Courtesy: Information technology ISO 20000 certification
If your organization wishes to be formally you will need to be assessed by a Registered Certification Body (RCB). If you are able to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of ISO 20000-1 (part 1 of the standard, containing the mandatory requirements), the RCB will issue a certificate of conformance.
According to ISO 17021 , the certification audit should be divided into two stages:
Stage 1 audit
- During the stage 1 audit, your auditor will determine your organization’s readiness for ISO 20000 certification.
- A key output from this stage is typically a list of identified non-conformities (areas where the standard’s requirements are not fulfilled).
- The stage 1 audit report will thus help you with correcting any issues in preparation for the final stage 2 audit.
Stage 2 audit
- The stage 2 audit aims to assess compliance with the ISO 20000 requirements.
- If you complete the stage 2 audit successfully, your organization is certified against ISO 20000.
ISO 20000 and YaSM, ITIL, CMMI-SVC, COBIT, VeriSM, SIAM, …
ISO 20000 outlines requirements for a service management system but does not offer specific advice on how to fulfill these requirements (the authors say it is ‘intentionally independent of specific guidance’). One could say that ISO 20000 tells you what to do but not how to do it.
The standard, however, has its roots in established service management frameworks and especially ITIL, and its authors recommend that organizations use ‘a combination of generally accepted frameworks and their own experience’ in their effort to get aligned with ISO 20000.
So the popular service management frameworks and approaches such as ITIL®, CMMI-SVC®, COBIT®, VeriSM™, SIAM™, etc. provide the specific guidance that is missing in ISO 20000.
In particular, these frameworks describe various practices and processes that are in line with the ISO 20000 requirements. Adopting these practices and processes is thus the classic, time-tested way of getting prepared for ISO 20000.
As for the YaSM process model, it is even better aligned with ISO 20000 than the service management frameworks, because YaSM was built from the ground up with ISO 20000 in mind. This makes YaSM a very good choice if you look for specific guidance on how to fulfill the ISO 20000 requirements.
ISO/IEC 20000 (abbreviated to ISO 20000) is the internationally acknowledged standard for service management. It sets out ‘requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving a service management system (SMS)’ . ISO 20000 enables organizations to demonstrate that their processes are aligned with international best practice. ISO 20000 certification thus offers competitive differentiation and provides assurance to clients that their requirements will be met.
All requirements are ‘generic and are intended to be applicable to all organizations, regardless of the organization’s type or size, or the nature of the services delivered’.
Why ISO 20000? 5 main benefits
Fig. 1: The main benefits of ISO 20000
The benefits of ISO 20000 include:
- Credibility and competitive advantage:
ISO 20000 is proof that your organization has demonstrated reliability and high quality of service. - Access to markets:
Many organizations, for example in the public sector, mandate ISO 20000 compliance as a condition for awarding contracts. - Higher productivity:
ISO 20000 is all about following service management best practice. Compliance with ISO 20000 thus ensures your organization is able to deliver services efficiently and effectively. - Independent assessment:
The certification audit provides an opportunity to benchmark your organization against the internationally recognized standard for service management. - Continual improvement:
Conformity with ISO 20000 means your organization has robust processes in place for continual improvement – which is essential for any business to be successful in the longer term.
Certification and audit
If your organization wishes to be formally certified against ISO 20000, you will need to be assessed by a Registered Certification Body (RCB). If you are able to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of ISO 20000-1 (part 1 of the standard, containing the mandatory requirements), the RCB will issue a certificate of conformance.
According to ISO 17021 , the certification audit should be divided into two stages: