The first activity in the service value chain is “Plan,” and in this episode we’ll explain its purpose and relevance. Planning provides a shared vision and direction for all aspects of service management, ensuring that goals, strategies, and policies align with organizational objectives. Without effective planning, efforts across the value chain become fragmented, leading to inefficiency and wasted resources. The plan activity sets the foundation for everything that follows, guiding decisions about what to build, how to deliver, and where to improve.

We’ll also discuss how planning balances short-term actions with long-term vision. Examples include developing service roadmaps, setting performance targets, and aligning improvement efforts to business priorities. The exam may ask you to identify the purpose of this activity, so remember that planning is about creating alignment, not micromanaging details. This episode was produced by BareMetalCyber.com.