What Is A Function And What Is Service?

Look at this sketch carefully. It’s prominently picturizing a general storefront. Isn’t it?

Whilst it functions perfectly adequately for a film set, if you wish to buy vittles you will be disappointed!

What we may think of as Service may not be. It may be just a function.

So what is the difference between a Function and a Service? Can a Service be a Function? And can a Function be a Service?

In some respects, a Function is easier to describe. It is a self-contained process with inputs and outputs. It could be performed by a machine or by a person or team.

A function has Utility. It is fit for use.

This is similar to a Service. A Service has Utility too, but it has a lot more besides.

The components of service can be summed up in the following table.

	ITIL V3	ITIL4
1	People	Organizations and people
2	Products	Information and technology
3	Partners	Partners and suppliers
4	Processes	Value streams and processes.

A Service hasUtilityandWarranty. It isfit for useandfit for purpose. A service has aWarranty.

Thecomponentsof a Service are defined in the design documents and these details will have been having agreed with the customer to form the Warranty. The warranty is a guarantee of something beingfit for purpose.

AWarrantyis a reasonable service is so much more than a function – a service has much more going on behind the scenes, perhaps only visible in the small print.

The Service Warranty is made up of four key features:

Warranty Aspect	Summarised Definition
1	Availability	When/where/how and to whom is the service made available?
2	Capacity	How much of the service can use simultaneously or in a given period? For example, how many concurrent users or transactions per day?
3	Security	Can the service be trusted to protect the customer’s and users’ interests? Is it compliant?
4	Continuity	What resilience features and recovery processes are in place for when the service fails?

The warranty is the service provider owning the specific costs and risks. It is thesmall printsaying what risks and costs are accepted by the service provider. If there is no small print… can it be relied upon?

How does apply to your workplace?Crucially, if you provide a function and someone describes it as a Service, make sure you correct them, otherwise, you may be inadvertently over-committing.

If they want it to be a service they should resource it! Or as Beyoncé would say“Put a Ring on it”

Conversely, if you rely upon something and there is no warranty, be warned!

1. Vittles is likely a derivation of victuals, meaning food.
2. A line from Beyoncé’s hit Single Ladies.