ITIL Study Guide

ITIL Study Guide – Introduction

Welcome to our library of ITIL study guides to help you pass the ITIL V4 Exam. The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is sometimes referred to as the ITIL foundation or the ITIL framework. Created in the 1980’s, The ITIL framework has evolved over time into a widely accepted set of best practices that are designed to support an organization in gaining optimal value from IT by aligning IT services with business strategy. In 2019, they released the latest version of ITIL, ITIL 4, which takes a more holistic and adaptable approach to I T service Management ITSM. The ITIL v4 certification is the go-to certification if you are an IT executive, operations manager, IT audit manager, service delivery professional or an IT manager looking to reduce risk, improve customer relations and support and lead an IT team and infrastructure.

What is ITIL?

Th IT Infrastructure Library provides a set of best practices and techniques for selecting, planning, delivering, and maintaining IT services within a business that aligns the IT department’s actions and expenses with the organisation’s mission and the ever-changing business demands.

ITIL v4 Foundation is a certification you can obtain after sitting an exam that tests your knowledge of the ITIL 4 framework learning material. The ITIL 4 Foundation exam is designed to measure your understanding of the key concepts, principles, and practices of the ITIL 4 framework, including:

  1. The four dimensions of service management
  2. The ITIL service value system
  3. The service value chain
  4. ITIL Governance
  5. The 7 ITIL Guiding principles
  6. Continual Improvement
  7. ITIL v4 Management practices

We will be covering each of these key concepts and principles in future study guides.


ITIL Study Guide – Foundation Glossary

Here are some key terms and definitions from the ITIL 4 Foundation glossary that will be used within the library of ITIL Study Guide:

