Best Management Practice portfolio: common glossary of ... · common glossary of terms and definitions Version 1, October 2012 Trade marks The Swirl logo™ is a trade mark of the

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This glossary:• Issubjecttotermsandconditionsagreedtoby

downloadingtheglossary

• UsesinternationalEnglish,whichhasbeenadoptedtoreflectandfacilitatetheinternationalusageoftheproducts

• FollowstherecenttrendintheBestManagementPracticepublicationstomoveawayfromcapitalizationotherthaninnormalEnglishusage

• Doesnotincludeeverytermthatisdefinedorexplainedinthemainguide

• Isthereforeatransitionalproductreflectingthetrenddiscussedabovebutstillincludesdefinitionsfromtheglossariesofsomepublicationsthatdon’tcomplywiththetrend.

AcknowledgementsBestManagementPracticewouldliketothankAdrianDooley(APMG),AlanFerguson(AFA),AndyMurray(Outperform)andGrahamWilliams(GSWConsultancyLtd),whoproducedtheoriginalPPMcommonglossary.

BestManagementPracticewouldalsoliketothankAshleyHanna(HP)andStuartRance(HP),whoproducedtheoriginalITILglossary(inEnglish)inMay2007.(ItwasupdatedbyAshleyHannainJuly2011.)

Best Management Practice portfolio: common glossary of terms and definitions

Version1,October2012

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Glossary of terms and definitions

Term Definition

abstraction Thelevelofafunctioninahierarchy.

accept (risk response) Ariskresponsetoathreatwhereaconsciousanddeliberatedecisionistakentoretainthethreat,havingdiscernedthatitismoreeconomicaltodosothantoattemptariskresponseaction.Thethreatshouldcontinuetobemonitoredtoensurethatitremainstolerable.

acceptance Generic –theactofacceptingorthestateofbeingacceptedoracceptable.

ITIL –FormalagreementthatanITservice,process,planorotherdeliverableiscomplete,accurate,reliableandmeetsitsspecifiedrequirements.Acceptanceisusuallyprecededbychangeevaluationortestingandisoftenrequiredbeforeproceedingtothenextstageofaprojectorprocess.Forexample,thetermserviceacceptancecriteriainITIL Service Transitionisdefinedas‘asetofcriteriausedtoensurethatanITservicemeetsitsfunctionalityandqualityrequirementsandthattheITserviceproviderisreadytooperatethenewITservicewhenithasbeendeployed’.

PPM –Theformalactofacknowledgingthattheprojecthasmetagreedacceptancecriteriaandtherebymettherequirementsofitsstakeholders.Forexample,inPRINCE2thetermacceptancecriteriaisdefinedas‘aprioritizedlistofcriteriathattheprojectproductmustmeetbeforethecustomerwillacceptit,i.e.measurabledefinitionsoftheattributesrequiredforthesetofproductstobeacceptabletokeystakeholders’.

access management TheprocessresponsibleforallowinguserstomakeuseofITservices,dataorotherassets.Accessmanagementhelpstoprotecttheconfidentiality,integrityandavailabilityofassetsbyensuringthatonlyauthorizedusersareabletoaccessormodifythem.Accessmanagementimplementsthepoliciesofinformationsecuritymanagementandissometimesreferredtoasrightsmanagementoridentitymanagement.

account manager Arolethatisverysimilartothatofthebusinessrelationshipmanager,butincludesmorecommercialaspects.MostcommonlyusedbyTypeIIIserviceproviderswhendealingwithexternalcustomers.

accountable Personallyanswerableforanactivity.Accountabilitycannotbedelegated,unlikeresponsibility.


Term Definition

accounting TheprocessresponsibleforidentifyingtheactualcostsofdeliveringITservices,comparingthesewithbudgetedcosts,andmanagingvariancefromthebudget.

accounting officer Apublicsectorrole.Haspersonalresponsibilityfortheproprietyandregularityofthefinancesforwhichheorsheisanswerable;forthekeepingofproperaccounts;forprudentandeconomicaladministration;foravoidanceofwasteandextravagance;andfortheefficientandeffectiveuseofresources.Thisbringswithitaresponsibilityforgovernanceissues,andincludescustodianshipofriskmanagementanditsadoptionthroughouttheorganization.

accounting period Aperiodoftime(usuallyoneyear)forwhichbudgets,charges,depreciationandotherfinancialcalculationsaremade.See also financialyear.

accredited Officiallyauthorizedtocarryoutarole.Forexample,anaccreditedbodymaybeauthorizedtoprovidetrainingortoconductaudits.

active monitoring MonitoringofaconfigurationitemoranITservicethatusesautomatedregularcheckstodiscoverthecurrentstatus.See also passivemonitoring.

activity Generic –Afunction,mission,actionorcollectionofactions.

ITIL –Asetofactionsdesignedtoachieveaparticularresult.Activitiesareusuallydefinedaspartofprocessesorplans,andaredocumentedinprocedures.

PPM –Aprocess,functionortaskthatoccursovertime,hasrecognizableresultsandismanaged.Itisusuallydefinedaspartofaprocessorplan.

aggregated risk Theoveralllevelofrisktotheprogrammeorportfoliowhenalltherisksareviewedasatotalityratherthanindividually.Thiscouldincludetheoutputsofparticularscenariosorriskcombinations.

agile methods Principally,softwaredevelopmentmethodsthatapplytheprojectapproachof(often)usingshorttime-boxediterationswhereproductsareincrementallydeveloped.PRINCE2andMoVarecompatiblewithagileprinciples.

agreed service time (AST) Asynonymforservicehours,commonlyusedinformalcalculationsofavailability.See also downtime.


Term Definition

agreement Adocumentthatdescribesaformalunderstandingbetweentwoormoreparties.Anagreementisnotlegallybinding,unlessitformspartofacontract.See also operationallevelagreement;servicelevelagreement.

alert Anotificationthatathresholdhasbeenreached,somethinghaschanged,orafailurehasoccurred.Alertsareoftencreatedandmanagedbysystemmanagementtoolsandaremanagedbytheeventmanagementprocess.

analytical modelling AtechniquethatusesmathematicalmodelstopredictthebehaviourofITservicesorotherconfigurationitems.Analyticalmodelsarecommonlyusedincapacitymanagementandavailabilitymanagement.See also modelling;simulationmodelling.

application SoftwarethatprovidesfunctionswhicharerequiredbyanITservice.EachapplicationmaybepartofmorethanoneITservice.Anapplicationrunsononeormoreserversorclients.See also applicationmanagement;applicationportfolio.

application management Thefunctionresponsibleformanagingapplicationsthroughouttheirlifecycle.

application portfolio Adatabaseorstructureddocumentusedtomanageapplicationsthroughouttheirlifecycle.Theapplicationportfoliocontainskeyattributesofallapplications.Theapplicationportfolioissometimesimplementedaspartoftheserviceportfolio,oraspartoftheconfigurationmanagementsystem.

application service provider (ASP) AnexternalserviceproviderthatprovidesITservicesusingapplicationsrunningattheserviceprovider’spremises.Usersaccesstheapplicationsbynetworkconnectionstotheserviceprovider.

application sizing Theactivityresponsibleforunderstandingtheresourcerequirementsneededtosupportanewapplication,oramajorchangetoanexistingapplication.ApplicationsizinghelpstoensurethattheITservicecanmeetitsagreedserviceleveltargetsforcapacityandperformance.

approval Theformalconfirmationthataproductiscompleteandmeetsitsrequirements(lessanyconcessions)asdefinedbyitsproductdescription.


Term Definition

approver Thepersonorgroup(e.g.aprojectboard)whoisidentifiedasqualifiedandauthorizedtoapprovea(managementorspecialist)productasbeingcompleteandfitforpurpose.

architecture ThestructureofasystemorITservice,includingtherelationshipsofcomponentstoeachotherandtotheenvironmenttheyarein.Architecturealsoincludesthestandardsandguidelinesthatguidethedesignandevolutionofthesystem.

as-is state Thecurrentoperatingstructureandperformanceofthepartsofthebusinesswhichwillbeimpactedbyaprogramme.

assembly AconfigurationitemthatismadeupofanumberofotherCIs.Forexample,aserverCImaycontainCIsforCPUs,disks,memoryetc.;anITserviceCImaycontainmanyhardware,softwareandotherCIs.See also build;componentCI.

assessment Inspectionandanalysistocheckwhetherastandardorsetofguidelinesisbeingfollowed,thatrecordsareaccurate,orthatefficiencyandeffectivenesstargetsarebeingmet.See also audit.

asset Anyresourceorcapability.Theassetsofaserviceproviderincludeanythingthatcouldcontributetothedeliveryofaservice.Assetscanbeoneofthefollowingtypes:management,organization,process,knowledge,people,information,applications,infrastructureorfinancialcapital.See also customerasset;serviceasset;strategicasset.

asset management Agenericactivityorprocessresponsiblefortrackingandreportingthevalueandownershipofassetsthroughouttheirlifecycle.See also serviceassetandconfigurationmanagement;fixed-assetmanagement;softwareassetmanagement.

asset register Alistoffixedassetsthatincludestheirownershipandvalue.See also fixed-assetmanagement.

asset specificity Oneormoreattributesofanassetthatmakeitparticularlyusefulforagivenpurpose.Assetspecificitymaylimittheuseoftheassetforotherpurposes.

assumption Astatementthatistakenasbeingtrueforthepurposesofplanning,butwhichcouldchangelater.Anassumptionismadewheresomefactsarenotyetknown.Thereisariskthatassumptionsarenotcorrect.


Term Definition

assurance Allthesystematicactionsnecessarytoprovideconfidencethatthetarget(system,process,organization,programme,project,outcome,benefit,capability,productoutput,deliverable)isappropriate.Appropriatenessmightbedefinedsubjectivelyorobjectivelyindifferentcircumstances.Theimplicationisthatassurancewillhavealevelofindependencefromthatwhichisbeingassured.See also projectassurance;qualityassurance.

attribute Generic –Aqualityorcharacteristicinherentinorascribedtosomeoneorsomething.

ITIL –Apieceofinformationaboutaconfigurationitem.Examplesarename,location,versionnumberandcost.AttributesofCIsarerecordedinaconfigurationmanagementdatabase(CMDB)andmaintainedaspartofaconfigurationmanagementsystem(CMS).See also relationship;configurationmanagementsystem.

PPM –Acharacteristicorinherentfeature.

audit Formalinspectionandverificationtocheckwhetherastandardorsetofguidelinesisbeingfollowed,thatrecordsareaccurate,orthatefficiencyandeffectivenesstargetsarebeingmet.Anauditmaybecarriedoutbyinternalorexternalgroups.See also assessment;certification.

audit committee Abodyofindependentdirectorswhoareresponsibleformonitoringtheintegrityofthefinancialstatementofthecompany;theeffectivenessofthecompany’sinternalauditfunction;theexternalauditor’sindependenceandobjectivity;andtheeffectivenessoftheauditprocess.

authority Therighttoallocateresourcesandmakedecisions(appliestoproject,stageandteamlevels).

authority matrix SeeRACI.

authorization Thepointatwhichanauthorityisgranted.

automatic call distribution (ACD) Useofinformationtechnologytodirectanincomingtelephonecalltothemostappropriatepersonintheshortestpossibletime.ACDissometimescalledautomatedcalldistribution.


Term Definition

availability AbilityofanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemtoperformitsagreedfunctionwhenrequired.Availabilityisdeterminedbyreliability,maintainability,serviceability,performanceandsecurity.Availabilityisusuallycalculatedasapercentage.Thiscalculationisoftenbasedonagreedservicetimeanddowntime.ItisbestpracticetocalculateavailabilityofanITserviceusingmeasurementsofthebusinessoutput.

availability management (AM) TheprocessresponsibleforensuringthatITservicesmeetthecurrentandfutureavailabilityneedsofthebusinessinacost-effectiveandtimelymanner.Availabilitymanagementdefines,analyses,plans,measuresandimprovesallaspectsoftheavailabilityofITservices,andensuresthatallITinfrastructures,processes,tools,rolesetc.areappropriatefortheagreedserviceleveltargetsforavailability.See also availabilitymanagementinformationsystem.

availability management information system (AMIS)

Asetoftools,dataandinformationthatisusedtosupportavailabilitymanagement.See also serviceknowledgemanagementsystem.

availability plan AplantoensurethatexistingandfutureavailabilityrequirementsforITservicescanbeprovidedcost-effectively.

avoid (risk response) Ariskresponsetoathreatwherethethreateithercannolongerhaveanimpactorcannolongerhappen.

back-out Anactivitythatrestoresaserviceorotherconfigurationitemtoapreviousbaseline.Back-outisusedasaformofremediationwhenachangeorreleaseisnotsuccessful.

backup Copyingdatatoprotectagainstlossofintegrityoravailabilityoftheoriginal.

balanced scorecard AmanagementtooldevelopedbyDrsRobertKaplan(HarvardBusinessSchool)andDavidNorton.Abalancedscorecardenablesastrategytobebrokendownintokeyperformanceindicators.Performanceagainstthekeyperformanceindicators(KPIs)isusedtodemonstratehowwellthestrategyisbeingachieved.Abalancedscorecardhasfourmajorareas,eachofwhichhasasmallnumberofKPIs.Thesamefourareasareconsideredatdifferentlevelsofdetailthroughouttheorganization.


Term Definition

baseline Generic –Ameasurement,calculation,orlocationusedasabasisforcomparison.

ITIL –Asnapshotthatisusedasareferencepoint.Manysnapshotsmaybetakenandrecordedovertimebutonlysomewillbeusedasbaselines.Forexample:

• AnITSMbaselinecanbeusedasastartingpointtomeasuretheeffectofaserviceimprovementplan

• AperformancebaselinecanbeusedtomeasurechangesinperformanceoverthelifetimeofanITservice

• Aconfigurationbaselinecanbeusedaspartofaback-outplantoenabletheITinfrastructuretoberestoredtoaknownconfigurationifachangeorreleasefails.

See also benchmark.

PPM –Areferencelevelagainstwhichanentityismonitoredandcontrolled.

baseline management product Atypeofmanagementproductthatdefinesaspectsoftheprojectand,onceapproved,issubjecttochangecontrol.

basic function Theprimarypurposeofanoutput,theonefunctionthatneverchangesunlesstheproductorserviceitselfdoes.Ifitisnotsatisfied,theoutputisworthless.Forexample,thepurposeofabusstopistoprovideapointwherepeoplewaitingareeasilyvisibletothebusdriver,sotheycanhailthebus.Ifitdoesn’tmeetthisneed,itmightaswellnotbebuilt.

benchmark Generic –Astandardbywhichsomethingcanbemeasuredorjudged.

ITIL –Abaselinethatisusedtocomparerelateddatasetsaspartofabenchmarkingexercise.Forexample,arecentsnapshotofaprocesscanbecomparedtoapreviousbaselineofthatprocess,oracurrentbaselinecanbecomparedtoindustrydataorbestpractice.See also benchmarking;baseline.

PPM –Aproductorprocessagainstwhichotherproductsorprocessesmaybecompared.

benchmarking Theprocessresponsibleforcomparingabenchmarkwithrelateddatasetssuchasamorerecentsnapshot,industrydataorbestpractice.Thetermisalsousedtomeancreatingaseriesofbenchmarksovertime,andcomparingtheresultstomeasureprogressorimprovement.ThisprocessisnotdescribedindetailwithinthecoreITILpublications.


Term Definition

benefit Themeasurableimprovementresultingfromanoutcomeperceivedasanadvantagebyoneormorestakeholders,andwhichcontributestowardsoneormoreorganizationalobjective(s).

benefits distribution matrix Anillustrationofthedistributionofbenefitsagainstdis-benefitsacrosstheorganization,i.e.thewinnersandlosersinachange.

benefits management Theidentification,definition,tracking,realizationandoptimizationofbenefits,usuallywithinaprogrammewhichcanincorporatebenefitsidentifiedviaanMoVstudy.

benefits realization Forprojects,thepracticeofaligningtheoutcomeassociatedwiththeprojectwiththeprojectedbenefitsclaimedinthebusinesscase.

benefits register Summarydocumentthatcontainskeyinformationfromthebenefitprofiles.

benefits review plan Aplanthatdefineshowandwhenameasurementoftheachievementoftheproject’sbenefitscanbemade.Iftheprojectisbeingmanagedwithinaprogramme,thisinformationmaybecreatedandmaintainedattheprogrammelevel.

benefits tolerance Thepermissibledeviationintheexpectedbenefitthatisallowedbeforethedeviationneedstobeescalatedtothenextlevelofmanagement.Benefitstoleranceisdocumentedinthebusinesscase.See also tolerance.

Best Management Practice TheBestManagementPracticeportfolioisownedbytheCabinetOffice,partofHMGovernment.FormerlyownedbyCCTAandthenOGC,theBestManagementPracticefunctionsmovedtotheCabinetOfficeinJune2010.TheBestManagementPracticeportfolioincludesguidanceonITservicemanagementandproject,programme,risk,portfolioandvaluemanagement.Thereisalsoamanagementmaturitymodelaswellasrelatedglossariesofterms.

best practice Generic –Provenapproaches,activities,methodsorprocessesthatproducebetterresultsthanotherapproaches.

ITIL –Provenactivitiesorprocessesthathavebeensuccessfullyusedbymultipleorganizations.ITILisanexampleofbestpractice.

PPM –Adefinedandprovenmethodofmanagingeventseffectively.


Term Definition

billing Partofthechargingprocess.Billingistheactivityresponsibleforproducinganinvoiceorabillandrecoveringthemoneyfromcustomers.See also pricing.

border Thetime-boundlimitationsofatranche,i.e.whenend-of-tranchereviewsareheldandtheprogrammereceivesendorsementtomoveintothenexttranche.

boundary Thescopeofwhataprogrammewillcover;theextentofitsinfluenceandauthority.

brainstorming Atechniquethathelpsateamtogenerateideas.Ideasarenotreviewedduringthebrainstormingsession,butatalaterstage.Brainstormingisoftenusedbyproblemmanagementtoidentifypossiblecauses.

briefing meeting AmeetingattheoutsetofanMoVactivitywherethestudyleaderorparticipantsinanMoVactivityreceiveinformationonthesubjectunderreview.

British Standards Institution (BSI) TheUKnationalstandardsbody,responsibleforcreatingandmaintainingBritishstandards.Seewww.bsi-global.comformoreinformation.See also InternationalOrganizationforStandardization.

budget Alistofallthemoneyanorganizationorbusinessunitplanstoreceive,andplanstopayout,overaspecifiedperiodoftime.See also budgeting;planning.

budgeting Theactivityofpredictingandcontrollingthespendingofmoney.Budgetingconsistsofaperiodicnegotiationcycletosetfuturebudgets(usuallyannual)andtheday-to-daymonitoringandadjustingofcurrentbudgets.

build TheactivityofassemblinganumberofconfigurationitemstocreatepartofanITservice.Thetermisalsousedtorefertoareleasethatisauthorizedfordistribution–forexample,serverbuildorlaptopbuild.See also configurationbaseline.

build environment Acontrolledenvironmentwhereapplications,ITservicesandotherbuildsareassembledpriortobeingmovedintoatestorliveenvironment.


Term Definition

business Anoverallcorporateentityororganizationformedofanumberofbusinessunits.InthecontextofITSM,thetermincludespublic-sectorandnot-for-profitorganizations,aswellascompanies.AnITserviceproviderprovidesITservicestoacustomerwithinabusiness.TheITserviceprovidermaybepartofthesamebusinessasitscustomer(internalserviceprovider)orpartofanotherbusiness(externalserviceprovider).

business as usual (BAU) Thewaythebusinessnormallyachievesitsobjectives.

business capacity management InthecontextofITSM,businesscapacitymanagementisthesub-processofcapacitymanagementresponsibleforunderstandingfuturebusinessrequirementsforuseinthecapacityplan.See also servicecapacitymanagement;componentcapacitymanagement.

business case Generic –Abusinesscasecapturesthereasoningforinitiatingaprojectortask.Itisoftenpresentedinawell-structuredwrittendocument,butmayalsosometimescomeintheformofashortverbalargumentorpresentation.Thelogicofthebusinesscaseisthat,wheneverresourcesoreffortareconsumed,theyshouldbeinsupportofaspecificbusinessneed.

ITIL –Justificationforasignificantitemofexpenditure.Thebusinesscaseincludesinformationaboutcosts,benefits,options,issues,risksandpossibleproblems.See also cost–benefitanalysis.

PPM –Thejustificationforanorganizationalactivity(strategic,programme,projectoroperational)whichtypicallycontainscosts,benefits,risksandtimescales,andagainstwhichcontinuingviabilityistested.

business case management Themannerinwhichaprogramme’srationale,objectives,benefitsandrisksarebalancedagainstthefinancialinvestment,andhowthisbalanceismaintained,adjustedandassessedduringtheprogramme.

business change authority Anindividualwhorepresentsagroupofbusinesschangemanagers,similartoaseniorbusinesschangemanager(BCM)orbusinesschangesponsor.

business change lifecycle Agenericnameusedtorepresentanyorganizationalprocessorframeworkwhichhelpstoguidethedeliveryofprogrammesandprojectsusingacollectionofrepeatableprocessesanddecisionpoints.


Term Definition

business change manager (BCM) Theroleresponsibleforbenefitsmanagement,fromidentificationthroughtorealization,andforensuringthattheimplementationandembeddingofthenewcapabilitiesaredeliveredbytheprojects.Typicallyallocatedtomorethanoneindividualandalsoknownas‘changeagent’.

business change team Agroupofspecialistsappointedtosupportabusinesschangemanagerinthebusinesschangemanagementaspectsofbenefitsrealization.

business continuity management ITIL –Thebusinessprocessresponsibleformanagingrisksthatcouldseriouslyaffectthebusiness.Businesscontinuitymanagementsafeguardstheinterestsofkeystakeholders,reputation,brandandvalue-creatingactivities.Theprocessinvolvesreducingriskstoanacceptablelevelandplanningfortherecoveryofbusinessprocessesshouldadisruptiontothebusinessoccur.Businesscontinuitymanagementsetstheobjectives,scopeandrequirementsforITservicecontinuitymanagement.

PPM –Aholisticmanagementprocessthatidentifiespotentialimpactsthatthreatenanorganizationandprovidesaframeworkforbuildingresiliencewiththecapabilityforaneffectiveresponsethatsafeguardstheinterestsofitskeystakeholders,reputation,brandandvalue-creatingactivities.Themanagementofrecoveryorcontinuityintheeventofadisaster.Alsothemanagementoftheoverallprocessthroughtraining,rehearsalsandreviews,toensurethebusinesscontinuityplanstayscurrentanduptodate.

business continuity plan (BCP) Generic –Planningwhichidentifiestheorganization’sexposuretointernalandexternalthreatsandsynthesizeshardandsoftassetstoprovideeffectivepreventionandrecoveryfortheorganization,whilstmaintainingcompetitiveadvantageandvalue-systemintegrity.

ITIL –Aplandefiningthestepsrequiredtorestorebusinessprocessesfollowingadisruption.Theplanalsoidentifiesthetriggersforinvocation,peopletobeinvolved,communicationsetc.ITservicecontinuityplansformasignificantpartofbusinesscontinuityplans.

PPM –Aplanforthefastandefficientresumptionofessentialbusinessoperationsbydirectingrecoveryactionsofspecifiedrecoveryteams.


Term Definition

business customer Arecipientofaproductoraservicefromthebusiness.Forexample,ifthebusinessisacarmanufacturer,thenthebusinesscustomerissomeonewhobuysacar.

business impact analysis (BIA) Businessimpactanalysisistheactivityinbusinesscontinuitymanagementthatidentifiesvitalbusinessfunctionsandtheirdependencies.Thesedependenciesmayincludesuppliers,people,otherbusinessprocesses,ITservicesetc.BusinessimpactanalysisdefinestherecoveryrequirementsforITservices.Theserequirementsincluderecoverytimeobjectives,recoverypointobjectivesandminimumserviceleveltargetsforeachITservice.

business objective Theobjectiveofabusinessprocess,orofthebusinessasawhole.Businessobjectivessupportthebusinessvision,provideguidancefortheITstrategy,andareoftensupportedbyITservices.

business operations Theday-to-dayexecution,monitoringandmanagementofbusinessprocesses.

business perspective AnunderstandingoftheserviceproviderandITservicesfromthepointofviewofthebusiness,andanunderstandingofthebusinessfromthepointofviewoftheserviceprovider.

business process Aprocessthatisownedandcarriedoutbythebusiness.Abusinessprocesscontributestothedeliveryofaproductorservicetoabusinesscustomer.Forexample,aretailermayhaveapurchasingprocessthathelpstodeliverservicestoitsbusinesscustomers.ManybusinessprocessesrelyonITservices.

business relationship management

Theprocessresponsibleformaintainingapositiverelationshipwithcustomers.Businessrelationshipmanagementidentifiescustomerneedsandensuresthattheserviceproviderisabletomeettheseneedswithanappropriatecatalogueofservices.Thisprocesshasstronglinkswithservicelevelmanagement.

business relationship manager (BRM)

Aroleresponsibleformaintainingtherelationshipwithoneormorecustomers.Thisroleisoftencombinedwiththeservicelevelmanagerrole.

business risk Failuretoachievebusinessobjectives/benefits.


Term Definition

business service Aservicethatisdeliveredtobusinesscustomersbybusinessunits.Forexample,deliveryoffinancialservicestocustomersofabank,orgoodstothecustomersofaretailstore.SuccessfuldeliveryofbusinessservicesoftendependsononeormoreITservices.AbusinessservicemayconsistalmostentirelyofanITservice–forexample,anonlinebankingserviceoranexternalwebsitewhereproductorderscanbeplacedbybusinesscustomers.See also customer-facingservice.

business service management Themanagementofbusinessservicesdeliveredtobusinesscustomers.Businessservicemanagementisperformedbybusinessunits.

business unit Generic –Alogicalelementorcomponentofacompany.

ITIL –Asegmentofthebusinessthathasitsownplans,metrics,incomeandcosts.Eachbusinessunitownsassetsandusesthesetocreatevalueforcustomersintheformofgoodsandservices.

PPM –Adiscretecomponentofanorganization.

call Atelephonecalltotheservicedeskfromauser.Acallcouldresultinanincidentoraservicerequestbeinglogged.

call centre Anorganizationorbusinessunitthathandleslargenumbersofincomingandoutgoingtelephonecalls.See also servicedesk.

call type Acategorythatisusedtodistinguishincomingrequeststoaservicedesk.Commoncalltypesareincident,servicerequestandcomplaint.

capability Generic –Usuallytakentomeanthequalities,attributesandfeaturesthatcanbeusedordeveloped.

ITIL –Theabilityofanorganization,person,process,application,ITserviceorotherconfigurationitemtocarryoutanactivity.Capabilitiesareintangibleassetsofanorganization.See also resource.

PPM –Thecompletedsetofprojectoutputsrequiredtodeliveranoutcome;thisexistspriortotransition.Itisaservice,functionoroperationthatenablestheorganizationtoexploitopportunities.


