem,applicationetc.
order Therelativelevelofafunctioninahierarchy(higherorlower).
organization Acompany,legalentityorotherinstitution.Thetermissometimesusedtorefertoanyentitythathaspeople,resourcesandbudgets–forexample,aprojectorbusinessunit.
Organization Portfolio Office AtypeofP3Omodelthatisdesignedtocentrallymanagetheinvestmentprocess,strategicalignment,prioritizationandselection,progresstrackingandmonitoring,optimizationandbenefitsachievedbyanorganization’sprojectsandprogrammesonbehalfofitsseniormanagement.
organizational energy Theextenttowhichanorganization(divisionorteam)hasmobilizeditsemotional,cognitiveandbehaviouralpotentialtopursueitsgoals.
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Term Definition
outcome Generic –Theresultofcarryingoutanactivity.
ITIL –Theresultofcarryingoutanactivity,followingaprocess,ordeliveringanITserviceetc.Thetermisusedtorefertointendedresultsaswellastoactualresults.See also objective.
PPM –Theresultofchange,normallyaffectingreal-worldbehaviourorcircumstances.Outcomesaredesiredwhenachangeisconceived.Outcomesareachievedasaresultoftheactivitiesundertakentoeffectthechange;theyarethemanifestationofpartorallofthenewstateconceivedintheblueprint.
output Aspecialistproduct(thetangibleorintangibleartefact)thatisproduced,constructedorcreatedasaresultofaplannedactivityandhandedovertoauser(s).
outsourcing UsinganexternalserviceprovidertomanageITservices.See also servicesourcing.
overhead Seeindirectcost.
P3M3 SeePortfolio,ProgrammeandProjectManagementMaturityModel(P3M3).
P3O sponsor AseniormanagerwithappropriateauthoritywhochampionstheestablishmentandevolvingoperationoftheP3O.Theywillideallybeamemberofthemainboard.See also Portfolio,ProgrammeandProjectOffices(P3O).
P3RM Portfolio,programme,projectandriskmanagement.
pain value analysis Atechniqueusedtohelpidentifythebusinessimpactofoneormoreproblems.Aformulaisusedtocalculatepainvaluebasedonthenumberofusersaffected,thedurationofthedowntime,theimpactoneachuser,andthecosttothebusiness(ifknown).
Pareto principle/rule Generic –TheParetoprinciplesaysthat80%ofthevalueofanyactivityiscreatedwith20%oftheeffort.
ITIL –Atechniqueusedtoprioritizeactivities.TheParetoprinciplesaysthat80%ofthevalueofanyactivityiscreatedwith20%oftheeffort.Paretoanalysisisalsousedinproblemmanagementtoprioritizepossibleproblemcausesforinvestigation.
PPM –Alsoknownasthe‘80/20rule’,whichstatesthat80%ofgainswillcomefrom20%ofstudyactivity.
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Term Definition
partnership Arelationshipbetweentwoorganizationsthatinvolvesworkingcloselytogetherforcommongoalsormutualbenefit.TheITserviceprovidershouldhaveapartnershipwiththebusinessandwiththirdpartieswhoarecriticaltothedeliveryofITservices.See also valuenetwork.
passive monitoring Monitoringofaconfigurationitem,anITserviceoraprocessthatreliesonanalertornotificationtodiscoverthecurrentstatus.See also activemonitoring.
pattern of business activity (PBA) Aworkloadprofileofoneormorebusinessactivities.PatternsofbusinessactivityareusedtohelptheITserviceproviderunderstandandplanfordifferentlevelsofbusinessactivity.See also userprofile.
peer review Specificreviewofaprojectoranyofitsproductswherepersonnelfromwithintheorganizationand/orfromotherorganizationscarryoutanindependentassessmentoftheproject.Peerreviewscanbedoneatanypointwithinaprojectbutareoftenusedatstage-endpoints.
percentage utilization Theamountoftimethatacomponentisbusyoveragivenperiodoftime.Forexample,ifaCPUisbusyfor1,800secondsinaone-hourperiod,itsutilizationis50%.
performance Ameasureofwhatisachievedordeliveredbyasystem,person,team,processorITservice.
performance management Activitiestoensurethatsomethingachievesitsexpectedoutcomesinanefficientandconsistentmanner.
performance targets Aplan’sgoalsfortime,cost,quality,scope,benefitsandrisk.
PESTLE Acronymfor‘political,economic,social,technological,legalandenvironmental’.Atechniqueusedgenerallyinorganizationalchangemanagementtoundertakeanenvironmentalscanatastrategiclevel.
pet project Aprojectthatischampionedbyanexecutiveinanorganizationthatmaybealignedtoanindividualgoalorgoalsforaspecificpartofthebusiness,butnotnecessarilyalignedtothestrategicimperativesoftheorganizationasawhole.
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Term Definition
pilot AlimiteddeploymentofanITservice,areleaseoraprocesstotheliveenvironment.Apilotisusedtoreduceriskandtogainuserfeedbackandacceptance.See also changeevaluation;test.
plan Generic –Adetailedproposal.
ITIL –Adetailedproposalthatdescribestheactivitiesandresourcesneededtoachieveanobjective–forexample,aplantoimplementanewITserviceorprocess.ISO/IEC20000requiresaplanforthemanagementofeachITservicemanagementprocess.
PPM –Adetailedproposalfordoingorachievingsomethingwhichspecifiesthewhat,when,howandbywhom.InPRINCE2thereareonlythefollowingtypesofplan:projectplan,stageplan,teamplan,exceptionplanandbenefitsreviewplan.
Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Afour-stagecycleforprocessmanagement,attributedtoEdwardDeming.Plan-Do-Check-ActisalsocalledtheDemingCycle.Plan–designorreviseprocessesthatsupporttheITservices;Do–implementtheplanandmanagetheprocesses;Check–measuretheprocessesandITservices,comparewithobjectivesandproducereports;Act–planandimplementchangestoimprovetheprocesses.
planned closure ThePRINCE2activitytocloseaproject.
planned downtime AgreedtimewhenanITservicewillnotbeavailable.Planneddowntimeisoftenusedformaintenance,upgradesandtesting.See also changewindow;downtime.
planning Anactivityresponsibleforcreatingoneormoreplans–forexample,capacityplanning.
planning horizon Theperiodoftimeforwhichitispossibletoplanaccurately.
plastic project Aprojectinwhichdependencieshavebeenminimized(oftenbycreatingasharedplatform)sothatdecisionscanbetakenatthelastresponsiblemoment.Oftenusedunderfast-changingconditions,orwheretheproblemand/orsolutionspacesaresubjecttoahighdegreeofuncertainty.
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Term Definition
policy Generic –Astatementofprincipleandintent.
ITIL –Formallydocumentedmanagementexpectationsandintentions.Policiesareusedtodirectdecisions,andtoensureconsistentandappropriatedevelopmentandimplementationofprocesses,standards,roles,activities,ITinfrastructureetc.
PPM –Acourseofaction(orprinciple)adoptedbyanorganization.Abusinessstatementofintent,settingthetoneforanorganization’sculture.
portable facility Aprefabricatedbuilding,oralargevehicle,providedbyathirdpartyandmovedtoasitewhenneededaccordingtoanITservicecontinuityplan.See also fixedfacility;recoveryoption.
portfolio Thetotalityofanorganization’sinvestment(orsegmentthereof)inthechangesrequiredtoachieveitsstrategicobjectives.
portfolio dashboard Atechniquetorepresentdecisionsupportinformationatanamalgamatedlevelusingtabularandgraphicalrepresentationsuchasgraphsandtrafficlights.
portfolio definition cycle Oneofthetwocontinuouscycleswithintheportfoliomanagementmodelcontainingportfoliomanagementpracticesrelatedtodefiningaportfolio,i.e.understand,categorize,prioritize,balanceandplan.
portfolio delivery cycle Oneofthetwocontinuouscycleswithintheportfoliomanagementmodelcontainingportfoliomanagementpracticesrelatedtodeliveringaportfolio,i.e.managementcontrol,benefitsmanagement,financialmanagement,riskmanagement,organizationalgovernance,stakeholderengagement,andresourcemanagement.
portfolio delivery plan Acollectionoftacticalinformationregardingtheplanneddeliveryoftheportfoliobasedontheoverarchingportfoliostrategy.Theportfoliodeliveryplanusuallyfocusesontheforthcomingyearindetailintermsofschedule,resourceplans,costs,risksandbenefitstoberealized.
portfolio management Portfoliomanagementisacoordinatedcollectionofstrategicprocessesanddecisionsthattogetherenablethemosteffectivebalanceoforganizationalchangeandbusinessasusual.
portfolio management framework
Thecentralrepositorycontainingadescriptionoftheagreedportfoliomanagementpracticesadoptedbytheorganizationanditsgovernancearrangements.
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Term Definition
portfolio management model Alogicaldiagramdescribingtherelationshipbetweentheportfoliomanagementprinciples,cyclesandpractices.
portfolio office Anofficewhichisestablishedcentrallytomanagetheinvestmentprocess,strategicalignment,prioritizationandselection,progresstrackingandmonitoring,optimizationandbenefitsachievedbyanorganization’sprojectsandprogrammesonbehalfofitsseniormanagement.
portfolio principles Theportfoliomanagementprinciplesrepresentthefoundationsuponwhicheffectiveportfoliomanagementisbuilt–byprovidingtheorganizationalcultureandenvironmentinwhichtheportfoliodefinitionanddeliverypracticescanoperateeffectively.Theyare:seniormanagementcommitment;alignmentwithorganizationalstrategy;alignmentwiththeorganizationalgovernanceframework;aportfoliooffice;andanenergizedchangeculture.Thesearegenericprinciples–thewayinwhichtheyareappliedshouldbetailoredtosuittheorganizationalcircumstancessolongastheunderlyingrationaleismaintained.
Portfolio, Programme and Project Management (PPM)
Acollectivetermusedforaseriesofguidesaimedatimprovingtheperformanceofthoseinvolvedinportfolio,programmeandprojectmanagement.PPMistheacceptedtermintheindustryandcoversportfolioaswellasprogrammeandprojectmanagement.
Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Maturity Model (P3M3®)
Aframeworkwithwhichorganizationscanassesstheircurrentperformanceandputinplaceimprovementplans.
Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices (P3O®)
Thedecision-enablingandsupportbusinessmodelforallbusinesschangewithinanorganization.Thiswillincludesingleormultiplephysicalorvirtualstructures,i.e.offices(permanentand/ortemporary),providingamixofcentralandlocalizedfunctionsandservices,andintegrationwithgovernancearrangementsandthewiderbusinesssuchasothercorporatesupportfunctions.
portfolio strategy Acollectionoftop-levelstrategicinformationthatprovidestotalclaritytoallstakeholdersregardingthecontentandlong-termobjectivesoftheportfolio.Theportfoliostrategyisanimportantcommunicationtoolandassuchshouldbemotivationaltothereader.
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Term Definition
post-implementation review (PIR) Generic –Aformalreviewofaprogrammeorproject.Itisusedtoanswerthequestion‘Didweachievewhatwesetouttodo,inbusinessterms,andifnot,whatshouldbedone?’
ITIL –Areviewthattakesplaceafterachangeoraprojecthasbeenimplemented.Itdetermineswhetherthechangeorprojectwassuccessful,andidentifiesopportunitiesforimprovement.
PPM –Theprocessofdeterminingthenatureandvalueofbenefitsachievedandlessonslearnedfromtheproject.Thiswouldneedtoberepeatedatintervalstocollatefullresults.
PPM SeePortfolio,ProgrammeandProjectManagement(PPM).
practice Awayofworking,orawayinwhichworkmustbedone.Practicescanincludeactivities,processes,functions,standardsandguidelines.See also bestpractice.
practitioner SomeonewhoiscompetentinandregularlyleadsMoVactivities.
premature closure ThePRINCE2activitytocloseaprojectbeforeitsplannedclosure.Theprojectmanagermustensurethatworkinprogressisnotsimplyabandoned,butthattheprojectsalvagesanyvaluecreatedtodate,andchecksthatanygapsleftbythecancellationoftheprojectareraisedtocorporateorprogrammemanagement.
prerequisite for success (PFS) Anactivitythatneedstobecompleted,oraconditionthatneedstobemet,toenablesuccessfulimplementationofaplanorprocess.Itisoftenanoutputfromoneprocessthatisarequiredinputtoanotherprocess.
prerequisites (plan) Anyfundamentalaspectsthatmustbeinplace,andremaininplace,foraplantosucceed.
pricing Pricingistheactivityforestablishinghowmuchcustomerswillbecharged.
primary function Afunctionwithacloseanddirectlinktothestudyobjectives.See also valuedriver.
PRINCE2 SeePRojectsINControlledEnvironments(PRINCE2).
