The Role of KPIs in Service Management

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) provides a set of best practices, guidance, and a framework for service management processes. ITIL is a globally recognized framework that IT organizations employ to promote consistency, quality, efficiency, and accountability in the use of IT assets and resources. Implementing the best practices of ITIL will help align different services with the business needs and improve the quality of services while reducing the long-term costs of those services.

Defining Service Management

Service management is one of the best practice areas within the ITIL framework and provides a standard framework to plan, deliver, operate, and control services offered in customer service. Using KPIs within service management, and the associated processes for establishing the measures, can be highly advantageous when used in conjunction with one another.

KPIs and Metrics

Performance Measurement Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are used for measuring the efficiency of different processes associated with implementation and execution of ITIL. They provide a standard against which service level changes can be measured. As such, they are a critical part of understanding performance standards and how they affect services.

The primary objectives of using the KPIs/metrics in service management are as follows:

• Align service management with business objectives
• Maximize value of services to the business
• Ensure customers are satisfied with IT processes and services
• Meet the overall IT and strategic business goals
• Reduce or minimize the impact to the business
• Increase systems availability to customers
• Measure and report the quality, performance, and efficiency of IT services to business
• Reduce IT operational costs
• Identify gaps in processes and drive continuous process improvement
• Improve quality of services provided to business
• Strategize IT operations and maximize IT productivity

The definition of KPIs may differ depending on the nature and size of an organization. KPIs are used by an organization to define, measure, monitor, and track its performance over time toward the attainment of its strategic and organizational goals. The KPIs set within an organization may either be somewhat subjective and informal or may be applied in a standard mode using the best practices of ITIL.

There are some relevant KPIs that are implemented by organizations to assess and measure the efficiency of the ITIL processes. In our next article, we will discuss how to formulate a process for measuring KPIs.