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What is RCV?

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This was originally published in 2016 and explains the ITIL V3 lifecycle phase "Release, Control, and Validation (RCV)." In 2024, in ITIL 4, the concepts of RCV are integrated into various practices. Please read this updated blog post for current information What is RCV? (Updated for ITIL 4 Practitioners)

For a more detailed understanding, ITIL 4 Specialist courses like Create, Deliver and Support (CDS) offer comprehensive coverage of these practices in a modern context. While CDS doesn't replace RCV, it's the course that covers these concepts.

RCV stands for Release, Control, and Validate. These are critical activities that are required for every deployment. Proper Release, Control, and Validation (RCV) is achieved as a result of integrated process activities. In today's dynamic business climate, service outages cause real bottom-line impact to the business. Mature processes are critical in enabling IT organizations to smoothly transition new and changed services into production, helping to ensure stability for IT and the business. The ITIL Capability course, Release, Control and Validation (RCV), provides the best practice process knowledge required to build, test, and deploy successful IT services.

RCV is also the name of an ITIL v3 intermediate training and certification. This course provides in-depth knowledge of the ITSM RCV processes that include:
  • Change Management
  • Release and Deployment Management
  • Service Validation and Testing
  • Service Asset and Configuration Management
  • Request Fulfillment
  • Change Evaluation
  • Knowledge Management
Process owners and practitioners for these processes should ensure that they have a clear understanding of:
  • The integrated Service Transition Lifecycle with purpose, objectives, and scope
  • Activities related to overall transition planning and ongoing support
  • Clearly defined roles, responsibilities, handoffs, deliverables, risk …
  • Technology and implementation considerations that must be understood
  • Challenges, critical success factors and risks associated with RCV that must be identified and controlled.
For a more detailed understanding, ITIL 4 Specialist modules "Create, Deliver and Support" offer comprehensive coverage of these practices in a modern context.


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