Service Value System
The ITIL service value system (SVS) describes how all the components and activities of an organization work together as a system to enable value creation. It takes opportunity and demand as inputs and produces value as its output. The SVS is designed to be flexible and to discourage siloed working.
Purpose and Inputs and Outputs
The purpose of the SVS is to ensure that the organization continually co-creates value with all stakeholders through the use and management of products and services. Its inputs are opportunity and demand: opportunity represents options to add value, while demand is the need or desire for products and services. The single output of the SVS is value. When components and activities are well integrated, the system reliably transforms inputs into value.
The Five Components
The SVS is made up of five components: the guiding principles, governance, the service value chain, practices, and continual improvement. The guiding principles inform decisions at all levels, and governance directs and controls the organization. The service value chain provides the operating model, practices provide the resources and capabilities, and continual improvement runs throughout. These components work together as a coherent system.
Governance
Governance is the means by which an organization is directed and controlled. It involves evaluating, directing, and monitoring the organization's activities to ensure they align with strategy and comply with policies. Governance keeps the whole value system oriented toward the organization's objectives. Effective governance and good management complement one another.
Overcoming Silos
A major aim of the SVS is to reduce the organizational silos that prevent value creation. Because the service value chain activities can be combined in many different sequences, the SVS supports flexibility and adaptability. This flexibility lets the organization react to changing demand in the most effective ways. By linking guiding principles, governance, practices, and continual improvement, the SVS keeps the whole organization working toward shared outcomes.