ITIL Service Design

The Service Design stage of the lifecycle starts with a set of new or changed business requirements from the customer and ends with the development of a service solution designed to meet the documented needs of the business. This service solution, together with its Service Design Package, is then passed to Service Transition to evaluate, build, test and deploy the new or changed service, or to retire the service, if this is the change required. On completion of these transition activities, control is transferred to the Service Operation stage of the Service Lifecycle.

There are five individual aspects of service design:

Service solutions for new or changed services. The requirements for new or changed services are extracted from the Service Portfolio. Each requirement is analysed, documented and agreed, and solution design is produced that is then compared with the strategies and constraints from Service Strategy to ensure that it conforms to corporate and IT policies. The design must ensure that this new or changed service is consistent with all other services and that all other services that interface with, underpin or depend on the new or changed service are consistent with the new service. If not, either the design of the new service or the other existing services will need to be adapted.

Each individual service solution design is also considered in conjunction with each of the other four aspects of service design

The management information systems and tools, especially the service portfolio. The management information systems and tools should be reviewed to ensure they are capable of supporting the new or changed service.

The technology architectures and management architectures. These are reviewed to ensure that all the technology architectures and management architectures are consistent with the new or changed service and have the capability to operate and maintain the new service. If not, then either the architectures will need to be amended or the design of the new service will need to be revised The processes required.

These are reviewed to ensure that the processes, roles, responsibilities and skills have the capability to operate, support and maintain the new or changed service. If not, the design of the new service will need to be revised or the existing process capabilities will need to be enhanced.

This includes all IT and service management processes, not just the processes involved in the service design stage itself the measurement methods and metrics.

These are reviewed to ensure that the existing measurement methods can provide the required metrics on the new or changed service. If not, then the measurement methods will need to be enhanced or the service metrics will need to be revised.

Completion of all of the above activities during the Service Design stage will ensure minimal issues arising during the subsequent stages of the Service Lifecycle. Therefore service design must consolidate the key design issues and activities of all IT and service management processes within its own design activities, to ensure that all aspects are considered and included within all designs for new or changed services as part of everyday process operation.