Foreword: Quality in ICT service management

Summary form only given. IT service is, most likely, the fastest growing segment of the services economy. Web services, service-oriented architecture, self-service systems and cloud computing all involve a shift from product to service-centric thinking in the domains of computer science and information systems. The growth of IT services in terms of process management, frameworks and standards has been immense. ITIL, ISO/IEC 20000, CoBIT, ISO 27000 and CMMI all address service needs today. However, this shift to services in IT has not been accompanied by increased scientific understanding of the concepts of service quality and of the measurement of service quality. The majority of efforts have been limited to the implementation of SERVQUAL and asking simple questions of customers when service interactions are completed. Additional efforts are needed to understand the role of IT services within the context of more complex service systems made of technology, process and people connected through a value proposition with the aim of a dynamic value co-creation between customers and external/internal service systems. An alignment is needed between the quality of IT services and its contribution to the value of the service systems. Papers in this track contribute to establish better foundations for a rethink of IT service quality measurement in terms of its design and of its monitoring.