What is ITIL?

PDFRSS

The framework operated by PeopleCert+ defines an internationally recognized approach to IT service management (ITSM). ITIL enhances ISO 20000, which provides a formal and universal standard for organizations seeking to have their service management capabilities audited and certified. ITIL®4 goes one step further than previous versions to define IT practices necessary to achieve the standard through use of the latest industry methodologies of DevOps, LEAN, and agile. ITIL®4 provides a solid foundation for defining and maturing cloud capabilities. ITIL and the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF) are compatible. Like ITIL, CAF organizes and describes the activities and processes involved in planning, creating, managing, and supporting modern IT services. The operations perspective in CAF offers practical guidance and comprehensive guidelines for establishing, developing, and operating your cloud-based IT capabilities.

In response to an adoption of modern development technologies and techniques for high velocity IT, ITIL®4 has renamed change management to change enablement. This broadens the scope of change management to focus less on control and more on the delivery of business outcomes by addressing the impacts of a change, people, and processes, with a focus on velocity. The purpose of a change enablement practice remains much the same as it was in previous versions of ITIL: to provide best practices for organizations to deliver new services with speed and quality while properly managing and optimizing business risks. This new version embraces a recognition for automation and decentralization of authority to approve changes, especially as part of a DevOps lifecycle.

As defined by PeopleCert+, ITIL comprises five volumes and a guide document for each practice. The Practice Guides are additional documents that give more detailed guidance on implementing each of the practices. The guide documents are updated more frequently with the latest best practices.

ITIL®4 volume	Description
High-Velocity IT	Focuses on digital products, digital transformation, and IT services, including customer experiences, and good organizational practices as business and technology converge.
Create, Deliver, & Support	Provides practical guidance in applying the concepts described in ITIL to create, deliver, and support IT services. It demonstrates how to integrate service management practices into end-to-end value streams.
Direct, Plan, & Improve	Helps to align product and service management disciplines with modern business trends needed to drive successful organizational transformation through continual improvement.
Drive Stakeholder Value	Provides guidance on establishing, maintaining, and developing effective service relationships at appropriate levels.
Digital & IT Strategy	Provides guidance on establishing IT and digital strategies in alignment with corporate strategy. It directs IT leaders to understand how the organization's strategy impacts the design, delivery, and support of IT services. They target this guidance towards C-suite professionals who lead business and IT organizations.
Individual Practice Guide Documents	ITIL®4 has provided individually written papers that provide guidance to define and operate the ITIL®4 practices. "The Change Enablement ITIL®4 Practice Guide" provides details on the latest change management practices. Each ITIL practice has its own practice guide for reference. These can be accessed in the PeopleCert+ website after one receives the appropriate ITIL certification.