ITIL 4 is finally here! If you don’t know what ITIL is – it’s the most used, and globally recognized, framework of IT service management (ITSM) best practice - check our definitive ITIL guide. ITIL is used by millions of practitioners, managers, and IT service providers every day, with ITIL 4 its latest iteration that brings with it many changes.
If you’re still wanting to find out more about ITIL 4, or simply ITIL, then here are some new features that will help you to get up to speed and to improve your IT service delivery and support game.
It doesn’t matter which version of ITIL you’re using, I think we can all agree that the single most important focus of modern ITSM is giving our customers value. ITIL v3 focused on the service lifecycle of strategy, design, transition, operation, and continual service improvement. ITIL 4 now approaches this differently – enter the service value chain.
The service value chain is a key part of ITIL 4 that facilitates value co-creation. This is shown in the diagram below, with it depicting how the ITIL-4-defined components and activities work together for the creation of value.
The ITIL 4 Service Value Chain
Source: AXELOS, Diagram 4.2 Chapter 4 ITIL Foundation ITIL 4 Edition (2019)
For us, the key thing to take from this change is the focus on value co-creation. Sure, previous iterations of ITIL have mentions of value, but ITIL 4 kicks things up a notch and then some. The service value chain shines a light on the co-creation of value by giving focus to all the multiple facets of service delivery.
ITIL v3 had 26 ITSM processes and four functions positioned across the five stages of the service lifecycle. I’ve already written about how the ITIL 4 service value chain has replaced, but not killed, the ITIL v3 service lifecycle but alongside this is the transition from processes and functions to practices.
For us, this is great news because, all too often, people used to get confused between processes and functions and why they were called different things. The reality is that your service desk will look after incidents and requests and act as a shop window to IT no matter what you call it. Likewise, the change control practice – or change management process as was – will always be there to manage and protect the organization in terms of transition activity.
By moving from processes and functions to practices it makes the point that ITSM is about so much more than workflows, procedures, and how people are grouped together. The ITIL 4 practices focus on each area of best practice, how it’s accomplished, and the resources and capabilities needed to make them effective and efficient.
Have you ever picked up a book on a best practice methodology or framework and then ten minutes later given up because it’s all a bit too much? The ITIL 4 guiding principles are in place to help organizations find a way of working that’s fit for THEIR needs.
There are seven guiding principles:
So, that’s our first take on some of what’s new in ITIL 4. What do you think? Please come back soon for the second part of our blog where we’ll look at more new features including automation and governance.