Term Definition

Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)

AprocessimprovementapproachdevelopedbytheSoftwareEngineeringInstitute(SEI)ofCarnegieMellonUniversity,US.CMMIprovidesorganizationswiththeessentialelementsofeffectiveprocesses.Itcanbeusedtoguideprocessimprovementacrossaproject,adivisionoranentireorganization.CMMIhelpsintegratetraditionallyseparateorganizationalfunctions,setprocessimprovementgoalsandpriorities,provideguidanceforqualityprocesses,andprovideapointofreferenceforappraisingcurrentprocesses.Seewww.sei.cmu.edu/cmmiformoreinformation.See also maturity.

capacity ThemaximumthroughputthataconfigurationitemorITservicecandeliver.ForsometypesofCI,capacitymaybethesizeorvolume–forexample,adiskdrive.

capacity management TheprocessresponsibleforensuringthatthecapacityofITservicesandtheITinfrastructureisabletomeetagreedcapacity-andperformance-relatedrequirementsinacost-effectiveandtimelymanner.CapacitymanagementconsidersallresourcesrequiredtodeliveranITservice,andisconcernedwithmeetingboththecurrentandfuturecapacityandperformanceneedsofthebusiness.Capacitymanagementincludesthreesub-processes:businesscapacitymanagement,servicecapacitymanagement,andcomponentcapacitymanagement.See also capacitymanagementinformationsystem.

capacity management information system (CMIS)

Asetoftools,dataandinformationthatisusedtosupportcapacitymanagement.See also serviceknowledgemanagementsystem.

capacity plan AplanusedtomanagetheresourcesrequiredtodeliverITservices.TheplancontainsdetailsofcurrentandhistoricusageofITservicesandcomponents,andanyissuesthatneedtobeaddressed(includingrelatedimprovementactivities).Theplanalsocontainsscenariosfordifferentpredictionsofbusinessdemandandcostedoptionstodelivertheagreedserviceleveltargets.

capacity planning Theactivitywithincapacitymanagementresponsibleforcreatingacapacityplan.

capital budgeting Thepresentcommitmentoffundsinordertoreceiveareturninthefutureintheformofadditionalcashinflowsorreducedcashoutflows.


Term Definition

capital cost Thecostofpurchasingsomethingthatwillbecomeafinancialasset–forexample,computerequipmentandbuildings.Thevalueoftheassetdepreciatesovermultipleaccountingperiods.See also operationalcost.

capital expenditure (CAPEX) Seecapitalcost.

capitalization Identifyingmajorcostascapital,eventhoughnoassetispurchased.Thisisdonetospreadtheimpactofthecostovermultipleaccountingperiods.Themostcommonexampleofthisissoftwaredevelopment,orpurchaseofasoftwarelicence.

categorization Splittingaportfoliointoorganizationallyappropriatecategoriesorsegments–forexample,byinitiativetypeorinvestmentobjective.Theorganization’sinvestmentcriteriacanbetailoredtosuiteachcategoryofinvestment.

category Anamedgroupofthingsthathavesomethingincommon.Categoriesareusedtogroupsimilarthingstogether.Forexample,costtypesareusedtogroupsimilartypesofcost.Incidentcategoriesareusedtogroupsimilartypesofincident,whileCItypesareusedtogroupsimilartypesofconfigurationitem.

centre of excellence AcoordinatingfunctionforallorpartofP3RMensuringchangeisdeliveredconsistentlyandwell,throughstandardprocessesandcompetentstaff.Itmayprovidestandards,consistencyofmethodsandprocesses,knowledgemanagement,assuranceandtraining.Itmayalsoprovidestrategicoversight,scrutinyandchallengeacrossanorganization’sportfolioofprogrammesandprojects.ItmaybeafunctionwithinawiderscopeofP3OormaybetheonlyfunctionofaP3O.Thisfunctionprovidesafocalpointfordrivingtheimplementationofimprovementstoincreasetheorganization’scapabilityandcapacityinprogrammeandprojectdelivery.

certification Issuingacertificatetoconfirmcompliancetoastandard.Certificationincludesaformalauditbyanindependentandaccreditedbody.Thetermisalsousedtomeanawardingacertificatetoprovideevidencethatapersonhasachievedaqualification.


Term Definition

champion–challenger model Atechniquewherebyeveryoneisexpectedtocomplywiththedefinedportfolioprocesses(thecurrent‘champion’)butanyonecanrecommendachange(a‘challenger’).Onceadopted,the‘challenger’becomesthenew‘champion’process.Suchchallengersshouldbeencouragedasawayofensuringengagementacrosstheorganization,andthenumberofsubmissionsreceivedshouldbemonitoredonaregularbasis.

change Theaddition,modificationorremovalofanythingthatcouldhaveaneffectonITservices.Thescopeshouldincludechangestoallarchitectures,processes,tools,metricsanddocumentation,aswellaschangestoITservicesandotherconfigurationitems.

change advisory board (CAB) Agroupofpeoplewhosupporttheassessment,prioritization,authorizationandschedulingofchanges.Achangeadvisoryboardisusuallymadeupofrepresentativesfrom:allareaswithintheITserviceprovider;thebusiness;andthirdpartiessuchassuppliers.

change authority Apersonorgrouptowhichtheprojectboardmaydelegateresponsibilityfortheconsiderationofrequestsforchangeoroff-specifications.Thechangeauthoritymaybegivenachangebudgetandcanapprovechangeswithinthatbudget.

change budget Themoneyallocatedtothechangeauthorityavailabletobespentonauthorizedrequestsforchange.

change control Theprocedurethatensuresthatallchangesthatmayaffecttheproject’sagreedobjectivesareidentified,assessedandeitherapproved,rejectedordeferred.

change evaluation TheprocessresponsibleforformalassessmentofaneworchangedITservicetoensurethatriskshavebeenmanagedandtohelpdeterminewhethertoauthorizethechange.

change history Informationaboutallchangesmadetoaconfigurationitemduringitslife.ChangehistoryconsistsofallthosechangerecordsthatapplytotheCI.

change initiative Aprogrammeorproject.

change management Theprocessresponsibleforcontrollingthelifecycleofallchanges,enablingbeneficialchangestobemadewithminimumdisruptiontoITservices.


Term Definition

change manager Reportstothebusinesschangemanager(BCM)andmayoperateataprojectleveltosupportbenefitsrealization,namelyfocusontherealizationofaparticularbenefit.

change model Arepeatablewayofdealingwithaparticularcategoryofchange.Achangemodeldefinesspecificagreedstepsthatwillbefollowedforachangeofthiscategory.Changemodelsmaybeverycomplexwithmanystepsthatrequireauthorization(e.g.majorsoftwarerelease)ormaybeverysimplewithnorequirementforauthorization(e.g.passwordreset).See also changeadvisoryboard;standardchange.

change proposal Adocumentthatincludesahigh-leveldescriptionofapotentialserviceintroductionorsignificantchange,alongwithacorrespondingbusinesscaseandanexpectedimplementationschedule.Changeproposalsarenormallycreatedbytheserviceportfoliomanagementprocessandarepassedtochangemanagementforauthorization.Changemanagementwillreviewthepotentialimpactonotherservices,onsharedresources,andontheoverallchangeschedule.Oncethechangeproposalhasbeenauthorized,serviceportfoliomanagementwillchartertheservice.

change record Arecordcontainingthedetailsofachange.Eachchangerecorddocumentsthelifecycleofasinglechange.Achangerecordiscreatedforeveryrequestforchangethatisreceived,eventhosethataresubsequentlyrejected.Changerecordsshouldreferencetheconfigurationitemsthatareaffectedbythechange.Changerecordsmaybestoredintheconfigurationmanagementsystem,orelsewhereintheserviceknowledgemanagementsystem.

change request Seerequestforchange.

change schedule Adocumentthatlistsallauthorizedchangesandtheirplannedimplementationdates,aswellastheestimateddatesoflonger-termchanges.Achangescheduleissometimescalledaforwardscheduleofchange,eventhoughitalsocontainsinformationaboutchangesthathavealreadybeenimplemented.

change window Aregular,agreedtimewhenchangesorreleasesmaybeimplementedwithminimalimpactonservices.Changewindowsareusuallydocumentedinservicelevelagreements.

chargeable item AdeliverableofanITservicethatisusedincalculatingchargestocustomers–forexample,numberoftransactions,numberofdesktopPCs.


Term Definition

charging RequiringpaymentforITservices.ChargingforITservicesisoptional,andmanyorganizationschoosetotreattheirITserviceproviderasacostcentre.See also chargingprocess;chargingpolicy.

charging policy Apolicyspecifyingtheobjectiveofthechargingprocessandthewayinwhichchargeswillbecalculated.See also cost.

charging process Theprocessresponsiblefordecidinghowmuchcustomersshouldpay(pricing)andrecoveringmoneyfromthem(billing).ThisprocessisnotdescribedindetailwithinthecoreITILpublications.

charter Adocumentthatcontainsdetailsofanewservice,asignificantchangeorothersignificantproject.Chartersaretypicallyauthorizedbyserviceportfoliomanagementorbyaprojectmanagementoffice.Thetermcharterisalsousedtodescribetheactofauthorizingtheworkrequiredtocompletetheservicechangeorproject.See also changeproposal;servicecharter;projectportfolio.

checkpoint Ateam-level,time-drivenreviewofprogress.

checkpoint report Aprogressreportoftheinformationgatheredatacheckpoint,whichisgivenbyateamtotheprojectmanagerandwhichprovidesreportingdataasdefinedintheworkpackage.

chief executive officer (CEO) Describestheroleinacommercialorganizationwiththehighestlevelofauthorityforthetotalmanagementofthebusiness.

chief financial officer (CFO) Describestheroleinacommercialorganizationwiththehighestlevelofauthorityforthemanagementofthefinancialrisks,planningandreportingforabusiness.ThisrolewillgenerallyreporttotheCEO.

chief information officer (CIO) Describestheroleinacommercialorganizationwiththehighestlevelofauthorityforthemanagementofinformationtechnologyforthebusiness.ThisrolewillgenerallyreporttotheCEObutmayalsoreporttotheCFOinsmallerorganizations.

chief operating officer (COO) Describestheroleinacommercialorganizationwiththehighestlevelofauthorityforthedevelopment,design,managementandimprovementoftheopensystemsthatcreateanddelivertheorganization’sproductsand/orservices.ThisrolewillgenerallyreporttotheCEO.


Term Definition

chronological analysis Atechniqueusedtohelpidentifypossiblecausesofproblems.Allavailabledataabouttheproblemiscollectedandsortedbydateandtimetoprovideadetailedtimeline.Thiscanmakeitpossibletoidentifywhicheventsmayhavebeentriggeredbyothers.

CI type Acategorythatisusedtoclassifyconfigurationitems.TheCItypeidentifiestherequiredattributesandrelationshipsforaconfigurationrecord.CommonCItypesincludehardware,document,useretc.

classification Theactofassigningacategorytosomething.Classificationisusedtoensureconsistentmanagementandreporting.Configurationitems,incidents,problems,changesetc.areusuallyclassified.

clear line of sight Atechniquethatseekstoensureatransparentchainfromstrategicintentthroughtobenefitsrealization.

client Agenerictermthatmeansacustomer,thebusinessorabusinesscustomer.Forexample,‘clientmanager’maybeusedasasynonymfor‘businessrelationshipmanager’.Thetermisalsousedtomean:

• Acomputerthatisuseddirectlybyauser–forexample,aPC,ahandheldcomputeroraworkstation

• Thepartofaclient/serverapplicationthattheuserdirectlyinterfaceswith–forexample,anemailclient.

closed Thefinalstatusinthelifecycleofanincident,problem,changeetc.Whenthestatusisclosed,nofurtheractionistaken.

closure Theactofchangingthestatusofanincident,problem,changeetc.toclosed.

closure notification Advicefromtheprojectboardtoinformallstakeholdersandthehostsitesthattheprojectresourcescanbedisbandedandsupportservices,suchasspace,equipmentandaccess,demobilized.Itshouldindicateaclosuredateforcoststobechargedtotheproject.

closure recommendation Arecommendationpreparedbytheprojectmanagerfortheprojectboardtosendasaprojectclosurenotificationwhentheboardissatisfiedthattheprojectcanbeclosed.


Term Definition

COBIT SeeControlOBjectivesforInformationandrelatedTechnology(COBIT).

code of practice Aguidelinepublishedbyapublicbodyorastandardsorganization,suchasISOorBSI.Manystandardsconsistofacodeofpracticeandaspecification.Thecodeofpracticedescribesrecommendedbestpractice.

cold standby Seegradualrecovery.

commercial off the shelf (COTS) Pre-existingapplicationsoftwareormiddlewarethatcanbepurchasedfromathirdparty.

communication management strategy

Adescriptionofthemeansandfrequencyofcommunicationbetweentheprojectandtheproject’sstakeholders.

communications plan Aplanofthecommunicationsactivitiesduringtheorganizationalactivity(strategic,programme,projectoroperational)thatwillbeestablishedandmaintained.Typicallycontainswhen,what,howandwithwhominformationflows.

competence Theabilityofanindividualtodosomethingwell.

compliance Ensuringthatastandardorsetofguidelinesisfollowed,orthatproper,consistentaccountingorotherpracticesarebeingemployed.

component Ageneraltermthatisusedtomeanonepartofsomethingmorecomplex.Forexample,acomputersystemmaybeacomponentofanITservice,andanapplicationmaybeacomponentofareleaseunit.Componentsthatneedtobemanagedshouldbeconfigurationitems.

component capacity management (CCM)

Thesub-processofcapacitymanagementresponsibleforunderstandingthecapacity,utilizationandperformanceofconfigurationitems.Dataiscollected,recordedandanalysedforuseinthecapacityplan.See also businesscapacitymanagement;servicecapacitymanagement.

component CI Aconfigurationitemthatispartofanassembly–forexample,aCPUormemoryCImaybepartofaserverCI.


Term Definition

component failure impact analysis (CFIA)

Atechniquethathelpstoidentifytheimpactofconfigurationitem(CI)failureonITservicesandthebusiness.AmatrixiscreatedwithITservicesononeaxisandCIsontheother.ThisenablestheidentificationofcriticalCIs(thatcouldcausethefailureofmultipleITservices)andfragileITservices(thathavemultiplesinglepointsoffailure).

computer telephony integration (CTI)

Computertelephonyintegrationisageneraltermcoveringanykindofintegrationbetweencomputersandtelephonesystems.Itismostcommonlyusedtorefertosystemswhereanapplicationdisplaysdetailedscreensrelatingtoincomingoroutgoingtelephonecalls.See also automaticcalldistribution;interactivevoiceresponse.

concession Anoff-specificationthatisacceptedbytheprojectboardwithoutcorrectiveaction.

concurrency Ameasureofthenumberofusersengagedinthesameoperationatthesametime.

confidentiality Asecurityprinciplethatrequiresthatdatashouldonlybeaccessedbyauthorizedpeople.

configuration Generic –Agenerictermusedtodescribeagroupofproductsoritemsthatworktogethertodeliveraproductorservice.

ITIL –AgenerictermusedtodescribeagroupofconfigurationitemsthatworktogethertodeliveranITservice,orarecognizablepartofanITservice.Configurationisalsousedtodescribetheparametersettingsforoneormoreconfigurationitems.

PPM –Agenerictermusedtodescribeagroupofproductsoritemsthatworktogethertodeliveraproductorservice,orarecognizablepartofaproductorservice.Aconfigurationmaybeaconfigurationitemofalargerconfiguration.

configuration baseline Thebaselineofaconfigurationthathasbeenformallyagreedandismanagedthroughthechangemanagementprocess.Aconfigurationbaselineisusedasabasisforfuturebuilds,releasesandchanges.

configuration control Theactivityresponsibleforensuringthatadding,modifyingorremovingaconfigurationitemisproperlymanaged–forexample,bysubmittingarequestforchangeorservicerequest.


Term Definition

configuration identification Theactivityresponsibleforcollectinginformationaboutconfigurationitemsandtheirrelationships,andloadingthisinformationintotheconfigurationmanagementdatabase(CMDB).Configurationidentificationisalsoresponsibleforlabellingtheconfigurationitemsthemselves,sothatthecorrespondingconfigurationrecordscanbefound.

configuration item (CI) Generic –Componentitemthatisunderchangecontrol.

ITIL –AnycomponentorotherserviceassetthatneedstobemanagedinordertodeliveranITservice.Informationabouteachconfigurationitemisrecordedinaconfigurationrecordwithintheconfigurationmanagementsystem(CMS)andismaintainedthroughoutitslifecyclebyserviceassetandconfigurationmanagement.Configurationitemsareunderthecontrolofchangemanagement.TheytypicallyincludeITservices,hardware,software,buildings,peopleandformaldocumentationsuchasprocessdocumentationandservicelevelagreements.

PPM –Anentity(asset)thatissubjecttoconfigurationmanagement.Theentity(asset)maybeacomponentofaproduct,aproduct,orasetofproductsinarelease.

configuration item record Arecordthatdescribesthestatus,versionandvariantofaconfigurationitem,andanydetailsofimportantrelationshipsbetweenthem.

configuration management Generic –Themeansofcontrollingchangestoasetofconfigurationitems.

ITIL –Seeserviceassetandconfigurationmanagement.

PPM –Technicalandadministrativeactivitiesconcernedwiththecreation,maintenanceandcontrolledchangeofconfigurationthroughoutthelifeofaproduct.

configuration management database (CMDB)

Adatabaseusedtostoreconfigurationrecordsthroughouttheirlifecycle.Theconfigurationmanagementsystem(CMS)maintainsoneormoreconfigurationmanagementdatabases(CMDBs),andeachdatabasestoresattributesofconfigurationitems,andrelationshipswithotherconfigurationitems.

configuration management strategy

Adescriptionofhowandbywhomtheproject’sproductswillbecontrolledandprotected.


Term Definition

configuration management system (CMS)

Generic –Asetoftools,dataorinformationthatisusedtosupportconfigurationmanagement.

ITIL –Asetoftools,dataandinformationthatisusedtosupportserviceassetandconfigurationmanagement.TheCMSispartofanoverallserviceknowledgemanagementsystemandincludestoolsforcollecting,storing,managing,updating,analysingandpresentingdataaboutallconfigurationitemsandtheirrelationships.TheCMSmayalsoincludeinformationaboutincidents,problems,knownerrors,changesandreleases.TheCMSismaintainedbyserviceassetandconfigurationmanagementandisusedbyallITservicemanagementprocesses.See also configurationmanagementdatabase.

PPM –Thesetofprocesses,toolsanddatabasesthatareusedtomanageconfigurationdata.Typically,aprojectwillusetheconfigurationmanagementsystemofeitherthecustomerorsupplierorganization.

configuration record Arecordcontainingthedetailsofaconfigurationitem.Eachconfigurationrecorddocumentsthelifecycleofasingleconfigurationitem.Configurationrecordsarestoredinaconfigurationmanagementdatabaseandmaintainedaspartofaconfigurationmanagementsystem.

configuration structure Thehierarchyandotherrelationshipsbetweenalltheconfigurationitemsthatcompriseaconfiguration.

constraints Therestrictionsorlimitationsthataprojectisboundby.ThesemaybechallengedduringanMoVstudy.

consult Togivegroupsorindividualstheopportunitytocontributetoandmakerecommendationsonanactionordocument.

contingency Somethingthatisheldinreserve,typicallytohandletimeandcostvariances,orrisks.PRINCE2doesnotadvocatetheuseofcontingencybecauseestimatingvariancesaremanagedbysettingtolerances,andrisksaremanagedthroughappropriateriskresponses(includingthefallbackresponsethatiscontingentontheriskoccurring).

contingency planning Theprocessofidentifyingandplanningappropriateresponsestobetakenwhenariskactuallyoccurs.

contingent plan Plansintendedforuseonlyifrequired,e.g.ifariskresponseisnotsuccessful.Oftencalledfallbackplans.


Term Definition

continual service improvement (CSI)

Astageinthelifecycleofaservice.ContinualserviceimprovementensuresthatservicesarealignedwithchangingbusinessneedsbyidentifyingandimplementingimprovementstoITservicesthatsupportbusinessprocesses.TheperformanceoftheITserviceprovideriscontinuallymeasuredandimprovementsaremadetoprocesses,ITservicesandITinfrastructureinordertoincreaseefficiency,effectivenessandcost-effectiveness.Continualserviceimprovementincludestheseven-stepimprovementprocess.Althoughthisprocessisassociatedwithcontinualserviceimprovement,mostprocesseshaveactivitiesthattakeplaceacrossmultiplestagesoftheservicelifecycle.See also Plan-Do-Check-Act.

continual service improvement (CSI) register

Adatabaseorstructureddocumentusedtorecordandmanageimprovementopportunitiesthroughouttheirlifecycle.

continuous availability Anapproachordesigntoachieve100%availability.AcontinuouslyavailableITservicehasnoplannedorunplanneddowntime.

continuous operation AnapproachordesigntoeliminateplanneddowntimeofanITservice.NotethatindividualconfigurationitemsmaybedowneventhoughtheITserviceisavailable.

contract Alegallybindingagreementbetweentwoormoreparties.

control Ameansofmanagingarisk,ensuringthatabusinessobjectiveisachievedorthataprocessisfollowed.Examplesofcontrolincludepolicies,procedures,roles,RAID,doorlocksetc.Acontrolissometimescalledacountermeasureorsafeguard.Controlalsomeanstomanagetheutilizationorbehaviourofaconfigurationitem,systemorITservice.

Control OBjectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT)

COBITprovidesguidanceandbestpracticeforthemanagementofITprocesses.ItispublishedbyISACAinconjunctionwiththeITGovernanceInstitute(ITGI).Seewww.isaca.orgformoreinformation.

control perspective AnapproachtothemanagementofITservices,processes,functions,assetsetc.TherecanbeseveraldifferentcontrolperspectivesonthesameITservice,processetc.,allowingdifferentindividualsorteamstofocusonwhatisimportantandrelevanttotheirspecificrole.ExamplesofcontrolperspectiveincludereactiveandproactivemanagementwithinIToperations,oralifecycleviewforanapplicationprojectteam.


Term Definition

control processes TheISO/IEC20000processgroupthatincludeschangemanagementandconfigurationmanagement.

core service Aservicethatdeliversthebasicoutcomesdesiredbyoneormorecustomers.Acoreserviceprovidesaspecificlevelofutilityandwarranty.Customersmaybeofferedachoiceofutilityandwarrantythroughoneormoreserviceoptions.See also enablingservice;enhancingservice;ITservice;servicepackage.

corporate or programme standards

Theseareoverarchingstandardsthattheprojectmustadhereto.Theywillinfluencethefourprojectstrategies(communicationmanagementstrategy,configurationmanagementstrategy,qualitymanagementstrategyandriskmanagementstrategy)andtheprojectcontrols.

corporate portfolio Thetotalityofthechangeinitiativeswithinanorganization;itmaycompriseanumberofprogrammes,standaloneprojectsandotherinitiativesthatachievecongruenceofchange.

corporate portfolio board Onenameforthebodywithintheorganizationthathasauthoritytomakedecisionsaboutthecompositionandprioritizationoftheorganization’sportfolioofprogrammesandprojects.Thismaybethecorporateboard,andinMoP(Management of Portfolios)itisalsoreferredtoasthe‘portfoliodirectiongroup’or‘investmentcommittee’.

corrective action Asetofactionstoresolveathreattoaplan’stolerancesoradefectinaproduct.

cost Theamountofmoneyspentonaspecificactivity,ITserviceorbusinessunit.Costsconsistofrealcost(money),notionalcost(suchaspeople’stime)anddepreciation.

cost centre Generic –Anaccountingtermforapartofanorganizationtowhichcostscanbeallocated.

ITIL –Abusinessunitorprojecttowhichcostsareassigned.Acostcentredoesnotchargeforservicesprovided.AnITserviceprovidercanberunasacostcentreoraprofitcentre.

PPM –Anaccountingtermusedtodescribeadivision,businessunitorpartofanorganizationthatdoesnotdirectlycontributetoachievingprofitforacompany.Itindirectlycontributestotheorganizationbyprovidingaserviceorsupportfunctiontoprofit-makingpartsoftheorganization.

cost driver Anactivitythatresultsinacost.


Term Definition

cost element Themiddlelevelofcategorytowhichcostsareassignedinbudgetingandaccounting.Thehighest-levelcategoryiscosttype.Forexample,acosttypeof‘people’couldhavecostelementsofpayroll,staffbenefits,expenses,training,overtimeetc.Costelementscanbefurtherbrokendowntogivecostunits.Forexample,thecostelement‘expenses’couldincludecostunitsofhotels,transport,mealsetc.

cost management Ageneraltermthatisusedtorefertobudgetingandaccounting,andissometimesusedasasynonymforfinancialmanagement.

cost model Aframeworkusedinbudgetingandaccountinginwhichallknowncostscanberecorded,categorizedandallocatedtospecificcustomers,businessunitsorprojects.See also costtype;costelement;costunit.

cost tolerance Thepermissibledeviationinaplan’scostthatisallowedbeforethedeviationneedstobeescalatedtothenextlevelofmanagement.Costtoleranceisdocumentedintherespectiveplan.See also tolerance.

cost type Thehighest-levelcategorytowhichcostsareassignedinbudgetingandaccounting–forexample,hardware,software,people,accommodation,externalandtransfer.See also costelement;costunit.

cost unit Thelowest-levelcategorytowhichcostsareassigned,costunitsareusuallythingsthatcanbeeasilycounted(e.g.staffnumbers,softwarelicences)orthingseasilymeasured(e.g.CPUusage,electricityconsumed).Costunitsareincludedwithincostelements.Forexample,acostelementof‘expenses’couldincludecostunitsofhotels,transport,mealsetc.See also costtype.

cost–benefit analysis Anactivitythatanalysesandcomparesthecostsandthebenefitsinvolvedinoneormorealternativecoursesofaction.See also businesscase;internalrateofreturn;netpresentvalue;returnoninvestment;valueoninvestment.

cost-effectiveness Ameasureofthebalancebetweentheeffectivenessandcostofaservice,processoractivity.Acost-effectiveprocessisonethatachievesitsobjectivesatminimumcost.See also keyperformanceindicator;returnoninvestment;valueformoney.


Term Definition

countermeasure Canbeusedtorefertoanytypeofcontrol.Thetermismostoftenusedwhenreferringtomeasuresthatincreaseresilience,faulttoleranceorreliabilityofanITservice.

course corrections Changesmadetoaplanoractivitythathasalreadystarted,toensurethatitwillmeetitsobjectives.Coursecorrectionsaremadeasaresultofmonitoringprogress.

crisis management Crisismanagementistheprocessresponsibleformanagingthewiderimplicationsofbusinesscontinuity.Acrisismanagementteamisresponsibleforstrategicissuessuchasmanagingmediarelationsandshareholderconfidence,anddecideswhentoinvokebusinesscontinuityplans.

critical path Thelineconnectingthestartofanactivitynetworkwiththefinalactivityinthatnetworkthroughthoseactivitieswithzerofloat,i.e.thoseactivitieswhereanydelaywillaffecttheenddateoftheentireplan.Theremaybemorethanonesuchpath.Thesumoftheactivitydurationsonthecriticalpathwilldeterminetheenddateoftheplan.

critical success factor (CSF) Generic –Aneventormeasuredefiningsuccess.

ITIL –SomethingthatmusthappenifanITservice,process,plan,projectorotheractivityistosucceed.Keyperformanceindicatorsareusedtomeasuretheachievementofeachcriticalsuccessfactor.Forexample,acriticalsuccessfactorof‘protectITserviceswhenmakingchanges’couldbemeasuredbykeyperformanceindicatorssuchas‘percentagereductionofunsuccessfulchanges’,‘percentagereductioninchangescausingincidents’etc.

PPM –Aneventormeasureofactivitydefiningsuccessfuldeliverybyaproject,businessunitororganization.

cross-cutting Atermusedinthepublicsectortodescribeissuesthataffectmorethanonepolicydepartment.

cross-organizational programme Aprogrammerequiringthecommittedinvolvementofmorethanoneorganizationtoachievethedesiredoutcomes;alsoreferredtoasa‘cross-cutting’programme.

CSI register Seecontinualserviceimprovement(CSI)register.

culture Asetofvaluesthatissharedbyagroupofpeople,includingexpectationsabouthowpeopleshouldbehave,theirideas,beliefsandpractices.See also vision.


Term Definition

customer Generic –Thepersonwhoispaying.Mayalsobeknownastheclient,buyerorpurchaser.

ITIL –Someonewhobuysgoodsorservices.ThecustomerofanITserviceprovideristhepersonorgroupwhodefinesandagreestheserviceleveltargets.Thetermisalsosometimesusedinformallytomeanuser–forexample,‘Thisisacustomer-focusedorganization.’

