What is the purpose of a ‘service portfolio’?

The purpose of a service portfolio is to manage the entire lifecycle of services from strategy and design through to transition and retirement. This comprehensive approach encompasses all aspects of service management, ensuring that each service aligns with business objectives and delivers value throughout its lifecycle. By managing services in this way, organizations can better understand which services to invest in, maintain, or retire, effectively balancing their service offerings with market demands and organizational goals.

This holistic view allows teams to evaluate the performance of services, make informed decisions about service improvements, and strategize on future offerings. It encompasses not just the currently active services but also those in development and those that have been retired, providing insights into both past and future service investments.

In contrast, options that narrow the view of the service portfolio, such as limiting focus to only operational performance or representing only current services, fail to capture the strategic importance of managing all services throughout their lifecycle.