An organization is encouraging its staff to work from home instead of the office. This has caused changes to how and when users access services. Which aspect of 'managing demand and opportunities' would provide a better understanding of this situation?

The shift to remote work has fundamentally changed user behavior and service consumption patterns. To understand these changes, the organization must analyze the new Patterns of Business Activity (PBA). PBA is a key technique in demand management used to identify and understand how and when users consume services. By analyzing these new patterns, the service provider can understand the new demand profile, including peak and off-peak times, which is essential for aligning service capacity and availability with the changed business needs.

A. Introducing component capacity management is a response to demand; it focuses on managing IT infrastructure capacity rather than first understanding the user behavior that drives it.
B. Introducing differential charging is a method to influence or shape demand, which can only be effectively implemented after the new demand patterns are understood.
C. Building a customer business case is typically done to justify a new project or investment, not to analyze the ongoing operational effects of a change in working style.

1. AXELOS. (2020). ITIL® 4: Drive Stakeholder Value (DSV). TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 4.2.3

Managing demand and opportunities: This section explains that a key part of managing demand is understanding customer and user profiles and patterns of business activity (PBA). It states

"Demand from different types of users can be classified in user profiles

which can be consolidated into patterns of business activity." The scenario describes a change that requires exactly this analysis.

2. AXELOS. (2019). ITIL® 4 Foundation

ITIL 4 Edition. TSO (The Stationery Office).

Section 5.1.2

Capacity and performance management practice: This section notes that capacity management "is driven by patterns of business activity and the resulting demand for services and resources." This confirms that analyzing PBA is a prerequisite for effective capacity management.