PPM –Thepersonorgroupwhocommissionedtheworkandwillbenefitfromtheendresults.

customer agreement portfolio AdatabaseorstructureddocumentusedtomanageservicecontractsoragreementsbetweenanITserviceprovideranditscustomers.EachITservicedeliveredtoacustomershouldhaveacontractorotheragreementthatislistedinthecustomeragreementportfolio.See also customer-facingservice;servicecatalogue;serviceportfolio.

customer asset Anyresourceorcapabilityofacustomer.See also asset.

customer portfolio AdatabaseorstructureddocumentusedtorecordallcustomersoftheITserviceprovider.Thecustomerportfolioisthebusinessrelationshipmanager’sviewofthecustomerswhoreceiveservicesfromtheITserviceprovider.See also customeragreementportfolio;servicecatalogue;serviceportfolio.

customer’s quality expectations Astatementaboutthequalityexpectedfromtheprojectproduct,capturedintheprojectproductdescription.

customer-facing service AnITservicethatisvisibletothecustomer.Thesearenormallyservicesthatsupportthecustomer’sbusinessprocessesandfacilitateoneormoreoutcomesdesiredbythecustomer.Alllivecustomer-facingservices,includingthoseavailablefordeployment,arerecordedintheservicecataloguealongwithcustomer-visibleinformationaboutdeliverables,prices,contactpoints,orderingandrequestprocesses.OtherinformationsuchasrelationshipstosupportingservicesandotherCIswillalsoberecordedforinternalusebytheITserviceprovider.

daily log Usedtorecordproblems/concernsthatcanbehandledbytheprojectmanagerinformally.


Term Definition

dashboard Generic –Graphicalrepresentationoflargeamountofdecision-supportinginformation.

ITIL –AgraphicalrepresentationofoverallITserviceperformanceandavailability.Dashboardimagesmaybeupdatedinrealtime,andcanalsobeincludedinmanagementreportsandwebpages.Dashboardscanbeusedtosupportservicelevelmanagement,eventmanagementandincidentdiagnosis.

PPM –Atechniquetorepresentvastamountsofdecision-supportinformationatanamalgamatedlevelusingtabularandgraphicrepresentationsuchasgraphsandtrafficlights.See also managementdashboard.

Data-to-Information-to-Knowledge-to-Wisdom (DIKW)

Awayofunderstandingtherelationshipsbetweendata,information,knowledgeandwisdom.DIKWshowshoweachofthesebuildsontheothers.

decision point Apointintheprogressofaprogrammeorprojectatwhichsignificantdecisionsaremade.

decision-conferencing Atechniquewherebymanagersconsideranddebateinafacilitatedworkshop:therelativeweightingstoattachtotheorganization’sstrategicobjectives;thecriteriatobeusedtoassessstrategiccontributionineachcase;andthescorestoallocatetoindividualinitiatives.Inthiswaytheportfoliogovernancebodycomestoacollectivedecisiononthecompositionoftheportfolio.Thishasbeenfoundtobeveryeffectiveintermsofoptimizingportfolioreturnsandalsoresultsinenhancedcommitmenttotheportfolioandtotheportfoliomanagementprocesses.

definitive media library (DML) Oneormorelocationsinwhichthedefinitiveandauthorizedversionsofallsoftwareconfigurationitemsaresecurelystored.Thedefinitivemedialibrarymayalsocontainassociatedconfigurationitemssuchaslicencesanddocumentation.Itisasinglelogicalstorageareaeveniftherearemultiplelocations.Thedefinitivemedialibraryiscontrolledbyserviceassetandconfigurationmanagementandisrecordedintheconfigurationmanagementsystem.


Term Definition

deliverable Generic –Theendresultarisingfromanendeavour.

ITIL –Somethingthatmustbeprovidedtomeetacommitmentinaservicelevelagreementoracontract.Itisalsousedinamoreinformalwaytomeanaplannedoutputofanyprocess.

PPM –Aspecialistproduct(thetangibleorintangibleartefact)thatisproduced,constructedorcreatedasaresultofaplannedactivityandhandedovertoauser(s).

See also output.

demand management Theprocessresponsibleforunderstanding,anticipatingandinfluencingcustomerdemandforservices.Demandmanagementworkswithcapacitymanagementtoensurethattheserviceproviderhassufficientcapacitytomeettherequireddemand.Atastrategiclevel,demandmanagementcaninvolveanalysisofpatternsofbusinessactivityanduserprofiles,whileatatacticallevelitcaninvolvetheuseofdifferentialchargingtoencouragecustomerstouseITservicesatlessbusytimes,orrequireshort-termactivitiestorespondtounexpecteddemandorthefailureofaconfigurationitem.

Deming Cycle SeePlan-Do-Check-Act.

dependencies (plan) Therelationshipbetweenproductsoractivities.Forexample,thedevelopmentofProductCcannotstartuntilProductsAandBhavebeencompleted.Dependenciescanbeinternalorexternal.Internaldependenciesarethoseunderthecontroloftheprojectmanager.Externaldependenciesarethoseoutsidethecontroloftheprojectmanager–forexample,thedeliveryofaproductrequiredbythisprojectfromanotherproject.

dependency Generic –Adirectorindirectrelianceofonethingonanother.

ITIL –Thedirectorindirectrelianceofoneprocessoractivityonanother.

PPM –Anactivity,outputordecisionthatisrequiredtoachievesomeaspectoftheprogramme.Itcanbeinternalorexternaltotheprogramme.

deployment Theactivityresponsibleformovementofneworchangedhardware,software,documentation,processetc.totheliveenvironment.Deploymentispartofthereleaseanddeploymentmanagementprocess.


Term Definition

depreciation Ameasureofthereductioninvalueofanassetoveritslife.Thisisbasedonwearingout,consumptionorotherreductionintheusefuleconomicvalue.

design Anactivityorprocessthatidentifiesrequirementsandthendefinesasolutionthatisabletomeettheserequirements.See also servicedesign.

design authority Aroleorfunction(permanent,temporaryorvirtual)thatprovidesexpertspecialistadviceorownssomecorporatefunction,service,standardorstrategythatwillbeaffected,oramajorprogrammeoutcomeorchangethatneedstobecontrolled.ThiscouldbeanITorpropertyinfrastructuredesign,oramajorservicecontract;itcouldalsobeabusinessprocessmodelortheprogrammeorcorporateblueprint.Thedesignauthorityprovidesexpertiseandguidanceonaspecificareatoensurethereisappropriatealignmentandcontrolwhenchangesarebeingplannedandimplemented.Ataprogrammelevelthisrolemayadviseorownthebusinessblueprintmanagementonbehalfoftheprogrammemanager.Attheenterpriselevel,thisrolemaymanagetheenterprisearchitectureoftheorganization.

design coordination Theprocessresponsibleforcoordinatingallservicedesignactivities,processesandresources.DesigncoordinationensurestheconsistentandeffectivedesignofneworchangedITservices,servicemanagementinformationsystems,architectures,technology,processes,informationandmetrics.

detection Astageintheexpandedincidentlifecycle.Detectionresultsintheincidentbecomingknowntotheserviceprovider.Detectioncanbeautomaticortheresultofauserlogginganincident.

development TheprocessresponsibleforcreatingormodifyinganITserviceorapplicationreadyforsubsequentreleaseanddeployment.Developmentisalsousedtomeantheroleorfunctionthatcarriesoutdevelopmentwork.ThisprocessisnotdescribedindetailwithinthecoreITILpublications.

development environment AnenvironmentusedtocreateormodifyITservicesorapplications.Developmentenvironmentsarenottypicallysubjectedtothesamedegreeofcontrolastestorliveenvironments.See also development.

development pipeline Theinitiativesunderdevelopment,conceptandfeasibilitytesting,priortoformalinclusionintheportfolioas‘live’programmesandprojects.


Term Definition

diagnosis Astageintheincidentandproblemlifecycles.Thepurposeofdiagnosisistoidentifyaworkaroundforanincidentortherootcauseofaproblem.

diagnostic script Astructuredsetofquestionsusedbyservice-deskstafftoensuretheyaskthecorrectquestions,andtohelpthemclassify,resolveandassignincidents.Diagnosticscriptsmayalsobemadeavailabletouserstohelpthemdiagnoseandresolvetheirownincidents.

differential charging AtechniqueusedtosupportdemandmanagementbychargingdifferentamountsforthesamefunctionofanITserviceunderdifferentcircumstances–forexample,reducedchargesoutsidepeaktimes,orincreasedchargesforuserswhoexceedabandwidthallocation.

direct cost ThecostofprovidinganITservicewhichcanbeallocatedinfulltoaspecificcustomer,costcentre,projectetc.–forexample,thecostofprovidingnon-sharedserversorsoftwarelicences.See also indirectcost.

directory service AnapplicationthatmanagesinformationaboutITinfrastructureavailableonanetwork,andcorrespondinguseraccessrights.

disaster recovery planning Aseriesofprocessesthatfocusonrecovery,principallyinresponsetophysicaldisasters.Thisactivityformspart,butnotthewhole,ofbusinesscontinuityplanning.

dis-benefit Outcomesperceivedasnegativebyoneormorestakeholders.Dis-benefitsareactualconsequencesofanactivitywhereas,bydefinition,ariskhassomeuncertaintyaboutwhetheritwillmaterialize.

document Informationinreadableform.Adocumentmaybepaperorelectronic–forexample,apolicystatement,servicelevelagreement,incidentrecordordiagramofacomputer-roomlayout.See also record.

downtime ThetimewhenanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemisnotavailableduringitsagreedservicetime.TheavailabilityofanITserviceisoftencalculatedfromagreedservicetimeanddowntime.

driver Somethingthatinfluencesstrategy,objectivesorrequirements–forexample,newlegislationortheactionsofcompetitors.


Term Definition

DSDM Atern AnagileprojectdeliveryframeworkdevelopedandownedbytheDSDMconsortium.Aternusesatime-boxedanditerativeapproachtoproductdevelopmentandiscompatiblewithPRINCE2.

early life support (ELS) Astageintheservicelifecyclethatoccursattheendofdeploymentandbeforetheserviceisfullyacceptedintooperation.Duringearlylifesupport,theserviceproviderreviewskeyperformanceindicators,servicelevelsandmonitoringthresholdsandmayimplementimprovementstoensurethatservicetargetscanbemet.Theserviceprovidermayalsoprovideadditionalresourcesforincidentandproblemmanagementduringthistime.

early warning indicator (EWI) Aleadingindicatorforanorganizationalobjectivemeasuredultimatelybyakeyperformanceindicator(KPI).

earned value analysis Amethodformeasuringprojectperformance.Itindicateshowmuchofthebudgetshouldhavebeenspentinviewoftheamountofworkdonesofarandthetask.

economies of scale ThereductioninaveragecostthatispossiblefromincreasingtheusageofanITserviceorasset.See also economiesofscope.

economies of scope ThereductionincostthatisallocatedtoanITservicebyusinganexistingassetforanadditionalpurpose–forexample,deliveringanewITservicefromanexistingITinfrastructure.See also economiesofscale.

effectiveness Ameasureofwhethertheobjectivesofaprocess,serviceoractivityhavebeenachieved.Aneffectiveprocessoractivityisonethatachievesitsagreedobjectives.See also keyperformanceindicator.

efficiency Ameasureofwhethertherightamountofresourcehasbeenusedtodeliveraprocess,serviceoractivity.Anefficientprocessachievesitsobjectiveswiththeminimumamountoftime,money,peopleorotherresources.See also keyperformanceindicator.


Term Definition

embedding Generic –Theactofmakingsomethinganintegralpartofabiggerwhole.

MoV –Theconsolidationofskillsandconceptsinagivenorganization.

PRINCE2 –WhatanorganizationneedstodotoadoptPRINCE2asitscorporateprojectmanagementmethod.See also,incontrast,tailoring,whichdefineswhataprojectneedstodotoapplythemethodtoaspecificprojectenvironment.

emergency change Achangethatmustbeintroducedassoonaspossible–forexample,toresolveamajorincidentorimplementasecuritypatch.Thechangemanagementprocesswillnormallyhaveaspecificprocedureforhandlingemergencychanges.See also emergencychangeadvisoryboard.

emergency change advisory board (ECAB)

Asubgroupofthechangeadvisoryboardthatmakesdecisionsaboutemergencychanges.Membershipmaybedecidedatthetimeameetingiscalled,anddependsonthenatureoftheemergencychange.

emergent programme Aprogrammethatsubsumesoneormorepre-existingprojectsintoacoherentalignmentwithcorporatepolicyandstrategy.

enabling service Aservicethatisneededinordertodeliveracoreservice.Enablingservicesmayormaynotbevisibletothecustomer,buttheyarenotofferedtocustomersintheirownright.See also enhancingservice.

end goal Theultimateobjectiveofaprogramme–thesameasthe‘to-bestate’or‘futurestate’.

end project report Areportgivenbytheprojectmanagertotheprojectboardthatconfirmsthehandoverofallproductsandprovidesanupdatedbusinesscaseandanassessmentofhowwelltheprojecthasperformedagainstitsprojectinitiationdocumentation.

end stage assessment Thereviewbytheprojectboardandprojectmanageroftheendstagereporttodecidewhethertoapprovethenextstageplan.Accordingtothesizeandcriticalityoftheproject,thereviewmaybeformalorinformal.Theauthoritytoproceedshouldbedocumentedasaformalrecord.


Term Definition

end stage report Areportgivenbytheprojectmanagertotheprojectboardattheendofeachmanagementstageoftheproject.Thisprovidesinformationabouttheprojectperformanceduringthestageandtheprojectstatusatstageend.

end user Thepersonwhousesthefinaloutputofaprojectordeliveredservice.

enhance (risk response) Ariskresponseforanopportunitythatseekstoincreasetheprobabilityand/orimpacttomakeitmorecertain.

enhancing service Aservicethatisaddedtoacoreservicetomakeitmoreattractivetothecustomer.Enhancingservicesarenotessentialtothedeliveryofacoreservicebutareusedtoencouragecustomerstousethecoreservicesortodifferentiatetheserviceproviderfromitscompetitors.See also enablingservice;excitementfactor.

enterprise financial management Thefunctionandprocessesresponsibleformanagingtheoverallorganization’sbudgeting,accountingandchargingrequirements.Enterprisefinancialmanagementissometimesreferredtoasthe‘corporate’financialdepartment.See also financialmanagementforITservices.

enterprise project (or P3RM) management (EPM)

Atermusuallyreferredtobysoftwarevendorsinrelationtosoftware(i.e.EPMtools)thatassistsanorganizationtomanageacrossmultipleprojectsandprogrammedeliveryusingacommonresourcepoolthroughtostrategicanalysisofinvestmentthroughportfoliomanagement.Thistermdoesnotreflecttheactualofferingsofthetoolsinthattheygenerallycansupportatportfolio,programmeandproject(P3RM)level.

environment AsubsetoftheITinfrastructurethatisusedforaparticularpurpose–forexample,liveenvironment,testenvironment,buildenvironment.Alsousedintheterm‘physicalenvironment’tomeantheaccommodation,airconditioning,powersystemetc.Environmentisusedasagenerictermtomeantheexternalconditionsthatinfluenceoraffectsomething.

error AdesignflawormalfunctionthatcausesafailureofoneormoreITservicesorotherconfigurationitems.Amistakemadebyapersonorafaultyprocessthatimpactsaconfigurationitemisalsoanerror.


Term Definition

escalation Anactivitythatobtainsadditionalresourceswhentheseareneededtomeetserviceleveltargetsorcustomerexpectations.EscalationmaybeneededwithinanyITservicemanagementprocess,butismostcommonlyassociatedwithincidentmanagement,problemmanagementandthemanagementofcustomercomplaints.Therearetwotypesofescalation:functionalescalationandhierarchicescalation.

eSourcing Capability Model for Client Organizations (eSCM-CL)

Aframeworktohelporganizationsintheiranalysisanddecision-makingonservicesourcingmodelsandstrategies.ItwasdevelopedbyCarnegieMellonUniversityintheUS.See also eSourcingCapabilityModelforServiceProviders.

eSourcing Capability Model for Service Providers (eSCM-SP)

AframeworktohelpITserviceprovidersdeveloptheirITservicemanagementcapabilitiesfromaservicesourcingperspective.ItwasdevelopedbyCarnegieMellonUniversityintheUS.See also eSourcingCapabilityModelforClientOrganizations.

esteem value Anattributeofanarticleorservicethatisdesiredpurelyforreasonsofpersonalinterestorpreference,orforthesocialcachetitbestows.

estimation Theuseofexperiencetoprovideanapproximatevalueforametricorcost.Estimationisalsousedincapacityandavailabilitymanagementasthecheapestandleastaccuratemodellingmethod.

evaluation criteria Ameansbywhichtoassesstherelativevalueorperformanceofdifferentoptions.

event AchangeofstatethathassignificanceforthemanagementofanITserviceorotherconfigurationitem.ThetermisalsousedtomeananalertornotificationcreatedbyanyITservice,configurationitemormonitoringtool.EventstypicallyrequireIToperationspersonneltotakeactions,andoftenleadtoincidentsbeinglogged.

event management Theprocessresponsibleformanagingeventsthroughouttheirlifecycle.EventmanagementisoneofthemainactivitiesofIToperations.

event-driven control Acontrolthattakesplacewhenaspecificeventoccurs.Thiscouldbe,forexample,theendofastage,thecompletionoftheprojectinitiationdocumentation,orthecreationofanexceptionreport.Itcouldalsoincludeorganizationaleventsthatmayaffecttheproject,suchastheendofthefinancialyear.


Term Definition

exception Asituationwhereitcanbeforecastthattherewillbeadeviationbeyondthetolerancelevelsagreedbetweenprojectmanagerandprojectboard(orbetweenprojectboardandcorporateorprogrammemanagement).

exception assessment Thisisareviewbytheprojectboardtoapprove(orreject)anexceptionplan.

exception plan Thisisaplanthatoftenfollowsanexceptionreport.Forastageplanexception,itcoverstheperiodfromthepresenttotheendofthecurrentstage.Iftheexceptionwereatprojectlevel,theprojectplanwouldbereplaced.

exception report Adocumentcontainingdetailsofoneormorekeyperformanceindicatorsorotherimportanttargetsthathaveexceededdefinedthresholds.Examplesincludeservicelevelagreementtargetsbeingmissedorabouttobemissed,andaperformancemetricindicatingapotentialcapacityproblem.

exchange value Thevalueofaparticulararticleorserviceconsideredasitsworthinexchangeforanotheritem,suchasgold.

excitement attribute Seeexcitementfactor.

excitement factor Anattributeaddedtosomethingtomakeitmoreattractiveormoreexcitingtothecustomer.Forexample,arestaurantmayprovideafreedrinkwitheverymeal.See also enhancingservice.

executive Thesingleindividualwithoverallresponsibilityforensuringthataprojectmeetsitsobjectivesanddeliverstheprojectedbenefits.Thisindividualshouldensurethattheprojectmaintainsitsbusinessfocus,thatithasclearauthorityandthatthework,includingrisks,isactivelymanaged.Theexecutiveisthechairoftheprojectboard.Heorsherepresentsthecustomerandisresponsibleforthebusinesscase.

expanded incident lifecycle Detailedstagesinthelifecycleofanincident.Thestagesaredetection,diagnosis,repair,recoveryandrestoration.Theexpandedincidentlifecycleisusedtohelpunderstandallcontributionstotheimpactofincidentsandtoplanforhowthesecouldbecontrolledorreduced.

expected value Thisiscalculatedbymultiplyingtheestimatedaverageimpactbytheestimatedprobabilitypercentage.Alsoknownasexpectedmonetaryvaluewheretheestimatedaverageimpactisacost.


Term Definition

expenditure Consumptionofresources.

expert reference group Ateamofsubject-matterexpertsthatcanbeusedinaP3RMorganizationtoprovideinput,adviceandchallengetotheroleaccountableforanoutputoroutcometoensurethatitreflectsthewiderexperienceratherthananindividual’sperspectiveonly.Itisimportanttonotethattheroleaccountablefortheoutputoroutcomemaintainsthefinaldecisionandshouldnottreatanexpertreferencegroupasacommittee.Anexpertreferencegroupmaybedrawntogetheratpointsintimeormaybefullyallocatedtoaprojectorprogramme.

exploit (risk response) Ariskresponseforanopportunitythatseekstomaketheuncertainsituationcertain.

external customer AcustomerwhoworksforadifferentbusinessfromtheITserviceprovider.See also externalserviceprovider;internalcustomer.

external metric AmetricthatisusedtomeasurethedeliveryofITservicetoacustomer.Externalmetricsareusuallydefinedinservicelevelagreementsandreportedtocustomers.See also internalmetric.

external service provider AnITserviceproviderthatispartofadifferentorganizationfromitscustomer.AnITserviceprovidermayhavebothinternalandexternalcustomers.See also outsourcing;TypeIIIserviceprovider.

facilitation Atechniquebywhichastudyleadertakesateamthroughaseriesofprocessesortechniquesinacollaborativemanner,resultingintheirtakingownershipoftheoutputs.

facilities management ThefunctionresponsibleformanagingthephysicalenvironmentwheretheITinfrastructureislocated.Facilitiesmanagementincludesallaspectsofmanagingthephysicalenvironment–forexample,powerandcooling,buildingaccessmanagement,andenvironmentalmonitoring.

failure Lossofabilitytooperatetospecification,ortodelivertherequiredoutput.ThetermmaybeusedwhenreferringtoITservices,processes,activities,configurationitemsetc.Afailureoftencausesanincident.

fallback (risk response) Ariskresponsetoathreatbyputtinginplaceafallbackplanfortheactionsthatwillbetakentoreducetheimpactofthethreatshouldtheriskoccur.


Term Definition

fallback plan Seecontingentplan.

fast recovery Arecoveryoptionthatisalsoknownashotstandby.FastrecoverynormallyusesadedicatedfixedfacilitywithcomputersystemsandsoftwareconfiguredreadytoruntheITservices.Fastrecoverytypicallytakesupto24hoursbutmaybequickerifthereisnoneedtorestoredatafrombackups.

fault See error.

fault tolerance TheabilityofanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemtocontinuetooperatecorrectlyafterthefailureofacomponentpart.See also countermeasure;resilience.

fault tree analysis (FTA) Atechniquethatcanbeusedtodetermineachainofeventsthathascausedanincident,ormaycauseanincidentinthefuture.FaulttreeanalysisrepresentsachainofeventsusingBooleannotationinadiagram.

feasibility study Anearlystudyofaproblemtoassesswhetherornotasolutionisfeasible.Thestudywillnormallyscopetheproblem,identifyandexploreanumberofsolutionsandmakearecommendationonwhatactiontotake.Partoftheworkindevelopingoptionsistocalculateanoutlinebusinesscaseforeachasoneaspectofcomparison.

feedback log Adocumentthatisusedtocapture,trackandensurethatallstakeholderfeedbackisdealtwith.

financial management Agenerictermusedtodescribethefunctionandprocessesresponsibleformanaginganorganization’sbudgeting,accountingandchargingrequirements.Enterprisefinancialmanagementisthespecifictermusedtodescribethefunctionandprocessesfromtheperspectiveoftheoverallorganization.FinancialmanagementforITservicesisthespecifictermusedtodescribethefunctionandprocessesfromtheperspectiveoftheITserviceprovider.

financial management for IT services

ThefunctionandprocessesresponsibleformanaginganITserviceprovider’sbudgeting,accountingandchargingrequirements.FinancialmanagementforITservicessecuresanappropriateleveloffundingtodesign,developanddeliverservicesthatmeetthestrategyoftheorganizationinacost-effectivemanner.See also enterprisefinancialmanagement.


Term Definition

financial year Anaccountingperiodcovering12consecutivemonths.Afinancialyearmaystartonanydate(forexample,1Aprilto31March).

first-line support Thefirstlevelinahierarchyofsupportgroupsinvolvedintheresolutionofincidents.Eachlevelcontainsmorespecialistskills,orhasmoretimeorotherresources.See also escalation.

fishbone diagram SeeIshikawadiagram.

fit for purpose Theabilitytomeetanagreedlevelofutility.Fitforpurposeisalsousedinformallytodescribeaprocess,configurationitem,ITserviceetc.thatiscapableofmeetingitsobjectivesorservicelevels.Beingfitforpurposerequiressuitabledesign,implementation,controlandmaintenance.

fit for use Theabilitytomeetanagreedlevelofwarranty.Beingfitforuserequiressuitabledesign,implementation,controlandmaintenance.

fixed asset Atangiblebusinessassetthathasalong-termusefullife–forexample,abuilding,apieceofland,aserverorasoftwarelicence.See also serviceasset;configurationitem.

fixed cost AcostthatdoesnotvarywithITserviceusage–forexample,thecostofserverhardware.See also variablecost.

fixed facility Apermanentbuilding,availableforusewhenneededbyanITservicecontinuityplan.See also portablefacility;recoveryoption.

fixed-asset management Theprocessresponsiblefortrackingandreportingthevalueandownershipoffixedassetsthroughouttheirlifecycle.Fixed-assetmanagementmaintainstheassetregisterandisusuallycarriedoutbytheoverallbusiness,ratherthanbytheITorganization.Fixed-assetmanagementissometimescalledfinancialassetmanagementandisnotdescribedindetailwithinthecoreITILpublications.

follow the sun Amethodologyforusingservicedesksandsupportgroupsaroundtheworldtoprovideseamless24/7service.Calls,incidents,problemsandservicerequestsarepassedbetweengroupsindifferenttimezones.


Term Definition

follow-on action recommendations

Recommendedactionsrelatedtounfinishedwork,ongoingissuesandrisks,andanyotheractivitiesneededtotakeaproducttothenextphaseofitslife.Thesearesummarizedandincludedintheendstagereport(forphasedhandover)andendprojectreport.

fulfilment Performingactivitiestomeetaneedorrequirement–forexample,byprovidinganewITservice,ormeetingaservicerequest.

full-time equivalent (FTE) Atechniqueusedtomeasurehuman-resourceinvolvementinaproject,programmeoroperationalactivities.Itisgenerallyrequiredwherehumanresourcesareallocatedacrossmultipleroles(e.g.70%allocatedtoaprojectand30%allocatedtobusinessoperations).AnFTEof1meansthatapersonorthesumofallpeople’seffortis100%allocatedtoanactivity,basedonthenumberofworkinghoursavailable,treatmentofovertimeandotherparameters.

function Generic –Anactioncarriedoutbyadevice,personoradepartmentwithinanorganization.

ITIL –Ateamorgroupofpeopleandthetoolsorotherresourcestheyusetocarryoutoneormoreprocessesoractivities–forexample,theservicedesk.Thetermalsohastwoothermeanings:

• Anintendedpurposeofaconfigurationitem,person,team,processorITservice.Forexample,onefunctionofanemailservicemaybetostoreandforwardoutgoingmails,whilethefunctionofabusinessprocessmaybetodespatchgoodstocustomers.

• Toperformtheintendedpurposecorrectly,asin‘Thecomputerisfunctioning.’

PPM –Whatsomethingdoes,expressedasanactiveverbandameasurablenoun(ascloselyaspossible).Itmaybetangible(e.g.bearsweight)orintangible(e.g.operatesintuitively).

function analysis Amethodofanalysingfunctionstoshowappropriatelinkages.

Function Analysis Systems Technique

AbbreviatedtoFAST,thistechniqueusesahierarchyoffunctions,expressedinonedirectiontoaddress‘how’theyaredelivered,andinanothertoaddress‘why’.

function diagram Adiagramexpressingahierarchyoffunctions.


