ISO/IEC TS 20000-11 explained: linking ITIL and ISO 20000-1

ISO/IEC TS 20000-11 is a technical specification that explains how ITIL 4 relates to the requirements of ISO/IEC 20000-1. The document was published in 2021 and is about ITIL 4. It links the requirements of the standard to ITIL publications: which ITIL practice helps with which clause. It is a tool for understanding and justifying your approach, not a requirement. You cannot be certified against it. The TS was first published on 27 August 2021 (IEC Webstore ). The standard itself is ISO/IEC 20000-1:2018 , available from NEN . The difference between a standard and a framework is explained on ISO 20000 vs. ITIL 4.

Anyone who uses ITIL 4 and wants ISO 20000-1 often has two working languages side by side. This TS helps translate between them. It does not say that you must use ITIL. It shows how you can.

What is a technical specification?

An ISO standard such as 20000-1 sets requirements. A technical specification (TS) is a different type of ISO document and contains no requirements against which you achieve a certificate. That does not make it less useful: it is a documented bridge between two worlds.

For you, this means in practice: if an auditor asks why you use a certain ITIL process to meet a clause, you can refer to the TS. The evidence still has to come from your organisation. The TS provides the translation, not the evidence.

What is in the document?

According to the publisher’s description, the document consists of two parts:

• An explanation of how ITIL helps demonstrate the standard (clause 4) and a link between ITIL documents and the requirements of ISO 20000-1 (clause 5).
• Two annexes. Annex A links terms and clauses between ISO 20000-1 and ITIL, in both directions. Annex B links the clauses of ISO 20000-1 to the ITIL 4 publications, also in both directions.

The tables themselves appear only in the paid text. Read the exact links there. Place the TS next to your own requirements of the standard to use the link.

Example: from ITIL practice to clause

Suppose your service desk works according to the ITIL practice for incident management. You then want to know which clause this covers. A simplified translation looks like this.

Note: this table is an illustration of the logic, not a literal copy of the TS. Read the document itself for the exact links. How the processes in the standard are structured is set out on the service management processes.

Why is this useful?

Organisations that already use ITIL are often surprised by how much they already have. You do not need to start over. What you mainly need to show is that your ITIL work covers the requirements of the standard. That translation makes your evidence clear for the certification body.

It also helps with the baseline assessment. For each clause, you can check which ITIL practice you already use and where a gap remains. That makes the gap register more concrete.

Common misunderstandings

• Using ITIL does not automatically mean you comply. You still need to provide evidence that the processes work.
• The TS does not replace the standard. You still read the requirements of ISO 20000-1. The TS is a guide alongside them.
• Using the wrong edition. The 2021 TS belongs to ISO/IEC 20000-1:2018 and ITIL 4. If you use an older ITIL version, the link will not match.

How do you use it in practice?

Start with the clauses where you have the most evidence. For each clause, record which ITIL practice you use and which document supports it. Where you have no practice, you get your action list. This way, you build the SMS without ITIL becoming the yardstick.

For MSPs that already have ITIL processes, this is often the fastest route. For this, also read ISO 20000-1 for managed service providers, because customers and tenders play a major role there.

How to read the TS without getting stuck

The document is technical and uses terms you know from ITIL, and others you know from the standard. A method that works well in practice:

1. Start with your own clause. Choose one clause from ISO 20000-1 for which you already have evidence, for example incident management. Look it up in the TS and read only the text around it.
2. Note the ITIL practice. Which practice from the ITIL 4 publications belongs to it? Write down the name, not the full description.
3. Check the evidence. Does the evidence you have also appear in the document for that practice? If not, you have a gap.
4. Repeat per clause. Do not do this for the whole document in one go. You keep the overview by working clause by clause.

So work clause by clause, not all at once. That way, you keep the overview.

Example: an ITIL working group mapping clause 8

An internal IT department at a medium-sized municipality has used ITIL 4 for years. They want to know where they already meet ISO 20000-1. Their first overview looks like this.

The table is an illustration of the approach and not an official link. The clause numbers are therefore indicative. Make sure you check them against the standard when drawing up your own overview.

The overview immediately produces an action list. That is the purpose: the TS helps you recognise your ITIL work as evidence, and shows where the real gaps are.

What you do not get from the TS

• A complete process model. The TS describes the translation, not how to set up your processes.
• A judgement on your organisation. Whether you comply is decided by the auditor of the certification body, not by the document.
• A replacement for internal knowledge. Whoever does not know ITIL still needs someone who understands the practice.

Next steps

Sources

• NEN: IT service management with ISO/IEC 20000 , Nederlands Normalisatie-instituut (Dutch Standardisation Institute)
• BSI: ISO/IEC 20000-1 Service Management , British Standards Institution