PRINCE2 principles TheguidingobligationsforgoodprojectmanagementpracticethatformthebasisofaprojectbeingmanagedusingPRINCE2.
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Term Definition
PRINCE2 project AprojectthatappliesthePRINCE2principles.
priority Acategoryusedtoidentifytherelativeimportanceofanincident,problemorchange.Priorityisbasedonimpactandurgency,andisusedtoidentifyrequiredtimesforactionstobetaken.Forexample,theservicelevelagreementmaystatethatPriority2incidentsmustberesolvedwithin12hours.
proactive monitoring Monitoringthatlooksforpatternsofeventstopredictpossiblefuturefailures.See also reactivemonitoring.
proactive problem management Partoftheproblemmanagementprocess.Theobjectiveofproactiveproblemmanagementistoidentifyproblemsthatmightotherwisebemissed.Proactiveproblemmanagementanalysesincidentrecords,andusesdatacollectedbyotherITservicemanagementprocessestoidentifytrendsorsignificantproblems.
probability Thisistheevaluatedlikelihoodofaparticularthreatoropportunityactuallyhappening,includingaconsiderationofthefrequencywithwhichthismayarise.
problem Acauseofoneormoreincidents.Thecauseisnotusuallyknownatthetimeaproblemrecordiscreated,andtheproblemmanagementprocessisresponsibleforfurtherinvestigation.
problem management Theprocessresponsibleformanagingthelifecycleofallproblems.Problemmanagementproactivelypreventsincidentsfromhappeningandminimizestheimpactofincidentsthatcannotbeprevented.
problem record Arecordcontainingthedetailsofaproblem.Eachproblemrecorddocumentsthelifecycleofasingleproblem.
problem/concern Atypeofissue(otherthanarequestforchangeoroff-specification)thattheprojectmanagerneedstoresolveorescalate.
procedure Generic –Aseriesofstepstakentoachievesomething.
ITIL –Adocumentcontainingstepsthatspecifyhowtoachieveanactivity.Proceduresaredefinedaspartofprocesses.See also workinstruction.
PPM –Aseriesofactionsforaparticularaspectofprojectmanagementestablishedspecificallyfortheproject–forexample,ariskmanagementprocedure.
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Term Definition
process Generic –Astructuredsetofactivitiesdesignedtoaccomplishaspecificobjective.
ITIL –Astructuredsetofactivitiesdesignedtoaccomplishaspecificobjective.Aprocesstakesoneormoredefinedinputsandturnsthemintodefinedoutputs.Itmayincludeanyoftheroles,responsibilities,toolsandmanagementcontrolsrequiredtoreliablydelivertheoutputs.Aprocessmaydefinepolicies,standards,guidelines,activitiesandworkinstructionsiftheyareneeded.
PPM –Astructuredsetofactivitiesdesignedtoaccomplishaspecificobjective.Aprocesstakesoneormoredefinedinputsandturnsthemintodefinedoutputs.
process control Theactivityofplanningandregulatingaprocess,withtheobjectiveofperformingtheprocessinaneffective,efficientandconsistentmanner.
process manager Aroleresponsiblefortheoperationalmanagementofaprocess.Theprocessmanager’sresponsibilitiesincludeplanningandcoordinationofallactivitiesrequiredtocarryout,monitorandreportontheprocess.Theremaybeseveralprocessmanagersforoneprocess–forexample,regionalchangemanagersorITservicecontinuitymanagersforeachdatacentre.Theprocessmanagerroleisoftenassignedtothepersonwhocarriesouttheprocessownerrole,butthetworolesmaybeseparateinlargerorganizations.
process owner Thepersonwhoisheldaccountableforensuringthataprocessisfitforpurpose.Theprocessowner’sresponsibilitiesincludesponsorship,design,changemanagementandcontinualimprovementoftheprocessanditsmetrics.Thisrolecanbeassignedtothesamepersonwhocarriesouttheprocessmanagerrole,butthetworolesmaybeseparateinlargerorganizations.
producer Thepersonorgroupresponsiblefordevelopingaproduct.
product Aninputoroutput,whethertangibleorintangible,thatcanbedescribedinadvance,createdandtested.Alsoknownasanoutputordeliverable.
product breakdown structure Ahierarchyofalltheproductstobeproducedduringaplan.
product checklist Alistofthemajorproductsofaplan,pluskeydatesintheirdelivery.
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Term Definition
product description Adescriptionofaproduct’spurpose,composition,derivationandqualitycriteria.Itisproducedatplanningtime,assoonaspossibleaftertheneedfortheproductisidentified.
product flow diagram Adiagramshowingthesequenceofproductionandinterdependenciesoftheproductslistedinaproductbreakdownstructure.
product status account Areportonthestatusofproducts.Therequiredproductscanbespecifiedbyidentifierorthepartoftheprojectinwhichtheyweredeveloped.
product-based planning Atechniqueleadingtoacomprehensiveplanbasedonthecreationanddeliveryofrequiredoutputs.Thetechniqueconsidersprerequisiteproducts,qualityrequirementsandthedependenciesbetweenproducts.
production environment Seeliveenvironment.
profit centre Abusinessunitthatchargesforservicesprovided.Aprofitcentrecanbecreatedwiththeobjectiveofmakingaprofit,recoveringcosts,orrunningataloss.AnITserviceprovidercanberunasacostcentreoraprofitcentre.
pro-forma Atemplateorexampledocumentcontainingsampledatathatwillbereplacedwithrealvalueswhentheseareavailable.
programme Generic –Anumberofactivitiesorprojectsthatareplannedandmanagedtogether.
ITIL –Anumberofprojectsandactivitiesthatareplannedandmanagedtogethertoachieveanoverallsetofrelatedobjectivesandotheroutcomes.
PPM –Atemporaryflexibleorganizationstructurecreatedtocoordinate,directandoverseetheimplementationofasetofrelatedprojectsandactivitiesinordertodeliveroutcomesandbenefitsrelatedtotheorganization’sstrategicobjectives.Aprogrammeislikelytohavealifethatspansseveralyears.
programme assurance Independentassessmentandconfirmationthattheprogrammeasawholeoranyoneofitsaspectsisontrack,thatitisapplyingrelevantpracticesandprocedures,andthattheprojects,activitiesandbusinessrationaleremainalignedtotheprogramme’sobjectives.See also gatedreview.
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Term Definition
programme board Agroupthatisestablishedtosupportaseniorresponsibleowner(SRO)indeliveringaprogramme.
programme brief Astatementthatdescribesthespecificobjectives,requiredbenefits,potentialrisks,outlinecosts,timescalesandpotentiallyoptionsfordeliveryforaprogramme.
programme management Thecoordinatedorganization,directionandimplementationofadossierofprojectsandtransformationactivities(i.e.theprogramme)toachieveoutcomesandrealizebenefitsofstrategicimportance.
programme manager Theroleresponsiblefortheset-up,managementanddeliveryoftheprogramme,typicallyallocatedtoasingleindividual.
programme office Thefunctionprovidingtheinformationhubfortheprogrammeanditsdeliveryobjectives;couldprovidesupportformorethanoneprogramme.
programme organization Howaprogrammewillbemanagedthroughoutitslifecycle,therolesandresponsibilitiesofindividualsinvolvedintheprogramme,andpersonnelmanagementorhuman-resourcesarrangements.Alsoknownasprogrammeorganizationstructure.
programme risk Riskconcernedwithtransforminghigh-levelstrategyintonewwaysofworkingtodeliverbenefitstotheorganization.
project Generic –Anundertakingrequiringconcertedeffort.
ITIL –Atemporaryorganization,withpeopleandotherassets,thatisrequiredtoachieveanobjectiveorotheroutcome.Eachprojecthasalifecyclethattypicallyincludesinitiation,planning,executionandclosure.ProjectsareusuallymanagedusingaformalmethodologysuchasProjectsINControlledEnvironments(PRINCE2)ortheProjectManagementBodyofKnowledge(PMBOK).See also charter;projectmanagementoffice;projectportfolio.
PPM –Atemporaryorganizationthatiscreatedforthepurposeofdeliveringoneormorebusinessproductsaccordingtoanagreedbusinesscase.
project approach Adescriptionofthewayinwhichtheworkoftheprojectistobeapproached.Forexample,arewebuildingaproductfromscratchorbuyinginaproductthatalreadyexists?
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Term Definition
project assurance Theprojectboard’sresponsibilitiestoassureitselfthattheprojectisbeingconductedcorrectly.Theprojectboardmemberseachhaveaspecificareaoffocusforprojectassurance,namelybusinessassurancefortheexecutive,userassuranceforthesenioruser(s),andsupplierassurancefortheseniorsupplier(s).
project authorization notification Advicefromtheprojectboardtoinformallstakeholdersandthehostsitesthattheprojecthasbeenauthorizedandtorequestanynecessarylogisticalsupport(e.g.communicationfacilities,equipmentandanyprojectsupport)sufficientforthedurationoftheproject.
project brief Statementthatdescribesthepurpose,cost,timeandperformancerequirements,andconstraintsforaproject.Itiscreatedpre-projectduringtheStartingupaProjectprocessandisusedduringtheInitiatingaProjectprocesstocreatetheprojectinitiationdocumentationanditscomponents.Itissupersededbytheprojectinitiationdocumentationandnotmaintained.
project charter Seecharter.
project control tool Aprocessortechniqueforinformingmanagementtoenablethemtomaintaincontrolovertheprogressofaproject.
project executive Theindividualwhoisultimatelyresponsibleforaproject.Theirroleistoensurethattheprojectisfocusedthroughoutitslifecycleonachievingitsobjectivesanddeliveringaproductthatwillachievetheforecastbenefits.
project initiation documentation (PID)
Alogicalsetofdocumentsthatbringstogetherthekeyinformationneededtostarttheprojectonasoundbasisandthatconveystheinformationtoallconcernedwiththeproject.
project initiation notification Advicefromtheprojectboardtoinformallstakeholdersandthehostsitesthattheprojectisbeinginitiatedandtorequestanynecessarylogisticalsupport(e.g.communicationfacilities,equipmentandanyprojectsupport)sufficientfortheinitiationstage.
project lifecycle Theperiodfromthestart-upofaprojecttotheacceptanceoftheprojectproduct.
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Term Definition
project management Theplanning,delegating,monitoringandcontrolofallaspectsoftheproject,andthemotivationofthoseinvolved,toachievetheprojectobjectiveswithintheexpectedperformancetargetsfortime,cost,quality,scope,benefitsandrisks.
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®)
AprojectmanagementstandardmaintainedandpublishedbytheProjectManagementInstitute.Seewww.pmi.orgformoreinformation.See also PRojectsINControlledEnvironments(PRINCE2).
Project Management Institute (PMI)
Amembershipassociationthatadvancestheprojectmanagementprofessionthroughgloballyrecognizedstandardsandcertifications,collaborativecommunities,anextensiveresearchprogramme,andprofessionaldevelopmentopportunities.PMIisanot-for-profitmembershiporganizationwithrepresentationinmanycountriesaroundtheworld.PMImaintainsandpublishestheProjectManagementBodyofKnowledge(PMBOK).Seewww.pmi.orgformoreinformation.See also PRojectsINControlledEnvironments(PRINCE2).
project management office (PMO)
Afunctionorgroupresponsibleformanagingthelifecycleofprojects.See also charter;projectportfolio.
project management team Theentiremanagementstructureoftheprojectboard,andprojectmanager,plusanyteammanager,projectassuranceandprojectsupportroles.
project management team structure
Anorganizationchartshowingthepeopleassignedtotheprojectmanagementteamrolestobeused,andtheirdelegationandreportingrelationships.
project manager Thepersonwithauthorityandresponsibilitytomanageaprojectonaday-to-daybasistodelivertherequiredproductswithintheconstraintsagreedbytheprojectboard.
project mandate AnexternalproductgeneratedbytheauthoritycommissioningtheprojectthatformsthetriggerforStartingupaProject.
project office Atemporaryofficesetuptosupportthedeliveryofaspecificchangeinitiativebeingdeliveredasaproject.Ifused,theprojectofficeundertakestheresponsibilityoftheprojectsupportrole.
