Internationally recognized, ISO/IEC 20000-1 is the best practice framework for a service management system that helps you to provide a consistent, reliable service. It supports you to embed a service lifecycle strategy into your organization – providing best practice guidance on how to manage your portfolio of services so they remain current and add value.

ISO/IEC 20000-1 is ideal for any service provider, large or small, who wants to provide assurance in the quality of the services they deliver. It’s commonly used for IT services, facilities management and business services to help ensure effective and resilient services in today’s changing service delivery environment.

This document specifies requirements for an organization to establish, implement, maintain and continually improve a service management system (SMS). The requirements specified in this document include the planning, design, transition, delivery and improvement of services to meet the service requirements and deliver value.

The adoption of an SMS is a strategic decision for an organization and is influenced by the organization’s objectives, the governing body, other parties involved in the service lifecycle and the need for effective and resilient services.

Implementation and operation of an SMS provides ongoing visibility, control of services and continual improvement, leading to greater effectiveness and efficiency. Improvement for service management applies to the SMS and the services.

This document can be used by:

  • a customer seeking services and requiring assurance regarding the quality of those services;
  • a customer requiring a consistent approach to the service lifecycle by all its service providers, including those in a supply chain;
  • an organization to demonstrate its capability for the planning, design, transition, delivery and improvement of services;
  • an organization to monitor, measure and review its SMS and the services;
  • an organization to improve the planning, design, transition, delivery and improvement of services through effective implementation and operation of an SMS;
  • an organization or other party performing conformity assessments against the requirements specified in this document;
  • a provider of training or advice in service management.

The term “service” as used in this document refers to the service or services in the scope of the SMS. The term “organization” as used in this document refers to the organization in the scope of the SMS that manages and delivers services to customers. The organization in the scope of the SMS can be part of a larger organization, for example, a department of a large corporation. An organization or part of an organization that manages and delivers a service or services to internal or external customers can also be known as a service provider. Any use of the terms “service” or “organization” with a different intent is distinguished clearly in this document.

Benefits by implementing ISO/IEC 20000-1:

  • Competitiveness and credibility
  • Compliance
  • Customer satisfaction
  • Productivity
  • Benchmark and improvement