1. Overview

This document outlines the requirements for an organization to establish, implement, maintain, and continually improve a Service Management System (SMS). The requirements include planning, designing, transitioning, delivering, and enhancing services to meet service requirements and deliver value. This document is intended for:

• A customer seeking services who requires assurance regarding the quality of those services.
• A customer needing a consistent approach to the service lifecycle from all service providers, including those within a supply chain.
• An organization demonstrating its capability in planning, designing, transitioning, delivering, and improving services.
• An organization to monitor, measure, and review its SMS and the services.
• An organization aiming to improve the planning, design, transition, delivery, and enhancement of services through the effective implementation and operation of an SMS.
• An organization or third-party conducting conformity assessments against the requirements in this document.
• A provider of training or advisory services in service management.
  
  

The term “service” refers to the service or services within the scope of the SMS. The term “organization” refers to the entity within the scope of the SMS responsible for managing and delivering services to customers. This organization can be part of a larger entity, such as a department within a corporation. An organization managing and delivering services to internal or external customers can also be referred to as a service provider. Any usage of the terms “service” or “organization” with a different meaning will be clearly defined in this document.

2. Application

The requirements specified in this document are generic and are applicable to all organizations, irrespective of their type, size, or the nature of the services provided. Any exclusion of the requirements in clauses 4 to 10 is not acceptable when the organization claims conformity to this document, regardless of the nature of the organization.

Conformity to the specified requirements can be demonstrated by the organization presenting evidence of meeting those requirements.

The organization itself must demonstrate conformity to clauses 4 and 5, but may be supported by external parties. For example, an external party could perform internal audits on behalf of the organization or assist in preparing the SMS.

Alternatively, the organization can provide evidence of retaining accountability for the requirements in clauses 6 to 10 (see 8.2.3), even when other parties are involved. For example, the organization could show evidence of control over an external party providing infrastructure services or managing the service desk, including the incident management process.

The organization cannot claim conformity to this document if external parties provide or manage all services, service components, or processes within the scope of the SMS.

The scope of this document does not include specifications for products or tools. However, it can be used to aid in the development or acquisition of products or tools that support the operation of an SMS.