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Term Definition
project plan Ahigh-levelplanshowingthemajorproductsoftheproject,whentheywillbedeliveredandatwhatcost.Aninitialprojectplanispresentedaspartoftheprojectinitiationdocumentation.Thisisrevisedasinformationonactualprogressappears.Itisamajorcontroldocumentfortheprojectboardtomeasureactualprogressagainstexpectations.
project portfolio Adatabaseorstructureddocumentusedtomanageprojectsthroughouttheirlifecycle.Theprojectportfolioisusedtocoordinateprojectsandensurethattheymeettheirobjectivesinacost-effectiveandtimelymanner.Inlargerorganizations,theprojectportfolioistypicallydefinedandmaintainedbyaprojectmanagementoffice.Theprojectportfolioisimportanttoserviceportfoliomanagementasnewservicesandsignificantchangesarenormallymanagedasprojects.See also charter.
project product Whattheprojectmustdeliverinordertogainacceptance.
project product description Aspecialtypeofproductdescriptionusedtogainagreementfromtheuserontheproject’sscopeandrequirements,todefinethecustomer’squalityexpectations,andtodefinetheacceptancecriteriafortheproject.
project register Analternativetermfor‘projectsdossier’–thedocumentthatrecordsthelistofprojects.
project risk Projectrisksarethoseconcernedwiththesuccessfulcompletionoftheproject.Typicallytheserisksincludepersonal,technical,cost,schedule,resource,operationalsupport,qualityandsupplierissues.
project sponsor Themaindrivingforcebehindaproject.
project start-up notification Advicetothehostlocationthattheprojectisabouttostartandrequestinganyrequiredprojectsupportservices.
project support Anadministrativeroleintheprojectmanagementteam.Projectsupportcanbeintheformofadviceandhelpwithprojectmanagementtools,guidance,administrativeservicessuchasfiling,andthecollectionofactualdata.
project support office Agroupsetuptoprovidecertainadministrativeservicestotheprojectmanager.Oftenthegroupprovidesitsservicestomanyprojectsinparallel.
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Term Definition
projected service outage (PSO) Adocumentthatidentifiestheeffectofplannedchanges,maintenanceactivitiesandtestplansonagreedservicelevels.
PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2)
ThestandardUKgovernmentmethodologyforprojectmanagement.Seewww.prince-officialsite.comformoreinformation.See also ProjectManagementBodyofKnowledge(PMBOK).
proposal implementation plan Aplanforimplementingvalue-improvingproposalstorealizetheirexpectedbenefits.
proposal owner Theindividualresponsiblefordevelopingvalue-improvingproposals.
proximity (of risk) Thetimefactorandhowcloseaneventis:riskswilloccuratparticulartimes,andtheseverityoftheirimpactwillvarydependingonwhentheyoccur.
public sector Activitiesundertakenwithoutaprofitmotiveforthegreatergoodand/orforwhichspecificusagecannotbemonitored(e.g.streetlighting),paidforbythepublicatlargeviataxation.
qualification AnactivitythatensuresthattheITinfrastructureisappropriateandcorrectlyconfiguredtosupportanapplicationorITservice.See also validation.
quality Generic –Thedegreetowhichasetofdefinedcharacteristicsfulfiltherequirement.
ITIL –Theabilityofaproduct,serviceorprocesstoprovidetheintendedvalue.Forexample,ahardwarecomponentcanbeconsideredtobeofhighqualityifitperformsasexpectedanddeliverstherequiredreliability.Processqualityalsorequiresanabilitytomonitoreffectivenessandefficiency,andtoimprovethemifnecessary.See also qualitymanagementsystem.
PPM –Thedegreetowhichthefeaturesandinherentorassignedcharacteristicsofaproduct,person,process,serviceand/orsystembearonitsabilitytoshowthatitmeetsexpectationsorstatedneeds,requirementsorspecification.
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Term Definition
quality assurance (QA) Generic –Theplannedsystematicprocessthatwillbeusedtoprovideconfidencethatoutputswillmatchtheirdefinedqualitycriteria.
ITIL –Theprocessresponsibleforensuringthatthequalityofaservice,processorotherserviceassetwillprovideitsintendedvalue.Qualityassuranceisalsousedtorefertoafunctionorteamthatperformsqualityassurance.ThisprocessisnotdescribedindetailwithinthecoreITILpublications.See also servicevalidationandtesting.
quality control Theprocessofmonitoringspecificprojectresultstodeterminewhethertheycomplywithrelevantstandardsandofidentifyingwaystoeliminatecausesofunsatisfactoryperformance.
quality criteria Adescriptionofthequalityspecificationthattheproductmustmeet,andthequalitymeasurementsthatwillbeappliedbythoseinspectingthefinishedproduct.
quality inspection Asystematic,structuredassessmentofaproductcarriedoutbytwoormorecarefullyselectedpeople(thereviewteam)inaplanned,documentedandorganizedfashion.
quality management Thecoordinatedactivitiestodirectandcontrolanorganizationwithregardtoquality.
quality management strategy Astrategydefiningthequalitytechniquesandstandardstobeapplied,andthevariousresponsibilitiesforachievingtherequiredqualitylevels,duringaproject.
quality management system (QMS)
Theframeworkofpolicy,processes,functions,standards,guidelinesandtoolsthatensuresanorganizationisofasuitablequalitytomeetbusinessobjectivesorservicelevelsreliably.See also ISO9000.
quality records Evidencekepttodemonstratethattherequiredqualityassuranceandqualitycontrolactivitieshavebeencarriedout.
quality register Aregistercontainingsummarydetailsofallplannedandcompletedqualityactivities.Thequalityregisterisusedbytheprojectmanagerandprojectassuranceaspartofreviewingprogress.
quality review Seequalityinspection.
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Term Definition
quality review technique Aqualityinspectiontechniquewithdefinedrolesandaspecificstructure.Itisdesignedtoassesswhetheraproductthattakestheformofadocument(orsimilar,e.g.apresentation)iscomplete,adherestostandardsandmeetsthequalitycriteriaagreedforitintherelevantproductdescription.Theparticipantsaredrawnfromthosewiththenecessarycompetencetoevaluateitsfitnessforpurpose.
quality tolerance Thetoleranceidentifiedforaproductforaqualitycriteriondefininganacceptablerangeofvalues.Qualitytoleranceisdocumentedintheprojectproductdescription(fortheproject-levelqualitytolerance)andintheproductdescriptionforeachproducttobedelivered.
quick win Animprovementactivitythatisexpectedtoprovideareturnoninvestmentinashortperiodoftimewithrelativelylittlecostandeffort.See also Paretoprinciple.
RACI Amodelusedtohelpdefinerolesandresponsibilities.RACIstandsforresponsible,accountable,consultedandinformed.
reactive monitoring Monitoringthattakesplaceinresponsetoanevent.Forexample,submittingabatchjobwhenthepreviousjobcompletes,orlogginganincidentwhenanerroroccurs.See also proactivemonitoring.
real charging AchargingpolicywhereactualmoneyistransferredfromthecustomertotheITserviceproviderinpaymentforthedeliveryofITservices.See also notionalcharging.
reciprocal arrangement Arecoveryoption.Anagreementbetweentwoorganizationstoshareresourcesinanemergency–forexample,high-speedprintingfacilitiesorcomputerroomspace.
record Adocumentcontainingtheresultsorotheroutputfromaprocessoractivity.Recordsareevidenceofthefactthatanactivitytookplaceandmaybepaperorelectronic–forexample,anauditreport,anincidentrecordortheminutesofameeting.
records Dynamicmanagementproductsthatmaintaininformationregardingprojectprogress.
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Term Definition
recovery ReturningaconfigurationitemoranITservicetoaworkingstate.RecoveryofanITserviceoftenincludesrecoveringdatatoaknownconsistentstate.Afterrecovery,furtherstepsmaybeneededbeforetheITservicecanbemadeavailabletotheusers(restoration).
recovery option Astrategyforrespondingtoaninterruptiontoservice.Commonlyusedstrategiesaremanualworkaround,reciprocalarrangement,gradualrecovery,intermediaterecovery,fastrecoveryandimmediaterecovery.Recoveryoptionsmaymakeuseofdedicatedfacilitiesorthird-partyfacilitiessharedbymultiplebusinesses.
recovery point objective (RPO) Themaximumamountofdatathatmaybelostwhenserviceisrestoredafteraninterruption.Therecoverypointobjectiveisexpressedasalengthoftimebeforethefailure.Forexample,arecoverypointobjectiveofonedaymaybesupportedbydailybackups,andupto24hoursofdatamaybelost.RecoverypointobjectivesforeachITserviceshouldbenegotiated,agreedanddocumented,andusedasrequirementsforservicedesignandITservicecontinuityplans.
recovery time objective (RTO) ThemaximumtimeallowedfortherecoveryofanITservicefollowinganinterruption.Theserviceleveltobeprovidedmaybelessthannormalserviceleveltargets.RecoverytimeobjectivesforeachITserviceshouldbenegotiated,agreedanddocumented.See also businessimpactanalysis.
reduce (risk response) Aresponsetoariskwhereproactiveactionsaretakentoreducetheprobabilityoftheeventoccurringbyperformingsomeformofcontrol,and/ortoreducetheimpactoftheeventshoulditoccur.
redundancy Useofoneormoreadditionalconfigurationitemstoprovidefaulttolerance.Thetermalsohasagenericmeaningofobsolescence,ornolongerneeded.
reference-class forecasting Atechniquewhereforecastsofaninitiative’sduration,costsandbenefitsarederivedfromwhatactuallyoccurredinareferenceclassofsimilarprojects.Alternatively,estimatescanbebuiltupinthetraditionalmannerandthenadjustedbysetpercentagesbasedonpastperformance–thisistheapproachusedintheUKcentralgovernment,whereastandardsetofoptimism-biasadjustmentsareincludedintheHMTreasury’sGreen Book.
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Term Definition
register Aformalrepositorymanagedbytheprojectmanagerthatrequiresagreementbytheprojectboardonitsformat,compositionanduse.PRINCE2hasthreeregisters:issueregister,riskregisterandqualityregister.
reject (risk response) Aresponsetoarisk(opportunity)whereaconsciousanddeliberatedecisionistakennottoexploitorenhanceanopportunity,havingdiscernedthatitismoreeconomicaltodosothantoattemptariskresponseaction.Theopportunityshouldcontinuetobemonitored.
relationship Aconnectionorinteractionbetweentwopeopleorthings.Inbusinessrelationshipmanagement,itistheinteractionbetweentheITserviceproviderandthebusiness.Inserviceassetandconfigurationmanagement,itisalinkbetweentwoconfigurationitemsthatidentifiesadependencyorconnectionbetweenthem.Forexample,applicationsmaybelinkedtotheserverstheyrunon,andITserviceshavemanylinkstoalltheconfigurationitemsthatcontributetothatITservice.
relationship processes TheISO/IEC20000processgroupthatincludesbusinessrelationshipmanagementandsuppliermanagement.
release Generic –Thecontrolledimplementationofchange.
ITIL –OneormorechangestoanITservicethatarebuilt,testedanddeployedtogether.Asinglereleasemayincludechangestohardware,software,documentation,processesandothercomponents.
PPM –Thesetofproductsinahandover.Thecontentsofareleasearemanaged,testedanddeployedasasingleentity.See also handover.
release and deployment management
Theprocessresponsibleforplanning,schedulingandcontrollingthebuild,testanddeploymentofreleases,andfordeliveringnewfunctionalityrequiredbythebusinesswhileprotectingtheintegrityofexistingservices.
release identification Anamingconventionusedtouniquelyidentifyarelease.Thereleaseidentificationtypicallyincludesareferencetotheconfigurationitemandaversionnumber–forexample,MicrosoftOffice2010SR2.
release management Seereleaseanddeploymentmanagement.
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Term Definition
release package Asetofconfigurationitemsthatwillbebuilt,testedanddeployedtogetherasasinglerelease.Eachreleasepackagewillusuallyincludeoneormorereleaseunits.
release record Arecordthatdefinesthecontentofarelease.Areleaserecordhasrelationshipswithallconfigurationitemsthatareaffectedbytherelease.Releaserecordsmaybeintheconfigurationmanagementsystemorelsewhereintheserviceknowledgemanagementsystem.
release unit ComponentsofanITservicethatarenormallyreleasedtogether.Areleaseunittypicallyincludessufficientcomponentstoperformausefulfunction.Forexample,onereleaseunitcouldbeadesktopPC,includinghardware,software,licences,documentationetc.Adifferentreleaseunitmaybethecompletepayrollapplication,includingIToperationsproceduresandusertraining.
release window Seechangewindow.
reliability AmeasureofhowlonganITserviceorotherconfigurationitemcanperformitsagreedfunctionwithoutinterruption.Usuallymeasuredasmeantimebetweenfailures(MTBF)ormeantimebetweenserviceincidents(MTBSI).Thetermcanalsobeusedtostatehowlikelyitisthataprocess,functionetc.willdeliveritsrequiredoutputs.See also availability.
remediation Actionstakentorecoverafterafailedchangeorrelease.Remediationmayincludeback-out,invocationofservicecontinuityplans,orotheractionsdesignedtoenablethebusinessprocesstocontinue.
repair Thereplacementorcorrectionofafailedconfigurationitem.
reports Managementproductsprovidingasnapshotofthestatusofcertainaspectsoftheproject.
request for change (RFC) Aformalproposalforachangetobemade.Itincludesdetailsoftheproposedchange,andmayberecordedonpaperorelectronically.Thetermisoftenmisusedtomeanachangerecord,orthechangeitself.
request fulfilment Theprocessresponsibleformanagingthelifecycleofallservicerequests.
