Service Management Research & Analysis

Together with the thought leaders within IT Service Management (ITIL-AXELOS), we are for the most asked why we started such a comprehensive Service Management research and analysis and the answer is actually quite basic. We saw the confusion in the market around the subject and especially the need. For example, all the various Service Management, Service Modelling, Service Oriented Architecture frameworks, methods, approaches and or concepts have their own vocabulary. Each of these vocabularies have their own definition of terms, like what is Service, objects related to Service concepts or even how does modeling, engineering or architecture apply to the concepts.

The lack of standard around Service Management terms, definitions, and concepts was the starting point of the Global University Alliance (GUA) in collaboration with:

LEADing Practice who owns the concepts Service Modelling, Service Engineering and Service oriented Architecture
AXELOS who own ITSM, ITIL, P3M3, PPM, PRINCE2, MoV, MoR and many more relevant framework and methods
OMG who own the concepts of BMM, BPMN, CMMN, SBVR, UML, MOF

We in the GUA, which is an international consortium of universities, professors, lecturers and researchers whose aim it is to provide a collaborative platform for academic research, analysis and development and to explore leading practices, best practices as well as to develop missing practices, believed that Service Management was worthy of further investigation. With currently over 450+ lecturers and researchers from across the world the Service Management analysis was coordinated with a research team, chosen by the GUA Board.

The first analysis and research in 2011, identified that the lack of repeatable standards around Service Management in the concepts around business model, strategy, service flow modeling, service measurements and reporting as well as the other traditional concepts of enterprise modelling, engineering and architecture. The need to identify relevant aspects, reusable/replicable service pattern and develop models that can be used by any organization, both large and small, regardless of its products/services, activities or industry, became apparent.

In 2011, the research and analysis on how organizations apply Service Management within various enterprise modelling, engineering and architecture concepts was initiated. Throughout this process of analyzing and identifying the de-facto way of modelling, engineering and architecting Service Management in various concepts was the basis of specifying which objects are involved with Service Management.

The underlying research questions where among others:

What is a Business Service?
What is Service Management?
How is Service Management being modelled, engineered and architected?
What are the most common Service Management meta objects?
What are the most common Service Management object classes?
What are the most common Service Management object stereo types?
What are the most common Service Management object subtypes?
What are the most common Service Management terms used?
Which semantic relationships do the objects have between each other?
Which is the most common Service Management Models?
Where do the objects and the specific relations appear in various models?
Which objects are involved in the ‘possible Service Management’ modelling, engineering and architecture?
Which objects are involved in the ‘actual Service Management’ modelling, engineering and architecture?

The Global University Alliance used the concept of ontology as both a shared vocabulary and the very definition of its objects and concepts. In order to go the next steps and fully use the potential of developing the Service Management ontology. The Service Management Ontology, includes all the above mentioned research findings and developed based on them the following:

Define a Service Management Object overview
Develop a Service Management categorization and classification
Specify a Service Management Taxonomy
Describe a Service Management Model with specific representation of the real world objects.
Develop a Service Management Meta Model describing the objects within the Models.
Create a Service Management Meta-Metamodel that defines and describes the various Service Management Metamodel and their relations.

The main body of research and analysis was structured in the following ways:

Research and analyse what works around Service Management modelling, engineering and architecture, again and again (best practice), and what are unique practices applied by leading organizations (leading practices).
Identify common and repeatable patterns which provide the basis for the Service Management Ontology.
Develop “Reference Content” in terms of Service Management objects, Service Management semantic relations, Service Management taxonomy, Service Management models, Service Management meta model etc., that increase the level of re-usability and replication within the field of Service Management modelling, Service Management engineering and Service Management architecture.
Extended with accelerators that adopt and reproduce the identified Service Management best practices and leading practices.

Service Management Key Research Team

The Global University Alliance currently consists of over 450 universities, lecturers and researchers from across the world. The aim it is to provide a collaborative platform for academic research, analysis and development and to explore de-facto standards in terms of researching leading practices and best practices as well as to develop missing aspects/concepts. To manage the size of a complex research topic like Service Management and better network across universities, lecturers and researchers, we have defined research responsibilities in key areas. It is the aim that the key research responsible provides the international platform where universities and thought leaders can interact to conduct research in the key aspect of the overall research. The Service Management research and analysis started in 2011 and additional focus areas of identifying the Service Management objects, develop meta object where added in 2014 and 2015. With the practical testing within organizations in 2015.

The following Service Management team was put together and peer reviewed by the following persons:

Service Management Ontology Key Global University Alliance Research members
- Service Management research responsible: Professor Mark von Rosing, Global University Alliance, Chairman-Board of Directors
- Ontology research responsible: Professor Wim Laurier, Saint-Louis University Brussels & Ghent University, Belgium
- Semantic research responsible: Professor Simon Polovina, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
- Enterprise Architecture research responsible: John A. Zachman, Inventor and Father of Enterprise Architecture, Zachman International
- Business Process research responsible: Professor August W. Scheer, Inventor and Father of Business Process Management, Scheer Group
- Information Systems research responsible: Professor Hans Scheruhn, Harz University, Germany
- Role Oriented Modelling research responsible: Professor Maxim Arzumanyan, St. Petersburg University, Russia
- Enterprise Agile research responsible: Professor Asif Gill, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
- Business Model research responsible: Maria Hove, Global University Alliance, Researcher & Business Analyst
- Enterprise Sustainability research responsible: David Coloma Guerrero, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain
- System of Systems Dynamics research responsible: Adam D.M. Svendsen, PhD, Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (CIFS)
- Value Model research responsible: Ulrik Foldager, Global University Alliance, Researcher & Value Analyst
- System & Product Engineering research responsible: Jonnro Erasmus, Enterprise Engineer at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
- Measurement & Reporting research responsible: Ulrik Foldager, Global University Alliance, Researcher & Business Innovation & Transformation Analyst
- Social Media research responsible: Zakaria Maamar, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates
- Social Machine research responsible: Vanilson Buregio, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
- Insurance Industry research responsible: Michael Koller, Universitätsklinikum Regensburg, Germany, Prudential, UK
- ERP & Analytics research responsible: Karin Gräslund, RheinMain University-Wiesbaden Business School, Germany
- Meta Model responsible: Ulrik Foldager, LEADing Practice
Standard Organizations
- The Enterprise & Industry Standards body LEADing Practice: Georg Etzel, Co-CEO
- AXELOS: Kaimar Karu, Head of Service Management
- Information Security Forum: Steve Durbin, CEO
- Council for Scientific and Industrial Research: Rentia Barnard, Enterprise Architect Director
- OMG – Software Standard Organization: Fred Cummins, OMG, BMI, Chairman