This paper presents a methodology used to create a site independent assessment process of the capabilities of service management systems in federated e-infrastructures that can contribute to introduce or improve service management in these application domains. Based on ISO/IEC 20000 concepts it consist of an actors and relationships model, a set of management processes with their corresponding requirements and a capability model that all converge in an easy to use assessment tool. The methodology has been evaluated through its adoption in an existing federated e-infrastructure. Copyright 2014 ACM.