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Term Definition
request model Arepeatablewayofdealingwithaparticularcategoryofservicerequest.Arequestmodeldefinesspecificagreedstepsthatwillbefollowedforaservicerequestofthiscategory.Requestmodelsmaybeverysimple,withnorequirementforauthorization(e.g.passwordreset),ormaybemorecomplexwithmanystepsthatrequireauthorization(e.g.provisionofanexistingITservice).See also requestfulfilment.
requirement(s) Generic –Aformalstatementofwhatisneeded.
ITIL –Aformalstatementofwhatisneeded–forexample,aservicelevelrequirement,aprojectrequirementortherequireddeliverablesforaprocess.See also statementofrequirements.
PPM –Adescriptionoftheuser’sneeds.
residual risk Theriskremainingaftertheriskresponsehasbeensuccessfullyapplied.
resilience TheabilityofanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemtoresistfailureortorecoverinatimelymannerfollowingafailure.Forexample,anarmouredcablewillresistfailurewhenputunderstress.See also faulttolerance.
resolution Actiontakentorepairtherootcauseofanincidentorproblem,ortoimplementaworkaround.InISO/IEC20000,resolutionprocessesistheprocessgroupthatincludesincidentandproblemmanagement.
resolution processes TheISO/IEC20000processgroupthatincludesincidentandproblemmanagement.
resource Generic –Anorganization’sphysicalorvirtualentities,humanorotherwise.
ITIL –AgenerictermthatincludesITinfrastructure,people,moneyoranythingelsethatmighthelptodeliveranITservice.Resourcesareconsideredtobeassetsofanorganization.See also capability;serviceasset.
PPM –Anorganization’sphysicalorvirtualentities(humanorotherwise)thatareoflimitedavailabilityandcanbeusedtoundertakeoperationsorbusinesschange.
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Term Definition
response time Ameasureofthetimetakentocompleteanoperationortransaction.UsedincapacitymanagementasameasureofITinfrastructureperformance,andinincidentmanagementasameasureofthetimetakentoanswerthephoneortostartdiagnosis.
responsible Usedtodescribetheindividualwhohastheauthorityandisexpectedtodeliverataskoractivity;responsibilitycanbedelegated.
responsible authority Thepersonorgroupcommissioningtheproject(typicallycorporateorprogrammemanagement)whohastheauthoritytocommitresourcesandfundsonbehalfofthecommissioningorganization.
responsiveness Ameasurementofthetimetakentorespondtosomething.Thiscouldbetheresponsetimeofatransaction,orthespeedwithwhichanITserviceproviderrespondstoanincidentorrequestforchangeetc.
restoration of service Seerestore.
restore TakingactiontoreturnanITservicetotheusersafterrepairandrecoveryfromanincident.Thisistheprimaryobjectiveofincidentmanagement.
retire PermanentremovalofanITservice,orotherconfigurationitem,fromtheliveenvironment.Beingretiredisastageinthelifecycleofmanyconfigurationitems.
return on assets (ROA) Ameasurementoftheprofitabilityofabusinessunitororganization.Returnonassetsiscalculatedbydividingtheannualnetincomebythetotalvalueofassets.See also returnoninvestment.
return on investment (ROI) Ameasurementoftheexpectedbenefitofaninvestment.Inthesimplestsense,itisthenetprofitofaninvestmentdividedbythenetworthoftheassetsinvested.See also netpresentvalue;valueoninvestment.
return to normal ThephaseofanITservicecontinuityplanduringwhichfullnormaloperationsareresumed.Forexample,ifanalternativedatacentrehasbeeninuse,thenthisphasewillbringtheprimarydatacentrebackintooperation,andrestoretheabilitytoinvokeITservicecontinuityplansagain.
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Term Definition
review Anevaluationofachange,problem,process,projectetc.Reviewsaretypicallycarriedoutatpredefinedpointsinthelifecycle,andespeciallyafterclosure.Thepurposeofareviewistoensurethatalldeliverableshavebeenprovided,andtoidentifyopportunitiesforimprovement.See also changeevaluation;post-implementationreview.
reviewer Apersonorgroupindependentoftheproducerwhoassesseswhetheraproductmeetsitsrequirementsasdefinedinitsproductdescription.
rights Entitlements,orpermissions,grantedtoauserorrole–forexample,therighttomodifyparticulardata,ortoauthorizeachange.
risk Generic –Anuncertaineventorsetofevents.
ITIL –Apossibleeventthatcouldcauseharmorloss,oraffecttheabilitytoachieveobjectives.Ariskismeasuredbytheprobabilityofathreat,thevulnerabilityoftheassettothatthreat,andtheimpactitwouldhaveifitoccurred.Riskcanalsobedefinedasuncertaintyofoutcome,andcanbeusedinthecontextofmeasuringtheprobabilityofpositiveoutcomesaswellasnegativeoutcomes.
PPM –Anuncertaineventorsetofeventsthat,shoulditoccur,willhaveaneffectontheachievementofobjectives.Ariskismeasuredbyacombinationoftheprobabilityofaperceivedthreatoropportunityoccurring,andthemagnitudeofitsimpactonobjectives.
risk actionee Someactionsmaynotbewithintheremitoftheriskownertocontrolexplicitly;inthatsituationthereshouldbeanominatedowneroftheactiontoaddresstherisk.Heorshewillneedtokeeptheriskownerapprisedofthesituation.
risk appetite Theamountofrisktheorganization,orsubsetofit,iswillingtoaccept.
risk assessment Generic –Theidentificationandevaluationofrisks.
ITIL –Theinitialstepsofriskmanagement:analysingthevalueofassetstothebusiness,identifyingthreatstothoseassets,andevaluatinghowvulnerableeachassetistothosethreats.Riskassessmentcanbequantitative(basedonnumericaldata)orqualitative.
PPM –Theidentificationandevaluationofrisks.
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Term Definition
risk capacity Themaximumamountofriskthatanorganization,orsubsetofit,canbear,linkedtofactorssuchasitsreputation,capital,assetsandabilitytoraiseadditionalfunds.
risk cause Adescriptionofthesourceoftherisk,i.e.theeventorsituationthatgivesrisetotherisk.
risk committee Abodyofindependentdirectorswhoareresponsibleforreviewingthecompany’sinternalcontrolandriskmanagementsystems.
risk effect Adescriptionoftheimpactthattheriskwouldhaveontheorganizationalactivityshouldtheriskmaterialize.
risk estimation Theestimationofprobabilityandimpactofanindividualrisk,takingintoaccountpredeterminedstandards,targetrisklevels,interdependenciesandotherrelevantfactors.
risk evaluation Theprocessofunderstandingtheneteffectoftheidentifiedthreatsandopportunitiesonanactivitywhenaggregatedtogether.
risk event Adescriptionoftheareaofuncertaintyintermsofthethreatortheopportunity.
risk exposure Theextentofriskbornebytheorganizationatthattime.
risk identification Thedeterminationofwhatcouldposearisk;aprocesstodescribeandlistsourcesofrisk(threatsandopportunities).
risk log Seeriskregister.
risk management Generic –Theprocessresponsibleforidentifying,assessingandcontrollingrisks.
ITIL –Theprocessresponsibleforidentifying,assessingandcontrollingrisks.Riskmanagementisalsosometimesusedtorefertothesecondpartoftheoverallprocessafterriskshavebeenidentifiedandassessed,asin‘riskassessmentandmanagement’.ThisprocessisnotdescribedindetailwithinthecoreITILpublications.See also riskassessment.
PPM –Thesystematicapplicationofprinciples,approachandprocessestothetasksofidentifyingandassessingrisks,andthenplanningandimplementingriskresponses.
See alsoManagementofRisk(M_o_R).
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Term Definition
risk management policy Ahigh-levelstatementshowinghowriskmanagementwillbehandledthroughouttheorganization.
risk management process guide Describestheseriesofsteps(fromidentifythroughtoimplement)andtheirrespectiveassociatedactivities,necessarytoimplementriskmanagement.
risk management strategy Describesthegoalsofapplyingriskmanagementtotheactivity,theprocessthatwillbeadopted,therolesandresponsibilities,riskthresholds,thetimingofriskmanagementinterventions,thedeliverables,thetoolsandtechniquesthatwillbeused,andthereportingrequirements.Itmayalsodescribehowtheprocesswillbecoordinatedwithothermanagementactivities.
risk manager Aroleorindividualresponsiblefortheimplementationofriskmanagementforeachactivityateachoftheorganizationallevels.
risk owner Aroleorindividualresponsibleforthemanagementandcontrolofallaspectsofindividualrisks,includingtheimplementationofthemeasurestakeninrespectofeachrisk.
risk perception Thewayinwhichastakeholderviewsarisk,basedonasetofvaluesorconcerns.
risk potential assessment (RPA) Astandardsetofhigh-levelcriteriaagainstwhichtheintrinsiccharacteristicsanddegreeofdifficultyofaproposedprojectareassessed.UsedintheUKpublicsectortoassessthecriticalityofprojectsandsodeterminethelevelofOGCGatewayreviewrequired.
risk profile Describesthetypesofriskthatarefacedbyanorganizationanditsexposuretothoserisks.
risk register Arecordofallidentifiedrisksrelatingtoaninitiative,includingtheirstatusandhistory.Alsocalledarisklog.
risk response Actionsthatmaybetakentobringthesituationtoalevelwheretheexposuretoriskisacceptabletotheorganization.Theseresponsesfallintooneofanumberofriskresponseoptions.
risk response category Acategoryofriskresponse.Forthreats,theindividualriskresponsecategorycanbeavoid,reduce,transfer,acceptorshare.Foropportunities,theindividualriskresponsecategorycanbeexploit,enhance,rejectorshare.
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Term Definition
risk tolerance Thethresholdlevelsofriskexposurethat,withappropriateapprovals,canbeexceeded,butwhichwhenexceededwilltriggersomeformofresponse(e.g.reportingthesituationtoseniormanagementforaction).
risk tolerance line Alinedrawnonthesummaryriskprofile.Risksthatappearabovethislinecannotbeaccepted(livedwith)withoutreferringthemtoahigherauthority.Foraproject,theprojectmanagerwouldrefertheseriskstotheprojectboard.
role Asetofresponsibilities,activitiesandauthoritiesassignedtoapersonorteam.Aroleisdefinedinaprocessorfunction.Onepersonorteammayhavemultipleroles–forexample,therolesofconfigurationmanagerandchangemanagermaybecarriedoutbyasingleperson.Roleisalsousedtodescribethepurposeofsomethingorwhatitisusedfor.
role description Adescriptionofthesetofresponsibilitiesspecifictoarole.
root cause Theunderlyingororiginalcauseofanincidentorproblem.
root cause analysis (RCA) Anactivitythatidentifiestherootcauseofanincidentorproblem.RootcauseanalysistypicallyconcentratesonITinfrastructurefailures.See also servicefailureanalysis.
running cost Seeoperationalcost.
Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) USlawthatregulatesfinancialpracticeandcorporategovernance.
scalability TheabilityofanITservice,process,configurationitemetc.toperformitsagreedfunctionwhentheworkloadorscopechanges.
scale of risk Astandardtechniqueforestimatingtheprobabilityandimpactofariskacrossanorganization,portfolio,programmeorproject.Thismaybeprovidedaspartofariskmanagementstandard(external)orariskmanagementstrategyorpolicy.
scenario Apackageofvalue-improvingproposals.
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Term Definition
schedule Graphicalrepresentationofaplan(forexample,aGanttchart),typicallydescribingasequenceoftasks,togetherwithresourceallocations,whichcollectivelydelivertheplan.InPRINCE2,projectactivitiesshouldonlybedocumentedintheschedulesassociatedwithaprojectplan,stageplanorteamplan.Actionsthatareallocatedfromday-to-daymanagementmaybedocumentedintherelevantprojectlog(i.e.riskregister,dailylog,issueregister,qualityregister)iftheydonotrequiresignificantactivity.
scope Generic –Theboundaryorextentofsomething.
ITIL –Theboundaryorextenttowhichaprocess,procedure,certification,contractetc.applies.Forexample,thescopeofchangemanagementmayincludeallliveITservicesandrelatedconfigurationitems;thescopeofanISO/IEC20000certificatemayincludeallITservicesdeliveredoutofanameddatacentre.