Term Definition

functional escalation Transferringanincident,problemorchangetoatechnicalteamwithahigherlevelofexpertisetoassistinanescalation.

gap analysis Anactivitythatcomparestwosetsofdataandidentifiesthedifferences.Gapanalysisiscommonlyusedtocompareasetofrequirementswithactualdelivery.See also benchmarking.

gated review Astructuredreviewofaproject,programmeorportfolioaspartofformalgovernancearrangementscarriedoutatkeydecisionpointsinthelifecycletoensurethatthedecisiontoinvestasperagreedbusinesscasesandplansremainsvalid.

gateway reviews Independentassurancereviewsthatoccuratkeydecisionpointswithinthelifecycleofaprogrammeorproject.

given ApreconditiononthescopeofanMoVstudy,whichmustbesatisfied.

governance Ensuresthatpoliciesandstrategyareactuallyimplemented,andthatrequiredprocessesarecorrectlyfollowed.Governanceincludesdefiningrolesandresponsibilities,measuringandreporting,andtakingactionstoresolveanyissuesidentified.

governance (corporate) Theongoingactivityofmaintainingasoundsystemofinternalcontrolbywhichthedirectorsandofficersofanorganizationensurethateffectivemanagementsystems,includingfinancialmonitoringandcontrolsystems,havebeenputinplacetoprotectassets,earningcapacityandthereputationoftheorganization.

governance (portfolio) Encompassesthestructures,accountabilitiesandpolicies,standardsandprocessesfordecision-makingwithinanorganizationinordertoanswerthekeystrategicquestions‘Arewedoingtherightthings?’,‘Arewedoingthemtherightway?’and‘Arewerealizingthebenefits?’

governance (programme) Thefunctions,responsibilities,processesandproceduresthatdefinehowaprogrammeissetup,managedandcontrolled.

governance (project) Thoseareasofcorporategovernancethatarespecificallyrelatedtoprojectactivities.Effectivegovernanceofprojectmanagementensuresthatanorganization’sprojectportfolioisalignedtotheorganization’sobjectives,isdeliveredefficientlyandissustainable.


Term Definition

government policy Thetranslationofagovernment’spoliticalprioritiesandprinciplesintoprogrammesandcoursesofactiontodeliverdesiredchanges.

gradual recovery Arecoveryoptionthatisalsoknownascoldstandby.Gradualrecoverytypicallyusesaportableorfixedfacilitythathasenvironmentalsupportandnetworkcabling,butnocomputersystems.ThehardwareandsoftwareareinstalledaspartoftheITservicecontinuityplan.Gradualrecoverytypicallytakesmorethanthreedays,andmaytakesignificantlylonger.

guideline Adocumentdescribingbestpractice,whichrecommendswhatshouldbedone.Compliancewithaguidelineisnotnormallyenforced.See also standard.

handover Thetransferofownershipofasetofproductstotherespectiveuser(s).Thesetofproductsisknownasarelease.Theremaybemorethanonehandoverinthelifeofaproject(phaseddelivery).ThefinalhandovertakesplaceintheClosingaProjectprocess.

hard value analysis Asubsetofvalueengineeringforaprojectthatseekstomaximizethevalueofaphysicaloutput.See also valueengineering.

health check Ahealthcheckisaqualitytoolthatprovidesasnapshotofthestatusofaproject,programmeortheportfolio.Thepurposeofahealthcheckistogainanobjectiveassessmentofhowwelltheproject,programmeorportfolioisperformingrelativetoitsobjectivesandanyrelevantprocessesorstandards.AhealthcheckdiffersfromagatedreviewinthatitisatoolusedforassurancepurposesbytheP3Otoinformspecificactionsorcapabilitymaturitydevelopmentplans,whereasagatedreviewispartofformalgovernancearrangements.

hierarchic escalation Informingorinvolvingmoreseniorlevelsofmanagementtoassistinanescalation.

high availability Anapproachordesignthatminimizesorhidestheeffectsofconfiguration-itemfailurefromtheusersofanITservice.High-availabilitysolutionsaredesignedtoachieveanagreedlevelofavailabilityandmakeuseoftechniquessuchasfaulttolerance,resilienceandfastrecoverytoreducethenumberandimpactofincidents.


Term Definition

highlight report Atime-drivenreportfromtheprojectmanagertotheprojectboardonstageprogress.

horizon scanning Thesystematicexaminationofpotentialthreats,opportunitiesandlikelyfuturedevelopmentswhichareatthemarginsofcurrentthinkingandplanning.

host site Asitewhereprojectworkisbeingundertaken(forexample,anofficeorconstructionsite).

hot standby Seefastrecovery;immediaterecovery.

hub and spoke AtermtodescribeasystemoforganizationaldesignforP3Owherethereisacentralizedoffice(thehub)connectedtoanumberofsmallerdecentralizedoffices(thespokes)eachwithasub-setofthecentralizedoffice’sbusinessobjectives,functionsandservices.Allinformationandprocesses(connections)arearrangedsothattheymovealongspokestothehubatthecentre.Ahub-and-spokemodelprovidesthebenefitofscalabilityforlargeorganizationsandsupportsbusinessownershipbymaintainingalevelofdecentralization.

hurdle rate of return Thetargetrateofreturnsetbyanorganization,whichpotentialinvestmentsneedtoachieveinordertobeconsideredforfunding.Alsousedasthediscountratetoconvertfuturecashflowsintothenetpresentvalue.

ICT Informationandcommunicationstechnology.

identity Auniquenamethatisusedtoidentifyauser,personorrole.Theidentityisusedtograntrightstothatuser,personorrole.ExampleidentitiesmightbetheusernameSmithJortherole‘changemanager’.

immediate recovery Arecoveryoptionthatisalsoknownashotstandby.ProvisionismadetorecovertheITservicewithnosignificantlossofservicetothecustomer.Immediaterecoverytypicallyusesmirroring,loadbalancingandsplit-sitetechnologies.

impact Ameasureoftheeffectofanincident,problemorchangeonbusinessprocesses.Impactisoftenbasedonhowservicelevelswillbeaffected.Impactandurgencyareusedtoassignpriority.

impact (of risk) Impactistheresultofaparticularthreatoropportunityactuallyoccurring.


Term Definition

incident AnunplannedinterruptiontoanITserviceorreductioninthequalityofanITservice.Failureofaconfigurationitemthathasnotyetaffectedserviceisalsoanincident–forexample,failureofonediskfromamirrorset.

incident management Theprocessresponsibleformanagingthelifecycleofallincidents.Incidentmanagementensuresthatnormalserviceoperationisrestoredasquicklyaspossibleandthebusinessimpactisminimized.

incident record Arecordcontainingthedetailsofanincident.Eachincidentrecorddocumentsthelifecycleofasingleincident.

indirect cost ThecostofprovidinganITservicewhichcannotbeallocatedinfulltoaspecificcustomer–forexample,thecostofprovidingsharedserversorsoftwarelicences.Alsoknownasoverhead.See also directcost.

inform InthecontextofaRACItable,toadviseagrouporindividualofachangeoradecision.InMSP,thisistypicallyusedinthecontextofsomethingthataffectsactivitiesordocumentcreation.

information hub Thecentralizedelementofthehub-and-spokemodelforP3Ointermsofinformationflows.Itsupportshighlightandexception-basedreportingforprojects,programmesand/orportfoliosbyamalgamatinginformationwiththeprocessandinformationownedbythecentraloffice.See also hubandspoke.

information security management (ISM)

Theprocessresponsibleforensuringthattheconfidentiality,integrityandavailabilityofanorganization’sassets,information,dataandITservicesmatchtheagreedneedsofthebusiness.InformationsecuritymanagementsupportsbusinesssecurityandhasawiderscopethanthatoftheITserviceprovider,andincludeshandlingofpaper,buildingaccess,phonecallsetc.fortheentireorganization.See also securitymanagementinformationsystem.

information security management system (ISMS)

Theframeworkofpolicy,processes,functions,standards,guidelinesandtoolsthatensuresanorganizationcanachieveitsinformationsecuritymanagementobjectives.See also securitymanagementinformationsystem.

information security policy Thepolicythatgovernstheorganization’sapproachtoinformationsecuritymanagement.


Term Definition

information system Seemanagementinformationsystem.

information technology (IT) Theuseoftechnologyforthestorage,communicationorprocessingofinformation.Thetechnologytypicallyincludescomputers,telecommunications,applicationsandothersoftware.Theinformationmayincludebusinessdata,voice,images,videoetc.InformationtechnologyisoftenusedtosupportbusinessprocessesthroughITservices.

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)

SeeITIL.

informed customer Anindividual,teamorgroupwithfunctionalresponsibilitywithinanorganizationforensuringthatspendonIS/ITorotherprocurementisdirectedtobesteffect,i.e.thatthebusinessisreceivingvalueformoneyandcontinuestoachievethemostbeneficialoutcome.ThetermisoftenusedinrelationtotheoutsourcingofIT/IS.Sometimesalsocalled‘intelligentcustomer’.

infrastructure service Atypeofsupportingservicethatprovideshardware,networkorotherdata-centrecomponents.Thetermisalsousedasasynonymforsupportingservice.

inherent risk Theexposurearisingfromaspecificriskbeforeanyactionhasbeentakentomanageit.

initiation stage Theperiodfromwhentheprojectboardauthorizesinitiationtowhenitauthorizestheproject(ordecidesnottogoaheadwiththeproject).ThedetailedplanningandestablishmentoftheprojectmanagementinfrastructureiscoveredbytheInitiatingaProjectprocess.

insourcing UsinganinternalserviceprovidertomanageITservices.TheterminsourcingisalsousedtodescribetheactoftransferringtheprovisionofanITservicefromanexternalserviceprovidertoaninternalserviceprovider.See also servicesourcing.

integrity Asecurityprinciplethatensuresdataandconfigurationitemsaremodifiedonlybyauthorizedpersonnelandactivities.Integrityconsidersallpossiblecausesofmodification,includingsoftwareandhardwarefailure,environmentaleventsandhumanintervention.

interactive voice response (IVR) Aformofautomaticcalldistributionthatacceptsuserinput,suchaskeypressesandspokencommands,toidentifythecorrectdestinationforincomingcalls.


Term Definition

intermediate recovery Arecoveryoptionthatisalsoknownaswarmstandby.Intermediaterecoveryusuallyusesasharedportableorfixedfacilitythathascomputersystemsandnetworkcomponents.Thehardwareandsoftwarewillneedtobeconfigured,anddatawillneedtoberestored,aspartoftheITservicecontinuityplan.Typicalrecoverytimesforintermediaterecoveryareonetothreedays.

internal customer AcustomerwhoworksforthesamebusinessastheITserviceprovider.See also externalcustomer;internalserviceprovider.

internal metric AmetricthatisusedwithintheITserviceprovidertomonitortheefficiency,effectivenessorcost-effectivenessoftheITserviceprovider’sinternalprocesses.InternalmetricsarenotnormallyreportedtothecustomeroftheITservice.See also externalmetric.

internal rate of return (IRR) Atechniqueusedtohelpmakedecisionsaboutcapitalexpenditure.Itcalculatesafigurethatallowstwoormorealternativeinvestmentstobecompared.Alargerinternalrateofreturnindicatesabetterinvestment.See also netpresentvalue;returnoninvestment.

internal service provider AnITserviceproviderthatispartofthesameorganizationasitscustomer.AnITserviceprovidermayhavebothinternalandexternalcustomers.See also insourcing;TypeIserviceprovider;TypeIIserviceprovider.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

TheInternationalOrganizationforStandardization(ISO)istheworld’slargestdeveloperofstandards.ISOisanon-governmentalorganizationthatisanetworkofthenationalstandardsinstitutesof156countries.Seewww.iso.orgforfurtherinformationaboutISO.

International Standards Organization

SeeInternationalOrganizationforStandardization(ISO).

internet service provider (ISP) Anexternalserviceproviderthatprovidesaccesstotheinternet.MostISPsalsoprovideotherITservices,suchaswebhosting.

investment decision Thedecisiontoproceedwithaprogrammeorproject.Alsodescribestheentirelifecycleofaprogrammeorprojectfrominception(pre-start-up)touse(closure).

invocation Initiationofthestepsdefinedinaplan–forexample,initiatingtheITservicecontinuityplanforoneormoreITservices.


Term Definition

Ishikawa diagram Atechnique,originallydevisedbyKaoruIshikawa,thathelpsateamtoidentifyallthepossiblecausesofaproblem.Theoutputofthistechniqueisadiagramthatlookslikeafishbone.

ISO 9000 Agenerictermthatreferstoanumberofinternationalstandardsandguidelinesforqualitymanagementsystems.Seewww.iso.orgformoreinformation.See also InternationalOrganizationforStandardization.

ISO 9001 Aninternationalstandardforqualitymanagementsystems.See also ISO9000;standard.

ISO/IEC 20000 AninternationalstandardforITservicemanagement.

ISO/IEC 27001 Aninternationalspecificationforinformationsecuritymanagement.ThecorrespondingcodeofpracticeisISO/IEC27002.See also standard.

ISO/IEC 27002 Aninternationalcodeofpracticeforinformationsecuritymanagement.ThecorrespondingspecificationisISO/IEC27001.See also standard.

issue Arelevanteventthathashappened,wasnotplannedandrequiresmanagementaction.Itcouldbeaproblem,benefit,query,concern,changerequestorriskthathasoccurred.

issue actionee Aroleorindividualresponsibleforthemanagementandcontrolofallaspectsofindividualissues,includingtheimplementationofthemeasurestakeninrespectofeachissue.

issue register Aregisterusedtocaptureandmaintaininformationonalloftheissuesthatarebeingmanagedformally.Theissueregistershouldbemonitoredbytheprojectmanageronaregularbasis.

issue report Areportcontainingthedescription,impactassessmentandrecommendationsforarequestforchange,off-specificationoraproblem/concern.Itiscreatedonlyforthoseissuesthatneedtobehandledformally.

IT accounting Seeaccounting.


Term Definition

IT infrastructure Allofthehardware,software,networks,facilitiesetc.thatarerequiredtodevelop,test,deliver,monitor,controlorsupportapplicationsandITservices.Thetermincludesalloftheinformationtechnologybutnottheassociatedpeople,processesanddocumentation.

IT operations ActivitiescarriedoutbyIToperationscontrol,includingconsolemanagement/operationsbridge,jobscheduling,backupandrestore,andprintandoutputmanagement.IToperationsisalsousedasasynonymforserviceoperation.

IT operations control ThefunctionresponsibleformonitoringandcontroloftheITservicesandITinfrastructure.See also operationsbridge.

IT operations management ThefunctionwithinanITserviceproviderthatperformsthedailyactivitiesneededtomanageITservicesandthesupportingITinfrastructure.IToperationsmanagementincludesIToperationscontrolandfacilitiesmanagement.

IT service AserviceprovidedbyanITserviceprovider.AnITserviceismadeupofacombinationofinformationtechnology,peopleandprocesses.Acustomer-facingITservicedirectlysupportsthebusinessprocessesofoneormorecustomersanditsserviceleveltargetsshouldbedefinedinaservicelevelagreement.OtherITservices,calledsupportingservices,arenotdirectlyusedbythebusinessbutarerequiredbytheserviceprovidertodelivercustomer-facingservices.See also coreservice;enablingservice;enhancingservice;service;servicepackage.

IT service continuity management (ITSCM)

TheprocessresponsibleformanagingrisksthatcouldseriouslyaffectITservices.ITservicecontinuitymanagementensuresthattheITserviceprovidercanalwaysprovideminimumagreedservicelevels,byreducingtherisktoanacceptablelevelandplanningfortherecoveryofITservices.ITservicecontinuitymanagementsupportsbusinesscontinuitymanagement.

IT service continuity plan AplandefiningthestepsrequiredtorecoveroneormoreITservices.Theplanalsoidentifiesthetriggersforinvocation,peopletobeinvolved,communicationsetc.TheITservicecontinuityplanshouldbepartofabusinesscontinuityplan.

IT service management (ITSM) TheimplementationandmanagementofqualityITservicesthatmeettheneedsofthebusiness.ITservicemanagementisperformedbyITserviceprovidersthroughanappropriatemixofpeople,processandinformationtechnology.See also servicemanagement.


Term Definition

IT Service Management Forum (itSMF)

TheITServiceManagementForumisanindependentorganizationdedicatedtopromotingaprofessionalapproachtoITservicemanagement.TheitSMFisanot-for-profitmembershiporganizationwithrepresentationinmanycountriesaroundtheworld(itSMFchapters).TheitSMFanditsmembershipcontributetothedevelopmentofITILandassociatedITservicemanagementstandards.Seewww.itsmf.comformoreinformation.

IT service provider AserviceproviderthatprovidesITservicestointernalorexternalcustomers.

IT steering group (ISG) AformalgroupthatisresponsibleforensuringthatbusinessandITserviceproviderstrategiesandplansarecloselyaligned.AnITsteeringgroupincludesseniorrepresentativesfromthebusinessandtheITserviceprovider.AlsoknownasITstrategygrouporITsteeringcommittee.

ITIL® Asetofbest-practicepublicationsforITservicemanagement.OwnedbytheCabinetOffice(partofHMGovernment),ITILgivesguidanceontheprovisionofqualityITservicesandtheprocesses,functionsandothercapabilitiesneededtosupportthem.TheITILframeworkisbasedonaservicelifecycleandconsistsoffivelifecyclestages(servicestrategy,servicedesign,servicetransition,serviceoperationandcontinualserviceimprovement),eachofwhichhasitsownsupportingpublication.ThereisalsoasetofcomplementaryITILpublicationsprovidingguidancespecifictoindustrysectors,organizationtypes,operatingmodelsandtechnologyarchitectures.Seewww.itil-officialsite.comformoreinformation.

job description Adocumentthatdefinestheroles,responsibilities,skillsandknowledgerequiredbyaparticularperson.Onejobdescriptioncanincludemultipleroles–forexample,therolesofconfigurationmanagerandchangemanagermaybecarriedoutbyoneperson.

job scheduling PlanningandmanagingtheexecutionofsoftwaretasksthatarerequiredaspartofanITservice.JobschedulingiscarriedoutbyIToperationsmanagement,andisoftenautomatedusingsoftwaretoolsthatrunbatchoronlinetasksatspecifictimesoftheday,week,monthoryear.


Term Definition

Kano model Amodel,developedbyNoriakiKano,thatisusedtohelpunderstandcustomerpreferences.TheKanomodelconsidersattributesofanITservicegroupedintoareassuchasbasicfactors,excitementfactorsandperformancefactors.

Kepner and Tregoe analysis Astructuredapproachtoproblemsolving.Theproblemisanalysedintermsofwhat,where,whenandtowhatextent.Possiblecausesareidentified,themostprobablecauseistested,andthetruecauseisverified.

key performance indicator (KPI) Generic –Ameasureofperformance.

ITIL –AmetricthatisusedtohelpmanageanITservice,process,plan,projectorotheractivity.Keyperformanceindicatorsareusedtomeasuretheachievementofcriticalsuccessfactors.Manymetricsmaybemeasured,butonlythemostimportantofthesearedefinedaskeyperformanceindicatorsandusedtoactivelymanageandreportontheprocess,ITserviceoractivity.Theyshouldbeselectedtoensurethatefficiency,effectivenessandcost-effectivenessareallmanaged.

PPM –Ameasureofperformancethatisusedtohelpanorganizationdefineandevaluatehowsuccessfulitisinmakingprogresstowardsitsorganizationalobjectives.

knowledge base Alogicaldatabasecontainingdataandinformationusedbytheserviceknowledgemanagementsystem.

knowledge management Theprocessresponsibleforsharingperspectives,ideas,experienceandinformation,andforensuringthattheseareavailableintherightplaceandattherighttime.Theknowledgemanagementprocessenablesinformeddecisions,andimprovesefficiencybyreducingtheneedtorediscoverknowledge.See also Data-to-Information-to-Knowledge-to-Wisdom;serviceknowledgemanagementsystem.

known error Aproblemthathasadocumentedrootcauseandaworkaround.Knownerrorsarecreatedandmanagedthroughouttheirlifecyclebyproblemmanagement.Knownerrorsmayalsobeidentifiedbydevelopmentorsuppliers.

known error database (KEDB) Adatabasecontainingallknownerrorrecords.Thisdatabaseiscreatedbyproblemmanagementandusedbyincidentandproblemmanagement.Theknownerrordatabasemaybepartoftheconfigurationmanagementsystem,ormaybestoredelsewhereintheserviceknowledgemanagementsystem.


Term Definition

known error record Arecordcontainingthedetailsofaknownerror.Eachknownerrorrecorddocumentsthelifecycleofaknownerror,includingthestatus,rootcauseandworkaround.Insomeimplementations,aknownerrorisdocumentedusingadditionalfieldsinaproblemrecord.

leadership Theabilitytodirect,influenceandmotivateotherstowardsabetteroutcome.

Lean Amanagementprocessaimedateliminatingwasteinthesupplychain.

lessons log Aninformalrepositoryforlessonsthatapplytothisprojectorfutureprojects.

lessons report Areportthatdocumentsanylessonsthatcanbeusefullyappliedtootherprojects.Thepurposeofthereportistoprovokeactionsothatthepositivelessonsfromaprojectbecomeembeddedintheorganization’swayofworkingandtheorganizationisabletoavoidthenegativelessonsonfutureprojects.

lifecycle ThevariousstagesinthelifeofanITservice,configurationitem,incident,problem,changeetc.Thelifecycledefinesthecategoriesforstatusandthestatustransitionsthatarepermitted.Forexample:

• Thelifecycleofanapplicationincludesrequirements,design,build,deploy,operate,optimize

• Theexpandedincidentlifecycleincludesdetection,diagnosis,repair,recoveryandrestoration

• Thelifecycleofaservermayinclude:ordered,received,intest,live,disposedetc.

line of service (LOS) Acoreserviceorservicepackagethathasmultipleserviceoptions.Alineofserviceismanagedbyaserviceownerandeachserviceoptionisdesignedtosupportaparticularmarketsegment.

live ReferstoanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemthatisbeingusedtodeliverservicetoacustomer.

live environment AcontrolledenvironmentcontainingliveconfigurationitemsusedtodeliverITservicestocustomers.


Term Definition

logs Informalrepositoriesmanagedbytheprojectmanagerthatdonotrequireanyagreementbytheprojectboardontheirformatandcomposition.PRINCE2hastwologs:thedailylogandthelessonslog.

lower-order function Afunctioncontributingtothedeliveryofabasicfunction.Theseareoftenimportanttoasuccessfulproductorservice.

maintainability AmeasureofhowquicklyandeffectivelyanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemcanberestoredtonormalworkingafterafailure.Maintainabilityisoftenmeasuredandreportedasmeantimetorestoreservice(MTRS).MaintainabilityisalsousedinthecontextofsoftwareorITservicedevelopmenttomeanabilitytobechangedorrepairedeasily.

major incident Thehighestcategoryofimpactforanincident.Amajorincidentresultsinsignificantdisruptiontothebusiness.

manageability AninformalmeasureofhoweasilyandeffectivelyanITserviceorothercomponentcanbemanaged.

management board Agenerictermusedtodescribeeitherprojectmanagementboards,programmemanagementboardsorportfoliomanagementboards,oranycombinationbasedontheP3Ocontext.

management by exception Atechniquebywhichvariancesfromplanthatexceedapre-setcontrollimitareescalatedforaction–forexample,wherespendsexceedbudgetby10%.

management dashboard Atechniquetorepresentvastamountsofdecision-supportinformationatanamalgamatedlevelusingtabularandgraphicrepresentationsuchasgraphsandtrafficlights.

management information Informationthatisusedtosupportdecision-makingbymanagers.ManagementinformationisoftengeneratedautomaticallybytoolssupportingthevariousITservicemanagementprocesses.Managementinformationoftenincludesthevaluesofkeyperformanceindicators,suchas‘percentageofchangesleadingtoincidents’or‘first-timefixrate’.


Term Definition

management information system (MIS)

Asetoftools,dataandinformationthatisusedtosupportaprocessorfunction.Examplesincludetheavailabilitymanagementinformationsystemandthesupplierandcontractmanagementinformationsystem.See also serviceknowledgemanagementsystem.

Management of Risk (M_o_R®) Systemicapplicationofpolicies,procedures,methodsandpracticestothetasksofidentifyingandassessingrisks,andthenplanningandimplementingriskresponses.Thisprovidesadisciplinedenvironmentforproactivedecision-making.

Management of Value (MoV®) Asystematicmethodtodefinewhatvaluemeansfororganizations,andtocommunicateitclearlytomaximizevalueacrossportfolios,programmes,projectsandoperations.

Management of Value (MoV) board

AgroupofseniormanagerswhoadvisetheMoVseniorpractitioneronthedeliveryoftheMoVimplementationplan.

Management of Value (MoV) implementation plan

TheplanfordeliveringtheMoVstrategy.

Management of Value (MoV) programme

AseriesofinterrelatedMoVstudiesacrossamajorprojectorlargeorganization’sservicereview.

Management of Value (MoV) programme plan

TheplanforapplyingMoVtoaprogramme.

Management of Value (MoV) progress report

Aregularreportdescribingthecurrentprogressthathasbeenmadeindeliveringthebenefitsofavalue-improvingproposal.

Management of Value (MoV) project plan

TheplanforapplyingMoVtoaproject.

Management of Value (MoV) steering group

SeeManagementofValue(MoV)board.

Management of Value (MoV) study

Acombinationofactivitiesincludingpreparation,analysisworkshop(s),decisionbuilding,reportingandimplementation.

Management of Value (MoV) study handbook

AcollationbythestudyleaderofalltheinformationrequiredforsuccessfulteamparticipationinanMoVstudy.

Management of Value (MoV) study team

ThepeoplewhoactivelycontributetoanMoVstudy.


Term Definition

Management of Value (MoV) workshop

Agatheringofstakeholdersanddisciplinesrelatingtoaparticularstudy,facilitatedtoguideparticipantsthroughtheMoVapproach.

management product Aproductthatwillberequiredaspartofmanagingtheproject,andestablishingandmaintainingquality(forexample,highlightreport,endstagereportetc.).Themanagementproductsstayconstant,whateverthetypeofproject,andcanbeusedasdescribed,orwithanyrelevantmodifications,forallprojects.Therearethreetypesofmanagementproduct:baselines,recordsandreports.

management stage Thesectionofaprojectthattheprojectmanagerismanagingonbehalfoftheprojectboardatanyonetime,attheendofwhichtheprojectboardwillwishtoreviewprogresstodate,thestateoftheprojectplan,thebusinesscaseandrisks,andthenextstageplaninordertodecidewhethertocontinuewiththeproject.

management system Theframeworkofpolicy,processes,functions,standards,guidelinesandtoolsthatensuresanorganizationorpartofanorganizationcanachieveitsobjectives.Thistermisalsousedwithasmallerscopetosupportaspecificprocessoractivity–forexample,aneventmanagementsystemorriskmanagementsystem.See also system.

Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®)

ABestManagementPracticepublication/methodrepresentingprovenprogrammemanagementgoodpracticeinsuccessfullydeliveringtransformationalchange,drawnfromtheexperiencesofbothpublic-andprivate-sectororganizations.

mandate InformationcreatedexternallytoaprojectorprogrammethatformsthetermsofreferenceandisusedtostartupaPRINCE2projectoridentifyanMSPprogramme.Amandatemaybeinitiatedthroughanunstructuredapproach,oritmaybederivedfromstrategicplanning,businessplanningorportfoliomanagementprocesses.

manual workaround Aworkaroundthatrequiresmanualintervention.ManualworkaroundisalsousedasthenameofarecoveryoptioninwhichthebusinessprocessoperateswithouttheuseofITservices.Thisisatemporarymeasureandisusuallycombinedwithanotherrecoveryoption.

margin Theflexibilitythataprogrammehasforachievingitsblueprint,benefitsandbusinesscase.


