One of my students asked why utility was achieved as either performance supported or constraints removed instead of both. I have been pondering this question ever since.
A few years my former instructor Pierre Bernard from Pink Elephant wrote an article on this subject (http://www.pinkelephant.com/Ressource/PinkLink/na/issue87/May%202008%20-%20ITIL%20V3%20Concepts%20Made%20Easy%20Part%201.pdf) which at the time I took at face value.
Pierre wrote:Utility is achieved in one of three ways:
1. It improves the performance.
or
2. It addresses constraints by removing or reducing/relaxing them.
or
3. It improves performance and reduces constraints.
It is also possible to improve performance by removing constraints.
In my mind the terms performance supported or constraints removed is not self-explanatory and makes a simple concept more difficult. I realize that at this point in the ITIL framework's lifecycle, ITIL is hard to change. It is trapped by its own constraints due in a large part by the qualification and certification schemes and processes.
Nonetheless I propose a minor modification to the Utility and Warranty diagram that I think is more easily understood and is better aligned with the basic ITIL principles.
R.