PPM –Foraplan,thesumtotalofitsproductsandtheextentoftheirrequirements.Itisdescribedbytheproductbreakdownstructurefortheplanandassociatedproductdescriptions.
scope tolerance Thepermissibledeviationinaplan’sscopethatisallowedbeforethedeviationneedstobeescalatedtothenextlevelofmanagement.Scopetoleranceisdocumentedintherespectiveplanintheformofanoteorreferencetotheproductbreakdownstructureforthatplan.See also tolerance.
second-line support Thesecondlevelinahierarchyofsupportgroupsinvolvedintheresolutionofincidentsandinvestigationofproblems.Eachlevelcontainsmorespecialistskills,orhasmoretimeorotherresources.
security Seeinformationsecuritymanagement.
security management Seeinformationsecuritymanagement.
security management information system (SMIS)
Asetoftools,dataandinformationthatisusedtosupportinformationsecuritymanagement.Thesecuritymanagementinformationsystemispartoftheinformationsecuritymanagementsystem.See also serviceknowledgemanagementsystem.
security policy Seeinformationsecuritypolicy.
senior management TopmanagementresponsibleforembeddingorrunningMoVactivities.
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Term Definition
senior Management of Value (MoV) practitioner
TheindividualchargedwithleadingtheimplementationoftheMoVplan.SeeManagementofValue(MoV).
senior responsible owner (SRO) Thesingleindividualwithoverallresponsibilityforensuringthataprojectorprogrammemeetsitsobjectivesanddeliverstheprojectedbenefits.
senior supplier Theprojectboardrolethatprovidesknowledgeandexperienceofthemaindiscipline(s)involvedintheproductionoftheproject’sdeliverable(s).Theseniorsupplierrepresentsthesupplierinterestswithintheprojectandprovidessupplierresources.
senior user Theprojectboardroleaccountableforensuringthatuserneedsarespecifiedcorrectlyandthatthesolutionmeetsthoseneeds.
sensitivity analysis Atechniquefortestingtherobustnessofacalculationormodelbyassessingtheimpactofvaryingtheinput,toreflecttheriskthatthecalculationormodelmightnotbeaccurate.
separation of concerns (SoC) AnapproachtodesigningasolutionorITservicethatdividestheproblemintopiecesthatcanbesolvedindependently.Thisapproachseparateswhatistobedonefromhowitistobedone.
server Acomputerthatisconnectedtoanetworkandprovidessoftwarefunctionsthatareusedbyothercomputers.
service Ameansofdeliveringvaluetocustomersbyfacilitatingoutcomescustomerswanttoachievewithouttheownershipofspecificcostsandrisks.Theterm‘service’issometimesusedasasynonymforcoreservice,ITserviceorservicepackage.See also utility;warranty.
service acceptance criteria (SAC) AsetofcriteriausedtoensurethatanITservicemeetsitsfunctionalityandqualityrequirementsandthattheITserviceproviderisreadytooperatethenewITservicewhenithasbeendeployed.See also acceptance.
service analytics Atechniqueusedintheassessmentofthebusinessimpactofincidents.Serviceanalyticsmodelsthedependenciesbetweenconfigurationitems,andthedependenciesofITservicesonconfigurationitems.
service asset Anyresourceorcapabilityofaserviceprovider.See also asset.
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Term Definition
service asset and configuration management (SACM)
Theprocessresponsibleforensuringthattheassetsrequiredtodeliverservicesareproperlycontrolled,andthataccurateandreliableinformationaboutthoseassetsisavailablewhenandwhereitisneeded.Thisinformationincludesdetailsofhowtheassetshavebeenconfiguredandtherelationshipsbetweenassets.See also configurationmanagementsystem.
service capacity management (SCM)
Thesub-processofcapacitymanagementresponsibleforunderstandingtheperformanceandcapacityofITservices.InformationontheresourcesusedbyeachITserviceandthepatternofusageovertimeiscollected,recordedandanalysedforuseinthecapacityplan.See also businesscapacitymanagement;componentcapacitymanagement.
service catalogue AdatabaseorstructureddocumentwithinformationaboutallliveITservices,includingthoseavailablefordeployment.TheservicecatalogueispartoftheserviceportfolioandcontainsinformationabouttwotypesofITservice:customer-facingservicesthatarevisibletothebusiness;andsupportingservicesrequiredbytheserviceprovidertodelivercustomer-facingservices.See also customeragreementportfolio;servicecataloguemanagement.
service catalogue management Theprocessresponsibleforprovidingandmaintainingtheservicecatalogueandforensuringthatitisavailabletothosewhoareauthorizedtoaccessit.
service change Seechange.
service charter Adocumentthatcontainsdetailsofaneworchangedservice.Newserviceintroductionsandsignificantservicechangesaredocumentedinacharterandauthorizedbyserviceportfoliomanagement.Servicechartersarepassedtotheservicedesignlifecyclestage,whereanewormodifiedservicedesignpackagewillbecreated.Thetermcharterisalsousedtodescribetheactofauthorizingtheworkrequiredbyeachstageoftheservicelifecyclewithrespecttotheneworchangedservice.See also changeproposal;serviceportfolio;servicecatalogue.
service continuity management SeeITservicecontinuitymanagement.
service contract AcontracttodeliveroneormoreITservices.ThetermisalsousedtomeananyagreementtodeliverITservices,whetherthisisalegalcontractoraservicelevelagreement.See also customeragreementportfolio.
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Term Definition
service culture Acustomer-orientedculture.Themajorobjectivesofaserviceculturearecustomersatisfactionandhelpingcustomerstoachievetheirbusinessobjectives.
service design Astageinthelifecycleofaservice.Servicedesignincludesthedesignoftheservices,governingpractices,processesandpoliciesrequiredtorealizetheserviceprovider’sstrategyandtofacilitatetheintroductionofservicesintosupportedenvironments.Servicedesignincludesthefollowingprocesses:designcoordination,servicecataloguemanagement,servicelevelmanagement,availabilitymanagement,capacitymanagement,ITservicecontinuitymanagement,informationsecuritymanagement,andsuppliermanagement.Althoughtheseprocessesareassociatedwithservicedesign,mostprocesseshaveactivitiesthattakeplaceacrossmultiplestagesoftheservicelifecycle.See also design.
service design package (SDP) Document(s)definingallaspectsofanITserviceanditsrequirementsthrougheachstageofitslifecycle.AservicedesignpackageisproducedforeachnewITservice,majorchangeorITserviceretirement.
service desk Thesinglepointofcontactbetweentheserviceproviderandtheusers.Atypicalservicedeskmanagesincidentsandservicerequests,andalsohandlescommunicationwiththeusers.
service failure analysis (SFA) AtechniquethatidentifiesunderlyingcausesofoneormoreITserviceinterruptions.ServicefailureanalysisidentifiesopportunitiestoimprovetheITserviceprovider’sprocessesandtools,andnotjusttheITinfrastructure.Itisatime-constrained,project-likeactivity,ratherthananongoingprocessofanalysis.
service hours AnagreedtimeperiodwhenaparticularITserviceshouldbeavailable.Forexample,‘Monday–Friday08:00to17:00exceptpublicholidays’.Servicehoursshouldbedefinedinaservicelevelagreement.
service improvement plan (SIP) AformalplantoimplementimprovementstoaprocessorITservice.
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Term Definition
service knowledge management system (SKMS)
Asetoftoolsanddatabasesthatisusedtomanageknowledge,informationanddata.Theserviceknowledgemanagementsystemincludestheconfigurationmanagementsystem,aswellasotherdatabasesandinformationsystems.Theserviceknowledgemanagementsystemincludestoolsforcollecting,storing,managing,updating,analysingandpresentingalltheknowledge,informationanddatathatanITserviceproviderwillneedtomanagethefulllifecycleofITservices.See also knowledgemanagement.
service level Measuredandreportedachievementagainstoneormoreserviceleveltargets.Thetermissometimesusedinformallytomeanserviceleveltarget.
service level agreement (SLA) AnagreementbetweenanITserviceproviderandacustomer.AservicelevelagreementdescribestheITservice,documentsserviceleveltargets,andspecifiestheresponsibilitiesoftheITserviceproviderandthecustomer.AsingleagreementmaycovermultipleITservicesormultiplecustomers.See also operationallevelagreement.
service level management (SLM) Theprocessresponsiblefornegotiatingachievableservicelevelagreementsandensuringthatthesearemet.ItisresponsibleforensuringthatallITservicemanagementprocesses,operationallevelagreementsandunderpinningcontractsareappropriatefortheagreedserviceleveltargets.Servicelevelmanagementmonitorsandreportsonservicelevels,holdsregularservicereviewswithcustomers,andidentifiesrequiredimprovements.
service level package (SLP) Seeserviceoption.
service level requirement (SLR) AcustomerrequirementforanaspectofanITservice.Servicelevelrequirementsarebasedonbusinessobjectivesandusedtonegotiateagreedserviceleveltargets.
service level target Acommitmentthatisdocumentedinaservicelevelagreement.Serviceleveltargetsarebasedonservicelevelrequirements,andareneededtoensurethattheITserviceisabletomeetbusinessobjectives.TheyshouldbeSMART,andareusuallybasedonkeyperformanceindicators.
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Term Definition
service lifecycle AnapproachtoITservicemanagementthatemphasizestheimportanceofcoordinationandcontrolacrossthevariousfunctions,processesandsystemsnecessarytomanagethefulllifecycleofITservices.Theservicelifecycleapproachconsidersthestrategy,design,transition,operationandcontinualimprovementofITservices.Alsoknownasservicemanagementlifecycle.
service maintenance objective (SMO)
Theexpectedtimethataconfigurationitemwillbeunavailableduetoplannedmaintenanceactivity.
service management Asetofspecializedorganizationalcapabilitiesforprovidingvaluetocustomersintheformofservices.
service management lifecycle Seeservicelifecycle.
service manager Agenerictermforanymanagerwithintheserviceprovider.Mostcommonlyusedtorefertoabusinessrelationshipmanager,aprocessmanageroraseniormanagerwithresponsibilityforITservicesoverall.
service model Amodelthatshowshowserviceassetsinteractwithcustomerassetstocreatevalue.Servicemodelsdescribethestructureofaservice(howtheconfigurationitemsfittogether)andthedynamicsoftheservice(activities,flowofresourcesandinteractions).Aservicemodelcanbeusedasatemplateorblueprintformultipleservices.
service operation Astageinthelifecycleofaservice.Serviceoperationcoordinatesandcarriesouttheactivitiesandprocessesrequiredtodeliverandmanageservicesatagreedlevelstobusinessusersandcustomers.Serviceoperationalsomanagesthetechnologythatisusedtodeliverandsupportservices.Serviceoperationincludesthefollowingprocesses:eventmanagement,incidentmanagement,requestfulfilment,problemmanagement,andaccessmanagement.Serviceoperationalsoincludesthefollowingfunctions:servicedesk,technicalmanagement,IToperationsmanagement,andapplicationmanagement.Althoughtheseprocessesandfunctionsareassociatedwithserviceoperation,mostprocessesandfunctionshaveactivitiesthattakeplaceacrossmultiplestagesoftheservicelifecycle.See also operation.
service option Achoiceofutilityandwarrantyofferedtocustomersbyacoreserviceorservicepackage.Serviceoptionsaresometimesreferredtoasservicelevelpackages.
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Term Definition
service owner Aroleresponsibleformanagingoneormoreservicesthroughouttheirentirelifecycle.Serviceownersareinstrumentalinthedevelopmentofservicestrategyandareresponsibleforthecontentoftheserviceportfolio.See also businessrelationshipmanagement.
service package Twoormoreservicesthathavebeencombinedtoofferasolutiontoaspecifictypeofcustomerneedortounderpinspecificbusinessoutcomes.Aservicepackagecanconsistofacombinationofcoreservices,enablingservicesandenhancingservices.Aservicepackageprovidesaspecificlevelofutilityandwarranty.Customersmaybeofferedachoiceofutilityandwarrantythroughoneormoreserviceoptions.See also ITservice.
service pipeline AdatabaseorstructureddocumentlistingallITservicesthatareunderconsiderationordevelopment,butarenotyetavailabletocustomers.TheservicepipelineprovidesabusinessviewofpossiblefutureITservicesandispartoftheserviceportfolio,whichisnotnormallypublishedtocustomers.
service portfolio Thecompletesetofservicesthatismanagedbyaserviceprovider.Theserviceportfolioisusedtomanagetheentirelifecycleofallservices,andincludesthreecategories:servicepipeline(proposedorindevelopment),servicecatalogue(liveoravailablefordeployment)andretiredservices.See also customeragreementportfolio;serviceportfoliomanagement.
service portfolio management (SPM)
Theprocessresponsibleformanagingtheserviceportfolio.Serviceportfoliomanagementensuresthattheserviceproviderhastherightmixofservicestomeetrequiredbusinessoutcomesatanappropriatelevelofinvestment.Serviceportfoliomanagementconsidersservicesintermsofthebusinessvaluethattheyprovide.
service potential ThetotalpossiblevalueoftheoverallcapabilitiesandresourcesoftheITserviceprovider.
service provider Anorganizationsupplyingservicestooneormoreinternalcustomersorexternalcustomers.ServiceproviderisoftenusedasanabbreviationforITserviceprovider.See also TypeIserviceprovider;TypeIIserviceprovider;TypeIIIserviceprovider.
