ISO/IEC 20000 part 11 published – guidance on relationship between ISO/IEC 20000-1 and ITIL

Part 11 is the 1^st in a series of parts about the relationship between ISO/IEC 20000-1 and other frameworks. Part 12 is currently being developed for CMMI-SVC and is expected to be published later in 2016. Part 13 will be started in the future for COBIT.

Many organisations use frameworks for their service management and it is useful to understand the relationship between the framework and ISO/IEC 20000-1. Part 11 makes it clear that an organisation can use ITIL® or other frameworks to support their service management processes. The introduction of the standard states:

‘This part of ISO/IEC 20000 can assist readers in relating the requirements specified in ISO/IEC 20000–1:2011 to supporting text in one of the most commonly used service management frameworks, ITIL. Service providers can refer to this guidance as a cross–reference between the two documents to help them plan and implement a service management system (SMS).

The usage of Part 11 is explained in Clause 1:

‘It can be used by any organization or person wishing to understand how ITIL can be used with ISO/IEC 20000–1:2011, including:

1. a service provider that has demonstrated or intends to demonstrate conformity to the requirements specified in ISO/IEC 20000–1:2011 and is seeking guidance on the use of ITIL to establish and improve an SMS and the services;
2. a service provider that already uses ITIL and is seeking guidance on how ITIL can be used to support efforts to demonstrate conformity to the requirements specified in ISO/IEC 20000–1:2011;
3. an assessor or auditor who wishes to understand the use of ITIL as support to achieve the requirements specified in ISO/IEC 20000–1:2011.

The correlations provided in this part of ISO/IEC 20000 are for ISO/IEC 20000–1:2011 and the 2011 edition of ITIL’.

Content of Part 11

Because Part 11 may be read by those who know ISO/IEC 20000 or those who know ITIL® or both, it starts with an introduction to each. It then goes on to a general description of the relationship between the two and a table of relationships at a high level.

The relationships are complex and Part 11 states:

‘The more general requirements specified in ISO/IEC 20000–1:2011 Clause 4 cover the overarching concepts of the SMS. The requirements specified in ISO/IEC 20000–1:2011 Clause 5 cover the design and transition of new or changed services. The coverage of ISO/IEC 20000–1:2011 Clauses 4 and 5 is spread across multiple chapters of the ITIL material. ISO/IEC 20000–1:2011 Clauses 6 to 9 are generally well correlated to specific process chapters within each of the ITIL core publications’.

Annex A is a comparison of the terminology used in both ISO/IEC 20000-1 and ITIL® with a commentary about any differences. In many cases, the definitions may be worded differently but the intent is the same. For example, the definition of service management is different but the intent is the same in both publications. There is also a useful table of terms used in ISO/IEC 20000-1 which are not defined in ISO/IEC 20000-1 but defined in ITIL®.

Annex B is the core of the standard providing the correlation of the requirements in ISO/IEC 20000-1 to the 5 core ITIL® books. The correlation method is explained and detailed tables cover the correlations for each of Clauses 4 – 9 in ISO/IEC 20000-1 with a commentary for each correlation. Every clause has some correlation to ITIL®.

Opinion

Part 11 is a useful reference document for those who currently or in the future want to use both ISO/IEC 20000-1 and ITIL®.

Further information

ISO/IEC 20000 part 11 can be obtained from the ISO web site or your country standards organisation e.g. BSI in the UK.

Author: Lynda.cooper@service20000.com

ITIL Master, ISO/IEC 20000-1 project editor, consultant and trainer

[1] ITIL® is a registered trademark of AXELOS Limited.

Originally published - February 9 2016