ITIL (version 5) is here. This is an evolutionary step forward to develop industry activities and thinking, with proven service capabilities and practices. It’s a practical and imaginative development, and I expect it to make significant strides in advancing Service, Product, and Experience Management.
Our summary takeaways
- It’s now inclusive across IT, Digital, and wider business areas, bringing Product and Service Management together. Product Management and Service Management actually do a number of very similar things, yet they’re separated by different tribes. ITIL version 5 is now the place to go to bring these together.
- There is also a new, comprehensive content area that takes Experience Management to a new level. This is a key industry area of current interest, now expanded and fully integrated into the new ITIL opus, and leading the way on how to make this work.
- Product, Service and Experience Management are integrated within the new view of SVS – Service Value System.
- AI is also at the centre of much of the thinking, with a fresh standalone guide and integration into the overall content.
- It’s taken a long time coming, but there’s now a guide to transformation – a practical playbook on how to make ITIL work (without using the word ‘implementation’).
- There’s a continuous, evolutionary approach to the training programme – no immediate major changes, and ITIL 4 achievements are recognised and integrated.
- Some key elements from previous versions, including the guiding principles and practice guides/modules, are retained and developed. So, if you need help with Incident, Problem, Change, etc., that’s still there – and improved.
I’ve participated in this as part of the architect team and as a reviewer, with a watching-and-feedback brief, rather than hands-on writing. It’s been inspiring to work with a new, fresh team of people, as well as some familiar faces. There’s been a very positive, professional approach, with a wide range of people bringing fresh ideas to the mix. I’m pleased with their achievements and proud to have contributed in a small way.
One of the problems that we have had is the patchy level of uptake of ITIL across IT and Digital organisations, who have often seen ITIL as simply a run or support function. From that viewpoint, the scope of ITIL has often been limited, with implementations that struggle to implement even basic practices. There’s no excuse now – the focus has moved to an end-to-end approach for product and service management. Plus, of course, the development and integration of experience management is now there for all to see.
No framework is perfect, finished, or a ‘Swiss army knife’ that does everything. Having worked on 100s of these projects over many years, we know that the key elements are people, culture and management, not what ITIL says or what version is used.
However, ITIL is established as a broad, global source of knowledge that supports transformation and service success, with useful ideas and guidance. There have always been areas highlighted as incomplete or where context changes. This new version provides a full set of guidance in a forward-thinking and inclusive context.
It also doesn’t discard the good stuff, so there’s continuity in training and development, as well as in content.
Progress is never finite. Frameworks and models need to constantly evolve and keep up in a constantly changing environment. ITIL is still evolving – this time, it’s taking a big step toward leading across the industry. It’s all there now…