Term Definition

marginal cost Theincreaseordecreaseinthecostofproducingonemore,oroneless,unitofoutput–forexample,thecostofsupportinganadditionaluser.

market space OpportunitiesthatanITserviceprovidercouldexploittomeetthebusinessneedsofcustomers.MarketspacesidentifythepossibleITservicesthatanITserviceprovidermaywishtoconsiderdelivering.

matrix management Atypeoforganizationalmanagementinwhichhumanresourceswithsimilarskillsarepooledtogetherfortheassignmentofworktootherpartsofanorganization.Inthisapproach,thereisaseparationbetweenlinemanagementandlineofauthorityinthatapersonmayreporttoseveralproject,programmeorbusinessmanagerstoundertakemultipleworkassignmentsatdifferenttimesbuthavealineofauthoritytoadifferentmanageraltogether.

maturity Ameasureofthereliability,efficiencyandeffectivenessofaprocess,function,organizationetc.Themostmatureprocessesandfunctionsareformallyalignedtobusinessobjectivesandstrategy,andaresupportedbyaframeworkforcontinualimprovement.

maturity level Generic –Arecognizedpositionwithinamodelassessingperformance.

ITIL –Anamedlevelinamaturitymodel,suchastheCarnegieMellonCapabilityMaturityModelIntegration.

PPM –Awell-definedevolutionaryplateautowardsachievingamatureprocess(fivelevelsareoftencited:initial,repeatable,defined,managedandoptimizing).

maturity model Amethodofassessingorganizationalcapabilityinagivenareaofskill.

mean time between failures (MTBF)

Ametricformeasuringandreportingreliability.MTBFistheaveragetimethatanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemcanperformitsagreedfunctionwithoutinterruption.Thisismeasuredfromwhentheconfigurationitemstartsworking,untilitnextfails.

mean time between service incidents (MTBSI)

Ametricusedformeasuringandreportingreliability.ItistheaveragetimefromwhenasystemorITservicefails,untilitnextfails.MTBSIisequaltoMTBFplusMTRS.


Term Definition

mean time to repair (MTTR) TheaveragetimetakentorepairanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemafterafailure.MTTRismeasuredfromwhentheconfigurationitemfailsuntilitisrepaired.MTTRdoesnotincludethetimerequiredtorecoverorrestore.Itissometimesincorrectlyusedinsteadofmeantimetorestoreservice.

mean time to restore service (MTRS)

TheaveragetimetakentorestoreanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemafterafailure.MTRSismeasuredfromwhentheconfigurationitemfailsuntilitisfullyrestoredanddeliveringitsnormalfunctionality.See also maintainability;meantimetorepair.

metric Somethingthatismeasuredandreportedtohelpmanageaprocess,ITserviceoractivity.See also keyperformanceindicator.

middleware Softwarethatconnectstwoormoresoftwarecomponentsorapplications.Middlewareisusuallypurchasedfromasupplier,ratherthandevelopedwithintheITserviceprovider.See also commercialofftheshelf.

milestone Asignificanteventinaplan’sschedule,suchascompletionofkeyworkpackages,atechnicalstageoramanagementstage.

mission Ashortbutcompletedescriptionoftheoverallpurposeandintentionsofanorganization.Itstateswhatistobeachieved,butnothowthisshouldbedone.See also vision.

model Arepresentationofasystem,process,ITservice,configurationitemetc.thatisusedtohelpunderstandorpredictfuturebehaviour.

modelling Atechniquethatisusedtopredictthefuturebehaviourofasystem,process,ITservice,configurationitemetc.Modellingiscommonlyusedinfinancialmanagement,capacitymanagementandavailabilitymanagement.

monitor control loop Monitoringtheoutputofatask,process,ITserviceorotherconfigurationitem;comparingthisoutputtoapredefinednorm;andtakingappropriateactionbasedonthiscomparison.

monitoring Repeatedobservationofaconfigurationitem,ITserviceorprocesstodetecteventsandtoensurethatthecurrentstatusisknown.

MoV SeeManagementofValue.


Term Definition

MSP SeeManagingSuccessfulProgrammes.

near-shore Provisionofservicesfromacountrynearthecountrywherethecustomerisbased.ThiscanbetheprovisionofanITservice,orofsupportingfunctionssuchasaservicedesk.See also offshore;onshore.

needs Thebenefitsthatareeitheressentialordesiredfromtheresourcesappliedtoagivenproject.

net present value (NPV) Atechniqueusedtohelpmakedecisionsaboutcapitalexpenditure.Itcomparescashinflowswithcashoutflows.Positivenetpresentvalueindicatesthataninvestmentisworthwhile.See also internalrateofreturn;returnoninvestment.

normal change Achangethatisnotanemergencychangeorastandardchange.Normalchangesfollowthedefinedstepsofthechangemanagementprocess.

normal service operation Anoperationalstatewhereservicesandconfigurationitemsareperformingwithintheiragreedserviceandoperationallevels.

notional charging AnapproachtochargingforITservices.Chargestocustomersarecalculatedandcustomersareinformedofthecharge,butnomoneyisactuallytransferred.Notionalchargingissometimesintroducedtoensurethatcustomersareawareofthecoststheyincur,orasastageduringtheintroductionofrealcharging.

objective Generic –Theintendedoutcomeorgoal.

ITIL –Theoutcomesrequiredfromaprocess,activityororganizationinordertoensurethatitspurposewillbefulfilled.Objectivesareusuallyexpressedasmeasurabletargets.Thetermisalsoinformallyusedtomeanarequirement.

PPM –Theintendedoutcomeorgoalofaprogramme,projectororganization.

off the shelf Seecommercialofftheshelf.

Office of Government Commerce (OGC)

OGC(formerownerofBestManagementPractice)anditsfunctionshavemovedintotheCabinetOfficeaspartofHMGovernment.Seewww.cabinetoffice.gov.uk


Term Definition

off-project specialist or expert SomeonewithknowledgeandexperienceinthesubjectoftheMoVactivitieswhoisnotinvolvedintheprogrammeproject.MaybeinvitedtocontributetoanMoVstudytochallengetheMoVstudyteammembersandimprovetheobjectivityoftheirproposals.

offshore Provisionofservicesfromalocationoutsidethecountrywherethecustomerisbased,oftenonadifferentcontinent.ThiscanbetheprovisionofanITservice,orofsupportingfunctionssuchasaservicedesk.See also near-shore;onshore.

off-specification Somethingthatshouldbeprovidedbytheproject,butcurrentlyisnot(orisforecastnottobe)provided.Thismightbeamissingproductoraproductnotmeetingitsspecifications.Itisonetypeofissue.

OGC Gateway™ reviews OGCGatewayisthemainstayoftheMajorProjectsAuthority(MPA)assuranceprocess.Itisapeerreviewoftheprogressanddeliveryconfidenceatkey‘gates’intheprojectlifecycle,andprovidesrecommendationstotheseniorresponsibleowner(SRO)onwhichhe/sheisaccountabletotheMPA.Thisisaninterview-basedreviewcompleted,includingthereport,inlessthanaweek.

one version of the truth Atechniquewherebyeachelementofportfolioprogressreporting(costs,benefits,progressetc.)isderivedfromanagreedsourcemanagedbytheportfoliooffice.Individualinitiativesandotherorganizationalfunctionswillprovidedatainputsinrelationtocost,benefit,deliveryprogress,resourcerequirements,dependencyandriskstatus–andtoanagreedschedule.Theresultingconsolidateddatawillberecognizedastheauthoritativesourceofinformationonportfolioprogressusedformonitoring,reportingandmanagementdecision-making.

onshore Provisionofservicesfromalocationwithinthecountrywherethecustomerisbased.See also near-shore;offshore.

operate Toperformasexpected.Aprocessorconfigurationitemissaidtooperateifitisdeliveringtherequiredoutputs.Operatealsomeanstoperformoneormoreoperations.Forexample,tooperateacomputeristodotheday-to-dayoperationsneededforittoperformasexpected.


Term Definition

operation Day-to-daymanagementofanITservice,systemorotherconfigurationitem.Operationisalsousedtomeananypredefinedactivityortransaction–forexample,loadingamagnetictape,acceptingmoneyatapointofsale,orreadingdatafromadiskdrive.

operational Thelowestofthreelevelsofplanninganddelivery(strategic,tactical,operational).Operationalactivitiesincludetheday-to-dayorshort-termplanningordeliveryofabusinessprocessorITservicemanagementprocess.Thetermisalsoasynonymforlive.

operational and maintenance acceptance

Aspecifictypeofacceptancebythepersonorgroupwhowillsupporttheproductonceitishandedoverintotheoperationalenvironment.

operational cost ThecostresultingfromrunningtheITservices,whichofteninvolvesrepeatingpayments–forexample,staffcosts,hardwaremaintenanceandelectricity.Alsoknownascurrentexpenditureorrevenueexpenditure.See also capitalexpenditure.

operational expenditure (OPEX) Seeoperationalcost.

operational level agreement (OLA)

AnagreementbetweenanITserviceproviderandanotherpartofthesameorganization.ItsupportstheITserviceprovider’sdeliveryofITservicestocustomersanddefinesthegoodsorservicestobeprovidedandtheresponsibilitiesofbothparties.Forexample,therecouldbeanoperationallevelagreementbetween:

• TheITserviceproviderandaprocurementdepartmenttoobtainhardwareinagreedtimes

• Theservicedeskandasupportgrouptoprovideincidentresolutioninagreedtimes.

See also servicelevelagreement.

operational risk Failuretoachievebusiness/organizationalobjectivesduetohumanerror,systemfailuresandinadequateprocedureandcontrols.

operations Businessasusualinanorganization.

operations bridge AphysicallocationwhereITservicesandITinfrastructurearemonitoredandmanaged.

operations control SeeIToperationscontrol.


Term Definition

operations management SeeIToperationsmanagement.

opportunity Anuncertaineventthatwouldhaveafavourableimpactonobjectivesorbenefitsifitoccurred.

opportunity cost Acostthatisusedindecidingbetweeninvestmentchoices.Opportunitycostrepresentstherevenuethatwouldhavebeengeneratedbyusingtheresourcesinadifferentway.Forexample,theopportunitycostofpurchasinganewservermayincludenotcarryingoutaserviceimprovementactivitythatthemoneycouldhavebeenspenton.Opportunitycostanalysisisusedaspartofadecision-makingprocess,butopportunitycostisnottreatedasanactualcostinanyfinancialstatement.

optimism bias DefinedbytheHMTreasuryGreen Book asthedemonstratedsystematictendencyforappraiserstobeover-optimisticaboutkeyprojectparameters,includingcapitalcosts,operatingcosts,worksdurationandbenefitsdelivery.Toaddressthis,adjustmentsshouldbemadetotheestimatesofprogrammeandprojectcosts,benefitsandworksdurationbasedonempiricaldata.StandardadjustmentsareincludedintheHMTreasury’sGreen Book andontheHMTreasury’swebsite.

optimize Review,planandrequestchanges,inordertoobtainthemaximumefficiencyandeffectivenessfromaprocess,configurationitem,applicationetc.

order Therelativelevelofafunctioninahierarchy(higherorlower).

organization Acompany,legalentityorotherinstitution.Thetermissometimesusedtorefertoanyentitythathaspeople,resourcesandbudgets–forexample,aprojectorbusinessunit.

Organization Portfolio Office AtypeofP3Omodelthatisdesignedtocentrallymanagetheinvestmentprocess,strategicalignment,prioritizationandselection,progresstrackingandmonitoring,optimizationandbenefitsachievedbyanorganization’sprojectsandprogrammesonbehalfofitsseniormanagement.

organizational energy Theextenttowhichanorganization(divisionorteam)hasmobilizeditsemotional,cognitiveandbehaviouralpotentialtopursueitsgoals.


Term Definition

outcome Generic –Theresultofcarryingoutanactivity.

ITIL –Theresultofcarryingoutanactivity,followingaprocess,ordeliveringanITserviceetc.Thetermisusedtorefertointendedresultsaswellastoactualresults.See also objective.

PPM –Theresultofchange,normallyaffectingreal-worldbehaviourorcircumstances.Outcomesaredesiredwhenachangeisconceived.Outcomesareachievedasaresultoftheactivitiesundertakentoeffectthechange;theyarethemanifestationofpartorallofthenewstateconceivedintheblueprint.

output Aspecialistproduct(thetangibleorintangibleartefact)thatisproduced,constructedorcreatedasaresultofaplannedactivityandhandedovertoauser(s).

outsourcing UsinganexternalserviceprovidertomanageITservices.See also servicesourcing.

overhead Seeindirectcost.

P3M3 SeePortfolio,ProgrammeandProjectManagementMaturityModel(P3M3).

P3O sponsor AseniormanagerwithappropriateauthoritywhochampionstheestablishmentandevolvingoperationoftheP3O.Theywillideallybeamemberofthemainboard.See also Portfolio,ProgrammeandProjectOffices(P3O).

P3RM Portfolio,programme,projectandriskmanagement.

pain value analysis Atechniqueusedtohelpidentifythebusinessimpactofoneormoreproblems.Aformulaisusedtocalculatepainvaluebasedonthenumberofusersaffected,thedurationofthedowntime,theimpactoneachuser,andthecosttothebusiness(ifknown).

Pareto principle/rule Generic –TheParetoprinciplesaysthat80%ofthevalueofanyactivityiscreatedwith20%oftheeffort.

ITIL –Atechniqueusedtoprioritizeactivities.TheParetoprinciplesaysthat80%ofthevalueofanyactivityiscreatedwith20%oftheeffort.Paretoanalysisisalsousedinproblemmanagementtoprioritizepossibleproblemcausesforinvestigation.

PPM –Alsoknownasthe‘80/20rule’,whichstatesthat80%ofgainswillcomefrom20%ofstudyactivity.


Term Definition

partnership Arelationshipbetweentwoorganizationsthatinvolvesworkingcloselytogetherforcommongoalsormutualbenefit.TheITserviceprovidershouldhaveapartnershipwiththebusinessandwiththirdpartieswhoarecriticaltothedeliveryofITservices.See also valuenetwork.

passive monitoring Monitoringofaconfigurationitem,anITserviceoraprocessthatreliesonanalertornotificationtodiscoverthecurrentstatus.See also activemonitoring.

pattern of business activity (PBA) Aworkloadprofileofoneormorebusinessactivities.PatternsofbusinessactivityareusedtohelptheITserviceproviderunderstandandplanfordifferentlevelsofbusinessactivity.See also userprofile.

peer review Specificreviewofaprojectoranyofitsproductswherepersonnelfromwithintheorganizationand/orfromotherorganizationscarryoutanindependentassessmentoftheproject.Peerreviewscanbedoneatanypointwithinaprojectbutareoftenusedatstage-endpoints.

percentage utilization Theamountoftimethatacomponentisbusyoveragivenperiodoftime.Forexample,ifaCPUisbusyfor1,800secondsinaone-hourperiod,itsutilizationis50%.

performance Ameasureofwhatisachievedordeliveredbyasystem,person,team,processorITservice.

performance management Activitiestoensurethatsomethingachievesitsexpectedoutcomesinanefficientandconsistentmanner.

performance targets Aplan’sgoalsfortime,cost,quality,scope,benefitsandrisk.

PESTLE Acronymfor‘political,economic,social,technological,legalandenvironmental’.Atechniqueusedgenerallyinorganizationalchangemanagementtoundertakeanenvironmentalscanatastrategiclevel.

pet project Aprojectthatischampionedbyanexecutiveinanorganizationthatmaybealignedtoanindividualgoalorgoalsforaspecificpartofthebusiness,butnotnecessarilyalignedtothestrategicimperativesoftheorganizationasawhole.


Term Definition

pilot AlimiteddeploymentofanITservice,areleaseoraprocesstotheliveenvironment.Apilotisusedtoreduceriskandtogainuserfeedbackandacceptance.See also changeevaluation;test.

plan Generic –Adetailedproposal.

ITIL –Adetailedproposalthatdescribestheactivitiesandresourcesneededtoachieveanobjective–forexample,aplantoimplementanewITserviceorprocess.ISO/IEC20000requiresaplanforthemanagementofeachITservicemanagementprocess.

PPM –Adetailedproposalfordoingorachievingsomethingwhichspecifiesthewhat,when,howandbywhom.InPRINCE2thereareonlythefollowingtypesofplan:projectplan,stageplan,teamplan,exceptionplanandbenefitsreviewplan.

Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Afour-stagecycleforprocessmanagement,attributedtoEdwardDeming.Plan-Do-Check-ActisalsocalledtheDemingCycle.Plan–designorreviseprocessesthatsupporttheITservices;Do–implementtheplanandmanagetheprocesses;Check–measuretheprocessesandITservices,comparewithobjectivesandproducereports;Act–planandimplementchangestoimprovetheprocesses.

planned closure ThePRINCE2activitytocloseaproject.

planned downtime AgreedtimewhenanITservicewillnotbeavailable.Planneddowntimeisoftenusedformaintenance,upgradesandtesting.See also changewindow;downtime.

planning Anactivityresponsibleforcreatingoneormoreplans–forexample,capacityplanning.

planning horizon Theperiodoftimeforwhichitispossibletoplanaccurately.

plastic project Aprojectinwhichdependencieshavebeenminimized(oftenbycreatingasharedplatform)sothatdecisionscanbetakenatthelastresponsiblemoment.Oftenusedunderfast-changingconditions,orwheretheproblemand/orsolutionspacesaresubjecttoahighdegreeofuncertainty.


Term Definition

policy Generic –Astatementofprincipleandintent.

ITIL –Formallydocumentedmanagementexpectationsandintentions.Policiesareusedtodirectdecisions,andtoensureconsistentandappropriatedevelopmentandimplementationofprocesses,standards,roles,activities,ITinfrastructureetc.

PPM –Acourseofaction(orprinciple)adoptedbyanorganization.Abusinessstatementofintent,settingthetoneforanorganization’sculture.

portable facility Aprefabricatedbuilding,oralargevehicle,providedbyathirdpartyandmovedtoasitewhenneededaccordingtoanITservicecontinuityplan.See also fixedfacility;recoveryoption.

portfolio Thetotalityofanorganization’sinvestment(orsegmentthereof)inthechangesrequiredtoachieveitsstrategicobjectives.

portfolio dashboard Atechniquetorepresentdecisionsupportinformationatanamalgamatedlevelusingtabularandgraphicalrepresentationsuchasgraphsandtrafficlights.

portfolio definition cycle Oneofthetwocontinuouscycleswithintheportfoliomanagementmodelcontainingportfoliomanagementpracticesrelatedtodefiningaportfolio,i.e.understand,categorize,prioritize,balanceandplan.

portfolio delivery cycle Oneofthetwocontinuouscycleswithintheportfoliomanagementmodelcontainingportfoliomanagementpracticesrelatedtodeliveringaportfolio,i.e.managementcontrol,benefitsmanagement,financialmanagement,riskmanagement,organizationalgovernance,stakeholderengagement,andresourcemanagement.

portfolio delivery plan Acollectionoftacticalinformationregardingtheplanneddeliveryoftheportfoliobasedontheoverarchingportfoliostrategy.Theportfoliodeliveryplanusuallyfocusesontheforthcomingyearindetailintermsofschedule,resourceplans,costs,risksandbenefitstoberealized.

portfolio management Portfoliomanagementisacoordinatedcollectionofstrategicprocessesanddecisionsthattogetherenablethemosteffectivebalanceoforganizationalchangeandbusinessasusual.

portfolio management framework

Thecentralrepositorycontainingadescriptionoftheagreedportfoliomanagementpracticesadoptedbytheorganizationanditsgovernancearrangements.


Term Definition

portfolio management model Alogicaldiagramdescribingtherelationshipbetweentheportfoliomanagementprinciples,cyclesandpractices.

portfolio office Anofficewhichisestablishedcentrallytomanagetheinvestmentprocess,strategicalignment,prioritizationandselection,progresstrackingandmonitoring,optimizationandbenefitsachievedbyanorganization’sprojectsandprogrammesonbehalfofitsseniormanagement.

portfolio principles Theportfoliomanagementprinciplesrepresentthefoundationsuponwhicheffectiveportfoliomanagementisbuilt–byprovidingtheorganizationalcultureandenvironmentinwhichtheportfoliodefinitionanddeliverypracticescanoperateeffectively.Theyare:seniormanagementcommitment;alignmentwithorganizationalstrategy;alignmentwiththeorganizationalgovernanceframework;aportfoliooffice;andanenergizedchangeculture.Thesearegenericprinciples–thewayinwhichtheyareappliedshouldbetailoredtosuittheorganizationalcircumstancessolongastheunderlyingrationaleismaintained.

Portfolio, Programme and Project Management (PPM)

Acollectivetermusedforaseriesofguidesaimedatimprovingtheperformanceofthoseinvolvedinportfolio,programmeandprojectmanagement.PPMistheacceptedtermintheindustryandcoversportfolioaswellasprogrammeandprojectmanagement.

Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Maturity Model (P3M3®)

Aframeworkwithwhichorganizationscanassesstheircurrentperformanceandputinplaceimprovementplans.

Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices (P3O®)

Thedecision-enablingandsupportbusinessmodelforallbusinesschangewithinanorganization.Thiswillincludesingleormultiplephysicalorvirtualstructures,i.e.offices(permanentand/ortemporary),providingamixofcentralandlocalizedfunctionsandservices,andintegrationwithgovernancearrangementsandthewiderbusinesssuchasothercorporatesupportfunctions.

portfolio strategy Acollectionoftop-levelstrategicinformationthatprovidestotalclaritytoallstakeholdersregardingthecontentandlong-termobjectivesoftheportfolio.Theportfoliostrategyisanimportantcommunicationtoolandassuchshouldbemotivationaltothereader.


Term Definition

post-implementation review (PIR) Generic –Aformalreviewofaprogrammeorproject.Itisusedtoanswerthequestion‘Didweachievewhatwesetouttodo,inbusinessterms,andifnot,whatshouldbedone?’

ITIL –Areviewthattakesplaceafterachangeoraprojecthasbeenimplemented.Itdetermineswhetherthechangeorprojectwassuccessful,andidentifiesopportunitiesforimprovement.

PPM –Theprocessofdeterminingthenatureandvalueofbenefitsachievedandlessonslearnedfromtheproject.Thiswouldneedtoberepeatedatintervalstocollatefullresults.

PPM SeePortfolio,ProgrammeandProjectManagement(PPM).

practice Awayofworking,orawayinwhichworkmustbedone.Practicescanincludeactivities,processes,functions,standardsandguidelines.See also bestpractice.

practitioner SomeonewhoiscompetentinandregularlyleadsMoVactivities.

premature closure ThePRINCE2activitytocloseaprojectbeforeitsplannedclosure.Theprojectmanagermustensurethatworkinprogressisnotsimplyabandoned,butthattheprojectsalvagesanyvaluecreatedtodate,andchecksthatanygapsleftbythecancellationoftheprojectareraisedtocorporateorprogrammemanagement.

prerequisite for success (PFS) Anactivitythatneedstobecompleted,oraconditionthatneedstobemet,toenablesuccessfulimplementationofaplanorprocess.Itisoftenanoutputfromoneprocessthatisarequiredinputtoanotherprocess.

prerequisites (plan) Anyfundamentalaspectsthatmustbeinplace,andremaininplace,foraplantosucceed.

pricing Pricingistheactivityforestablishinghowmuchcustomerswillbecharged.

primary function Afunctionwithacloseanddirectlinktothestudyobjectives.See also valuedriver.

PRINCE2 SeePRojectsINControlledEnvironments(PRINCE2).

PRINCE2 principles TheguidingobligationsforgoodprojectmanagementpracticethatformthebasisofaprojectbeingmanagedusingPRINCE2.


Term Definition

PRINCE2 project AprojectthatappliesthePRINCE2principles.

priority Acategoryusedtoidentifytherelativeimportanceofanincident,problemorchange.Priorityisbasedonimpactandurgency,andisusedtoidentifyrequiredtimesforactionstobetaken.Forexample,theservicelevelagreementmaystatethatPriority2incidentsmustberesolvedwithin12hours.

proactive monitoring Monitoringthatlooksforpatternsofeventstopredictpossiblefuturefailures.See also reactivemonitoring.

proactive problem management Partoftheproblemmanagementprocess.Theobjectiveofproactiveproblemmanagementistoidentifyproblemsthatmightotherwisebemissed.Proactiveproblemmanagementanalysesincidentrecords,andusesdatacollectedbyotherITservicemanagementprocessestoidentifytrendsorsignificantproblems.

probability Thisistheevaluatedlikelihoodofaparticularthreatoropportunityactuallyhappening,includingaconsiderationofthefrequencywithwhichthismayarise.

problem Acauseofoneormoreincidents.Thecauseisnotusuallyknownatthetimeaproblemrecordiscreated,andtheproblemmanagementprocessisresponsibleforfurtherinvestigation.

problem management Theprocessresponsibleformanagingthelifecycleofallproblems.Problemmanagementproactivelypreventsincidentsfromhappeningandminimizestheimpactofincidentsthatcannotbeprevented.

problem record Arecordcontainingthedetailsofaproblem.Eachproblemrecorddocumentsthelifecycleofasingleproblem.

problem/concern Atypeofissue(otherthanarequestforchangeoroff-specification)thattheprojectmanagerneedstoresolveorescalate.

procedure Generic –Aseriesofstepstakentoachievesomething.

ITIL –Adocumentcontainingstepsthatspecifyhowtoachieveanactivity.Proceduresaredefinedaspartofprocesses.See also workinstruction.

PPM –Aseriesofactionsforaparticularaspectofprojectmanagementestablishedspecificallyfortheproject–forexample,ariskmanagementprocedure.


Term Definition

process Generic –Astructuredsetofactivitiesdesignedtoaccomplishaspecificobjective.

ITIL –Astructuredsetofactivitiesdesignedtoaccomplishaspecificobjective.Aprocesstakesoneormoredefinedinputsandturnsthemintodefinedoutputs.Itmayincludeanyoftheroles,responsibilities,toolsandmanagementcontrolsrequiredtoreliablydelivertheoutputs.Aprocessmaydefinepolicies,standards,guidelines,activitiesandworkinstructionsiftheyareneeded.

PPM –Astructuredsetofactivitiesdesignedtoaccomplishaspecificobjective.Aprocesstakesoneormoredefinedinputsandturnsthemintodefinedoutputs.

process control Theactivityofplanningandregulatingaprocess,withtheobjectiveofperformingtheprocessinaneffective,efficientandconsistentmanner.

process manager Aroleresponsiblefortheoperationalmanagementofaprocess.Theprocessmanager’sresponsibilitiesincludeplanningandcoordinationofallactivitiesrequiredtocarryout,monitorandreportontheprocess.Theremaybeseveralprocessmanagersforoneprocess–forexample,regionalchangemanagersorITservicecontinuitymanagersforeachdatacentre.Theprocessmanagerroleisoftenassignedtothepersonwhocarriesouttheprocessownerrole,butthetworolesmaybeseparateinlargerorganizations.

process owner Thepersonwhoisheldaccountableforensuringthataprocessisfitforpurpose.Theprocessowner’sresponsibilitiesincludesponsorship,design,changemanagementandcontinualimprovementoftheprocessanditsmetrics.Thisrolecanbeassignedtothesamepersonwhocarriesouttheprocessmanagerrole,butthetworolesmaybeseparateinlargerorganizations.

producer Thepersonorgroupresponsiblefordevelopingaproduct.

product Aninputoroutput,whethertangibleorintangible,thatcanbedescribedinadvance,createdandtested.Alsoknownasanoutputordeliverable.

product breakdown structure Ahierarchyofalltheproductstobeproducedduringaplan.

product checklist Alistofthemajorproductsofaplan,pluskeydatesintheirdelivery.


