What is YaSM
Why 'Yet another Service Management Model'? The idea behind YaSM® [1] is not to add yet another service management framework to the many that are already in existence, but to describe a straightforward set of processes that enables organizations to learn by example and bridge the gap between theory and practice.
To this end we assessed the most often used frameworks and standards for service management and ITSM, in particular ITIL® [2], ISO 20000® [3], COBIT® [4], USMBOK™ [5], CMMI-SVC® [6], FitSM [7], SIAM™ [8] and VeriSM™ [9], and assimilated the common principles.
The result of this effort - the YaSM service management model - is streamlined insofar as it has a perfectly clear structure that makes it easy to understand the purpose of each process. For each process, YaSM provides a detailed template, describing the activities to be performed, the required inputs and the resulting outputs, as well as the responsibilities.
If you are new to YaSM, start here:
In this video Stefan Kempter explains what YaSM is about and what is the best way to get started with YaSM service management.
Watch the video:
- Video: Introduction to YaSM Service Management (7:56 min.)
Service management best practice
YaSM isn't about blindly following 'best practice' - the YaSM processes are not prescriptive. YaSM is rather a basis for defining tailor-made processes that work in your organization.
And YaSM doesn't have to be 'implemented' in full. You can start small, concentrating on those process improvements that offer the most benefits.
Giving the YaSM model a clear, easily understood structure was important to us because we wanted to ensure the model can be adopted in a flexible way: In our experience it is almost impossible to simplify a complex system - while starting with something simple and adding more sophistication where needed is relatively easy.
For a first introduction to the YaSM processes, please refer to the overview of "service management processes" in this Wiki.
A model for service providers
Service management frameworks (especially ITIL®) have until recently been used mainly in the domain of information technology (IT) services, for whom these frameworks were originally created.
As ITIL grew popular, more and more organizations realized that ITIL and service management best practice can be applied to all types of services, such as HR, financial, healthcare, etc. - a trend that is often referred to as "enterprise service management (ESM)".
So we made a point of ensuring that YaSM is accessible and easy to understand for everyone providing services.
YaSM and ITIL, ISO 20000, SIAM, VeriSM, DevOps, …
Time never stands still, and the service management discipline keeps evolving. ITIL® started some 30 years ago with a focus on operating IT infrastructure. Today many service providers are better described as 'service integrators', as their customer-facing services are based on supporting services supplied by third parties. What's more, service management best practice is increasingly applied in other areas outside of the IT organization (see above).
This has led to the emergence of new concepts, each with its own focus:
SIAM™, for example, contains guidance specifically for service integration, and VeriSM™ introduces the 'management mesh' as a management approach from the organizational level. At the same time, service providers discovered that they can greatly benefit from concepts such as Agile, Lean, DevOps, Kanban, etc.
As a result, the service management discipline is now getting more diverse. But its key principles are well established, as enshrined in ISO/IEC 20000 ('ISO 20000'), the international standard for service management.
We have thus ensured the YaSM model is perfectly aligned with ISO 20000.
Comparison: YaSM vs. other service management frameworks and standards (ISO 20000, ITIL®, COBIT®, SIAM™, DevOps, Agile, VeriSM™, FitSM, USMBOK™ and CMMI-SVC®).
Everyone versed in ITIL®, ISO 20000, SIAM™ or FitSM will instantly feel at home, and you can easily extend the YaSM processes with inputs from these frameworks - or indeed with any other concepts and ideas that help you with providing better services.
Please refer to the following wiki pages for more details on how the most popular service management standards and frameworks relate to YaSM:
YaSM and ...
