1.3.3. Key Entities: Organization, Product, and Stakeholders

💡 First Principle: Value is co-created through the interaction of an organization, its products, and its key stakeholders, each with distinct roles and perspectives.

Scenario: A project team is developing a new HR application. The sponsor (Head of HR) has approved the budget. The customer (HR manager) has defined the requirements for reporting. The users (all employees) will use it to request time off. Understanding the different needs of each stakeholder is critical for success.

This part introduces the primary entities: the service provider organization, the products that form the basis of services, and the crucial stakeholders involved.

• Organization: A person or group with its own functions, responsibilities, authorities, and relationships to achieve its objectives.
  • Practical Relevance: You are part of an organization working towards objectives. Understanding your organization's structure and goals helps you align your ITIL practices effectively.
• Product: A configuration of an organization's resources designed to offer value for a consumer. Services are based on products.
  • Practical Relevance: Understand the underlying products that enable the services you support.
• Stakeholders: The success of services relies on understanding and engaging with various stakeholders:
  • Customer: Person who defines requirements for a service and takes responsibility for outcomes of service consumption.
    • Practical Relevance: Actively engage with customers to understand their requirements and the outcomes they are trying to achieve.
  • User: Person who uses services. Often submits Service Requests and contacts Service Desk.
    • Practical Relevance: Understand the user experience. How do users interact with services? What are their pain points?
  • Sponsor: Person who authorizes budget for service consumption.
    • Practical Relevance: Be aware of who sponsors the services you work on and their priorities.

⚠️ Common Pitfall: Only listening to the customer and ignoring the needs and feedback of the users. A service that meets all customer requirements but is difficult for users to operate will result in low adoption and poor value co-creation.

Key Trade-Offs:

• Customer Requirements vs. User Experience: Sometimes, a customer's requirement (e.g., for detailed data capture) can conflict with a user's need for a simple, fast interface. Balancing these perspectives is key to a successful service.

Reflection Question: For a service in your organization, can you identify a distinct customer, user, and sponsor? How do their needs and perspectives on the service differ?