If you’re interested in IT Service Management and want to gain a deeper understanding of ITIL, then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll explore the concepts of functions, processes, and roles within ITIL and how they relate to one another.Â
ITIL Concepts
A process is a combination of coordinated activities, resources, and skills that generate value for a customer or stakeholders. Thus, it describes the actions and their dependencies and sequences.
Functions are specialized units or organisms that will perform certain types of work and are responsible for the results. That is, functions are a way of structuring organizations.
Skills present themselves as processes and functions. That is, processes become visible when measured or quantified by generating specific results. Or, producing a result with value to the customer.
Processes can be designed to support the customer, giving what was requested. This is regardless of which functions or departments will be involved.
Functions can be considered as organizational units such as a marketing department, sales, commercial, support, warehouse, etc.
Functions define the roles necessary for their complete functioning. Roles can be considered as a set of responsibilities defined within the process. In general, functions are divided through a hierarchical structure in the company and under the management of a functional or departmental manager, they are still self-sufficient because they have their own resources and skills.
Roles are represented by a set of responsibilities, which can be executed full-time or at some point, being geared towards a single individual or a group of people and must be clearly defined. One person can even take on more than one role.
About ITIL 4
In 2019, the release of ITIL 4 occurred. In this version, the central elements of ITIL remain. Furthermore, the update includes practical standards on how to model and adapt your IT management strategy in a more modern and increasingly complex environment.
The Main Myths
- Only useful for large companies;
- Consumes too much time;
- Not agile;
- Prescribed.
By tradition, the group of ITIL practitioners recognized that the guidance provided within best practices was not a doctrine or a manual, followed exactly to the letter.
Instead, the fundamental principle of applying the framework in a company was – and still is – “adopt and adapt”.
In other words, ITIL does not prescribe what should be done because you know better what your business is, what it does, and what it needs to progress.
ITIL is there to provide you with the set of paints and your business is the canvas on which you will create your own ITSM “masterpiece” by chance.
When you first start with an IT Service Management (ITSM) framework, it is understandable that some people will look to basic ITIL books for clear guidance on how to implement something within their company and try to stick to established guidelines.
Therefore, our obligation is to demonstrate how this guidance is adapted to your individual needs and can encourage as your maturity and confidence will grow.
ITIL does not intend to be a set of decrees that answer all of a company’s IT problems.
All companies are different, and ITIL can provide the flexibility necessary for the desires of each business.
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