Term Definition

product description Adescriptionofaproduct’spurpose,composition,derivationandqualitycriteria.Itisproducedatplanningtime,assoonaspossibleaftertheneedfortheproductisidentified.

product flow diagram Adiagramshowingthesequenceofproductionandinterdependenciesoftheproductslistedinaproductbreakdownstructure.

product status account Areportonthestatusofproducts.Therequiredproductscanbespecifiedbyidentifierorthepartoftheprojectinwhichtheyweredeveloped.

product-based planning Atechniqueleadingtoacomprehensiveplanbasedonthecreationanddeliveryofrequiredoutputs.Thetechniqueconsidersprerequisiteproducts,qualityrequirementsandthedependenciesbetweenproducts.

production environment Seeliveenvironment.

profit centre Abusinessunitthatchargesforservicesprovided.Aprofitcentrecanbecreatedwiththeobjectiveofmakingaprofit,recoveringcosts,orrunningataloss.AnITserviceprovidercanberunasacostcentreoraprofitcentre.

pro-forma Atemplateorexampledocumentcontainingsampledatathatwillbereplacedwithrealvalueswhentheseareavailable.

programme Generic –Anumberofactivitiesorprojectsthatareplannedandmanagedtogether.

ITIL –Anumberofprojectsandactivitiesthatareplannedandmanagedtogethertoachieveanoverallsetofrelatedobjectivesandotheroutcomes.

PPM –Atemporaryflexibleorganizationstructurecreatedtocoordinate,directandoverseetheimplementationofasetofrelatedprojectsandactivitiesinordertodeliveroutcomesandbenefitsrelatedtotheorganization’sstrategicobjectives.Aprogrammeislikelytohavealifethatspansseveralyears.

programme assurance Independentassessmentandconfirmationthattheprogrammeasawholeoranyoneofitsaspectsisontrack,thatitisapplyingrelevantpracticesandprocedures,andthattheprojects,activitiesandbusinessrationaleremainalignedtotheprogramme’sobjectives.See also gatedreview.


Term Definition

programme board Agroupthatisestablishedtosupportaseniorresponsibleowner(SRO)indeliveringaprogramme.

programme brief Astatementthatdescribesthespecificobjectives,requiredbenefits,potentialrisks,outlinecosts,timescalesandpotentiallyoptionsfordeliveryforaprogramme.

programme management Thecoordinatedorganization,directionandimplementationofadossierofprojectsandtransformationactivities(i.e.theprogramme)toachieveoutcomesandrealizebenefitsofstrategicimportance.

programme manager Theroleresponsiblefortheset-up,managementanddeliveryoftheprogramme,typicallyallocatedtoasingleindividual.

programme office Thefunctionprovidingtheinformationhubfortheprogrammeanditsdeliveryobjectives;couldprovidesupportformorethanoneprogramme.

programme organization Howaprogrammewillbemanagedthroughoutitslifecycle,therolesandresponsibilitiesofindividualsinvolvedintheprogramme,andpersonnelmanagementorhuman-resourcesarrangements.Alsoknownasprogrammeorganizationstructure.

programme risk Riskconcernedwithtransforminghigh-levelstrategyintonewwaysofworkingtodeliverbenefitstotheorganization.

project Generic –Anundertakingrequiringconcertedeffort.

ITIL –Atemporaryorganization,withpeopleandotherassets,thatisrequiredtoachieveanobjectiveorotheroutcome.Eachprojecthasalifecyclethattypicallyincludesinitiation,planning,executionandclosure.ProjectsareusuallymanagedusingaformalmethodologysuchasProjectsINControlledEnvironments(PRINCE2)ortheProjectManagementBodyofKnowledge(PMBOK).See also charter;projectmanagementoffice;projectportfolio.

PPM –Atemporaryorganizationthatiscreatedforthepurposeofdeliveringoneormorebusinessproductsaccordingtoanagreedbusinesscase.

project approach Adescriptionofthewayinwhichtheworkoftheprojectistobeapproached.Forexample,arewebuildingaproductfromscratchorbuyinginaproductthatalreadyexists?


Term Definition

project assurance Theprojectboard’sresponsibilitiestoassureitselfthattheprojectisbeingconductedcorrectly.Theprojectboardmemberseachhaveaspecificareaoffocusforprojectassurance,namelybusinessassurancefortheexecutive,userassuranceforthesenioruser(s),andsupplierassurancefortheseniorsupplier(s).

project authorization notification Advicefromtheprojectboardtoinformallstakeholdersandthehostsitesthattheprojecthasbeenauthorizedandtorequestanynecessarylogisticalsupport(e.g.communicationfacilities,equipmentandanyprojectsupport)sufficientforthedurationoftheproject.

project brief Statementthatdescribesthepurpose,cost,timeandperformancerequirements,andconstraintsforaproject.Itiscreatedpre-projectduringtheStartingupaProjectprocessandisusedduringtheInitiatingaProjectprocesstocreatetheprojectinitiationdocumentationanditscomponents.Itissupersededbytheprojectinitiationdocumentationandnotmaintained.

project charter Seecharter.

project control tool Aprocessortechniqueforinformingmanagementtoenablethemtomaintaincontrolovertheprogressofaproject.

project executive Theindividualwhoisultimatelyresponsibleforaproject.Theirroleistoensurethattheprojectisfocusedthroughoutitslifecycleonachievingitsobjectivesanddeliveringaproductthatwillachievetheforecastbenefits.

project initiation documentation (PID)

Alogicalsetofdocumentsthatbringstogetherthekeyinformationneededtostarttheprojectonasoundbasisandthatconveystheinformationtoallconcernedwiththeproject.

project initiation notification Advicefromtheprojectboardtoinformallstakeholdersandthehostsitesthattheprojectisbeinginitiatedandtorequestanynecessarylogisticalsupport(e.g.communicationfacilities,equipmentandanyprojectsupport)sufficientfortheinitiationstage.

project lifecycle Theperiodfromthestart-upofaprojecttotheacceptanceoftheprojectproduct.


Term Definition

project management Theplanning,delegating,monitoringandcontrolofallaspectsoftheproject,andthemotivationofthoseinvolved,toachievetheprojectobjectiveswithintheexpectedperformancetargetsfortime,cost,quality,scope,benefitsandrisks.

Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®)

AprojectmanagementstandardmaintainedandpublishedbytheProjectManagementInstitute.Seewww.pmi.orgformoreinformation.See also PRojectsINControlledEnvironments(PRINCE2).

Project Management Institute (PMI)

Amembershipassociationthatadvancestheprojectmanagementprofessionthroughgloballyrecognizedstandardsandcertifications,collaborativecommunities,anextensiveresearchprogramme,andprofessionaldevelopmentopportunities.PMIisanot-for-profitmembershiporganizationwithrepresentationinmanycountriesaroundtheworld.PMImaintainsandpublishestheProjectManagementBodyofKnowledge(PMBOK).Seewww.pmi.orgformoreinformation.See also PRojectsINControlledEnvironments(PRINCE2).

project management office (PMO)

Afunctionorgroupresponsibleformanagingthelifecycleofprojects.See also charter;projectportfolio.

project management team Theentiremanagementstructureoftheprojectboard,andprojectmanager,plusanyteammanager,projectassuranceandprojectsupportroles.

project management team structure

Anorganizationchartshowingthepeopleassignedtotheprojectmanagementteamrolestobeused,andtheirdelegationandreportingrelationships.

project manager Thepersonwithauthorityandresponsibilitytomanageaprojectonaday-to-daybasistodelivertherequiredproductswithintheconstraintsagreedbytheprojectboard.

project mandate AnexternalproductgeneratedbytheauthoritycommissioningtheprojectthatformsthetriggerforStartingupaProject.

project office Atemporaryofficesetuptosupportthedeliveryofaspecificchangeinitiativebeingdeliveredasaproject.Ifused,theprojectofficeundertakestheresponsibilityoftheprojectsupportrole.


Term Definition

project plan Ahigh-levelplanshowingthemajorproductsoftheproject,whentheywillbedeliveredandatwhatcost.Aninitialprojectplanispresentedaspartoftheprojectinitiationdocumentation.Thisisrevisedasinformationonactualprogressappears.Itisamajorcontroldocumentfortheprojectboardtomeasureactualprogressagainstexpectations.

project portfolio Adatabaseorstructureddocumentusedtomanageprojectsthroughouttheirlifecycle.Theprojectportfolioisusedtocoordinateprojectsandensurethattheymeettheirobjectivesinacost-effectiveandtimelymanner.Inlargerorganizations,theprojectportfolioistypicallydefinedandmaintainedbyaprojectmanagementoffice.Theprojectportfolioisimportanttoserviceportfoliomanagementasnewservicesandsignificantchangesarenormallymanagedasprojects.See also charter.

project product Whattheprojectmustdeliverinordertogainacceptance.

project product description Aspecialtypeofproductdescriptionusedtogainagreementfromtheuserontheproject’sscopeandrequirements,todefinethecustomer’squalityexpectations,andtodefinetheacceptancecriteriafortheproject.

project register Analternativetermfor‘projectsdossier’–thedocumentthatrecordsthelistofprojects.

project risk Projectrisksarethoseconcernedwiththesuccessfulcompletionoftheproject.Typicallytheserisksincludepersonal,technical,cost,schedule,resource,operationalsupport,qualityandsupplierissues.

project sponsor Themaindrivingforcebehindaproject.

project start-up notification Advicetothehostlocationthattheprojectisabouttostartandrequestinganyrequiredprojectsupportservices.

project support Anadministrativeroleintheprojectmanagementteam.Projectsupportcanbeintheformofadviceandhelpwithprojectmanagementtools,guidance,administrativeservicessuchasfiling,andthecollectionofactualdata.

project support office Agroupsetuptoprovidecertainadministrativeservicestotheprojectmanager.Oftenthegroupprovidesitsservicestomanyprojectsinparallel.


Term Definition

projected service outage (PSO) Adocumentthatidentifiestheeffectofplannedchanges,maintenanceactivitiesandtestplansonagreedservicelevels.

PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2)

ThestandardUKgovernmentmethodologyforprojectmanagement.Seewww.prince-officialsite.comformoreinformation.See also ProjectManagementBodyofKnowledge(PMBOK).

proposal implementation plan Aplanforimplementingvalue-improvingproposalstorealizetheirexpectedbenefits.

proposal owner Theindividualresponsiblefordevelopingvalue-improvingproposals.

proximity (of risk) Thetimefactorandhowcloseaneventis:riskswilloccuratparticulartimes,andtheseverityoftheirimpactwillvarydependingonwhentheyoccur.

public sector Activitiesundertakenwithoutaprofitmotiveforthegreatergoodand/orforwhichspecificusagecannotbemonitored(e.g.streetlighting),paidforbythepublicatlargeviataxation.

qualification AnactivitythatensuresthattheITinfrastructureisappropriateandcorrectlyconfiguredtosupportanapplicationorITservice.See also validation.

quality Generic –Thedegreetowhichasetofdefinedcharacteristicsfulfiltherequirement.

ITIL –Theabilityofaproduct,serviceorprocesstoprovidetheintendedvalue.Forexample,ahardwarecomponentcanbeconsideredtobeofhighqualityifitperformsasexpectedanddeliverstherequiredreliability.Processqualityalsorequiresanabilitytomonitoreffectivenessandefficiency,andtoimprovethemifnecessary.See also qualitymanagementsystem.

PPM –Thedegreetowhichthefeaturesandinherentorassignedcharacteristicsofaproduct,person,process,serviceand/orsystembearonitsabilitytoshowthatitmeetsexpectationsorstatedneeds,requirementsorspecification.


Term Definition

quality assurance (QA) Generic –Theplannedsystematicprocessthatwillbeusedtoprovideconfidencethatoutputswillmatchtheirdefinedqualitycriteria.

ITIL –Theprocessresponsibleforensuringthatthequalityofaservice,processorotherserviceassetwillprovideitsintendedvalue.Qualityassuranceisalsousedtorefertoafunctionorteamthatperformsqualityassurance.ThisprocessisnotdescribedindetailwithinthecoreITILpublications.See also servicevalidationandtesting.

quality control Theprocessofmonitoringspecificprojectresultstodeterminewhethertheycomplywithrelevantstandardsandofidentifyingwaystoeliminatecausesofunsatisfactoryperformance.

quality criteria Adescriptionofthequalityspecificationthattheproductmustmeet,andthequalitymeasurementsthatwillbeappliedbythoseinspectingthefinishedproduct.

quality inspection Asystematic,structuredassessmentofaproductcarriedoutbytwoormorecarefullyselectedpeople(thereviewteam)inaplanned,documentedandorganizedfashion.

quality management Thecoordinatedactivitiestodirectandcontrolanorganizationwithregardtoquality.

quality management strategy Astrategydefiningthequalitytechniquesandstandardstobeapplied,andthevariousresponsibilitiesforachievingtherequiredqualitylevels,duringaproject.

quality management system (QMS)

Theframeworkofpolicy,processes,functions,standards,guidelinesandtoolsthatensuresanorganizationisofasuitablequalitytomeetbusinessobjectivesorservicelevelsreliably.See also ISO9000.

quality records Evidencekepttodemonstratethattherequiredqualityassuranceandqualitycontrolactivitieshavebeencarriedout.

quality register Aregistercontainingsummarydetailsofallplannedandcompletedqualityactivities.Thequalityregisterisusedbytheprojectmanagerandprojectassuranceaspartofreviewingprogress.

quality review Seequalityinspection.


Term Definition

quality review technique Aqualityinspectiontechniquewithdefinedrolesandaspecificstructure.Itisdesignedtoassesswhetheraproductthattakestheformofadocument(orsimilar,e.g.apresentation)iscomplete,adherestostandardsandmeetsthequalitycriteriaagreedforitintherelevantproductdescription.Theparticipantsaredrawnfromthosewiththenecessarycompetencetoevaluateitsfitnessforpurpose.

quality tolerance Thetoleranceidentifiedforaproductforaqualitycriteriondefininganacceptablerangeofvalues.Qualitytoleranceisdocumentedintheprojectproductdescription(fortheproject-levelqualitytolerance)andintheproductdescriptionforeachproducttobedelivered.

quick win Animprovementactivitythatisexpectedtoprovideareturnoninvestmentinashortperiodoftimewithrelativelylittlecostandeffort.See also Paretoprinciple.

RACI Amodelusedtohelpdefinerolesandresponsibilities.RACIstandsforresponsible,accountable,consultedandinformed.

reactive monitoring Monitoringthattakesplaceinresponsetoanevent.Forexample,submittingabatchjobwhenthepreviousjobcompletes,orlogginganincidentwhenanerroroccurs.See also proactivemonitoring.

real charging AchargingpolicywhereactualmoneyistransferredfromthecustomertotheITserviceproviderinpaymentforthedeliveryofITservices.See also notionalcharging.

reciprocal arrangement Arecoveryoption.Anagreementbetweentwoorganizationstoshareresourcesinanemergency–forexample,high-speedprintingfacilitiesorcomputerroomspace.

record Adocumentcontainingtheresultsorotheroutputfromaprocessoractivity.Recordsareevidenceofthefactthatanactivitytookplaceandmaybepaperorelectronic–forexample,anauditreport,anincidentrecordortheminutesofameeting.

records Dynamicmanagementproductsthatmaintaininformationregardingprojectprogress.


Term Definition

recovery ReturningaconfigurationitemoranITservicetoaworkingstate.RecoveryofanITserviceoftenincludesrecoveringdatatoaknownconsistentstate.Afterrecovery,furtherstepsmaybeneededbeforetheITservicecanbemadeavailabletotheusers(restoration).

recovery option Astrategyforrespondingtoaninterruptiontoservice.Commonlyusedstrategiesaremanualworkaround,reciprocalarrangement,gradualrecovery,intermediaterecovery,fastrecoveryandimmediaterecovery.Recoveryoptionsmaymakeuseofdedicatedfacilitiesorthird-partyfacilitiessharedbymultiplebusinesses.

recovery point objective (RPO) Themaximumamountofdatathatmaybelostwhenserviceisrestoredafteraninterruption.Therecoverypointobjectiveisexpressedasalengthoftimebeforethefailure.Forexample,arecoverypointobjectiveofonedaymaybesupportedbydailybackups,andupto24hoursofdatamaybelost.RecoverypointobjectivesforeachITserviceshouldbenegotiated,agreedanddocumented,andusedasrequirementsforservicedesignandITservicecontinuityplans.

recovery time objective (RTO) ThemaximumtimeallowedfortherecoveryofanITservicefollowinganinterruption.Theserviceleveltobeprovidedmaybelessthannormalserviceleveltargets.RecoverytimeobjectivesforeachITserviceshouldbenegotiated,agreedanddocumented.See also businessimpactanalysis.

reduce (risk response) Aresponsetoariskwhereproactiveactionsaretakentoreducetheprobabilityoftheeventoccurringbyperformingsomeformofcontrol,and/ortoreducetheimpactoftheeventshoulditoccur.

redundancy Useofoneormoreadditionalconfigurationitemstoprovidefaulttolerance.Thetermalsohasagenericmeaningofobsolescence,ornolongerneeded.

reference-class forecasting Atechniquewhereforecastsofaninitiative’sduration,costsandbenefitsarederivedfromwhatactuallyoccurredinareferenceclassofsimilarprojects.Alternatively,estimatescanbebuiltupinthetraditionalmannerandthenadjustedbysetpercentagesbasedonpastperformance–thisistheapproachusedintheUKcentralgovernment,whereastandardsetofoptimism-biasadjustmentsareincludedintheHMTreasury’sGreen Book.


Term Definition

register Aformalrepositorymanagedbytheprojectmanagerthatrequiresagreementbytheprojectboardonitsformat,compositionanduse.PRINCE2hasthreeregisters:issueregister,riskregisterandqualityregister.

reject (risk response) Aresponsetoarisk(opportunity)whereaconsciousanddeliberatedecisionistakennottoexploitorenhanceanopportunity,havingdiscernedthatitismoreeconomicaltodosothantoattemptariskresponseaction.Theopportunityshouldcontinuetobemonitored.

relationship Aconnectionorinteractionbetweentwopeopleorthings.Inbusinessrelationshipmanagement,itistheinteractionbetweentheITserviceproviderandthebusiness.Inserviceassetandconfigurationmanagement,itisalinkbetweentwoconfigurationitemsthatidentifiesadependencyorconnectionbetweenthem.Forexample,applicationsmaybelinkedtotheserverstheyrunon,andITserviceshavemanylinkstoalltheconfigurationitemsthatcontributetothatITservice.

relationship processes TheISO/IEC20000processgroupthatincludesbusinessrelationshipmanagementandsuppliermanagement.

release Generic –Thecontrolledimplementationofchange.

ITIL –OneormorechangestoanITservicethatarebuilt,testedanddeployedtogether.Asinglereleasemayincludechangestohardware,software,documentation,processesandothercomponents.

PPM –Thesetofproductsinahandover.Thecontentsofareleasearemanaged,testedanddeployedasasingleentity.See also handover.

release and deployment management

Theprocessresponsibleforplanning,schedulingandcontrollingthebuild,testanddeploymentofreleases,andfordeliveringnewfunctionalityrequiredbythebusinesswhileprotectingtheintegrityofexistingservices.

release identification Anamingconventionusedtouniquelyidentifyarelease.Thereleaseidentificationtypicallyincludesareferencetotheconfigurationitemandaversionnumber–forexample,MicrosoftOffice2010SR2.

release management Seereleaseanddeploymentmanagement.


Term Definition

release package Asetofconfigurationitemsthatwillbebuilt,testedanddeployedtogetherasasinglerelease.Eachreleasepackagewillusuallyincludeoneormorereleaseunits.

release record Arecordthatdefinesthecontentofarelease.Areleaserecordhasrelationshipswithallconfigurationitemsthatareaffectedbytherelease.Releaserecordsmaybeintheconfigurationmanagementsystemorelsewhereintheserviceknowledgemanagementsystem.

release unit ComponentsofanITservicethatarenormallyreleasedtogether.Areleaseunittypicallyincludessufficientcomponentstoperformausefulfunction.Forexample,onereleaseunitcouldbeadesktopPC,includinghardware,software,licences,documentationetc.Adifferentreleaseunitmaybethecompletepayrollapplication,includingIToperationsproceduresandusertraining.

release window Seechangewindow.

reliability AmeasureofhowlonganITserviceorotherconfigurationitemcanperformitsagreedfunctionwithoutinterruption.Usuallymeasuredasmeantimebetweenfailures(MTBF)ormeantimebetweenserviceincidents(MTBSI).Thetermcanalsobeusedtostatehowlikelyitisthataprocess,functionetc.willdeliveritsrequiredoutputs.See also availability.

remediation Actionstakentorecoverafterafailedchangeorrelease.Remediationmayincludeback-out,invocationofservicecontinuityplans,orotheractionsdesignedtoenablethebusinessprocesstocontinue.

repair Thereplacementorcorrectionofafailedconfigurationitem.

reports Managementproductsprovidingasnapshotofthestatusofcertainaspectsoftheproject.

request for change (RFC) Aformalproposalforachangetobemade.Itincludesdetailsoftheproposedchange,andmayberecordedonpaperorelectronically.Thetermisoftenmisusedtomeanachangerecord,orthechangeitself.

request fulfilment Theprocessresponsibleformanagingthelifecycleofallservicerequests.


Term Definition

request model Arepeatablewayofdealingwithaparticularcategoryofservicerequest.Arequestmodeldefinesspecificagreedstepsthatwillbefollowedforaservicerequestofthiscategory.Requestmodelsmaybeverysimple,withnorequirementforauthorization(e.g.passwordreset),ormaybemorecomplexwithmanystepsthatrequireauthorization(e.g.provisionofanexistingITservice).See also requestfulfilment.

requirement(s) Generic –Aformalstatementofwhatisneeded.

ITIL –Aformalstatementofwhatisneeded–forexample,aservicelevelrequirement,aprojectrequirementortherequireddeliverablesforaprocess.See also statementofrequirements.

PPM –Adescriptionoftheuser’sneeds.

residual risk Theriskremainingaftertheriskresponsehasbeensuccessfullyapplied.

resilience TheabilityofanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemtoresistfailureortorecoverinatimelymannerfollowingafailure.Forexample,anarmouredcablewillresistfailurewhenputunderstress.See also faulttolerance.

resolution Actiontakentorepairtherootcauseofanincidentorproblem,ortoimplementaworkaround.InISO/IEC20000,resolutionprocessesistheprocessgroupthatincludesincidentandproblemmanagement.

resolution processes TheISO/IEC20000processgroupthatincludesincidentandproblemmanagement.

resource Generic –Anorganization’sphysicalorvirtualentities,humanorotherwise.

ITIL –AgenerictermthatincludesITinfrastructure,people,moneyoranythingelsethatmighthelptodeliveranITservice.Resourcesareconsideredtobeassetsofanorganization.See also capability;serviceasset.

PPM –Anorganization’sphysicalorvirtualentities(humanorotherwise)thatareoflimitedavailabilityandcanbeusedtoundertakeoperationsorbusinesschange.


Term Definition

response time Ameasureofthetimetakentocompleteanoperationortransaction.UsedincapacitymanagementasameasureofITinfrastructureperformance,andinincidentmanagementasameasureofthetimetakentoanswerthephoneortostartdiagnosis.

responsible Usedtodescribetheindividualwhohastheauthorityandisexpectedtodeliverataskoractivity;responsibilitycanbedelegated.

responsible authority Thepersonorgroupcommissioningtheproject(typicallycorporateorprogrammemanagement)whohastheauthoritytocommitresourcesandfundsonbehalfofthecommissioningorganization.

responsiveness Ameasurementofthetimetakentorespondtosomething.Thiscouldbetheresponsetimeofatransaction,orthespeedwithwhichanITserviceproviderrespondstoanincidentorrequestforchangeetc.

restoration of service Seerestore.

restore TakingactiontoreturnanITservicetotheusersafterrepairandrecoveryfromanincident.Thisistheprimaryobjectiveofincidentmanagement.

retire PermanentremovalofanITservice,orotherconfigurationitem,fromtheliveenvironment.Beingretiredisastageinthelifecycleofmanyconfigurationitems.

return on assets (ROA) Ameasurementoftheprofitabilityofabusinessunitororganization.Returnonassetsiscalculatedbydividingtheannualnetincomebythetotalvalueofassets.See also returnoninvestment.

return on investment (ROI) Ameasurementoftheexpectedbenefitofaninvestment.Inthesimplestsense,itisthenetprofitofaninvestmentdividedbythenetworthoftheassetsinvested.See also netpresentvalue;valueoninvestment.

return to normal ThephaseofanITservicecontinuityplanduringwhichfullnormaloperationsareresumed.Forexample,ifanalternativedatacentrehasbeeninuse,thenthisphasewillbringtheprimarydatacentrebackintooperation,andrestoretheabilitytoinvokeITservicecontinuityplansagain.


Term Definition

review Anevaluationofachange,problem,process,projectetc.Reviewsaretypicallycarriedoutatpredefinedpointsinthelifecycle,andespeciallyafterclosure.Thepurposeofareviewistoensurethatalldeliverableshavebeenprovided,andtoidentifyopportunitiesforimprovement.See also changeevaluation;post-implementationreview.

reviewer Apersonorgroupindependentoftheproducerwhoassesseswhetheraproductmeetsitsrequirementsasdefinedinitsproductdescription.

rights Entitlements,orpermissions,grantedtoauserorrole–forexample,therighttomodifyparticulardata,ortoauthorizeachange.

risk Generic –Anuncertaineventorsetofevents.

ITIL –Apossibleeventthatcouldcauseharmorloss,oraffecttheabilitytoachieveobjectives.Ariskismeasuredbytheprobabilityofathreat,thevulnerabilityoftheassettothatthreat,andtheimpactitwouldhaveifitoccurred.Riskcanalsobedefinedasuncertaintyofoutcome,andcanbeusedinthecontextofmeasuringtheprobabilityofpositiveoutcomesaswellasnegativeoutcomes.

PPM –Anuncertaineventorsetofeventsthat,shoulditoccur,willhaveaneffectontheachievementofobjectives.Ariskismeasuredbyacombinationoftheprobabilityofaperceivedthreatoropportunityoccurring,andthemagnitudeofitsimpactonobjectives.

risk actionee Someactionsmaynotbewithintheremitoftheriskownertocontrolexplicitly;inthatsituationthereshouldbeanominatedowneroftheactiontoaddresstherisk.Heorshewillneedtokeeptheriskownerapprisedofthesituation.

risk appetite Theamountofrisktheorganization,orsubsetofit,iswillingtoaccept.

risk assessment Generic –Theidentificationandevaluationofrisks.

ITIL –Theinitialstepsofriskmanagement:analysingthevalueofassetstothebusiness,identifyingthreatstothoseassets,andevaluatinghowvulnerableeachassetistothosethreats.Riskassessmentcanbequantitative(basedonnumericaldata)orqualitative.

PPM –Theidentificationandevaluationofrisks.


Term Definition

risk capacity Themaximumamountofriskthatanorganization,orsubsetofit,canbear,linkedtofactorssuchasitsreputation,capital,assetsandabilitytoraiseadditionalfunds.

risk cause Adescriptionofthesourceoftherisk,i.e.theeventorsituationthatgivesrisetotherisk.

risk committee Abodyofindependentdirectorswhoareresponsibleforreviewingthecompany’sinternalcontrolandriskmanagementsystems.

risk effect Adescriptionoftheimpactthattheriskwouldhaveontheorganizationalactivityshouldtheriskmaterialize.

risk estimation Theestimationofprobabilityandimpactofanindividualrisk,takingintoaccountpredeterminedstandards,targetrisklevels,interdependenciesandotherrelevantfactors.

risk evaluation Theprocessofunderstandingtheneteffectoftheidentifiedthreatsandopportunitiesonanactivitywhenaggregatedtogether.

risk event Adescriptionoftheareaofuncertaintyintermsofthethreatortheopportunity.

risk exposure Theextentofriskbornebytheorganizationatthattime.

risk identification Thedeterminationofwhatcouldposearisk;aprocesstodescribeandlistsourcesofrisk(threatsandopportunities).

risk log Seeriskregister.

risk management Generic –Theprocessresponsibleforidentifying,assessingandcontrollingrisks.

