Implementation walkthrough
How to implement ISO/IEC 20000-1: video walkthrough
A walkthrough of implementing an ISO/IEC 20000-1 service management system that runs your service desk, changes and suppliers rather than describing them for an auditor.
Key takeaways
- The certificate covers named services, not necessarily the whole organisation.
- ISO/IEC 20000-3 guides how the scope is defined.
- The service catalogue and service level agreements anchor the system.
- Incident, change, capacity, continuity and supplier processes must produce records.
- An accredited certification body carries out Stage 1 and Stage 2 and decides.
IT service management that someone else can verify
ISO/IEC 20000-1 is the international standard for service management systems, written for IT service management. It sets out what an organisation must have in place to plan, design, transition, deliver and improve the services it has agreed with its customers: a service catalogue, service level agreements, incident, request and problem handling, change and release control, capacity, availability and continuity management, control of suppliers and reporting that shows whether the promises were kept.
The question it answers is one every IT customer asks: when something breaks, changes or grows, does the provider know, act to an agreed standard and learn from it? Frameworks such as ITIL describe good practice; ISO/IEC 20000-1 sets requirements that can be audited. This short film walks through how a service management system is implemented.
From service scope to certification
The certificate covers services, not the whole company, so first define the services it must cover: the services, customers, locations, delivery teams, suppliers and the intended scope statement, using ISO/IEC 20000-3 as the guide. A gap analysis then shows what is missing in the processes, the tool and the records, keeps what works and sets actions, owners, dates and resources.
Implementation puts the service catalogue, service level agreements, change policy and plans into use, trains service owners and process owners, and collects the evidence that the processes run. Internal audit and management review follow, findings are closed with evidence, and an independent certification body accredited for service management certification carries out Stage 1 and Stage 2 and decides. Surveillance audits follow certification.
Sterling's expert and experienced consultants build the system with your service teams under Sterling OS™, with the records held in Effivity. The current edition is ISO/IEC 20000-1:2018 with Amendment 1:2024.
The aim is a service management system that runs your service desk, your changes and your suppliers rather than describing them for an auditor.
ISO/IEC 20000-1 at a glance
- Purpose
- IT service management: planning, designing, transitioning, delivering and improving services to agreed requirements, with the incident, change, capacity, continuity and supplier disciplines behind them
- Relevant to
- Managed service providers, IT outsourcers and BPOs, software and cloud businesses, data centres and internal IT functions serving their own organisation
- Edition
- ISO/IEC 20000-1:2018 with Amendment 1:2024; no revision in progress; certificates to the 2011 edition lapsed in September 2021
- Certification
- Assessed and decided by an independent certification body accredited to ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 20000-6
- Sterling's role
- Implementation with your service teams, Effivity, training, internal audit and certification readiness, then Sustain™
- Cost and timing
- Total investment for an ISO/IEC 20000-1 SMS depends on the current maturity of your processes, the scope, locations and number of employees. The process typically takes 6 to 12 months
ISO/IEC 20000-1: questions people ask
Is ISO/IEC 20000-1 the same as ITIL? Do we need ITIL first?
No, and no. ITIL 4 is a framework of good practice owned by PeopleCert; it qualifies individuals and cannot certify an organisation. ISO/IEC 20000-1 is the international standard an organisation can be certified against by an accredited body. ITIL-based processes are a good starting point, and ISO/IEC TS 20000-11 maps ITIL 4 to the requirements, but the standard does not require ITIL and using ITIL does not by itself demonstrate conformity.
Which services should the certificate cover?
The services you want customers to rely on, in a scope statement naming the services, the customers, the locations and the parties that deliver parts of them. ISO/IEC 20000-3 gives worked examples from a single service desk to a multi-supplier chain. A narrow, accurate scope that grows at surveillance audits is worth more than a broad one that fails at Stage 2.
Can an internal IT department be certified, or only service providers?
Both. The standard applies to any organisation delivering IT services, including a corporate IT function whose customers are the business units it serves. Internal customers still need a catalogue, agreed service levels and service reports; only the agreements are internal rather than contractual.
Do we need an ITSM tool?
The standard does not name one, but it requires records of incidents, requests, problems, changes, configuration information and availability that are hard to keep credibly on spreadsheets beyond a small operation. We build the SMS around the tool you already run; if you have none, we help you choose a proportionate one before process design starts, so processes and tool are designed together.
Does Sterling issue the ISO/IEC 20000-1 certificate?
No. Sterling's role is consulting and hands-on support. An independent certification body, accredited to ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 20000-6, conducts the audit and makes the certification decision. Anyone offering to do both is selling paper.
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The complete guide
Everything on ISO/IEC 20000-1
Start with the ISO/IEC 20000-1 page, or go straight to the guide you need.
On the ISO/IEC 20000-1 page
- What are the main ISO/IEC 20000-1 requirements?
- How do you get ISO/IEC 20000-1 certified?
- How much does ISO/IEC 20000-1 certification cost?
- How long does ISO/IEC 20000-1 certification take?
- Who needs ISO/IEC 20000-1 certification?
- How ISO/IEC 20000-1 supports reliable services and confident customers
- Frequently asked questions about ISO/IEC 20000-1
Guides
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