The aim of continual improvement is to deal with the continual orientation and re-orientation of the IT services towards changing business needs. These improvement-related activities support the lifecycle approach of service strategy, service design, service transition and service operation. CSI actually endeavors to find ways of optimizing process efficiency and effectiveness as well as realizing a general reduction in costs.
However, this doesn’t happen automatically. It must be embedded within the IT organization so that people assume the responsibility for taking action. This must also be continually ‚planned-in‘.
In this respect it is important to understand what needs to be measured and why. The task is to also carefully define the intended successful outcome in each case.
The following objectives are to be implemented within the organization:

• Review, analysis and communication of proposals for improvement in all lifecycle phases.
• Review and analysis of the service level results.
• Identification and implementation of individual activities aimed at improving the service quality.
• Improvement in the affordability in the delivery of the IT services without jeopardizing customer satisfaction.
• Ensuring the application of quality management methods.

To enable continuous improvement to be implemented successfully and on a sustainable basis it is important to understand the various activities that can be applied for this process. The following activities support the plan for continual improvement:

• Review of management information and trends in order to ensure that IT services achieve their objectives.
• Review of management information and trends to ensure that the output of the ITSM processes achieves the set objectives.
• Conducting periodic testing of the degree of maturity.
• Conducting periodic internal audits in order to verify that the employees are adhering to the processes.
• Review of the existing delivery results in terms of sufficient relevance.
• Conducting periodic customer satisfaction analyses.
• Conducting internal and external service reviews to identify CSI opportunities.