ITIL –Theprocessresponsibleforidentifying,assessingandcontrollingrisks.Riskmanagementisalsosometimesusedtorefertothesecondpartoftheoverallprocessafterriskshavebeenidentifiedandassessed,asin‘riskassessmentandmanagement’.ThisprocessisnotdescribedindetailwithinthecoreITILpublications.See also riskassessment.

PPM –Thesystematicapplicationofprinciples,approachandprocessestothetasksofidentifyingandassessingrisks,andthenplanningandimplementingriskresponses.

See alsoManagementofRisk(M_o_R).


Term Definition

risk management policy Ahigh-levelstatementshowinghowriskmanagementwillbehandledthroughouttheorganization.

risk management process guide Describestheseriesofsteps(fromidentifythroughtoimplement)andtheirrespectiveassociatedactivities,necessarytoimplementriskmanagement.

risk management strategy Describesthegoalsofapplyingriskmanagementtotheactivity,theprocessthatwillbeadopted,therolesandresponsibilities,riskthresholds,thetimingofriskmanagementinterventions,thedeliverables,thetoolsandtechniquesthatwillbeused,andthereportingrequirements.Itmayalsodescribehowtheprocesswillbecoordinatedwithothermanagementactivities.

risk manager Aroleorindividualresponsiblefortheimplementationofriskmanagementforeachactivityateachoftheorganizationallevels.

risk owner Aroleorindividualresponsibleforthemanagementandcontrolofallaspectsofindividualrisks,includingtheimplementationofthemeasurestakeninrespectofeachrisk.

risk perception Thewayinwhichastakeholderviewsarisk,basedonasetofvaluesorconcerns.

risk potential assessment (RPA) Astandardsetofhigh-levelcriteriaagainstwhichtheintrinsiccharacteristicsanddegreeofdifficultyofaproposedprojectareassessed.UsedintheUKpublicsectortoassessthecriticalityofprojectsandsodeterminethelevelofOGCGatewayreviewrequired.

risk profile Describesthetypesofriskthatarefacedbyanorganizationanditsexposuretothoserisks.

risk register Arecordofallidentifiedrisksrelatingtoaninitiative,includingtheirstatusandhistory.Alsocalledarisklog.

risk response Actionsthatmaybetakentobringthesituationtoalevelwheretheexposuretoriskisacceptabletotheorganization.Theseresponsesfallintooneofanumberofriskresponseoptions.

risk response category Acategoryofriskresponse.Forthreats,theindividualriskresponsecategorycanbeavoid,reduce,transfer,acceptorshare.Foropportunities,theindividualriskresponsecategorycanbeexploit,enhance,rejectorshare.


Term Definition

risk tolerance Thethresholdlevelsofriskexposurethat,withappropriateapprovals,canbeexceeded,butwhichwhenexceededwilltriggersomeformofresponse(e.g.reportingthesituationtoseniormanagementforaction).

risk tolerance line Alinedrawnonthesummaryriskprofile.Risksthatappearabovethislinecannotbeaccepted(livedwith)withoutreferringthemtoahigherauthority.Foraproject,theprojectmanagerwouldrefertheseriskstotheprojectboard.

role Asetofresponsibilities,activitiesandauthoritiesassignedtoapersonorteam.Aroleisdefinedinaprocessorfunction.Onepersonorteammayhavemultipleroles–forexample,therolesofconfigurationmanagerandchangemanagermaybecarriedoutbyasingleperson.Roleisalsousedtodescribethepurposeofsomethingorwhatitisusedfor.

role description Adescriptionofthesetofresponsibilitiesspecifictoarole.

root cause Theunderlyingororiginalcauseofanincidentorproblem.

root cause analysis (RCA) Anactivitythatidentifiestherootcauseofanincidentorproblem.RootcauseanalysistypicallyconcentratesonITinfrastructurefailures.See also servicefailureanalysis.

running cost Seeoperationalcost.

Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) USlawthatregulatesfinancialpracticeandcorporategovernance.

scalability TheabilityofanITservice,process,configurationitemetc.toperformitsagreedfunctionwhentheworkloadorscopechanges.

scale of risk Astandardtechniqueforestimatingtheprobabilityandimpactofariskacrossanorganization,portfolio,programmeorproject.Thismaybeprovidedaspartofariskmanagementstandard(external)orariskmanagementstrategyorpolicy.

scenario Apackageofvalue-improvingproposals.


Term Definition

schedule Graphicalrepresentationofaplan(forexample,aGanttchart),typicallydescribingasequenceoftasks,togetherwithresourceallocations,whichcollectivelydelivertheplan.InPRINCE2,projectactivitiesshouldonlybedocumentedintheschedulesassociatedwithaprojectplan,stageplanorteamplan.Actionsthatareallocatedfromday-to-daymanagementmaybedocumentedintherelevantprojectlog(i.e.riskregister,dailylog,issueregister,qualityregister)iftheydonotrequiresignificantactivity.

scope Generic –Theboundaryorextentofsomething.

ITIL –Theboundaryorextenttowhichaprocess,procedure,certification,contractetc.applies.Forexample,thescopeofchangemanagementmayincludeallliveITservicesandrelatedconfigurationitems;thescopeofanISO/IEC20000certificatemayincludeallITservicesdeliveredoutofanameddatacentre.

PPM –Foraplan,thesumtotalofitsproductsandtheextentoftheirrequirements.Itisdescribedbytheproductbreakdownstructurefortheplanandassociatedproductdescriptions.

scope tolerance Thepermissibledeviationinaplan’sscopethatisallowedbeforethedeviationneedstobeescalatedtothenextlevelofmanagement.Scopetoleranceisdocumentedintherespectiveplanintheformofanoteorreferencetotheproductbreakdownstructureforthatplan.See also tolerance.

second-line support Thesecondlevelinahierarchyofsupportgroupsinvolvedintheresolutionofincidentsandinvestigationofproblems.Eachlevelcontainsmorespecialistskills,orhasmoretimeorotherresources.

security Seeinformationsecuritymanagement.

security management Seeinformationsecuritymanagement.

security management information system (SMIS)

Asetoftools,dataandinformationthatisusedtosupportinformationsecuritymanagement.Thesecuritymanagementinformationsystemispartoftheinformationsecuritymanagementsystem.See also serviceknowledgemanagementsystem.

security policy Seeinformationsecuritypolicy.

senior management TopmanagementresponsibleforembeddingorrunningMoVactivities.


Term Definition

senior Management of Value (MoV) practitioner

TheindividualchargedwithleadingtheimplementationoftheMoVplan.SeeManagementofValue(MoV).

senior responsible owner (SRO) Thesingleindividualwithoverallresponsibilityforensuringthataprojectorprogrammemeetsitsobjectivesanddeliverstheprojectedbenefits.

senior supplier Theprojectboardrolethatprovidesknowledgeandexperienceofthemaindiscipline(s)involvedintheproductionoftheproject’sdeliverable(s).Theseniorsupplierrepresentsthesupplierinterestswithintheprojectandprovidessupplierresources.

senior user Theprojectboardroleaccountableforensuringthatuserneedsarespecifiedcorrectlyandthatthesolutionmeetsthoseneeds.

sensitivity analysis Atechniquefortestingtherobustnessofacalculationormodelbyassessingtheimpactofvaryingtheinput,toreflecttheriskthatthecalculationormodelmightnotbeaccurate.

separation of concerns (SoC) AnapproachtodesigningasolutionorITservicethatdividestheproblemintopiecesthatcanbesolvedindependently.Thisapproachseparateswhatistobedonefromhowitistobedone.

server Acomputerthatisconnectedtoanetworkandprovidessoftwarefunctionsthatareusedbyothercomputers.

service Ameansofdeliveringvaluetocustomersbyfacilitatingoutcomescustomerswanttoachievewithouttheownershipofspecificcostsandrisks.Theterm‘service’issometimesusedasasynonymforcoreservice,ITserviceorservicepackage.See also utility;warranty.

service acceptance criteria (SAC) AsetofcriteriausedtoensurethatanITservicemeetsitsfunctionalityandqualityrequirementsandthattheITserviceproviderisreadytooperatethenewITservicewhenithasbeendeployed.See also acceptance.

service analytics Atechniqueusedintheassessmentofthebusinessimpactofincidents.Serviceanalyticsmodelsthedependenciesbetweenconfigurationitems,andthedependenciesofITservicesonconfigurationitems.

service asset Anyresourceorcapabilityofaserviceprovider.See also asset.


Term Definition

service asset and configuration management (SACM)

Theprocessresponsibleforensuringthattheassetsrequiredtodeliverservicesareproperlycontrolled,andthataccurateandreliableinformationaboutthoseassetsisavailablewhenandwhereitisneeded.Thisinformationincludesdetailsofhowtheassetshavebeenconfiguredandtherelationshipsbetweenassets.See also configurationmanagementsystem.

service capacity management (SCM)

Thesub-processofcapacitymanagementresponsibleforunderstandingtheperformanceandcapacityofITservices.InformationontheresourcesusedbyeachITserviceandthepatternofusageovertimeiscollected,recordedandanalysedforuseinthecapacityplan.See also businesscapacitymanagement;componentcapacitymanagement.

service catalogue AdatabaseorstructureddocumentwithinformationaboutallliveITservices,includingthoseavailablefordeployment.TheservicecatalogueispartoftheserviceportfolioandcontainsinformationabouttwotypesofITservice:customer-facingservicesthatarevisibletothebusiness;andsupportingservicesrequiredbytheserviceprovidertodelivercustomer-facingservices.See also customeragreementportfolio;servicecataloguemanagement.

service catalogue management Theprocessresponsibleforprovidingandmaintainingtheservicecatalogueandforensuringthatitisavailabletothosewhoareauthorizedtoaccessit.

service change Seechange.

service charter Adocumentthatcontainsdetailsofaneworchangedservice.Newserviceintroductionsandsignificantservicechangesaredocumentedinacharterandauthorizedbyserviceportfoliomanagement.Servicechartersarepassedtotheservicedesignlifecyclestage,whereanewormodifiedservicedesignpackagewillbecreated.Thetermcharterisalsousedtodescribetheactofauthorizingtheworkrequiredbyeachstageoftheservicelifecyclewithrespecttotheneworchangedservice.See also changeproposal;serviceportfolio;servicecatalogue.

service continuity management SeeITservicecontinuitymanagement.

service contract AcontracttodeliveroneormoreITservices.ThetermisalsousedtomeananyagreementtodeliverITservices,whetherthisisalegalcontractoraservicelevelagreement.See also customeragreementportfolio.


Term Definition

service culture Acustomer-orientedculture.Themajorobjectivesofaserviceculturearecustomersatisfactionandhelpingcustomerstoachievetheirbusinessobjectives.

service design Astageinthelifecycleofaservice.Servicedesignincludesthedesignoftheservices,governingpractices,processesandpoliciesrequiredtorealizetheserviceprovider’sstrategyandtofacilitatetheintroductionofservicesintosupportedenvironments.Servicedesignincludesthefollowingprocesses:designcoordination,servicecataloguemanagement,servicelevelmanagement,availabilitymanagement,capacitymanagement,ITservicecontinuitymanagement,informationsecuritymanagement,andsuppliermanagement.Althoughtheseprocessesareassociatedwithservicedesign,mostprocesseshaveactivitiesthattakeplaceacrossmultiplestagesoftheservicelifecycle.See also design.

service design package (SDP) Document(s)definingallaspectsofanITserviceanditsrequirementsthrougheachstageofitslifecycle.AservicedesignpackageisproducedforeachnewITservice,majorchangeorITserviceretirement.

service desk Thesinglepointofcontactbetweentheserviceproviderandtheusers.Atypicalservicedeskmanagesincidentsandservicerequests,andalsohandlescommunicationwiththeusers.

service failure analysis (SFA) AtechniquethatidentifiesunderlyingcausesofoneormoreITserviceinterruptions.ServicefailureanalysisidentifiesopportunitiestoimprovetheITserviceprovider’sprocessesandtools,andnotjusttheITinfrastructure.Itisatime-constrained,project-likeactivity,ratherthananongoingprocessofanalysis.

service hours AnagreedtimeperiodwhenaparticularITserviceshouldbeavailable.Forexample,‘Monday–Friday08:00to17:00exceptpublicholidays’.Servicehoursshouldbedefinedinaservicelevelagreement.

service improvement plan (SIP) AformalplantoimplementimprovementstoaprocessorITservice.


Term Definition

service knowledge management system (SKMS)

Asetoftoolsanddatabasesthatisusedtomanageknowledge,informationanddata.Theserviceknowledgemanagementsystemincludestheconfigurationmanagementsystem,aswellasotherdatabasesandinformationsystems.Theserviceknowledgemanagementsystemincludestoolsforcollecting,storing,managing,updating,analysingandpresentingalltheknowledge,informationanddatathatanITserviceproviderwillneedtomanagethefulllifecycleofITservices.See also knowledgemanagement.

service level Measuredandreportedachievementagainstoneormoreserviceleveltargets.Thetermissometimesusedinformallytomeanserviceleveltarget.

service level agreement (SLA) AnagreementbetweenanITserviceproviderandacustomer.AservicelevelagreementdescribestheITservice,documentsserviceleveltargets,andspecifiestheresponsibilitiesoftheITserviceproviderandthecustomer.AsingleagreementmaycovermultipleITservicesormultiplecustomers.See also operationallevelagreement.

service level management (SLM) Theprocessresponsiblefornegotiatingachievableservicelevelagreementsandensuringthatthesearemet.ItisresponsibleforensuringthatallITservicemanagementprocesses,operationallevelagreementsandunderpinningcontractsareappropriatefortheagreedserviceleveltargets.Servicelevelmanagementmonitorsandreportsonservicelevels,holdsregularservicereviewswithcustomers,andidentifiesrequiredimprovements.

service level package (SLP) Seeserviceoption.

service level requirement (SLR) AcustomerrequirementforanaspectofanITservice.Servicelevelrequirementsarebasedonbusinessobjectivesandusedtonegotiateagreedserviceleveltargets.

service level target Acommitmentthatisdocumentedinaservicelevelagreement.Serviceleveltargetsarebasedonservicelevelrequirements,andareneededtoensurethattheITserviceisabletomeetbusinessobjectives.TheyshouldbeSMART,andareusuallybasedonkeyperformanceindicators.


Term Definition

service lifecycle AnapproachtoITservicemanagementthatemphasizestheimportanceofcoordinationandcontrolacrossthevariousfunctions,processesandsystemsnecessarytomanagethefulllifecycleofITservices.Theservicelifecycleapproachconsidersthestrategy,design,transition,operationandcontinualimprovementofITservices.Alsoknownasservicemanagementlifecycle.

service maintenance objective (SMO)

Theexpectedtimethataconfigurationitemwillbeunavailableduetoplannedmaintenanceactivity.

service management Asetofspecializedorganizationalcapabilitiesforprovidingvaluetocustomersintheformofservices.

service management lifecycle Seeservicelifecycle.

service manager Agenerictermforanymanagerwithintheserviceprovider.Mostcommonlyusedtorefertoabusinessrelationshipmanager,aprocessmanageroraseniormanagerwithresponsibilityforITservicesoverall.

service model Amodelthatshowshowserviceassetsinteractwithcustomerassetstocreatevalue.Servicemodelsdescribethestructureofaservice(howtheconfigurationitemsfittogether)andthedynamicsoftheservice(activities,flowofresourcesandinteractions).Aservicemodelcanbeusedasatemplateorblueprintformultipleservices.

service operation Astageinthelifecycleofaservice.Serviceoperationcoordinatesandcarriesouttheactivitiesandprocessesrequiredtodeliverandmanageservicesatagreedlevelstobusinessusersandcustomers.Serviceoperationalsomanagesthetechnologythatisusedtodeliverandsupportservices.Serviceoperationincludesthefollowingprocesses:eventmanagement,incidentmanagement,requestfulfilment,problemmanagement,andaccessmanagement.Serviceoperationalsoincludesthefollowingfunctions:servicedesk,technicalmanagement,IToperationsmanagement,andapplicationmanagement.Althoughtheseprocessesandfunctionsareassociatedwithserviceoperation,mostprocessesandfunctionshaveactivitiesthattakeplaceacrossmultiplestagesoftheservicelifecycle.See also operation.

service option Achoiceofutilityandwarrantyofferedtocustomersbyacoreserviceorservicepackage.Serviceoptionsaresometimesreferredtoasservicelevelpackages.


Term Definition

service owner Aroleresponsibleformanagingoneormoreservicesthroughouttheirentirelifecycle.Serviceownersareinstrumentalinthedevelopmentofservicestrategyandareresponsibleforthecontentoftheserviceportfolio.See also businessrelationshipmanagement.

service package Twoormoreservicesthathavebeencombinedtoofferasolutiontoaspecifictypeofcustomerneedortounderpinspecificbusinessoutcomes.Aservicepackagecanconsistofacombinationofcoreservices,enablingservicesandenhancingservices.Aservicepackageprovidesaspecificlevelofutilityandwarranty.Customersmaybeofferedachoiceofutilityandwarrantythroughoneormoreserviceoptions.See also ITservice.

service pipeline AdatabaseorstructureddocumentlistingallITservicesthatareunderconsiderationordevelopment,butarenotyetavailabletocustomers.TheservicepipelineprovidesabusinessviewofpossiblefutureITservicesandispartoftheserviceportfolio,whichisnotnormallypublishedtocustomers.

service portfolio Thecompletesetofservicesthatismanagedbyaserviceprovider.Theserviceportfolioisusedtomanagetheentirelifecycleofallservices,andincludesthreecategories:servicepipeline(proposedorindevelopment),servicecatalogue(liveoravailablefordeployment)andretiredservices.See also customeragreementportfolio;serviceportfoliomanagement.

service portfolio management (SPM)

Theprocessresponsibleformanagingtheserviceportfolio.Serviceportfoliomanagementensuresthattheserviceproviderhastherightmixofservicestomeetrequiredbusinessoutcomesatanappropriatelevelofinvestment.Serviceportfoliomanagementconsidersservicesintermsofthebusinessvaluethattheyprovide.

service potential ThetotalpossiblevalueoftheoverallcapabilitiesandresourcesoftheITserviceprovider.

service provider Anorganizationsupplyingservicestooneormoreinternalcustomersorexternalcustomers.ServiceproviderisoftenusedasanabbreviationforITserviceprovider.See also TypeIserviceprovider;TypeIIserviceprovider;TypeIIIserviceprovider.


Term Definition

service provider interface (SPI) AninterfacebetweentheITserviceproviderandauser,customer,businessprocessorsupplier.Analysisofserviceproviderinterfaceshelpstocoordinateend-to-endmanagementofITservices.

service reporting Activitiesthatproduceanddeliverreportsofachievementandtrendsagainstservicelevels.Theformat,contentandfrequencyofreportsshouldbeagreedwithcustomers.

service request Aformalrequestfromauserforsomethingtobeprovided–forexample:arequestforinformationoradvice;toresetapassword;ortoinstallaworkstationforanewuser.Servicerequestsaremanagedbytherequestfulfilmentprocess,usuallyinconjunctionwiththeservicedesk.Servicerequestsmaybelinkedtoarequestforchangeaspartoffulfillingtherequest.

service sourcing Thestrategyandapproachfordecidingwhethertoprovideaserviceinternally,tooutsourceittoanexternalserviceprovider,ortocombinethetwoapproaches.Servicesourcingalsomeanstheexecutionofthisstrategy.See also insourcing;internalserviceprovider;outsourcing.

service strategy Astageinthelifecycleofaservice.Servicestrategydefinestheperspective,position,plansandpatternsthataserviceproviderneedstoexecutetomeetanorganization’sbusinessoutcomes.Servicestrategyincludesthefollowingprocesses:strategymanagementforITservices,serviceportfoliomanagement,financialmanagementforITservices,demandmanagement,andbusinessrelationshipmanagement.Althoughtheseprocessesareassociatedwithservicestrategy,mostprocesseshaveactivitiesthattakeplaceacrossmultiplestagesoftheservicelifecycle.

service transition Astageinthelifecycleofaservice.Servicetransitionensuresthatnew,modifiedorretiredservicesmeettheexpectationsofthebusinessasdocumentedintheservicestrategyandservicedesignstagesofthelifecycle.Servicetransitionincludesthefollowingprocesses:transitionplanningandsupport,changemanagement,serviceassetandconfigurationmanagement,releaseanddeploymentmanagement,servicevalidationandtesting,changeevaluation,andknowledgemanagement.Althoughtheseprocessesareassociatedwithservicetransition,mostprocesseshaveactivitiesthattakeplaceacrossmultiplestagesoftheservicelifecycle.See also transition.


Term Definition

service validation and testing TheprocessresponsibleforvalidationandtestingofaneworchangedITservice.ServicevalidationandtestingensuresthattheITservicematchesitsdesignspecificationandwillmeettheneedsofthebusiness.

service valuation AmeasurementofthetotalcostofdeliveringanITservice,andthetotalvaluetothebusinessofthatITservice.ServicevaluationisusedtohelpthebusinessandtheITserviceprovideragreeonthevalueoftheITservice.

serviceability Theabilityofathird-partysuppliertomeetthetermsofitscontract.Thiscontractwillincludeagreedlevelsofreliability,maintainabilityandavailabilityforaconfigurationitem.

seven-step improvement process Theprocessresponsiblefordefiningandmanagingthestepsneededtoidentify,define,gather,process,analyse,presentandimplementimprovements.TheperformanceoftheITserviceprovideriscontinuallymeasuredbythisprocessandimprovementsaremadetoprocesses,ITservicesandITinfrastructureinordertoincreaseefficiency,effectivenessandcost-effectiveness.OpportunitiesforimprovementarerecordedandmanagedintheCSIregister.

severity of risk Thedegreetowhichtheriskcouldaffectthesituation.

share (risk response) Ariskresponsetoeitherathreatoranopportunitythroughtheapplicationofapain/gainformula:bothpartiessharethegain(withinpre-agreedlimits)ifthecostislessthanthecostplan;andbothsharethepain(againwithinpre-agreedlimits)ifthecostplanisexceeded.

shared service unit SeeTypeIIserviceprovider.

shift Agrouporteamofpeoplewhocarryoutaspecificroleforafixedperiodoftime.Forexample,therecouldbefourshiftsofIToperationscontrolpersonneltosupportanITservicethatisused24hoursaday.

simulation modelling AtechniquethatcreatesadetailedmodeltopredictthebehaviourofanITserviceorotherconfigurationitem.Asimulationmodelisoftencreatedbyusingtheactualconfigurationitemsthatarebeingmodelledwithartificialworkloadsortransactions.Theyareusedincapacitymanagementwhenaccurateresultsareimportant.Asimulationmodelissometimescalledaperformancebenchmark.See also analyticalmodelling;modelling.


Term Definition

single point of contact Providingasingleconsistentwaytocommunicatewithanorganizationorbusinessunit.Forexample,asinglepointofcontactforanITserviceproviderisusuallycalledaservicedesk.

single point of failure (SPOF) Anyconfigurationitemthatcancauseanincidentwhenitfails,andforwhichacountermeasurehasnotbeenimplemented.Asinglepointoffailuremaybeapersonorastepinaprocessoractivity,aswellasacomponentoftheITinfrastructure.See also failure.

Six Sigma Amanagementprocessaimedatminimizingdefectsandincreasingefficiency.

SLAM chart Aservicelevelagreementmonitoring(SLAM)chartisusedtohelpmonitorandreportachievementsagainstserviceleveltargets.ASLAMchartistypicallycolour-codedtoshowwhethereachagreedserviceleveltargethasbeenmet,missedornearlymissedduringeachoftheprevious12months.

SMART Anacronymforhelpingtorememberthattargetsinservicelevelagreementsandprojectplansshouldbespecific,measurable,achievable,relevantandtime-bound.

snapshot Thecurrentstateofaconfigurationitem,processoranyothersetofdatarecordedataspecificpointintime.Snapshotscanbecapturedbydiscoverytoolsorbymanualtechniquessuchasanassessment.See also baseline;benchmark.

soft value analysis Asubsetofvalueanalysisforaprojectthatseekstomaximizethevalueofanintangibleoutput.Commonlyassociatedwithservicedelivery.See also valueanalysis.

soft value management MoVaimedatmessy,strategicandconceptualdecision-making,withanemphasisonintegrated(ratherthanmerelycoordinated)outcomesfromprojectsandaneedforwiderinvolvement.

software asset management (SAM)

Theprocessresponsiblefortrackingandreportingtheuseandownershipofsoftwareassetsthroughouttheirlifecycle.Softwareassetmanagementispartofanoverallserviceassetandconfigurationmanagementprocess.ThisprocessisnotdescribedindetailwithinthecoreITILpublications.

source Seeservicesourcing.


Term Definition

specialist product Aproductwhosedevelopmentisthesubjectoftheplan.Thespecialistproductsarespecifictoanindividualproject(forexample,anadvertisingcampaign,acar-parkticketingsystem,foundationsforabuilding,anewbusinessprocessetc.).Alsoknownasadeliverableoroutput.

specification Generic –Aformaldefinitionofrequirements.

ITIL –Aformaldefinitionofrequirements.Aspecificationmaybeusedtodefinetechnicaloroperationalrequirements,andmaybeinternalorexternal.Manypublicstandardsconsistofacodeofpracticeandaspecification.Thespecificationdefinesthestandardagainstwhichanorganizationcanbeaudited.

PPM –Adetailedstatementofwhattheuserwantsintermsofproducts,whattheseshouldlooklike,whattheyshoulddoandwithwhattheyshouldinterface.

sponsor Themaindrivingforcebehindaprogrammeorproject.NotaPRINCE2orMSPtermbutequatestoexecutiveorseniorresponsibleowner(SRO).

sponsoring group Thedrivingforcebehindaprogramme,whichprovidestheinvestmentdecisionandtop-levelendorsementfortherationaleandobjectivesoftheprogramme.

stage Seemanagementstage;technicalstage.

stage plan Adetailedplanusedasthebasisforprojectmanagementcontrolthroughoutastage.

stage/phase gate review Structuredreviewsofaproject,programmeorportfolioaspartofformalgovernancearrangementsthatarecarriedoutatkeydecisionpointsinthelifecycletoensurethatthedecisiontoinvestasperagreedbusinesscasesandplansremainsvalid.

stakeholder Generic –Apersonorgroupwithaninterestorconcerninsomething.

ITIL –Apersonwhohasaninterestinanorganization,project,ITserviceetc.Stakeholdersmaybeinterestedintheactivities,targets,resourcesordeliverables.Stakeholdersmayincludecustomers,partners,employees,shareholders,ownersetc.See also RACI.

PPM –Anyindividual,groupororganizationthatcanaffect,beaffectedby,orperceiveitselftobeaffectedbyaninitiative(programme,project,activity,risk).


Term Definition

stakeholder analysis Amethodofassessingtheimpactofastudyonpeople’sconcernsandattitudeswithregardtoagivenissueandtheirinfluenceonitsoutcome.

stakeholder map Adiagrammaticrepresentationofthestakeholdersrelevanttoanorganizationalactivityandtheirrespectiveinterests.

stakeholder register Adocumentthatcontainsasummaryoftheinformationinthestakeholderprofiles.

standard Amandatoryrequirement.ExamplesincludeISO/IEC20000(aninternationalstandard),aninternalsecuritystandardforUnixconfiguration,oragovernmentstandardforhowfinancialrecordsshouldbemaintained.ThetermisalsousedtorefertoacodeofpracticeorspecificationpublishedbyastandardsorganizationsuchasISOorBSI.See also guideline.

standard change Apre-authorizedchangethatislowrisk,relativelycommonandfollowsaprocedureorworkinstruction–forexample,apasswordresetorprovisionofstandardequipmenttoanewemployee.Requestsforchangearenotrequiredtoimplementastandardchange,andtheyareloggedandtrackedusingadifferentmechanism,suchasaservicerequest.See also changemodel.

standard operating procedures (SOP)

ProceduresusedbyIToperationsmanagement.

standby UsedtorefertoresourcesthatarenotrequiredtodelivertheliveITservices,butareavailabletosupportITservicecontinuityplans.Forexample,astandbydatacentremaybemaintainedtosupporthotstandby,warmstandbyorcoldstandbyarrangements.

start gate Astage/phasegatereviewwhichappliesattheearlystagesofthepolicy-to-deliverylifecycle.Itoffersdepartmentstheopportunitytogainindependentassuranceonhowwellpracticaldeliveryissuesarebeingaddressedinpreparingforimplementation.

start-up Thepre-projectactivitiesundertakenbytheexecutiveandtheprojectmanagertoproducetheoutlinebusinesscase,projectbriefandinitiationstageplan.


