Paul G. Huppertz: Service Specifying – 12 Service Attributes

Paul G. Huppertz, servicEvolution
Service Specifying – 12 Service Attributes

In the course of service identifying, the primary benefit of the respective service type is described which must be definitively effectuated and rendered explicitly to the triggering service consumer in every case. Some examples of prevalent service types and their service identifiers are listed in table 1.

Service type	Service consumer	Service object	service-sp ecific benefit
taxi service = car-based people transporting service	taxi passenger	taxi passenger	the taxi passenger is chauffeured from his starting point to the destination he has designated
paper mailing service	sender of the letter	original letter	the original letter is delivered to the mailbox of the addressee the sender has designated
e-mailing service	sender of the e-mail	original e-mail	one copy each of the original e-mail is delivered to the e-mailbox of each addressee the sender has designated

Table 1: Service types and service identifying

Additionally, the description of the identified primary benefit is the first entry for service attribute 01 ‘Service Consumer Benefits’ of the clear and complete service specification based on the 12 standard service attributes that must be worked out and aligned in the next phase. In so doing, the logical interconnection between service identifying and service specifying is structurally established and the continuous allowance for all requirements of the service consumers is ensured over all successive phases and measures.

The 12 standard service attributes are shown in figure 1. This illustrates that different service (quality) levels can be captured by means of the same method, too, so that different requirements of various groups of service consumers regarding the same service type can be documented in a single, clear and well-arranged table. 

Figure 1: Service specification with 12 standard service attributes

 The constituent standard service attributes have the following meanings and contents:

01. Service Consumer Benefits: In this attribute, all the service-specific benefits which constitute the service as such are described in short free text phrases. This set of up to 10 separate benefits must be effectuated from scratch and aggregated as well as rendered to the authorised service consumer on his dedicated trigger. This set comprises all secondary, tertiary and further benefits which enable and support, complement and extent the effectuation of the primary and indispensable benefit.

02. Service-specific Functional Parameters: In this attribute, the functional parameters of service-relevant elements are listed and specified, the service consumer must know about and appropriately consider for triggering and consuming a service of such type. Normally, there are 2 to 4 parameters concerning some physical or technical dimensions or criteria of service-relevant elements, e.g. service-relevant technical systems or physical goods.

03. Service Delivery Point: In this attribute, the types of potential physical locations and/or potential logical interfaces are specified which from an authorised service consumer can trigger a service. At this type of location and/or interface, the service will be rendered to the triggering service consumer in return. There are 3 to 5 generic data concerning the potential places and/or physical environments or the specifications of the potential interfaces.

04. Service Consumer Count: In this attribute, the number of authorised service consumers is specified. In the basic specification of any service type, this number is set to the standard value ‘1’. This points up that one singular and unique service must be rendered explicitly to one authorised service consumer on his dedicated trigger. Furthermore, this attribute is a placeholder for commissioning service provision. In the Service Level Agreement (ServLA) or service contract, this value is set to the number of authorised service consumers in the realm of the commissioning service customer. This number is important for preparing service provision.

05. Service Delivery Readiness Times: In this attribute, for every weekday the periods of time are specified when the authorised service consumers are allowed to trigger services which must be rendered to them without any delay or friction. The time data must be given in the 24-hour-format and be complemented with the respective world time zone UTC so that they are clear for all locations and under all conditions.

06. Service Consumer Support Times: In this attribute, for every weekday the periods of time are specified when the authorised service consumers are supported by the Service (Consumer Support) Desk concerning questions and problems with system using or service triggering, service consuming or service utilising. The time data must be given in the 24-hour-format and be complemented with the respective UTC world time zone so that they are clear of all locations and under all conditions.

07. Service Consumer Support Languages: In this attribute, the colloquial languages are specified which are spoken in any communication with the authorised service consumers, in particular in support communica-tion. It comprises the list of the respective languages, even if it is only one. In these languages the service consumer may make any request, be it vocally or literally, which is answered in this language in return.

08. Service Fulfilment Target: In this attribute, the minimal percentage quotation is specified for the relation between the number of services successfully rendered and the number of services triggered. This percentage originally refers to an authorised service consumer and to any potential reference period within the scope of the Service Delivery Readiness Times specified in service attribute 05. It is a mutually accepted target value which always is below 100 per cent, but as near as possible to 100 per cent.

