When ITIL 4 was introduced, one of its biggest - and most misunderstood - shifts was moving away from processes to a broader, more flexible concept: practices .   See also What is the difference between Process Owner, Process Manager, and Process Practitioner? In earlier versions of ITIL, each process had a clear sequence of activities, inputs, and outputs. That approach helped organizations standardize service management but often led to rigidity,  especially as digital transformation accelerated and work became more cross-functional. ITIL 4 recognized that service management isn’t just about what we do, but also who , how , and why . A practice is a holistic set of organizational resources -  people, processes, information, and technology -  working together to achieve outcomes. Processes still exist, but they now sit inside practices rather than defining them. What This Means for the Service Management Office (SMO) For many SMOs, this shift...

Assigning clearly defined roles and responsibilities are critical to the success of every process. These roles need to be defined early and reviewed periodically to ensure proper training, communication and education.  A process without clearly defined roles will fail at some level.   There is a very clear distinction in the activities or the roles that are played out by individuals in your organization.  You should determine and communicate who is accountable and who is responsible for the process activities.  A role is like a hat.  One individual could wear two or more hats.  Watch out for titles.  You might have a title such as Service Transition Manager.  What role(s) would this individual fulfill? It all depends on WHO is best suited for the role or task that needs to be performed when it comes to assigning roles. The Service Transition Manager could be accountable or OWN the “Release and Deployment” process but might also be ...

A quick update: Introduced in 2019, ITIL 4 has shifted its focus from processes to holistic practices. These practices typically have multiple processes, whereas earlier versions of ITIL defined a practice area as a single process. The responsibilities of Practice Practitioners are aligned to the activities of one or more of the practice’s processes, and so the spirit of this original blog is still applicable. The role of the Process Practitioner is by far one of the most critical, and is sometimes overlooked in lieu of roles such as Process Owner and Process Manager . Don’t misunderstand, Process Owners and Process Managers are important and are keys to success, but the Process Practitioner role is where the rubber meets the road. This is the role assigned to individuals who perform the work on a day-to-day basis.  ITIL has always emphasized the need for clearly-defined roles and responsibilities and process activities. It's the Process Practitioners who carry ou...