Term Definition

statement of internal control Anarrativestatementbytheboardofdirectorsofacompanydisclosingthatthereisanongoingprocessfortheidentificationandmanagementofsignificantrisksfacedbythecompany.

statement of requirements (SOR) Adocumentcontainingallrequirementsforaproductpurchase,oraneworchangedITservice.See also termsofreference.

status Thenameofarequiredfieldinmanytypesofrecord.Itshowsthecurrentstageinthelifecycleoftheassociatedconfigurationitem,incident,problemetc.

status accounting Theactivityresponsibleforrecordingandreportingthelifecycleofeachconfigurationitem.

storage management Theprocessresponsibleformanagingthestorageandmaintenanceofdatathroughoutitslifecycle.

strategic Thehighestofthreelevelsofplanninganddelivery(strategic,tactical,operational).Strategicactivitiesincludeobjectivesettingandlong-termplanningtoachievetheoverallvision.

strategic asset Anyassetthatprovidesthebasisforcorecompetence,distinctiveperformanceorsustainablecompetitiveadvantage,orwhichallowsabusinessunittoparticipateinbusinessopportunities.PartofservicestrategyistoidentifyhowITcanbeviewedasastrategicassetratherthananinternaladministrativefunction.


Term Definition

strategic objectives Themeasurableoutcomesthatdemonstrateprogressinrelationtoanorganization’smissionandtowhichtheportfolioshouldcontribute.AccordingtoPeterDruckertheyfallintoeighttypes:

• Marketstanding:desiredshareofthepresentandnewmarkets

• Innovation:developmentofnewgoodsandservices,andofskillsandmethodsrequiredtosupplythem

• Humanresources:selectionanddevelopmentofemployees

• Financialresources:identificationofthesourcesofcapitalandtheiruse

• Physicalresources:equipmentandfacilitiesandtheiruse

• Productivity:efficientuseoftheresourcesrelativetotheoutput

• Socialresponsibility:awarenessofandresponsivenesstotheeffectsonthewidercommunityofthestakeholders

• Profitrequirements:achievementofmeasurablefinancialwell-beingandgrowth.

strategic risk Riskconcernedwithwheretheorganizationwantstogo,howitplanstogetthere,andhowitcanensuresurvival.

strategy Generic –Anapproachorplandesignedtoachievelong-termaimsandobjectives.

ITIL –Astrategicplandesignedtoachievedefinedobjectives.

PPM –Anapproachorlinetotake,designedtoachievealong-termaim.Strategiescanexistatalllevels–portfolio,programmeandproject.

strategy management for IT services

Theprocessresponsiblefordefiningandmaintaininganorganization’sperspective,position,plansandpatternswithregardtoitsservicesandthemanagementofthoseservices.Oncethestrategyhasbeendefined,strategymanagementforITservicesisalsoresponsibleforensuringthatitachievesitsintendedbusinessoutcomes.

study definition Cleararticulationofobjectives.

study leader Aqualifiedpractitionerwhoorganizesand/orfacilitatesanMoVstudyorprogrammeofstudies.Thistermisalsousedfortheindividualresponsibleforplanningandconductingastudy.


Term Definition

study leader’s handbook GuidanceforstudyleaderspreparedbytheseniorMoVpractitioner.

subject TheprocessorproductunderreviewduringMoVactivities.

summary risk profile Asimplemechanismtoincreasethevisibilityofrisks.Itisagraphicalrepresentationofinformationnormallyfoundonanexistingriskregister.

super user Auserwhohelpsotherusers,andassistsincommunicationwiththeservicedeskorotherpartsoftheITserviceprovider.SuperusersareoftenexpertsinthebusinessprocessessupportedbyanITserviceandwillprovidesupportforminorincidentsandtraining.

supplier Generic –Apartywhosuppliesgoodsorservices.

ITIL –AthirdpartyresponsibleforsupplyinggoodsorservicesthatarerequiredtodeliverITservices.Examplesofsuppliersincludecommodityhardwareandsoftwarevendors,networkandtelecomproviders,andoutsourcingorganizations.See also supplychain;underpinningcontract.

PPM –Theperson,grouporgroupsresponsibleforthesupplyoftheproject’sspecialistproducts.

supplier and contract management information system (SCMIS)

Asetoftools,dataandinformationthatisusedtosupportsuppliermanagement.See also serviceknowledgemanagementsystem.

supplier management Theprocessresponsibleforobtainingvalueformoneyfromsuppliers,ensuringthatallcontractsandagreementswithsupplierssupporttheneedsofthebusiness,andthatallsuppliersmeettheircontractualcommitments.See also supplierandcontractmanagementinformationsystem.

supply chain Theactivitiesinavaluechaincarriedoutbysuppliers.Asupplychaintypicallyinvolvesmultiplesuppliers,eachaddingvaluetotheproductorservice.See also valuenetwork.

support group Agroupofpeoplewithtechnicalskills.SupportgroupsprovidethetechnicalsupportneededbyalloftheITservicemanagementprocesses.See also technicalmanagement.


Term Definition

support hours Thetimesorhourswhensupportisavailabletotheusers.Typicallythesearethehourswhentheservicedeskisavailable.Supporthoursshouldbedefinedinaservicelevelagreement,andmaybedifferentfromservicehours.Forexample,servicehoursmaybe24hoursaday,butthesupporthoursmaybe07:00to19:00.

support office AformalorinformalgroupofpeoplewhocanprovideservicestosupporttheimplementationofMoVwithintheorganizationinitsapplicationtoprojects.

supporting service AnITservicethatisnotdirectlyusedbythebusiness,butisrequiredbytheITserviceprovidertodelivercustomer-facingservices(forexample,adirectoryserviceorabackupservice).SupportingservicesmayalsoincludeITservicesonlyusedbytheITserviceprovider.Alllivesupportingservices,includingthoseavailablefordeployment,arerecordedintheservicecataloguealongwithinformationabouttheirrelationshipstocustomer-facingservicesandotherCIs.

swimlane Amethodfordocumentingbusinessprocessflowsthatseparateseachprocessstepintoarow(orlane)ofaccountabilityforindividualrolesorgroups.

SWOT analysis Generic –SWOTstandsforstrengths,weaknesses,opportunitiesandthreats.

ITIL –Atechniquethatreviewsandanalysestheinternalstrengthsandweaknessesofanorganizationandtheexternalopportunitiesandthreatsthatitfaces.SWOTstandsforstrengths,weaknesses,opportunitiesandthreats.

PPM –Acronymfor‘strengths,weaknesses,opportunitiesandthreats’.Atechniquetodeterminefavourableandunfavourablefactorsinrelationtobusinesschangeorcurrentstate.


Term Definition

system Anumberofrelatedthingsthatworktogethertoachieveanoverallobjective.Forexample:

• Acomputersystemincludinghardware,softwareandapplications

• Amanagementsystem,includingtheframeworkofpolicy,processes,functions,standards,guidelinesandtoolsthatareplannedandmanagedtogether–forexample,aqualitymanagementsystem

• Adatabasemanagementsystemoroperatingsystemthatincludesmanysoftwaremoduleswhicharedesignedtoperformasetofrelatedfunctions.

system management ThepartofITservicemanagementthatfocusesonthemanagementofITinfrastructureratherthanprocess.

tactical Themiddleofthreelevelsofplanninganddelivery(strategic,tactical,operational).Tacticalactivitiesincludethemedium-termplansrequiredtoachievespecificobjectives,typicallyoveraperiodofweekstomonths.

tailoring TheappropriateuseofPRINCE2onanygivenproject,ensuringthatthereisthecorrectamountofplanning,control,governanceanduseoftheprocessesandthemes(whereastheadoptionofPRINCE2acrossanorganizationisknownas‘embedding’).

taxonomy Aclassificationofthings,ortheprinciplesunderlyingsuchaclassification.Thetermmaybeappliedtorelationshipschemessuchasparent–childhierarchiesandnetworkstructures.Ataxonomymightalsobeasimpleorganizationofkindsofthingsintogroups,orevenanalphabeticallist.

team leader ThepersonappointedfromtimetotimebytheseniorMoVpractitionertoberesponsibleforleadingandmanagingagroupofpeoplethroughaprocesstodeliveranoutput,e.g.ahealthcheck.

team manager Thepersonresponsiblefortheproductionofthoseproductsallocatedbytheprojectmanager(asdefinedinaworkpackage)toanappropriatequality,timescaleandatacostacceptabletotheprojectboard.Thisrolereportsto,andtakesdirectionfrom,theprojectmanager.Ifateammanagerisnotassigned,thentheprojectmanagerundertakestheresponsibilitiesoftheteammanagerrole.


Term Definition

team plan Anoptionallevelofplanusedasthebasisforteammanagementcontrolwhenexecutingworkpackages.

technical management ThefunctionresponsibleforprovidingtechnicalskillsinsupportofITservicesandmanagementoftheITinfrastructure.Technicalmanagementdefinestherolesofsupportgroups,aswellasthetools,processesandproceduresrequired.

technical observation (TO) Atechniqueusedinserviceimprovement,probleminvestigationandavailabilitymanagement.TechnicalsupportstaffmeettomonitorthebehaviourandperformanceofanITserviceandmakerecommendationsforimprovement.

technical stage Amethodofgroupingworktogetherbythesetoftechniquesused,ortheproductscreated.Thisresultsinstagescoveringelementssuchasdesign,buildandimplementation.Suchstagesaretechnicalstagesandareaseparateconceptfrommanagementstages.

technical support Seetechnicalmanagement.

technique Aprocedureusedtoaccomplishaspecificactivityortask.

tension metrics Asetofrelatedmetrics,inwhichimprovementstoonemetrichaveanegativeeffectonanother.Tensionmetricsaredesignedtoensurethatanappropriatebalanceisachieved.

terms of reference (TOR) Adocumentspecifyingtherequirements,scope,deliverables,resourcesandscheduleforaprojectoractivity.

test Anactivitythatverifiesthataconfigurationitem,ITservice,processetc.meetsitsspecificationoragreedrequirements.See also acceptance;servicevalidationandtesting.

test environment Acontrolledenvironmentusedtotestconfigurationitems,releases,ITservices,processesetc.

theme Anaspectofprojectmanagementthatneedstobecontinuallyaddressed,andthatrequiresspecifictreatmentforthePRINCE2processestobeeffective.


Term Definition

third party Aperson,organizationorotherentitythatisnotpartoftheserviceprovider’sownorganizationandisnotacustomer–forexample,asoftwaresupplierorahardwaremaintenancecompany.Requirementsforthirdpartiesaretypicallyspecifiedincontractsthatunderpinservicelevelagreements.See also underpinningcontract.

third sector Thenot-for-profitorganizationsoutsidethepublicsector.Theseincludevolunteerorganizationsandcharities.

third-line support Thethirdlevelinahierarchyofsupportgroupsinvolvedintheresolutionofincidentsandinvestigationofproblems.Eachlevelcontainsmorespecialistskills,orhasmoretimeorotherresources.

threat Generic –Impendingdangerorharm.

ITIL –Athreatisanythingthatmightexploitavulnerability.Anypotentialcauseofanincidentcanbeconsideredathreat.Forexample,afireisathreatthatcouldexploitthevulnerabilityofflammablefloorcoverings.ThistermiscommonlyusedininformationsecuritymanagementandITservicecontinuitymanagement,butalsoappliestootherareassuchasproblemandavailabilitymanagement.

PPM –Anuncertaineventthatcouldhaveanegativeimpactonobjectivesorbenefits.

three-point estimating Atechniquewherebyprojectestimatesarepreparedonthreebases:best-casescenario;worstcase;andmostlikely.Estimatescanthenbecalculatedbymultiplyingthemostlikelyestimateby4,addingthebestandworstcaseestimates,anddividingthetotalby6.

threshold Thevalueofametricthatshouldcauseanalerttobegeneratedormanagementactiontobetaken.Forexample,‘Priority1incidentnotsolvedwithinfourhours’,‘Morethanfivesoftdiskerrorsinanhour’or‘Morethan10failedchangesinamonth’.

throughput Ameasureofthenumberoftransactionsorotheroperationsperformedinafixedtime–forexample,5,000e-mailssentperhour,or200diskI/Ospersecond.

time tolerance Thepermissibledeviationinaplan’stimethatisallowedbeforethedeviationneedstobeescalatedtothenextlevelofmanagement.Timetoleranceisdocumentedintherespectiveplan.See also tolerance.


Term Definition

time-driven control Amanagementcontrolthatisperiodicinnature,toenablethenexthigherauthoritytomonitorprogress–e.g.acontrolthattakesplaceeverytwoweeks.PRINCE2offerstwokeytime-drivenprogressreports:checkpointreportandhighlightreport.

to-be state Thefutureplannedstateofanorganizationasdescribedbytheblueprint.

tolerance Thepermissibledeviationaboveandbelowaplan’stargetfortimeandcostwithoutescalatingthedeviationtothenextlevelofmanagement.Theremayalsobetolerancelevelsforquality,scope,benefitandrisk.Toleranceisappliedatproject,stageandteamlevels.

total cost of ownership (TCO) Amethodologyusedtohelpmakeinvestmentdecisions.Itassessesthefulllifecyclecostofowningaconfigurationitem,notjusttheinitialcostorpurchaseprice.See also totalcostofutilization.

total cost of utilization (TCU) Amethodologyusedtohelpmakeinvestmentandservicesourcingdecisions.TotalcostofutilizationassessesthefulllifecyclecosttothecustomerofusinganITservice.See also totalcostofownership.

total quality management (TQM) Amethodologyformanagingcontinualimprovementbyusingaqualitymanagementsystem.Totalqualitymanagementestablishesacultureinvolvingallpeopleintheorganizationinaprocessofcontinualmonitoringandimprovement.

trade-off InthecontextofMoV,transferringfromoneattributetoanothertoaddmorevalue.

tranche Aprogrammemanagementtermdescribingagroupofprojectsstructuredarounddistinctstepchangesincapabilityandbenefitdelivery.

transaction AdiscretefunctionperformedbyanITservice–forexample,transferringmoneyfromonebankaccounttoanother.Asingletransactionmayinvolvenumerousadditions,deletionsandmodificationsofdata.Eitherallofthesearecompletedsuccessfullyornoneofthemiscarriedout.

transfer (risk response) Ariskresponsewherebyathirdpartytakesonresponsibilityforanaspectoftherisk.


Term Definition

transfer cost Acosttypewhichrecordsexpendituremadeonbehalfofanotherpartoftheorganization.Forexample,theITserviceprovidermaypayforanexternalconsultanttobeusedbythefinancedepartmentandtransferthecosttothem.TheITserviceproviderwouldrecordthisasatransfercost.

transformation Adistinctchangetothewayanorganizationconductsallorpartofitsbusiness.

transition Achangeinstate,correspondingtoamovementofanITserviceorotherconfigurationitemfromonelifecyclestatustothenext.

transition plan Thescheduleofactivitiestocoverthe‘transition’phaseofthebenefitsrealizationplan.

transition planning and support Theprocessresponsibleforplanningallservicetransitionprocessesandcoordinatingtheresourcesthattheyrequire.

trend analysis Analysisofdatatoidentifytime-relatedpatterns.Trendanalysisisusedinproblemmanagementtoidentifycommonfailuresorfragileconfigurationitems,andincapacitymanagementasamodellingtooltopredictfuturebehaviour.ItisalsousedasamanagementtoolforidentifyingdeficienciesinITservicemanagementprocesses.

trigger AneventordecisionthattriggersaPRINCE2process.

tuning Theactivityresponsibleforplanningchangestomakethemostefficientuseofresources.TuningismostcommonlyusedinthecontextofITservicesandcomponents.Tuningispartofcapacitymanagement,whichalsoincludesperformancemonitoringandimplementationoftherequiredchanges.Tuningisalsocalledoptimization,particularlyinthecontextofprocessesandothernon-technicalresources.

Type I service provider Aninternalserviceproviderthatisembeddedwithinabusinessunit.TheremaybeseveralTypeIserviceproviderswithinanorganization.

Type II service provider AninternalserviceproviderthatprovidessharedITservicestomorethanonebusinessunit.TypeIIserviceprovidersarealsoknownassharedserviceunits.

Type III service provider AserviceproviderthatprovidesITservicestoexternalcustomers.


Term Definition

underpinning contract (UC) AcontractbetweenanITserviceproviderandathirdparty.ThethirdpartyprovidesgoodsorservicesthatsupportdeliveryofanITservicetoacustomer.Theunderpinningcontractdefinestargetsandresponsibilitiesthatarerequiredtomeetagreedserviceleveltargetsinoneormoreservicelevelagreements.

unit cost ThecosttotheITserviceproviderofprovidingasinglecomponentofanITservice.Forexample,thecostofasingledesktopPC,orofasingletransaction.

urgency Ameasureofhowlongitwillbeuntilanincident,problemorchangehasasignificantimpactonthebusiness.Forexample,ahigh-impactincidentmayhavelowurgencyiftheimpactwillnotaffectthebusinessuntiltheendofthefinancialyear.Impactandurgencyareusedtoassignpriority.

usability Theeasewithwhichanapplication,productorITservicecanbeused.Usabilityrequirementsareoftenincludedinastatementofrequirements.

use case Atechniqueusedtodefinerequiredfunctionalityandobjectives,andtodesigntests.UsecasesdefinerealisticscenariosthatdescribeinteractionsbetweenusersandanITserviceorothersystem.

user Generic –Someonewhousestheserviceorproduct.

ITIL –ApersonwhousestheITserviceonaday-to-daybasis.Usersaredistinctfromcustomers,assomecustomersdonotusetheITservicedirectly.

PPM –Thepersonorgroupwhowilluseoneormoreoftheproject’sproducts.

user acceptance Aspecifictypeofacceptancebythepersonorgroupwhowillusetheproductonceitishandedoverintotheoperationalenvironment.

user profile (UP) ApatternofuserdemandforITservices.Eachuserprofileincludesoneormorepatternsofbusinessactivity.

utility Thefunctionalityofferedbyaproductorservicetomeetaparticularneed.Utilitycanbesummarizedas‘whattheservicedoes’,andcanbeusedtodeterminewhetheraserviceisabletomeetitsrequiredoutcomes,oris‘fitforpurpose’.ThebusinessvalueofanITserviceiscreatedbythecombinationofutilityandwarranty.See also servicevalidationandtesting.


Term Definition

utility value Theutilityvalueofanitemistheprimaryrequirementthatanindividualhasofthatitem,whichmustbeaddressedfortheitemtohaveanyworth.

validation AnactivitythatensuresaneworchangedITservice,process,planorotherdeliverablemeetstheneedsofthebusiness.Validationensuresthatbusinessrequirementsaremeteventhoughthesemayhavechangedsincetheoriginaldesign.See also acceptance;qualification;servicevalidationandtesting;verification.

value Thebenefitsdeliveredinproportiontotheresourcesputintoacquiringthem.

value analysis Amethodofanalysingvaluewithinaproduct,buildingorprocess.CommonlyabbreviatedtoVA.See also valueengineering.

value chain Asequenceofprocessesthatcreatesaproductorservicethatisofvaluetoacustomer.Eachstepofthesequencebuildsonthepreviousstepsandcontributestotheoverallproductorservice.See also valuenetwork.

value driver Afunctionthatmustbedeliveredtocontributetotheprojectobjectives.Valuedriversmust,inaggregate,benecessaryandsufficienttoachievetheprojectobjectivesinfull.Aprimaryvaluedriverisequivalenttoaprimaryfunction.

value engineering Amethodofmaximizingvaluewithinadesign.CommonlyabbreviatedtoVE.See also valueanalysis.

value for money Aninformalmeasureofcost-effectiveness.Valueformoneyisoftenbasedonacomparisonwiththecostofalternatives.See also cost–benefitanalysis.

value-for-money ratio Theratioofbenefits,monetaryornon-monetary,toinvestmentmadeorresourcescommitted.Ameasureofvalueformoney.

value index Ameasureofhowwellanoption,projectorproductsatisfiesanindividualvaluedriverortheaggregateofallvaluedrivers.Itrepresentsameasureofcustomersatisfaction.


Term Definition

value management Widelyusedtermthatissynonymouswithmanagementofvalue(MoV).Asystematicmethodtodefinewhatvaluemeansfororganizations,andtocommunicateitclearlytomaximizevalueacrossportfolios,programmes,projectsandoperations.

value metrics Attributesusedformeasuringperformanceagainstvaluedrivers.

value network Acomplexsetofrelationshipsbetweentwoormoregroupsororganizations.Valueisgeneratedthroughexchangeofknowledge,information,goodsorservices.See also partnership;valuechain.

value on investment (VOI) Ameasurementoftheexpectedbenefitofaninvestment.Valueoninvestmentconsidersbothfinancialandintangiblebenefits.See also returnoninvestment.

value profile Arepresentationoftherelativeimportanceoftheprimaryvaluedriverstotheclientbodyandendusers.

value ratio Theratiobetweenbenefits,monetaryornon-monetary,andexpenditureofresources.Ameasureofvalue.

value score Theproductoftheperformanceofanoptionorproposal,assessedonascaleof1–10,andtheweightingofavaluedriveragainstwhichitisbeingassessed.

value tree Adiagramthatshowstherelationshipbetween,andthehierarchyof,valuedrivers.

value-improving proposal Astatementsettingoutadescriptionofaproposedimprovement,theadvantagesanddisadvantagesofimplementationanditsimpactoncost,timeandperformance.

variable cost AcostthatdependsonhowmuchtheITserviceisused,howmanyproductsareproduced,thenumberandtypeofusers,orsomethingelsethatcannotbefixedinadvance.

variance Thedifferencebetweenaplannedvalueandtheactualmeasuredvalue.Commonlyusedinfinancialmanagement,capacitymanagementandservicelevelmanagement,butcouldapplyinanyareawhereplansareinplace.

variant Avariationonabaselinedproduct.Forexample,anoperationsmanualmayhaveanEnglishvariantandaSpanishvariant.


Term Definition

verification AnactivitythatensuresthataneworchangedITservice,process,planorotherdeliverableiscomplete,accurate,reliableandmatchesitsdesignspecification.See also acceptance;validation;servicevalidationandtesting.

verification and audit Theactivitiesresponsibleforensuringthatinformationintheconfigurationmanagementsystemisaccurateandthatallconfigurationitemshavebeenidentifiedandrecorded.Verificationincludesroutinechecksthatarepartofotherprocesses–forexample,verifyingtheserialnumberofadesktopPCwhenauserlogsanincident.Auditisaperiodic,formalcheck.

version Generic –Aspecificbaselineofaproduct.

ITIL –Aversionisusedtoidentifyaspecificbaselineofaconfigurationitem.Versionstypicallyuseanamingconventionthatenablesthesequenceordateofeachbaselinetobeidentified.Forexample,payrollapplicationversion3containsupdatedfunctionalityfromversion2.

PPM –Aspecificbaselineofaproduct.Versionstypicallyusenamingconventionsthatenablethesequenceordateofthebaselinetobeidentified.Forexample,projectplanversion2isthebaselineafterprojectplanversion1.

vision Generic –Theannunciationofadesiredfuturestate.

ITIL –Adescriptionofwhattheorganizationintendstobecomeinthefuture.Avisioniscreatedbyseniormanagementandisusedtohelpinfluencecultureandstrategicplanning.See also mission.

PPM –Apictureofabetterfuturethatwillbedeliveredbytheprogramme.

vital business function (VBF) Partofabusinessprocessthatiscriticaltothesuccessofthebusiness.Vitalbusinessfunctionsareanimportantconsiderationofbusinesscontinuitymanagement,ITservicecontinuitymanagementandavailabilitymanagement.

vulnerability Aweaknessthatcouldbeexploitedbyathreat–forexample,anopenfirewallport,apasswordthatisneverchanged,oraflammablecarpet.Amissingcontrolisalsoconsideredtobeavulnerability.

warm standby Seeintermediaterecovery.


Term Definition

warranty Assurancethataproductorservicewillmeetagreedrequirements.Thismaybeaformalagreementsuchasaservicelevelagreementorcontract,oritmaybeamarketingmessageorbrandimage.Warrantyreferstotheabilityofaservicetobeavailablewhenneeded,toprovidetherequiredcapacity,andtoprovidetherequiredreliabilityintermsofcontinuityandsecurity.Warrantycanbesummarizedas‘howtheserviceisdelivered’,andcanbeusedtodeterminewhetheraserviceis‘fitforuse’.ThebusinessvalueofanITserviceiscreatedbythecombinationofutilityandwarranty.See also servicevalidationandtesting.

waterfall method Adevelopmentapproachthatislinearandsequential,withdistinctgoalsforeachphaseofdevelopment.Onceaphaseofdevelopmentiscompleted,thedevelopmentproceedstothenextphaseandearlierphasesarenotrevisited(hencetheanalogythatwaterflowingdownamountaincannotgoback).

weighting Amethodofprioritizingattributesorfunctions.

work in progress (WIP) Astatusthatmeansactivitieshavestartedbutarenotyetcomplete.Itiscommonlyusedasastatusforincidents,problems,changesetc.

work instruction Adocumentcontainingdetailedinstructionsthatspecifyexactlywhatstepstofollowtocarryoutanactivity.Aworkinstructioncontainsmuchmoredetailthanaprocedureandisonlycreatedifverydetailedinstructionsareneeded.

work order Aformalrequesttocarryoutadefinedactivity.Workordersareoftenusedbychangemanagementandbyreleaseanddeploymentmanagementtopassrequeststotechnicalmanagementandapplicationmanagementfunctions.

work package Thesetofinformationrelevanttothecreationofoneormoreproducts.Itwillcontainadescriptionofthework,theproductdescription(s),detailsofanyconstraintsonproduction,andconfirmationoftheagreementbetweentheprojectmanagerandthepersonorteammanagerwhoistoimplementtheworkpackagethattheworkcanbedonewithintheconstraints.

workaround Reducingoreliminatingtheimpactofanincidentorproblemforwhichafullresolutionisnotyetavailable–forexample,byrestartingafailedconfigurationitem.Workaroundsforproblemsaredocumentedinknownerrorrecords.Workaroundsforincidentsthatdonothaveassociatedproblemrecordsaredocumentedintheincidentrecord.


Term Definition

workload TheresourcesrequiredtodeliveranidentifiablepartofanITservice.Workloadsmaybecategorizedbyusers,groupsofusers,orfunctionswithintheITservice.Thisisusedtoassistinanalysingandmanagingthecapacity,performanceandutilizationofconfigurationitemsandITservices.Thetermissometimesusedasasynonymforthroughput.

workstream Thelogicalgroupingofprojectsandactivitiesthattogetherenableeffectivemanagement.Workstreamsmaydelineateprojectsagainstavarietyofcriteria.

zero-based budgeting Atechniquefordeterminingthenextperiod’sbudget,wherebyratherthanadjustingthepreviousyear’sfunding,allmaterialactivitiesareexaminedtojustifythescaleoffundingforeach,‘bottomup’fromazerobase.

zero-based cost centre Similartoacostcentre,exceptthatthedivision,businessunitorpartoftheorganizationcross-chargesotherpartsoftheorganizationforsomeorallofitsservicesoractivitiestoachieveaspendofzerowhenitscostsandincomefromcross-chargingareaddedup.

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