- ... ISO/IEC 20000
- ... the most recent version of ITIL® 4 | ... ITIL® V3 2011
- ... COBIT® (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies)
- ... CMMI® for Services (CMMI-SVC)
- ... FitSM
- ... SIAM™ Service Integration and Management
- ... DevOps
- ... Agile
- ... Lean
- ... USMBOK™ (Universal Service Management Body of Knowledge)
- ... VeriSM™
YaSM process model
The main product in the YaSM product family is the YaSM Process Map: For each process and sub-process, the service management process model defines in the form of a diagram the activities to be performed, the required inputs and the resulting outputs. It also contains a full set of detailed document templates ("checklists") for the documents and records produced by the YaSM processes.
The YaSM Process Map is currently available for several platforms:
- As YaSM Process Map for Microsoft Visio®,
- YaSM Process Map for BIC / BIC Process Design®,
- YaSM reference model for ARIS™,
- and also in BPMN XML format.
All diagrams and documents are completely editable, which makes the process model the ideal starting point for developing a set of processes tailored to the needs of specific organizations.
An additional component (the YaSM - ISO 20000 Bridge) relates the YaSM processes to the ISO 20000 requirements and specifically addresses the needs of organizations that wish to achieve certification against ISO 20000. It's the perfect companion as you get ready for the ISO 20000 audit.
For more information on the YaSM Process Map and the ISO 20000 Bridge, please refer to the product pages on the YaSM web site - or explore our video tutorials about YaSM service management and the YaSM process model!
History of YaSM
Since 2006 we have been supplying an officially accredited process model for ITIL (the ITIL® Process Map) to help IT service providers with understanding the principles behind ITIL and designing their ITIL-aligned processes and documents. Our approach to presenting the ITIL concepts in the form of process diagrams has been well received and is used by hundreds of organizations world-wide.
But from countless conversations with our customers it became clear that many find the existing guidance useful in principle, but too complex and difficult to understand.
So we decided that, after some 20 or 30 years, it was time for a fresh start with a new, streamlined process model that is easier to understand, has a perfectly clear and pragmatic structure, and is supported by a full set of ready-to-use templates.
What's more, we wanted to offer a model that can be used for business service management / enterprise service management, as well as ITSM. And that's how the idea for YaSM was born.
We spent two years developing the YaSM model and published the initial version of YaSM 1.0 in 2014:
The YaSM model is a translation of service management best practice into a streamlined, accessible set of processes and ready-to-use templates.
The first major update was completed in 2018 to incorporate user feedback and align the service management processes with the latest edition of ISO 20000:2018.
News about YaSM
YaSM is on LinkedIn, where we keep you updated about YaSM, the Service Management Wiki and our YaSM process model.
Related articles
Why 'Yet another Service Management Model'?
by: Stefan Kempter | July 25, 2014
This first post marks the launch of YaSM. We are very excited about reaching this big milestone: Getting there meant several years of hard work, but now we are able to present a shiny new service management model with lots of fresh ideas.
[ ... Read more ]
by: Stefan Kempter | August 01, 2014
We have been running an ITIL Wiki in three languages for many years and received a lot of positive feedback. So setting up the YaSM Wiki was a natural thing to do once the YaSM service management model was ready to be launched. Our free Wiki presents the most recent thinking in service management, including introductions to Enterprise Service Management (ESM), ITSM and ISO 20000.
[ ... Read more ]
Notes
[1] YaSM® is a registered trademark of IT Process Maps GbR.
[2] ITIL® is a registered trademark of AXELOS Limited.
[2] ISO/IEC 20000® is a registered trademark of ISO.
[4] COBIT® is a registered trademark of ISACA.
[5] USMBOK™ is a registered trade mark of Virtual Knowledge Solutions International Incorporated (VKSII).
[6] CMMI® and Capability Maturity Model® are registered trademarks of Carnegie Mellon University.
[7] FitSM is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
[8] SIAM™ is a registered trademark of EXIN.
[9] VeriSM® is a registered trademark of IFDC.
By: Stefan Kempter 
and Andrea Kempter , IT Process Maps.
Service management best practice › Model for service providers › YaSM and ITIL, ISO 20000, ... › YaSM process model › History of YaSM