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Term Definition
service provider interface (SPI) AninterfacebetweentheITserviceproviderandauser,customer,businessprocessorsupplier.Analysisofserviceproviderinterfaceshelpstocoordinateend-to-endmanagementofITservices.
service reporting Activitiesthatproduceanddeliverreportsofachievementandtrendsagainstservicelevels.Theformat,contentandfrequencyofreportsshouldbeagreedwithcustomers.
service request Aformalrequestfromauserforsomethingtobeprovided– forexample:arequestforinformationoradvice;toresetapassword;ortoinstallaworkstationforanewuser.Servicerequestsaremanagedbytherequestfulfilmentprocess,usuallyinconjunctionwiththeservicedesk.Servicerequestsmaybelinkedtoarequestforchangeaspartoffulfillingtherequest.
service sourcing Thestrategyandapproachfordecidingwhethertoprovideaserviceinternally,tooutsourceittoanexternalserviceprovider,ortocombinethetwoapproaches.Servicesourcingalsomeanstheexecutionofthisstrategy.See also insourcing;internalserviceprovider;outsourcing.
service strategy Astageinthelifecycleofaservice.Servicestrategydefinestheperspective,position,plansandpatternsthataserviceproviderneedstoexecutetomeetanorganization’sbusinessoutcomes.Servicestrategyincludesthefollowingprocesses:strategymanagementforITservices,serviceportfoliomanagement,financialmanagementforITservices,demandmanagement,andbusinessrelationshipmanagement.Althoughtheseprocessesareassociatedwithservicestrategy,mostprocesseshaveactivitiesthattakeplaceacrossmultiplestagesoftheservicelifecycle.
service transition Astageinthelifecycleofaservice.Servicetransitionensuresthatnew,modifiedorretiredservicesmeettheexpectationsofthebusinessasdocumentedintheservicestrategyandservicedesignstagesofthelifecycle.Servicetransitionincludesthefollowingprocesses:transitionplanningandsupport,changemanagement,serviceassetandconfigurationmanagement,releaseanddeploymentmanagement,servicevalidationandtesting,changeevaluation,andknowledgemanagement.Althoughtheseprocessesareassociatedwithservicetransition,mostprocesseshaveactivitiesthattakeplaceacrossmultiplestagesoftheservicelifecycle.See also transition.
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Term Definition
service validation and testing TheprocessresponsibleforvalidationandtestingofaneworchangedITservice.ServicevalidationandtestingensuresthattheITservicematchesitsdesignspecificationandwillmeettheneedsofthebusiness.
service valuation AmeasurementofthetotalcostofdeliveringanITservice,andthetotalvaluetothebusinessofthatITservice.ServicevaluationisusedtohelpthebusinessandtheITserviceprovideragreeonthevalueoftheITservice.
serviceability Theabilityofathird-partysuppliertomeetthetermsofitscontract.Thiscontractwillincludeagreedlevelsofreliability,maintainabilityandavailabilityforaconfigurationitem.
seven-step improvement process Theprocessresponsiblefordefiningandmanagingthestepsneededtoidentify,define,gather,process,analyse,presentandimplementimprovements.TheperformanceoftheITserviceprovideriscontinuallymeasuredbythisprocessandimprovementsaremadetoprocesses,ITservicesandITinfrastructureinordertoincreaseefficiency,effectivenessandcost-effectiveness.OpportunitiesforimprovementarerecordedandmanagedintheCSIregister.
severity of risk Thedegreetowhichtheriskcouldaffectthesituation.
share (risk response) Ariskresponsetoeitherathreatoranopportunitythroughtheapplicationofapain/gainformula:bothpartiessharethegain(withinpre-agreedlimits)ifthecostislessthanthecostplan;andbothsharethepain(againwithinpre-agreedlimits)ifthecostplanisexceeded.
shared service unit SeeTypeIIserviceprovider.
shift Agrouporteamofpeoplewhocarryoutaspecificroleforafixedperiodoftime.Forexample,therecouldbefourshiftsofIToperationscontrolpersonneltosupportanITservicethatisused24hoursaday.
simulation modelling AtechniquethatcreatesadetailedmodeltopredictthebehaviourofanITserviceorotherconfigurationitem.Asimulationmodelisoftencreatedbyusingtheactualconfigurationitemsthatarebeingmodelledwithartificialworkloadsortransactions.Theyareusedincapacitymanagementwhenaccurateresultsareimportant.Asimulationmodelissometimescalledaperformancebenchmark.See also analyticalmodelling;modelling.
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Term Definition
single point of contact Providingasingleconsistentwaytocommunicatewithanorganizationorbusinessunit.Forexample,asinglepointofcontactforanITserviceproviderisusuallycalledaservicedesk.
single point of failure (SPOF) Anyconfigurationitemthatcancauseanincidentwhenitfails,andforwhichacountermeasurehasnotbeenimplemented.Asinglepointoffailuremaybeapersonorastepinaprocessoractivity,aswellasacomponentoftheITinfrastructure.See also failure.
Six Sigma Amanagementprocessaimedatminimizingdefectsandincreasingefficiency.
SLAM chart Aservicelevelagreementmonitoring(SLAM)chartisusedtohelpmonitorandreportachievementsagainstserviceleveltargets.ASLAMchartistypicallycolour-codedtoshowwhethereachagreedserviceleveltargethasbeenmet,missedornearlymissedduringeachoftheprevious12months.
SMART Anacronymforhelpingtorememberthattargetsinservicelevelagreementsandprojectplansshouldbespecific,measurable,achievable,relevantandtime-bound.
snapshot Thecurrentstateofaconfigurationitem,processoranyothersetofdatarecordedataspecificpointintime.Snapshotscanbecapturedbydiscoverytoolsorbymanualtechniquessuchasanassessment.See also baseline;benchmark.
soft value analysis Asubsetofvalueanalysisforaprojectthatseekstomaximizethevalueofanintangibleoutput.Commonlyassociatedwithservicedelivery.See also valueanalysis.
soft value management MoVaimedatmessy,strategicandconceptualdecision-making,withanemphasisonintegrated(ratherthanmerelycoordinated)outcomesfromprojectsandaneedforwiderinvolvement.
software asset management (SAM)
Theprocessresponsiblefortrackingandreportingtheuseandownershipofsoftwareassetsthroughouttheirlifecycle.Softwareassetmanagementispartofanoverallserviceassetandconfigurationmanagementprocess.ThisprocessisnotdescribedindetailwithinthecoreITILpublications.
source Seeservicesourcing.
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Term Definition
specialist product Aproductwhosedevelopmentisthesubjectoftheplan.Thespecialistproductsarespecifictoanindividualproject(forexample,anadvertisingcampaign,acar-parkticketingsystem,foundationsforabuilding,anewbusinessprocessetc.).Alsoknownasadeliverableoroutput.
specification Generic –Aformaldefinitionofrequirements.
ITIL –Aformaldefinitionofrequirements.Aspecificationmaybeusedtodefinetechnicaloroperationalrequirements,andmaybeinternalorexternal.Manypublicstandardsconsistofacodeofpracticeandaspecification.Thespecificationdefinesthestandardagainstwhichanorganizationcanbeaudited.
PPM –Adetailedstatementofwhattheuserwantsintermsofproducts,whattheseshouldlooklike,whattheyshoulddoandwithwhattheyshouldinterface.
sponsor Themaindrivingforcebehindaprogrammeorproject.NotaPRINCE2orMSPtermbutequatestoexecutiveorseniorresponsibleowner(SRO).
sponsoring group Thedrivingforcebehindaprogramme,whichprovidestheinvestmentdecisionandtop-levelendorsementfortherationaleandobjectivesoftheprogramme.
stage Seemanagementstage;technicalstage.
stage plan Adetailedplanusedasthebasisforprojectmanagementcontrolthroughoutastage.
stage/phase gate review Structuredreviewsofaproject,programmeorportfolioaspartofformalgovernancearrangementsthatarecarriedoutatkeydecisionpointsinthelifecycletoensurethatthedecisiontoinvestasperagreedbusinesscasesandplansremainsvalid.
stakeholder Generic –Apersonorgroupwithaninterestorconcerninsomething.
ITIL –Apersonwhohasaninterestinanorganization,project,ITserviceetc.Stakeholdersmaybeinterestedintheactivities,targets,resourcesordeliverables.Stakeholdersmayincludecustomers,partners,employees,shareholders,ownersetc.See also RACI.
PPM –Anyindividual,groupororganizationthatcanaffect,beaffectedby,orperceiveitselftobeaffectedbyaninitiative(programme,project,activity,risk).
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Term Definition
stakeholder analysis Amethodofassessingtheimpactofastudyonpeople’sconcernsandattitudeswithregardtoagivenissueandtheirinfluenceonitsoutcome.
stakeholder map Adiagrammaticrepresentationofthestakeholdersrelevanttoanorganizationalactivityandtheirrespectiveinterests.
stakeholder register Adocumentthatcontainsasummaryoftheinformationinthestakeholderprofiles.
standard Amandatoryrequirement.ExamplesincludeISO/IEC20000(aninternationalstandard),aninternalsecuritystandardforUnixconfiguration,oragovernmentstandardforhowfinancialrecordsshouldbemaintained.ThetermisalsousedtorefertoacodeofpracticeorspecificationpublishedbyastandardsorganizationsuchasISOorBSI.See also guideline.
standard change Apre-authorizedchangethatislowrisk,relativelycommonandfollowsaprocedureorworkinstruction–forexample,apasswordresetorprovisionofstandardequipmenttoanewemployee.Requestsforchangearenotrequiredtoimplementastandardchange,andtheyareloggedandtrackedusingadifferentmechanism,suchasaservicerequest.See also changemodel.
standard operating procedures (SOP)
ProceduresusedbyIToperationsmanagement.
standby UsedtorefertoresourcesthatarenotrequiredtodelivertheliveITservices,butareavailabletosupportITservicecontinuityplans.Forexample,astandbydatacentremaybemaintainedtosupporthotstandby,warmstandbyorcoldstandbyarrangements.
start gate Astage/phasegatereviewwhichappliesattheearlystagesofthepolicy-to-deliverylifecycle.Itoffersdepartmentstheopportunitytogainindependentassuranceonhowwellpracticaldeliveryissuesarebeingaddressedinpreparingforimplementation.
start-up Thepre-projectactivitiesundertakenbytheexecutiveandtheprojectmanagertoproducetheoutlinebusinesscase,projectbriefandinitiationstageplan.
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Term Definition
statement of internal control Anarrativestatementbytheboardofdirectorsofacompanydisclosingthatthereisanongoingprocessfortheidentificationandmanagementofsignificantrisksfacedbythecompany.
statement of requirements (SOR) Adocumentcontainingallrequirementsforaproductpurchase,oraneworchangedITservice.See also termsofreference.
status Thenameofarequiredfieldinmanytypesofrecord.Itshowsthecurrentstageinthelifecycleoftheassociatedconfigurationitem,incident,problemetc.
status accounting Theactivityresponsibleforrecordingandreportingthelifecycleofeachconfigurationitem.
storage management Theprocessresponsibleformanagingthestorageandmaintenanceofdatathroughoutitslifecycle.
strategic Thehighestofthreelevelsofplanninganddelivery(strategic,tactical,operational).Strategicactivitiesincludeobjectivesettingandlong-termplanningtoachievetheoverallvision.
strategic asset Anyassetthatprovidesthebasisforcorecompetence,distinctiveperformanceorsustainablecompetitiveadvantage,orwhichallowsabusinessunittoparticipateinbusinessopportunities.PartofservicestrategyistoidentifyhowITcanbeviewedasastrategicassetratherthananinternaladministrativefunction.
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Term Definition
strategic objectives Themeasurableoutcomesthatdemonstrateprogressinrelationtoanorganization’smissionandtowhichtheportfolioshouldcontribute.AccordingtoPeterDruckertheyfallintoeighttypes:
• Marketstanding:desiredshareofthepresentandnewmarkets
• Innovation:developmentofnewgoodsandservices,andofskillsandmethodsrequiredtosupplythem
• Humanresources:selectionanddevelopmentofemployees
• Financialresources:identificationofthesourcesofcapitalandtheiruse
• Physicalresources:equipmentandfacilitiesandtheiruse
• Productivity:efficientuseoftheresourcesrelativetotheoutput
• Socialresponsibility:awarenessofandresponsivenesstotheeffectsonthewidercommunityofthestakeholders
• Profitrequirements:achievementofmeasurablefinancialwell-beingandgrowth.
strategic risk Riskconcernedwithwheretheorganizationwantstogo,howitplanstogetthere,andhowitcanensuresurvival.
strategy Generic –Anapproachorplandesignedtoachievelong-termaimsandobjectives.