09. Service Impairment Duration: In this attribute, the maximum allowable time span of an impairing, retarding or interrupting of a singular service provision is specified. If a triggered service has been impaired in the first attempt, another service of the same type must be rendered to the same service consumer within this specified time span. The standard value for this attribute is 30 minutes.

10. Service Delivering Duration: In this attribute, the maximum allowable time span is specified for rendering the complete set of all service-specific benefits explicitly to the triggering service consumer. The respective time span lasts from the explicit service trigger by an authorised service consumer to the complete and terminatory rendering of all benefits explicitly to this triggering service consumer. This attribute value mostly is within the span of some (ten) minutes, for some service types in the span of a few hours and for particular service types in the span of one or several day(s). 

11. Service Delivery Unit: In this attribute, the indivisible basic portion of a singular service provision is speci-fied. This comprises the service-specific set of benefits that is specified in service attribute 01 and that must be rendered under the conditions and with the quality which are specified in the attribute values 02 to 10.

12. Service Delivering Price: In this attribute, the price for a service is specified which must be or has been rendered in the quality specified in the attribute values 01 to 11. Normally, the price quotation comprises a portion for service access per reference period, i.e. a service access price, and a portion for consumed services per reference period, i.e. a service consumption price. 

All attribute values are assigned to an appropriate data type or measurement unit in a separate column, so that they can be impartially measured and verified. All attribute values must be phrased in the terms and wording of the authorised service consumers as they are the activators and addressees of each service provision as well as the absolutely critical success factors for service providing and for service-based value creation. They must be able to understand the service specification and correct it if necessary as well as to approve and sign off it before it is inserted into the service catalogue and used in a Service Level Agreement (ServLA) or in a service contract. By this manner it is ensured that the exigencies and expectations of the authorised service consumers are completely included before the provision of such kind of services is commissioned.

The service customer who wants to commission the service provision for a group of service consumers and/or em-ployees in his realm must approve and sign off the entire service specification, too, as he must consider the ratio of service quality to service delivering price under economic concerns and plan for the appropriate service budget. Thus, it is advisable that the service customer and his designated service consumers align and specify the required service quality among each other based on the 12 standard service attributes. Then they are able to submit a well prepared service specification to the service provider that can be rather quickly agreed upon and signed off.

The signed off service specification is the sole and binding document for any further phase and measure of service providing as illustrated in figure 2

Figure 2: Service specification as linchpin of service providing

•  The service specification is the starting point for composing the service provision. From the practical attrib-ute values, the service provider derives the service map with the necessary service contributions and the service screenplay describing the aggregation of the service contributions into a triggered service as well as the provision to the triggering service consumer. These three documents form the service concept for the target service. The service concept is the foundation for service orchestrating, i.e. for commissioning the internal and external service suppliers with rendering the necessary service contributions.
•  In the course of service cataloguing the service provider compiles all signed off service specifications in the service catalogue for administering and presenting his service offerings to the service consumers and ser-vice customers in the business units of his enterprise.
•  From the service catalogue with the up-to-date service specifications, the service consumer selects the service specification with the necessary service level and copies it with all attribute values into the template for the Service Level Agreement (ServLA) or the service contract which both parties will close then (= service commissioning). By this manner, the service specification becomes the binding basis for service concerting, i.e. for rendering each and every triggered service explicitly to each triggering service consumer in the realm of the commissioning service customer.
•  In the course of regular service billing for the agreed reference period, the service specification again is the constitutive reference object because the Service Delivering Price is specified in the correspondent service attribute 12. The service provider will bill the number of consumed services to the commissioning service consumer based on this price.

All this illustrates that it is paramount to painstakingly work out and align the service specification so that all parties involved have clear and traceable basics for service demanding and service cataloguing, for service selecting and service commissioning, for service triggering and service consuming, for service rendering and service billing. For this concern, the clear and complete service specification based on the 12 standard service attributes is a catchy and efficient means, so that reliable, efficient and paying service provision can be well prepared and efficiently executed.