In ITIL4 we have three different levels of concepts. They are
- The service value system (SVS, Service Value System),
- The service value chain (SVC, Service Value Chain), and
- The value stream (Value Streams)
The service value system is an ideological system. The service value chain is a management system, and the value stream is the response to different scenarios in the management system.
1: Service Value System (SVS)
In ITIL4 Service Value System (SVS) is an ideological system with value creation as its core point of view. It defines all concepts and hierarchical structures to form a unified ideological system.
The ideological system is the establishment of opinions, the definition of concepts, and the definition of hierarchical structure. In the service value system, the service value chain is the main body of the process to realize its core point of creating value.
Although the service value chain is the main body of value creation, it cannot exist in isolation. The service value chain not only needs to be guided and constrained by the upper-level guiding principles and governance but also needs a series of specific practices and continuous improvement to support, so as to allow it can continue to meet customer needs.
Through the service value system, the thoughts and concepts are clarified, and the ideological system with the creation of value as the core viewpoint defines the hierarchical structure and related concepts.
2: Service Value Chain (SVC)
Here are two keywords to understand the service value chain, one is the perspective of the whole process, and the other is a stable model.
①The service value chain is the whole process perspective.
Creating value is an overall process from the input of demand and opportunity to the output of products and services, thereby ultimately creating value. That is to say, the process of creating value includes not only a certain activity, not only operation and maintenance but also construction or design. These are all partial and not complete processes.
Why should we understand the whole, the whole process? Because the process of value creation is a process that requires the collaboration of various positions. Local perspective often creates the biggest obstacle to value creation is islands and islands.
The typical situation of the partial perspective is: the system fails as soon as it is upgraded; only focuses on project delivery, but ignores daily fragmented requirements and feedback; only focuses on project management, and ignores the overall planning of construction topics. The phenomenon of blind people touching the image due to the local perspective of the isolated island will bring about various degraded results.
The service value chain defines a complete process and stable activity model for the process of creating value.
The service value chain defines the process of inputting requirements and opportunities to output products and services in order to create value. It includes six core activities, including planning, continuous improvement, interaction, design and conversion, acquisition and construction, delivery, and support.
②The service value chain is a stable model
Some people always emphasize rapid change, and then constantly emphasize agility. However, being agile does not mean fast, let alone chaos. Responding to changes is better than following a plan. But it does not mean that there is no plan.
Because there are many changes, there should be a relatively constant model to grasp the changes.
If you want to control changes, you must use a relatively constant model to explain the changes, discover the laws and reasons, and then control the changes. However, if the model itself changes, it will not be able to control the changes ITIL4.
The service value chain is a cognitive model used to organize information and guide behavior. The model itself will also change, but its change is relatively slow. For example, it took 10 years to change from the recognition model of ITIL V2 to ITIL V3. Therefore, people can get time to settle, experience, and guide behavior in this.
The stability of the service value chain does not mean rigidity. Because although the Model is basically unchanged, the value streams therein will change with corresponding changes.
3: Value Streams
The service value streams are based on specific needs and scenarios, pre-determining the corresponding activities and the execution sequence of these activities in ITIL4. If requirements and scenarios change, then the value stream will be adjusted accordingly. However, the service value chain remains unchanged, so that it has a relatively stable model and framework, and it can also change according to specific changes and remain flexible.
The value streams are a series of long-term steps in the complete process of delivering value.
If the process helps us solidify the path of different work, then the value stream is the navigation of our daily work. The value stream connects several different processes and provides us with an end-to-end perspective across processes. This cross-process visual perspective can guide us to collaborate more fully.
