USMBOK™

The foremost responsibility of a service management professional is to understand the working elements of a service management system and service organization, and how they interoperate to manage the customer experience and produce successful customer outcomes.

Presented as a body of knowledge, the Guide to the USMBOK provides a singular, coherent and comprehensive blueprint, and vital reference to help the service management professional in successfully achieving this responsibility.

"Traditionally, ITSM has been the domain of the framework known as ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library).  I am a long-time advocate of the principles behind ITIL, but the USMBOK is far superior, and actually more concise in how it explains these principles and connects them for better outside-in thinking. USMBOK is a better ITIL than ITIL in many ways!", Glenn O’Donnell, Senior Analysts, Forrester Research

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The USMBOK defines a service management framework and service management as a systematic method for managing the provision of services to customers at a known quality and cost, focusing on the customer’s desired results and satisfaction, and in doing so details the elements of a service management system, including:

• The business planning & performance management frameworks
• The enterprise, customer and service models
• The 15 stages of a service lifecycle
• The policy management framework
• The governance framework
• The service transaction engine
• And nine supporting lifecycles that include: request, requirement, quality, asset, revision, change, release, event, and support
• Seven knowledge domains, each representing a key role within a service organization;
• Forty knowledge areas, each representing a key competency of skill required by a role.

The USMBOK also describes in outside-in thinking terms (customer interest first), service management as a means by which the customer experience and interaction with products and services is managed, and design of service encounters, moments of truth, and the customer and service request pathways accomplished.

For the provider organization, the Guide respects Lean Thinking and a continuous improvement approach within service management, acting as a transformation method for any organization that wishes to operate as a customer centric service organization. 

The Guide also provides a common lexicon of generally accepted definitions, concepts, methods and best practices for the service provider organization, and a role continuum spanning the customer-infrastructure perspectives, that includes detailed descriptions of the seven knowledge domains (key roles), and forty knowledge areas within the domains (representing knowledge, skills and abilities or competencies).

A table of contents can be downloaded here.  A sample 'e-book' version of the USMBOK may be downloaded here.  A license can be purchased from within the sample e-book that allows access to the complete electronic version.