ITIL –Astrategicplandesignedtoachievedefinedobjectives.
PPM –Anapproachorlinetotake,designedtoachievealong-termaim.Strategiescanexistatalllevels–portfolio,programmeandproject.
strategy management for IT services
Theprocessresponsiblefordefiningandmaintaininganorganization’sperspective,position,plansandpatternswithregardtoitsservicesandthemanagementofthoseservices.Oncethestrategyhasbeendefined,strategymanagementforITservicesisalsoresponsibleforensuringthatitachievesitsintendedbusinessoutcomes.
study definition Cleararticulationofobjectives.
study leader Aqualifiedpractitionerwhoorganizesand/orfacilitatesanMoVstudyorprogrammeofstudies.Thistermisalsousedfortheindividualresponsibleforplanningandconductingastudy.
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Term Definition
study leader’s handbook GuidanceforstudyleaderspreparedbytheseniorMoVpractitioner.
subject TheprocessorproductunderreviewduringMoVactivities.
summary risk profile Asimplemechanismtoincreasethevisibilityofrisks.Itisagraphicalrepresentationofinformationnormallyfoundonanexistingriskregister.
super user Auserwhohelpsotherusers,andassistsincommunicationwiththeservicedeskorotherpartsoftheITserviceprovider.SuperusersareoftenexpertsinthebusinessprocessessupportedbyanITserviceandwillprovidesupportforminorincidentsandtraining.
supplier Generic –Apartywhosuppliesgoodsorservices.
ITIL –AthirdpartyresponsibleforsupplyinggoodsorservicesthatarerequiredtodeliverITservices.Examplesofsuppliersincludecommodityhardwareandsoftwarevendors,networkandtelecomproviders,andoutsourcingorganizations.See also supplychain;underpinningcontract.
PPM –Theperson,grouporgroupsresponsibleforthesupplyoftheproject’sspecialistproducts.
supplier and contract management information system (SCMIS)
Asetoftools,dataandinformationthatisusedtosupportsuppliermanagement.See also serviceknowledgemanagementsystem.
supplier management Theprocessresponsibleforobtainingvalueformoneyfromsuppliers,ensuringthatallcontractsandagreementswithsupplierssupporttheneedsofthebusiness,andthatallsuppliersmeettheircontractualcommitments.See also supplierandcontractmanagementinformationsystem.
supply chain Theactivitiesinavaluechaincarriedoutbysuppliers.Asupplychaintypicallyinvolvesmultiplesuppliers,eachaddingvaluetotheproductorservice.See also valuenetwork.
support group Agroupofpeoplewithtechnicalskills.SupportgroupsprovidethetechnicalsupportneededbyalloftheITservicemanagementprocesses.See also technicalmanagement.
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Term Definition
support hours Thetimesorhourswhensupportisavailabletotheusers.Typicallythesearethehourswhentheservicedeskisavailable.Supporthoursshouldbedefinedinaservicelevelagreement,andmaybedifferentfromservicehours.Forexample,servicehoursmaybe24hoursaday,butthesupporthoursmaybe07:00to19:00.
support office AformalorinformalgroupofpeoplewhocanprovideservicestosupporttheimplementationofMoVwithintheorganizationinitsapplicationtoprojects.
supporting service AnITservicethatisnotdirectlyusedbythebusiness,butisrequiredbytheITserviceprovidertodelivercustomer-facingservices(forexample,adirectoryserviceorabackupservice).SupportingservicesmayalsoincludeITservicesonlyusedbytheITserviceprovider.Alllivesupportingservices,includingthoseavailablefordeployment,arerecordedintheservicecataloguealongwithinformationabouttheirrelationshipstocustomer-facingservicesandotherCIs.
swimlane Amethodfordocumentingbusinessprocessflowsthatseparateseachprocessstepintoarow(orlane)ofaccountabilityforindividualrolesorgroups.
SWOT analysis Generic –SWOTstandsforstrengths,weaknesses,opportunitiesandthreats.
ITIL –Atechniquethatreviewsandanalysestheinternalstrengthsandweaknessesofanorganizationandtheexternalopportunitiesandthreatsthatitfaces.SWOTstandsforstrengths,weaknesses,opportunitiesandthreats.
PPM –Acronymfor‘strengths,weaknesses,opportunitiesandthreats’.Atechniquetodeterminefavourableandunfavourablefactorsinrelationtobusinesschangeorcurrentstate.
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Term Definition
system Anumberofrelatedthingsthatworktogethertoachieveanoverallobjective.Forexample:
• Acomputersystemincludinghardware,softwareandapplications
• Amanagementsystem,includingtheframeworkofpolicy,processes,functions,standards,guidelinesandtoolsthatareplannedandmanagedtogether–forexample,aqualitymanagementsystem
• Adatabasemanagementsystemoroperatingsystemthatincludesmanysoftwaremoduleswhicharedesignedtoperformasetofrelatedfunctions.
system management ThepartofITservicemanagementthatfocusesonthemanagementofITinfrastructureratherthanprocess.
tactical Themiddleofthreelevelsofplanninganddelivery(strategic,tactical,operational).Tacticalactivitiesincludethemedium-termplansrequiredtoachievespecificobjectives,typicallyoveraperiodofweekstomonths.
tailoring TheappropriateuseofPRINCE2onanygivenproject,ensuringthatthereisthecorrectamountofplanning,control,governanceanduseoftheprocessesandthemes(whereastheadoptionofPRINCE2acrossanorganizationisknownas‘embedding’).
taxonomy Aclassificationofthings,ortheprinciplesunderlyingsuchaclassification.Thetermmaybeappliedtorelationshipschemessuchasparent–childhierarchiesandnetworkstructures.Ataxonomymightalsobeasimpleorganizationofkindsofthingsintogroups,orevenanalphabeticallist.
team leader ThepersonappointedfromtimetotimebytheseniorMoVpractitionertoberesponsibleforleadingandmanagingagroupofpeoplethroughaprocesstodeliveranoutput,e.g.ahealthcheck.
team manager Thepersonresponsiblefortheproductionofthoseproductsallocatedbytheprojectmanager(asdefinedinaworkpackage)toanappropriatequality,timescaleandatacostacceptabletotheprojectboard.Thisrolereportsto,andtakesdirectionfrom,theprojectmanager.Ifateammanagerisnotassigned,thentheprojectmanagerundertakestheresponsibilitiesoftheteammanagerrole.
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Term Definition
team plan Anoptionallevelofplanusedasthebasisforteammanagementcontrolwhenexecutingworkpackages.
technical management ThefunctionresponsibleforprovidingtechnicalskillsinsupportofITservicesandmanagementoftheITinfrastructure.Technicalmanagementdefinestherolesofsupportgroups,aswellasthetools,processesandproceduresrequired.
technical observation (TO) Atechniqueusedinserviceimprovement,probleminvestigationandavailabilitymanagement.TechnicalsupportstaffmeettomonitorthebehaviourandperformanceofanITserviceandmakerecommendationsforimprovement.
technical stage Amethodofgroupingworktogetherbythesetoftechniquesused,ortheproductscreated.Thisresultsinstagescoveringelementssuchasdesign,buildandimplementation.Suchstagesaretechnicalstagesandareaseparateconceptfrommanagementstages.
technical support Seetechnicalmanagement.
technique Aprocedureusedtoaccomplishaspecificactivityortask.
tension metrics Asetofrelatedmetrics,inwhichimprovementstoonemetrichaveanegativeeffectonanother.Tensionmetricsaredesignedtoensurethatanappropriatebalanceisachieved.
terms of reference (TOR) Adocumentspecifyingtherequirements,scope,deliverables,resourcesandscheduleforaprojectoractivity.
test Anactivitythatverifiesthataconfigurationitem,ITservice,processetc.meetsitsspecificationoragreedrequirements.See also acceptance;servicevalidationandtesting.
test environment Acontrolledenvironmentusedtotestconfigurationitems,releases,ITservices,processesetc.
theme Anaspectofprojectmanagementthatneedstobecontinuallyaddressed,andthatrequiresspecifictreatmentforthePRINCE2processestobeeffective.
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Term Definition
third party Aperson,organizationorotherentitythatisnotpartoftheserviceprovider’sownorganizationandisnotacustomer–forexample,asoftwaresupplierorahardwaremaintenancecompany.Requirementsforthirdpartiesaretypicallyspecifiedincontractsthatunderpinservicelevelagreements.See also underpinningcontract.
third sector Thenot-for-profitorganizationsoutsidethepublicsector.Theseincludevolunteerorganizationsandcharities.
third-line support Thethirdlevelinahierarchyofsupportgroupsinvolvedintheresolutionofincidentsandinvestigationofproblems.Eachlevelcontainsmorespecialistskills,orhasmoretimeorotherresources.
threat Generic –Impendingdangerorharm.
ITIL –Athreatisanythingthatmightexploitavulnerability.Anypotentialcauseofanincidentcanbeconsideredathreat.Forexample,afireisathreatthatcouldexploitthevulnerabilityofflammablefloorcoverings.ThistermiscommonlyusedininformationsecuritymanagementandITservicecontinuitymanagement,butalsoappliestootherareassuchasproblemandavailabilitymanagement.
PPM –Anuncertaineventthatcouldhaveanegativeimpactonobjectivesorbenefits.
three-point estimating Atechniquewherebyprojectestimatesarepreparedonthreebases:best-casescenario;worstcase;andmostlikely.Estimatescanthenbecalculatedbymultiplyingthemostlikelyestimateby4,addingthebestandworstcaseestimates,anddividingthetotalby6.
threshold Thevalueofametricthatshouldcauseanalerttobegeneratedormanagementactiontobetaken.Forexample,‘Priority1incidentnotsolvedwithinfourhours’,‘Morethanfivesoftdiskerrorsinanhour’or‘Morethan10failedchangesinamonth’.
throughput Ameasureofthenumberoftransactionsorotheroperationsperformedinafixedtime–forexample,5,000e-mailssentperhour,or200diskI/Ospersecond.
time tolerance Thepermissibledeviationinaplan’stimethatisallowedbeforethedeviationneedstobeescalatedtothenextlevelofmanagement.Timetoleranceisdocumentedintherespectiveplan.See also tolerance.
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Term Definition
time-driven control Amanagementcontrolthatisperiodicinnature,toenablethenexthigherauthoritytomonitorprogress–e.g.acontrolthattakesplaceeverytwoweeks.PRINCE2offerstwokeytime-drivenprogressreports:checkpointreportandhighlightreport.
to-be state Thefutureplannedstateofanorganizationasdescribedbytheblueprint.
tolerance Thepermissibledeviationaboveandbelowaplan’stargetfortimeandcostwithoutescalatingthedeviationtothenextlevelofmanagement.Theremayalsobetolerancelevelsforquality,scope,benefitandrisk.Toleranceisappliedatproject,stageandteamlevels.
total cost of ownership (TCO) Amethodologyusedtohelpmakeinvestmentdecisions.Itassessesthefulllifecyclecostofowningaconfigurationitem,notjusttheinitialcostorpurchaseprice.See also totalcostofutilization.
total cost of utilization (TCU) Amethodologyusedtohelpmakeinvestmentandservicesourcingdecisions.TotalcostofutilizationassessesthefulllifecyclecosttothecustomerofusinganITservice.See also totalcostofownership.
total quality management (TQM) Amethodologyformanagingcontinualimprovementbyusingaqualitymanagementsystem.Totalqualitymanagementestablishesacultureinvolvingallpeopleintheorganizationinaprocessofcontinualmonitoringandimprovement.
trade-off InthecontextofMoV,transferringfromoneattributetoanothertoaddmorevalue.
tranche Aprogrammemanagementtermdescribingagroupofprojectsstructuredarounddistinctstepchangesincapabilityandbenefitdelivery.
transaction AdiscretefunctionperformedbyanITservice–forexample,transferringmoneyfromonebankaccounttoanother.Asingletransactionmayinvolvenumerousadditions,deletionsandmodificationsofdata.Eitherallofthesearecompletedsuccessfullyornoneofthemiscarriedout.
transfer (risk response) Ariskresponsewherebyathirdpartytakesonresponsibilityforanaspectoftherisk.