  1. ITIL – IT Infrastructure Library
  2. IT service management (ITSM): A set of specialized organizational capabilities for providing value to customers in the form of services.
  3. DevOps – An organizational culture that aims to improve the flow of value to customers. DevOps focuses on culture, automation, Lean, measurement, and sharing (CALMS).
  4. Best practice – A way of working that has been proven to be successful by multiple organizations.
  5. Capabilities – The specialized skills or abilities an organization applies to resources in order to create value.
  6. Acceptance criteria – A list of minimum requirements that a service or service component must meet for it to be acceptable to key stakeholders.
  7. Functions – Self-contained subsets of an organization intended to accomplish specific tasks. They usually take the form of a group of people and the tools they use.
  8. Processes – Structured sets of activities designed to achieve a specific objective. The four basic characteristics of processes are: They transform inputs into outputs, they deliver results to a specific customer or stakeholder, they are measurable, they are triggered by specific events
  9. Resources – The raw materials that contribute to a service, such as money, equipment, time, and staff.
  10. Roles – Defined collections of responsibilities and privileges. Roles may be held by individuals or teams.
  11. Service Assets – Also known just as assets, these refer to the resources and capabilities that a service provider must allocate to offer a service.
  12. Service Management – Specialized capabilities for delivering value to customers in the form of services.
  13. Services – A means of delivering value to customers without requiring them to own specific costs and risks.
  14. Asset register – A database or list of assets, capturing key attributes such as ownership and financial value.
  15. Problem – A cause, or potential cause, of one or more incidents.
  16. ITIL guiding principles – Recommendations that can guide an organization in all circumstances, regardless of changes in its goals, strategies, type of work, or management structure.
  17. ITIL service value chain – An operating model for service providers that covers all the key activities required to effectively manage products and services.
  18. Value, Utility, and Warranty – The value of the service consists of two components: utility and warranty. Services must offer both utility and warranty to have value. Utility, also called fitness for purpose, refers to the ability of the service to remove constraints or increase the performance of the customer. Warranty, also called fitness for use, is the ability of the service to operate reliably.
  19. Service: A means of enabling value co-creation by facilitating outcomes that customers want to achieve, without the ownership of specific costs and risks.
  20. Learn Service management: A set of organizational capabilities for providing value to customers in the form of services.
  21. Service provider: An organization that provides IT services to one or more customers.
  22. Learn Service consumer: A customer or stakeholder who uses or is interested in the outcomes of a service.
  23. Service relationship: The interaction between a service provider and a service consumer.
  24. Learn Service offering: A description of one or more services designed to address the needs of a target consumer group.
  25. Disaster recovery plans – A set of clearly defined plans related to how an organization will recover from a disaster as well as return to apre-disaster condition, considering the four dimensions of service management.
  26. Lean – An approach that focuses on improving workflows by maximizing value through the elimination of waste.
  27. Service level agreement (SLA): A formal agreement between a service provider and a customer that outlines the specific services to be provided, the expected levels of service, and the responsibilities of each party.
  28. Service desk: A function that provides a single point of contact for customers to report incidents, request services, and make inquiries.
  29. Service request – A request from a user or a user’s authorized representative that initiates a service action which has been agreed as a normal part of service delivery.
  30. Business relationship manager (BRM) -A role responsible for maintaining good relationships with one or more customers.
  31. Standard – A document, established by consensus and approved by a recognized body, that provides for common and
  32. repeated use, mandatory requirements, guidelines, or characteristics for its subject.
  33. Incident: An unplanned interruption to an IT service or a reduction in the quality of an IT service.
  34. Problem: The underlying cause of one or more incidents.
  35. Change: The addition, modification, or removal of anything that could have an effect on IT services.
  36. Emergency change – A change that must be introduced as soon as possible.
  37. Continual improvement: A practice of constantly reviewing and improving services and processes to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
  38. Governance – The means by which an organization is directed and controlled.
  39. Digital transformation – The evolution of traditional business models to meet the needs of highly empowered customers, with technology playing an enabling role.
  40. Customer experience (CX) – The sum of functional and emotional interactions with a service and service provider as perceived by a service customer.
  41. User experience (UX) – The sum of the functional and emotional interactions with a service and service provider as perceived by a user.
  42. Service level agreement (SLA) – A documented agreement between a service provider and a customer that identifies both services required andthe expected level of service.
  43. Mean time between failures (MTBF) – A metric of how frequently a service or other configuration item fails.
  44. Mean time to restore service (MTRS) – A metric of how quickly a service is restored after a failure.
  45. Business analysis practice -The practice of analysing a business or some element of a business, defining its needs and recommending.
  46. Critical success factor (CSF) – A necessary precondition for the achievement of intended results solutions to address these needs and/or solve a business problem, and create value for stakeholders.
  47. Value: The perceived benefits, usefulness, and importance of a service to a service consumer.
  48. Business case -A justification for expenditure of organizational resources, providing information about costs, benefits, options, risks, and issues.
  49. Operational technology – The hardware and software solutions that detect or cause changes in physical processes through direct monitoring and/or control of physical devices such as valves, pumps, etc
  50. Policy – Formally documented management expectations and intentions, used to direct decisions and activities.
  51. Recovery point objective (RPO) – The point to which information used by an activity must be restored to enable the activity to operate on resumption.
  52. Recovery time objective (RTO) – The maximum acceptable period of time following a service disruption that can elapse before the lack of business functionality severely impacts the organization.
  53. Feedback loop – A technique whereby the outputs of one part of a system are used as inputs to the same part of the system.
  54. Culture – A set of values that is shared by a group of people, including expectations about how people should behave, ideas, beliefs, and practices.
  55. Value co-creation: The joint creation of value by the service provider and the service consumer.
  56. Capacity and performance management practice – The practice of ensuring that services achieve agreed and expected performance levels, satisfying current and future demand in a cost-effective way.
  57. Service architecture – A view of all the services provided by an organization. It includes interactions between the services, and service models that describe the structure and dynamics of each service.
  58. Service catalogue – Structured information about all the services and service offerings of a service provider, relevant for a specific target audience.
  59. Service catalogue management practice – The practice of providing a single source of consistent information on all services and service offerings, and ensuring that it is available to the relevant audience.
  60. Service configuration management practice – The practice of ensuring that accurate and reliable information about the configuration of services, and the
  61. configuration items that support them, is available when and where needed.
  62. Organizational velocity – The speed, effectiveness, and efficiency with which an organization operates. Organizational velocity influences time to market, quality, safety, costs, and risks.
  63. Escalation – The act of sharing awareness or transferring ownership of an issue or work item.
  64. Configuration item (CI) – Any component that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service.
  65. Configuration management database (CMDB)- A database used to store configuration records throughout their lifecycle. The CMDB also maintains the relationships between configuration records.
  66. Configuration management system (CMS) – A set of tools, data, and information that is used to support service configuration management.
  67. Information security management practice – The practice of protecting an organization by understanding and managing risks to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information.
  68. Information security policy – The policy that governs an organization’s approach to information security management.
  69. Release management practice – The practice of making new and changed services and features available for use.
  70. Request catalogue – A view of the service catalogue, providing details on service requests for existing and new services, which is made available for the user.
  71. Request for change (RFC) – A description of a proposed change used to initiate change enablement.
  72. Post-implementation review (PIR) – A review after the implementation of a change, to evaluate success and identify opportunities for improvement.
  73. Infrastructure and platform management practice – The practice of overseeing the infrastructure and platforms used by an organization. This enables the monitoringof technology solutions available, including solutions from third parties.
  74. ITIL value chain activity- A step of the value chain that an organization takes in the creation of value.
  75. Kanban – A method for visualizing work, identifying potential blockages and resource conflicts, and managing work in progress.
  76. Key performance indicator (KPI) – An important metric used to evaluate the success in meeting an objective.
  77. Work instruction – A detailed description to be followed in order to perform an activity.
  78. Service management – A set of specialized organizational capabilities for enabling value for customers in the form of services.
  79. Service offering – A formal description of one or more services, designed to address the needs of a target consumer group. A service offering may include goods, access to resources, and service actions.
  80. Service owner – A role that is accountable for the delivery of a specific service.
  81. Service portfolio – A complete set of products and services that are managed throughout their lifecycles by an organization
  82. Outsourcing – The process of having external suppliers provide products and services that were previously provided internally.
  83. Risk – A possible event that could cause harm or loss, or make it more difficult to achieve objectives. Can also be defined as uncertainty of outcome, and can be used in the context of measuring the probability of positive outcomes as well as negative outcomes.

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