Glossary

A measure of whether the objectives of a practice, service, or activity have been achieved. It is about "doing the right thing."

A measure of whether the right amount of resources has been used by a practice, service, or activity. It is about "doing things right."

A change that must be introduced as soon as possible. This is usually to resolve a major incident or implement a security patch. The process for assessment and authorization is expedited.

A key activity in the Service Value Chain that ensures a good understanding of stakeholder needs, transparency, and continual engagement and good relationships with all stakeholders.

An organization (or cross-organizational entity) that supports a defined scope of business missions and objectives. It is typically characterized by scale, complexity, and multiple departments.

The practice of conducting enterprise analysis, design, planning, and implementation, using a comprehensive approach for the successful development and execution of strategy. It applies architecture principles to the business, information, application, and technology layers.

A subset of the IT infrastructure that is used for a particular purpose, such as development, testing, or production. Environments are isolated to prevent activities in one stage from affecting another.

A design flaw or malfunction that causes a failure of one or more configuration items or IT services. In software development, it is often referred to as a "bug."

Problem management activities used to manage known errors. This typically involves identifying the root cause, recording the error, and creating a workaround or permanent fix.

The act of passing an incident or problem to a higher level of authority or technical expertise. Functional escalation moves it to a specialist (Tier 1 to Tier 2); Hierarchical escalation moves it to management (for decision making/resources).

A document specifying the rules for escalation, including when to escalate, who to escalate to, and what information must be provided.

The workflow that executes the escalation plan. It defines the specific steps, triggers, and communication channels used during an escalation.

Any change of state that has significance for the management of a configuration item or IT service. Events are typically notifications created by an IT service, CI, or monitoring tool.