The document provides an overview of the Service Management Solution Framework (SMSF), which is a design ontology that was developed based on commonalities observed across implementations of IT service management (ITSM) offerings from seven major vendors over 50 projects. The SMSF aims to identify what routinely makes the most difference in implementations, systematically organize relevant terms, and provide a reliable conceptual baseline for discussions, plans, and evaluations. It introduces concepts like solutions, services, management, and frameworks and illustrates them through storyboarding techniques relating business objectives and capabilities.

1. Service Management
Solution Framework (SMSF):
a Design Ontology
Conceptual Overview

2. Archestra notebooks compile and organize decades of in-the-field
empirical findings, to offer explanations of why things happened or
can happen in certain ways or to certain effects. The descriptions
are determined mainly from the perspective of strategy and
architecture, to comment on and navigate between the motives and
potentials that predetermine the decisions and shapes of activity as
discussed in the notes. All notebooks are subject to change.
©2016 Malcolm Ryder / Archestra Research

3. Using this notebook
Commonalities documented across ITSM offerings
• from seven major vendors
• over 50 implementation projects at medium to large enterprises
• over 9 years
Result
• identify what routinely makes the most difference and where
• systematically organize terms that prioritize topics in discussions, plans, and
evaluations
• provide a reliable conceptual baseline, not a limit

4. Why solutions fail
When used for any reason
• Implementation is misunderstood
• Implementation is mere installation, not re-organization
• Importance is mis-measured
• Urgency of proposed scope is misidentified
When solving the right problem
• bad design, which leads to…
• omissions, defects, and errors
When solving the wrong problem
• misconception, which leads to…
• irrelevance, damage, obsolescence
Omission: left out
Defect: not suitable for use
Error: mis-used

5. ITSM: Service vs. Management
Service
• A specific running operation made available under terms of agreement,
supplying the operation’s outputs on demand to a consumer
Management
• Control the form, content, utilization and lifespan <of the service> as
necessary at any time

6. Solution Value Logic
• Services host operational capabilities
• Service attributes correspond to business requirements
• Solutions assure the manageability of services
• The services allow business processes to optimally use operations
• The attributes necessary for best utilization are included as enabling
characteristics of the service
• Most solutions rely on rules, process integration, and procedure automation
to generate the relevant attributes

7. Solution Value Model
Solutions enable management processes that bridge the capabilities of
IT and the capabilities of business
• Management processes align services impacts to business objectives
• Management processes give IT services attributes that business recognizes
and chooses as enablers of business capability
Source and management of IT can be internal or external to the
business
IT
Capability
Business

8. Management Solution Framework
Solution (defined)
• A solution automates management procedures that enable a specified
business objective to be met by a controlled operation.
• The procedures may be executed by personnel and/or by an automated
system
Framework (defined)
• A framework provides a group of related objectives (representing issues), and
a group of related methods (representing operations), and cross-references
the two groups.
• The framework indicates how distinctive solutions are logically appropriate to
the intersections of objectives and methods.

9. Managed Service
Business Objectives (controlled issues/states)
• Business-dictated design
• Governed production and deployment
• Predefined forms and terms of delivery
• Operational transparency and consistency
• Continually managed states
Methods (controlled operations/actions)
• Agreements (provisions)
• Standards (utility)
• Models (designs)
• Workflows (functions)
• Interfaces (integrations)
Communications,
knowledge and
instructions

10. Managed Solution
Business Objectives of service controls
• Business-dictated design
• Governed production and deployment
• Predefined forms and terms of delivery
• Operational transparency and consistency
• Continually managed states
Business Objectives of service impact alignment
• Effect
• Flexibility
• Availability
• Quality
• Relevance
Impacts due to
management processes

11. Solution Design
Business Objectives of service impact alignment
• Effect
• Flexibility
• Availability
• Quality
• Relevance
Capability Enablement through service attribute production
• Design
• Develop
• Deploy
• Support
• Sustain
• Remove
Alignment
Themes and Stories
Production
Use Cases and Tasks

12. Solution Value
Business Objectives of service usability
• Portfolio
• Demand
• Delivery
• Quality
• Performance
Capability Enablement through service attribute production
• Design
• Develop
• Deploy
• Support
• Sustain
• Remove
Usage Value
Themes and Stories
Production
Use Cases and Tasks

13. Business-Centric Story Boarding
Operational
Capabilities
Portfolio Demand Delivery Quality Performance
Design Proposal Catalog Processes Standards Modeling
Develop Project
Service
Offerings
Platform Certification Engineering
Deploy Commission
Service
Request Mgmt
Provisioning
Versioning &
Release
Implementation
Support Measurement
Service Level
Agreements
Fulfillment
Tracking
Event
resolution
Service Level
Mgmt
Sustain Contracting Inventory Assets Compliance
Change & Config
Mgmt
Remove Decommission
Entitlement
expiration
Security Warranty Limit Deactivation
Business Perspectives on Usability of a Service
IT management processes that support
the business perspective on how services align with the business
©2016MalcolmRyder/ArchestraResearch

14. Capability-centric Story Boarding
Operational
Capabilities
Business
Processes
Applications Platforms Infra-
structure
Resources
Design Strategy Requirements Standards Configuration Selection
Develop Workflows Builds Environments Systems Assets
Deploy Access Delivery Interface Installation Administration
Support Fulfillment Monitoring Maintenance Maintenance Assignment
Sustain Evaluation Enhancements Configuration Refresh Procurement
Remove Retirement Change Change Change Retirement
Business Perspective on Managed Capabilities
Provide management processes bridging the business capabilities and the IT capabilities.
Increasingly this is the domain of XaaS – everything as a service…
©2016MalcolmRyder/ArchestraResearch

15. IT-Centric Story Boarding
Managed
Capabilities
Transparency
(insight)
Compliance
(governance)
Standards
(best practice)
Provision
(assurance)
Production
(developmt)
Business
Processes
Analytics Approvals Policies Jobs Models
Applications Monitoring Roles Requirements Packaging Changes
Platforms Auditing Interfaces Interoperability Deployment Building Codes
Infra-
structure
Monitoring Regulations Configurations
Security
Environment
Resources Auditing Contracts Certifications Procurement Assets
Business Perspectives on manageability of a Service
IT management areas enabling service attributes that support
the business perspective on what kind of services IT can provide
©2016MalcolmRyder/ArchestraResearch

16. ©2016 Malcolm Ryder / Archestra Research
www.archestra.com
mryder@archestra.com