ITIL 4, from theory to your services
Service catalogue, practice maturity and incidents on one platform, so continual improvement stops being a document on a shelf.
What ITIL is and what you'll be asked for
ITIL is the most widely used good-practice framework for IT service management. Version 4 moves away from rigid processes and is built around the service value system: guiding principles, a value chain and 34 practices that each organisation adapts to its own needs.
Companies can't be certified against it. What customers and auditors will expect is that your services are defined, that incidents, changes and problems follow a method, and that you can prove you are improving. If you need a certificate, the route is ISO/IEC 20000-1, which rests on the same ideas.
- Publisher
- PeopleCert (formerly AXELOS)
- Version
- ITIL 4
- Structure
- Service value system and 34 practices
- Certification
- For individuals. For organisations, ISO/IEC 20000-1
- Applies to
- Any organisation delivering IT services, internally or to customers
1
Service catalogue
You define which services you provide, to whom and at what agreed levels.
2
Assessment
You measure the maturity of the practices that matter most to those services.
3
Operation
Incidents, changes and problems are handled with a shared method and logged.
4
Continual improvement
Operational data feeds an improvement register where every item has an owner.
The four dimensions of service management
Organizations and people
Roles, responsibilities, culture and team skills.
Information and technology
The data and tools used to manage services.
Partners and suppliers
The third parties your services rely on and how they are managed.
Value streams and processes
How activities are coordinated to deliver value.
The seven guiding principles:
Focus on value
Start where you are
Progress iteratively with feedback
Collaborate and promote visibility
Think and work holistically
Keep it simple and practical
Optimize and automate
Run your services with ITIL in GlobalSuite®
Services, practices, operations and improvement in one place, with every service linked to its owner and its risks.
Services›ITIL 4›Catalogue
Service catalogue26 services · 8 critical
CodeServiceOwnerCriticality
SRV-01
Online banking
Customers · 99.9% availability
Digital channelsHighSRV-04
Corporate email
Employees · 24x7 support
WorkplaceMediumSRV-09
Payroll
HR · monthly close
ApplicationsHighSRV-17
Intranet
Employees · business hours
ApplicationsLowServices›ITIL 4›Practice maturity
4
On target
4
Below target
1
Not assessed
ScopePracticeMaturity / target 3Level
ServiceIncident management3.2
ServiceChange enablement2.4
ServiceProblem management1.8
ServiceService level management3.0
GeneralSupplier management2.2
Services›ITIL 4›Problems
Open problemsSource: major incidents in the last quarter
ProblemOwnerIncidentsStatus
Online banking outages at peak loadDRD. Romero7Open
Certificates expiring without warningMSM. Sanz3Under analysis
Delays in the payroll closeLVL. Vidal2Resolved
Slow intranet access from branch officesRNR. Navarro4Under analysis
Services›ITIL 4›Continual improvement
Improvement register14 improvements · 6 implemented this year
ImprovementStatusReviewed
Auto-scaling for online bankingIn progresstoday
Certificate expiry alertsImplemented1 wk
Quarterly review of service level agreementsImplemented2 wk
Satisfaction survey after every incidentProposed3 d
A path to ISO 20000
What you build with ITIL is the foundation of an ISO/IEC 20000-1 service management system. When you decide to certify, you start from what you already have.
Services and continuity
Each service in the catalogue links to its impact analysis and continuity plan, with no duplicate inventories.
Suppliers under watch
The third parties your services depend on are assessed from the third-party risk module.
ITIL fits with what you already do
ITIL
Service catalogue, practice maturity, operations and continual improvement.
You are hereISO 20000
The certifiable standard for IT service management, built on the same ideas.
See solution →ISO 22301
Keeping critical services running through a major disruption.
See solution →ISO 27001
Information security for the services you manage.
See solution →
ITIL: frequently asked questions
Can a company be certified in ITIL?
No. ITIL certifies individuals. If your organisation needs an IT service management certificate, the standard is ISO/IEC 20000-1, which shares many of ITIL's concepts.
What changed from ITIL v3 to ITIL 4?
ITIL 4 focuses on the value delivered to whoever uses the service. It replaces the lifecycle processes with a service value system made up of guiding principles, a value chain and practices you combine as each case requires.
Do I need to adopt all 34 practices?
No. Most organisations start with the ones that affect their critical services most, such as incidents, changes, problems and service levels, and build out from there. That is exactly what the "start where you are" principle says.
How does ITIL relate to COBIT?
They complement each other. COBIT sets out what needs to be governed and managed in IT, and ITIL gives the detail on how to manage services. Many organisations use both.
How do you measure the maturity of a practice?
There are several assessment models. What matters is using the same scale every time, setting a target for each practice and backing every level with evidence from day-to-day operations, not just written procedures.
Where can I read more?
There's an introduction in our ITIL guide.
ITIL® is a registered trademark of PeopleCert.