ITIL 4 – Why and Why NOW?

To Understand Why and Why NOW, I will use some of the “Guiding Principles” that are the golden chords steaming through all practices defined in ITIL 4. These guiding principles are themes throughout the concepts and precepts that were discussed in a recent ITIL 4 Foundation certification class. Practitioners and thought leaders gathered together from all over the world to discuss and learn more about ITIL 4 best practices There are seven guiding principles discussed in ITIL 4. I will begin with these three to answer the question: Why and Why Now?

Focus on Value

ITIL 4 is a holistic approach to managing value. Based on the Service Value System and the integration of dimensions that tie together practices, ITIL 4 enables speed to value for all service providers. Value is the result of all of our people, practices, and technology. Value is what we deliver. ITIL 4 stresses the need to co-create value with all stakeholders none more important than with the customer. If we are going to succeed, we must all “Focus on Value”

Start Where You Are

In the words of Donna Knapp, we need to “honor the past”. There has been a lot of effort and real commitment that has been put forth to advance product development and service management in every organization. We certainly do not want to throw the baby out with the bath water. Honor the past and leverage from gains made in ITIL V3, DevOps, and Agile initiatives. ITIL 4 is taking a gradient approach to development and so far, it has in my opinion “Overdelivered”.

Progress Iteratively with Feedback

Organizations must shatter the silos! When we hear silo we typically think of organizational or departmental silos and that is true, they must be shattered! But, what about siloed practices, siloed tools, and different and siloed agendas? These too must be shattered if we as an industry are really going to optimize. Taking an iterative approach to transition the way we think and the way we do work, allows for faster delivery of value, fast feedback, and most importantly the ability to take FAST corrective action along the journey to optimize our effort.

These guiding principles are not only stressed in ITIL 4 to support the “Service Value System” but can truly be the golden chords and the glue that pull it all together for staff, for teams, and most importantly for those who are the recipients of “VALUE”! Principles and practices of ITIL 4 bind together to enable and support, Agile, Lean, and DevOps initiatives.

So as it relates to ITIL 4; Why, and Why Now? For some, the answer is simply to compete, for others it is to increase revenue through quality of service. For some, it is a choice that could make all of the difference! What worked in the past will not work in today’s fast-moving world. For some, the choice to adopt and adapt to ITIL4 best practice will be survival!

Stay tuned to the ITSM Professor to learn about ITIL 4 and other Guiding Principles!

Read ITIL 4 updates.

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Four Service Characteristics

Recently I came across several articles by researchers and experts that laid out definitions and characteristics of services. ITIL provides us with a definition that can help drive the creation of value-laden services: A means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks. An area that ITIL is not so clear is in terms of service characteristics. Several researchers and experts put forth that services have four basic characteristics (IHIP): Intangibility—Services are the results of actions not things. They have no physical presence and represent a logical set of elements. One way to think of service is “work done for others.” Heterogeneity—Also known as “variability”; services are unique items because of the mechanisms used to deliver services, which is people. Because the people element adds variability, the service is variable. This holds true, especially for the value proposition—not eve...

What Is A Service Offering?

The ITIL 4 Best Practice Guidance defines a “Service Offering” as a description of one or more services designed to address the needs of a target customer or group. As a service provider, we can’t stop there! We must know what the contracts of our service offering are and be able to put them into context as required by the customer. Let’s explore the three elements that comprise a Service Offering. A “Service Offering” may include: Goods, Access to Resources, and Service Actions 1. Goods – When we think of “Goods” within a service offering these are the items where ownership is transferred to the consumer and the consumer takes responsibility for the future use of these goods. Example of goods that are being provided in the offering – If this is a hotel service then toiletries or chocolates are yours to take with you. You the consumer own these and they are yours to take with you. ...

What is the difference between Process Owner, Process Manager and Process Practitioner?

This article was originally published in 2015. With the Introduction of ITIL 4, some of this best practice has changed. See ITIL 4 and the Evolving Role of Roles . Updated Definitions in ITIL 4: Process Owner: In ITIL 4, the concept of 'processes' has expanded into broader 'practices.' Consequently, the Process Owner is now often referred to as the 'Practice Owner.' This individual is accountable for the overall design, performance, integration, and improvement of a specific practice within the organization. They ensure that the practice achieves its intended outcomes and aligns with the organization's objectives. Process Manager: Now commonly known as the 'Practice Manager' in ITIL 4, this role is responsible for the day-to-day management of the practice. The Practice Manager ensures that activities are carried out as intended, manages resources assigned to the practice, and oversees the practitioners performing the work. Process Practit...

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