What is RCV? (Updated for ITIL 4 Practitioners)

Originally published November 2016 | Updated May 2025

In the earlier days of ITIL® education, we often referenced “RCV” - shorthand for Release, Control, and Validation - a lifecycle-based intermediate course in ITIL v3. While ITIL 4 has moved away from that structure, understanding RCV still provides important historical context and insight into key practices that continue to drive value in modern service management.

A Quick Flashback: RCV in ITIL v3

RCV was one of the five ITIL v3 Lifecycle modules, focusing on ensuring that changes to services are properly managed, tested, and deployed. The primary goal? Minimize risk while improving the business's ability to adapt to changing requirements.

The core practices in the RCV module included:

Change Management (now evolved into Change Enablement)
Release and Deployment Management
Service Validation and Testing
Service Asset and Configuration Management
Evaluation and Knowledge Management

These processes helped IT teams confidently move changes through the pipeline while maintaining stability, reliability, and compliance.

Why It Still Matters

Although ITIL 4 no longer uses the “RCV” term or Lifecycle structure, the concepts behind RCV live on in several key ITIL 4 Management Practices, including:

Change Enablement – focusing on value, risk, and collaboration over rigid approvals.
Release Management – coordinating the movement of new or changed services into production.
Deployment Management – ensuring that changes are delivered and validated effectively.
Service Validation and Testing – confirming outcomes before wide-scale rollout.
Configuration Management – maintaining information about configuration items (CIs) and their relationships.

Today, these practices are no longer seen as siloed stages, but as integrated, iterative, and value-driven workflows within a Service Value System (SVS).

How ITIL 4 Brings It Together

One of the biggest shifts from ITIL v3 to ITIL 4 is the focus on value streams and practices instead of rigid lifecycle stages. In this modern model:

Processes are replaced with flexible practices.
Lifecycle phases become value-driven activities.
ITSM teams are encouraged to work collaboratively across silos, breaking down the walls between development, operations, and business stakeholders.

So, while we may no longer use the term RCV, the principles of safely controlling and validating change remain essential.

Modern Training Opportunities

If you're looking to build on these principles in the context of ITIL 4, consider courses like:

ITIL 4 Specialist: Monitor, Support, and Fulfil (MSF) – includes Change Enablement, Release, and Deployment.
ITIL 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver, and Support (CDS) – digs deeper into the practices and workflows traditionally associated with RCV.

Final Thoughts

RCV may be a retired acronym, but the concepts remain timeless. As organizations continue to accelerate digital transformation, balancing speed and control is more important than ever. Understanding the evolution from RCV to today’s agile, integrated practices helps teams stay grounded in best practices while embracing modern approaches.

Still have questions about how your legacy knowledge fits into ITIL 4? We’re here to help. Visit itsmacademy.com to reach out to one of our experts.

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...

Search