FitSM Standard - in 3 Minutes
FitSM Standard – in 3 Minutes
The basics of the FitSM Standard
FitSM is a lightweight standards family designed for implementing IT service management (ITSM) that follows four key principles: practicality, consistency, sufficiency, and extendibility. The framework is built on seven core principles, including service- and customer-orientation, process-orientation, and continual improvement, while offering a streamlined alternative to more complex ITSM frameworks like ISO/IEC 20000 and ITIL. At its core, FitSM consists of 14 essential ITSM processes, from service portfolio management to continual service improvement, all structured to help organizations effectively plan, deliver, operate, and control IT services. The standard is maintained by ITEMO e.V., a non-profit partnership of IT management specialists, and was initially supported by the European Commission.
Summary
The standard consists of multiple documents (FitSM-0 through FitSM-6) that cover various aspects from basic vocabulary to implementation guides and maturity assessment schemes:
• FitSM-0 provides a comprehensive overview of the FitSM family and establishes a common vocabulary for implementing IT Service Management across all standard parts.
• FitSM-1 provides general and process-specific requirements for implementing a lightweight IT service management system across organizations and federated scenarios.
• FitSM-2 provides recommended objectives and activities to help organizations fulfill the requirements established in FitSM-1 for effective IT service management.
• FitSM-3 provides a model of roles and responsibilities for IT Service Management implementation, describing typical roles and their relationships within organizations.
• FitSM-4 provides ready-to-use templates for ITSM documentation, while FitSM-5 offers practical implementation guides and advice for applying these templates effectively.
• FitSM-6 provides a capability/maturity assessment model to evaluate and demonstrate an organization’s current ITSM capabilities and identify areas for improvement.
FitSM-0
At its core, FitSM-0 defines 14 essential ITSM processes, including service portfolio management, incident management, change management, and continual service improvement. The framework emphasizes three fundamental principles: service and customer orientation, process orientation, and continual improvement.
FitSM-1
FitSM-1 establishes the core requirements for implementing an IT service management system (SMS) across organizations and federated environments. The document consists of two main components: general requirements and process-specific requirements.
FitSM-2
FitSM-2 is a comprehensive document that outlines process activities and implementation guidelines for IT Service Management (ITSM). It focuses on two main areas: establishing a Service Management System (SMS) and implementing ITSM processes.
FitSM-3
FitSM-3 is a comprehensive guide that defines essential roles for implementing IT service management (ITSM). The document outlines two main categories of roles: general SMS roles and process-specific roles. Key general roles include the SMS Owner, who has overall accountability for the service management system, and the SMS Manager, who coordinates implementation and improvement efforts.
FitSM-6
FitSM-6 is a capability and maturity assessment model designed to help organizations evaluate and demonstrate their IT service management capabilities. The model enables service providers to assess their current ITSM practices against the requirements defined in FitSM-1, identifying areas for improvement and tracking progress.
Target audience
FitSM is designed for practitioners, managers, and consultants seeking a lightweight IT service management solution. It’s particularly suitable for:
• Small and medium-sized organizations requiring efficient ITSM implementation or a pragmatic approach
• Organizations new to IT service management looking for a practical starting point before investing in more comprehensive frameworks.
Scope and constraints
FitSM’s key strengths are:
• A lightweight, pragmatic approach built on four core principles
• Enables organizations to implement ITSM processes more quickly due to reduced complexity and focus on operationally relevant processes
• Offers a simpler, streamlined approach compared to other complex frameworks like ITIL
• Designed to be compatible with other ITSM frameworks while maintaining a more achievable implementation model
• The framework is completely free and openly accessible
The main constraints include:
• Focuses primarily on essential ITSM processes
• Requires alignment with existing organizational structures
• Primarily designed for IT service management contexts
Have you also seen our latest publication on FitSM?
In this book, the authors Anselm Rohrer and Dierk Soellner draw upon their extensive experiences in small and medium sized organizations to provide a ‘practical and application-oriented path’ to address the many challenges in the world of IT service management. Their approach is based upon the FitSM framework, distinguishing 82 concise requirements. It draws upon the ISO/IEC 20000 standard and the COBIT and ITIL frameworks. These requirements help organizations see through the details into what is important.
The author’s motto, drawn from FitSM, is “keep it simple”, describing ‘what’ needs to be done, and focusing on 14 core processes – reducing the size and complexity of an ITSM adoption. As the authors stress, those requiring more can look to ITIL, COBIT or other extensive frameworks.
For the authors, the strength of the FitSM approach lies in the focus on the ‘requirements’ to be met for a functioning IT service management system, supported by the ‘maturity assessment’ that provides a reference point for continual improvement. Continual improvement needs to be a core capability.
Another point of attention is improving maturity “in small steps with small changes”, with an emphasis on addressing the all-important ‘People’ factor. These small improvements are enabled by an easy-to-implement, simply structured approach, backed up by a role model, templates and implementation guides. The implementation guidance will appear in a separate Volume 2.
View the book in our webshop here.
Quote by Michael Brenner
“FitSM has become a comprehensive framework in the world of IT Service Management. The FitSM Working Group at ITEMO is pleased to see a growing community of experts, trainers and consultants implementing successful solutions based on FitSM. This book brings together many parts of various FitSM standard documents in a textbook format for the first time. We appreciate the increased access to the FitSM body of knowledge that this book provides.”
Dr Michael Brenner, FitSM principal author