BiSL® (Business Information Services Library) 3rd Edition
In April 2024 there has been the 4the edition released of BiSL. This is mainly a redesign of the BiSL model. However also more implementation content has been creation, you can find more on that here.
The basics
BiSL (Business Information Services Library) is a framework and collection of best practices for business information management.
Summary
BiSL (Business Information Services Library) was developed by a Dutch IT service provider, PinkRoccade, and made public and transferred to the public domain in 2005. The current version is the 3rd Edition, published in 2020.
BiSL focuses on how business organizations can improve control over their information provisioning: demand for business support, use of information systems and non-automized information provision and contracts and other arrangements with IT suppliers. BiSL offers guidance in business information management: support for the use of information provisioning in the business processes, operational IT control and information management.
The library consists of a framework, best practices, standard templates and a self-assessment. The BiSL framework gives a description of all the processes that enable the control of
information provisioning from a business perspective (see Figure).
The framework distinguishes seven process clusters, which are positioned at the operational, managing and strategic levels (see Figure).
The use management cluster provides optimum, on-going support in use of the information provision. The functionality
management cluster structures and effects changes in information provision. The connecting processes cluster focuses on decision- making related to which changes need to be made to the information provision, and how they are implemented within the user organization.
The management processes cluster ensures that all the activities within the business information management domain are managed in an integrated way.
The strategic processes clusters ensure that realizable strategic plans and policies are developed for the information provision as well as for the business information management organization.
Target audience
BiSL is primarily aimed at business management, information management and professionals who wish to improve the support of their business processes by realizing a better automated and non-automated information provision. Of course, also students and training organizations in this field of interest belong to the target audience.
Scope and constraints
The scope of BiSL is the support, usage, maintenance, renovation and policy of the information provision and the management and governance of all related activities.
Strengths
• It offers a stable framework and a common language for business information management.
• It fills the gap between the business and IT functions. BiSL recognizes and addresses management issues that are increasingly important.
• The application of BiSL in the Netherlands is widely spread amongst various types of organizations, thus a lot of experience with BiSL has been gained. Many of these experiences have been translated into applicable best
practices, templates, etc, which are available on the internet.
• Internationally accredited exams are available.
Constraints
• Although the BiSL framework, books and best practices have been translated in different languages, the application of BiSL outside the Netherlands is still relatively limited