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Term Definition
transfer cost Acosttypewhichrecordsexpendituremadeonbehalfofanotherpartoftheorganization.Forexample,theITserviceprovidermaypayforanexternalconsultanttobeusedbythefinancedepartmentandtransferthecosttothem.TheITserviceproviderwouldrecordthisasatransfercost.
transformation Adistinctchangetothewayanorganizationconductsallorpartofitsbusiness.
transition Achangeinstate,correspondingtoamovementofanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemfromonelifecyclestatustothenext.
transition plan Thescheduleofactivitiestocoverthe‘transition’phaseofthebenefitsrealizationplan.
transition planning and support Theprocessresponsibleforplanningallservicetransitionprocessesandcoordinatingtheresourcesthattheyrequire.
trend analysis Analysisofdatatoidentifytime-relatedpatterns.Trendanalysisisusedinproblemmanagementtoidentifycommonfailuresorfragileconfigurationitems,andincapacitymanagementasamodellingtooltopredictfuturebehaviour.ItisalsousedasamanagementtoolforidentifyingdeficienciesinITservicemanagementprocesses.
trigger AneventordecisionthattriggersaPRINCE2process.
tuning Theactivityresponsibleforplanningchangestomakethemostefficientuseofresources.TuningismostcommonlyusedinthecontextofITservicesandcomponents.Tuningispartofcapacitymanagement,whichalsoincludesperformancemonitoringandimplementationoftherequiredchanges.Tuningisalsocalledoptimization,particularlyinthecontextofprocessesandothernon-technicalresources.
Type I service provider Aninternalserviceproviderthatisembeddedwithinabusinessunit.TheremaybeseveralTypeIserviceproviderswithinanorganization.
Type II service provider AninternalserviceproviderthatprovidessharedITservicestomorethanonebusinessunit.TypeIIserviceprovidersarealsoknownassharedserviceunits.
Type III service provider AserviceproviderthatprovidesITservicestoexternalcustomers.
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Term Definition
underpinning contract (UC) AcontractbetweenanITserviceproviderandathirdparty.ThethirdpartyprovidesgoodsorservicesthatsupportdeliveryofanITservicetoacustomer.Theunderpinningcontractdefinestargetsandresponsibilitiesthatarerequiredtomeetagreedserviceleveltargetsinoneormoreservicelevelagreements.
unit cost ThecosttotheITserviceproviderofprovidingasinglecomponentofanITservice.Forexample,thecostofasingledesktopPC,orofasingletransaction.
urgency Ameasureofhowlongitwillbeuntilanincident,problemorchangehasasignificantimpactonthebusiness.Forexample,ahigh-impactincidentmayhavelowurgencyiftheimpactwillnotaffectthebusinessuntiltheendofthefinancialyear.Impactandurgencyareusedtoassignpriority.
usability Theeasewithwhichanapplication,productorITservicecanbeused.Usabilityrequirementsareoftenincludedinastatementofrequirements.
use case Atechniqueusedtodefinerequiredfunctionalityandobjectives,andtodesigntests.UsecasesdefinerealisticscenariosthatdescribeinteractionsbetweenusersandanITserviceorothersystem.
user Generic –Someonewhousestheserviceorproduct.
ITIL –ApersonwhousestheITserviceonaday-to-daybasis.Usersaredistinctfromcustomers,assomecustomersdonotusetheITservicedirectly.
PPM –Thepersonorgroupwhowilluseoneormoreoftheproject’sproducts.
user acceptance Aspecifictypeofacceptancebythepersonorgroupwhowillusetheproductonceitishandedoverintotheoperationalenvironment.
user profile (UP) ApatternofuserdemandforITservices.Eachuserprofileincludesoneormorepatternsofbusinessactivity.
utility Thefunctionalityofferedbyaproductorservicetomeetaparticularneed.Utilitycanbesummarizedas‘whattheservicedoes’,andcanbeusedtodeterminewhetheraserviceisabletomeetitsrequiredoutcomes,oris‘fitforpurpose’.ThebusinessvalueofanITserviceiscreatedbythecombinationofutilityandwarranty.See also servicevalidationandtesting.
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Term Definition
utility value Theutilityvalueofanitemistheprimaryrequirementthatanindividualhasofthatitem,whichmustbeaddressedfortheitemtohaveanyworth.
validation AnactivitythatensuresaneworchangedITservice,process,planorotherdeliverablemeetstheneedsofthebusiness.Validationensuresthatbusinessrequirementsaremeteventhoughthesemayhavechangedsincetheoriginaldesign.See also acceptance;qualification;servicevalidationandtesting;verification.
value Thebenefitsdeliveredinproportiontotheresourcesputintoacquiringthem.
value analysis Amethodofanalysingvaluewithinaproduct,buildingorprocess.CommonlyabbreviatedtoVA.See also valueengineering.
value chain Asequenceofprocessesthatcreatesaproductorservicethatisofvaluetoacustomer.Eachstepofthesequencebuildsonthepreviousstepsandcontributestotheoverallproductorservice.See also valuenetwork.
value driver Afunctionthatmustbedeliveredtocontributetotheprojectobjectives.Valuedriversmust,inaggregate,benecessaryandsufficienttoachievetheprojectobjectivesinfull.Aprimaryvaluedriverisequivalenttoaprimaryfunction.
value engineering Amethodofmaximizingvaluewithinadesign.CommonlyabbreviatedtoVE.See also valueanalysis.
value for money Aninformalmeasureofcost-effectiveness.Valueformoneyisoftenbasedonacomparisonwiththecostofalternatives.See also cost–benefitanalysis.
value-for-money ratio Theratioofbenefits,monetaryornon-monetary,toinvestmentmadeorresourcescommitted.Ameasureofvalueformoney.
value index Ameasureofhowwellanoption,projectorproductsatisfiesanindividualvaluedriverortheaggregateofallvaluedrivers.Itrepresentsameasureofcustomersatisfaction.
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Term Definition
value management Widelyusedtermthatissynonymouswithmanagementofvalue(MoV).Asystematicmethodtodefinewhatvaluemeansfororganizations,andtocommunicateitclearlytomaximizevalueacrossportfolios,programmes,projectsandoperations.
value metrics Attributesusedformeasuringperformanceagainstvaluedrivers.
value network Acomplexsetofrelationshipsbetweentwoormoregroupsororganizations.Valueisgeneratedthroughexchangeofknowledge,information,goodsorservices.See also partnership;valuechain.
value on investment (VOI) Ameasurementoftheexpectedbenefitofaninvestment.Valueoninvestmentconsidersbothfinancialandintangiblebenefits.See also returnoninvestment.
value profile Arepresentationoftherelativeimportanceoftheprimaryvaluedriverstotheclientbodyandendusers.
value ratio Theratiobetweenbenefits,monetaryornon-monetary,andexpenditureofresources.Ameasureofvalue.
value score Theproductoftheperformanceofanoptionorproposal,assessedonascaleof1–10,andtheweightingofavaluedriveragainstwhichitisbeingassessed.
value tree Adiagramthatshowstherelationshipbetween,andthehierarchyof,valuedrivers.
value-improving proposal Astatementsettingoutadescriptionofaproposedimprovement,theadvantagesanddisadvantagesofimplementationanditsimpactoncost,timeandperformance.
variable cost AcostthatdependsonhowmuchtheITserviceisused,howmanyproductsareproduced,thenumberandtypeofusers,orsomethingelsethatcannotbefixedinadvance.
variance Thedifferencebetweenaplannedvalueandtheactualmeasuredvalue.Commonlyusedinfinancialmanagement,capacitymanagementandservicelevelmanagement,butcouldapplyinanyareawhereplansareinplace.
variant Avariationonabaselinedproduct.Forexample,anoperationsmanualmayhaveanEnglishvariantandaSpanishvariant.
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Term Definition
verification AnactivitythatensuresthataneworchangedITservice,process,planorotherdeliverableiscomplete,accurate,reliableandmatchesitsdesignspecification.See also acceptance;validation;servicevalidationandtesting.
verification and audit Theactivitiesresponsibleforensuringthatinformationintheconfigurationmanagementsystemisaccurateandthatallconfigurationitemshavebeenidentifiedandrecorded.Verificationincludesroutinechecksthatarepartofotherprocesses–forexample,verifyingtheserialnumberofadesktopPCwhenauserlogsanincident.Auditisaperiodic,formalcheck.
version Generic –Aspecificbaselineofaproduct.
ITIL –Aversionisusedtoidentifyaspecificbaselineofaconfigurationitem.Versionstypicallyuseanamingconventionthatenablesthesequenceordateofeachbaselinetobeidentified.Forexample,payrollapplicationversion3containsupdatedfunctionalityfromversion2.
PPM –Aspecificbaselineofaproduct.Versionstypicallyusenamingconventionsthatenablethesequenceordateofthebaselinetobeidentified.Forexample,projectplanversion2isthebaselineafterprojectplanversion1.
vision Generic –Theannunciationofadesiredfuturestate.
ITIL –Adescriptionofwhattheorganizationintendstobecomeinthefuture.Avisioniscreatedbyseniormanagementandisusedtohelpinfluencecultureandstrategicplanning.See also mission.
PPM –Apictureofabetterfuturethatwillbedeliveredbytheprogramme.
vital business function (VBF) Partofabusinessprocessthatiscriticaltothesuccessofthebusiness.Vitalbusinessfunctionsareanimportantconsiderationofbusinesscontinuitymanagement,ITservicecontinuitymanagementandavailabilitymanagement.
vulnerability Aweaknessthatcouldbeexploitedbyathreat–forexample,anopenfirewallport,apasswordthatisneverchanged,oraflammablecarpet.Amissingcontrolisalsoconsideredtobeavulnerability.
warm standby Seeintermediaterecovery.
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Term Definition
warranty Assurancethataproductorservicewillmeetagreedrequirements.Thismaybeaformalagreementsuchasaservicelevelagreementorcontract,oritmaybeamarketingmessageorbrandimage.Warrantyreferstotheabilityofaservicetobeavailablewhenneeded,toprovidetherequiredcapacity,andtoprovidetherequiredreliabilityintermsofcontinuityandsecurity.Warrantycanbesummarizedas‘howtheserviceisdelivered’,andcanbeusedtodeterminewhetheraserviceis‘fitforuse’.ThebusinessvalueofanITserviceiscreatedbythecombinationofutilityandwarranty.See also servicevalidationandtesting.
waterfall method Adevelopmentapproachthatislinearandsequential,withdistinctgoalsforeachphaseofdevelopment.Onceaphaseofdevelopmentiscompleted,thedevelopmentproceedstothenextphaseandearlierphasesarenotrevisited(hencetheanalogythatwaterflowingdownamountaincannotgoback).
weighting Amethodofprioritizingattributesorfunctions.
work in progress (WIP) Astatusthatmeansactivitieshavestartedbutarenotyetcomplete.Itiscommonlyusedasastatusforincidents,problems,changesetc.
work instruction Adocumentcontainingdetailedinstructionsthatspecifyexactlywhatstepstofollowtocarryoutanactivity.Aworkinstructioncontainsmuchmoredetailthanaprocedureandisonlycreatedifverydetailedinstructionsareneeded.
work order Aformalrequesttocarryoutadefinedactivity.Workordersareoftenusedbychangemanagementandbyreleaseanddeploymentmanagementtopassrequeststotechnicalmanagementandapplicationmanagementfunctions.
work package Thesetofinformationrelevanttothecreationofoneormoreproducts.Itwillcontainadescriptionofthework,theproductdescription(s),detailsofanyconstraintsonproduction,andconfirmationoftheagreementbetweentheprojectmanagerandthepersonorteammanagerwhoistoimplementtheworkpackagethattheworkcanbedonewithintheconstraints.
workaround Reducingoreliminatingtheimpactofanincidentorproblemforwhichafullresolutionisnotyetavailable–forexample,byrestartingafailedconfigurationitem.Workaroundsforproblemsaredocumentedinknownerrorrecords.Workaroundsforincidentsthatdonothaveassociatedproblemrecordsaredocumentedintheincidentrecord.
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Term Definition
workload TheresourcesrequiredtodeliveranidentifiablepartofanITservice.Workloadsmaybecategorizedbyusers,groupsofusers,orfunctionswithintheITservice.Thisisusedtoassistinanalysingandmanagingthecapacity,performanceandutilizationofconfigurationitemsandITservices.Thetermissometimesusedasasynonymforthroughput.
workstream Thelogicalgroupingofprojectsandactivitiesthattogetherenableeffectivemanagement.Workstreamsmaydelineateprojectsagainstavarietyofcriteria.
zero-based budgeting Atechniquefordeterminingthenextperiod’sbudget,wherebyratherthanadjustingthepreviousyear’sfunding,allmaterialactivitiesareexaminedtojustifythescaleoffundingforeach,‘bottomup’fromazerobase.
zero-based cost centre Similartoacostcentre,exceptthatthedivision,businessunitorpartoftheorganizationcross-chargesotherpartsoftheorganizationforsomeorallofitsservicesoractivitiestoachieveaspendofzerowhenitscostsandincomefromcross-chargingareaddedup.
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