ITIL® 4 Foundation

THE ITIL®
GUIDING
PRINCIPLES
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The ITIL® guiding
principles
ITIL 4 has seven guiding principles. These recommendations help guide
the organization, and are universal and enduring. They underpin the successful
operation of the organization, helping them co-create value with their customers.

The guiding principles operate within the four dimensions of service management
– they provide the foundation for good practice in an organization whilst the four
dimensions provide the context in which the guiding principles are used.

ITIL® is a registered trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of

AXELOS Limited. The Swirl logo™ is a trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under
permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.
Copyright© AXELOS Limited 2019. Used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All
rights reserved.

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Contents
The seven guiding principles 4

The seven guiding principles - applied 6

Reflection9

The 4 dimensions of service management 10

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The seven guiding
principles
Focus on value

Creating value is the ultimate goal of

the organization. Therefore, everything
the organization does must link back
to the value it is generating for itself, its
customers, or its stakeholders.

Start where you are

Old practices are replaced by new

ones for a reason: they don’t meet
the requirements of the modern
organization.

But simply starting from scratch can

often be a terrible idea, with resources
and best practice wasted. Before starting
something new, always think about
what you already have available to help
you find success.

Progress iteratively
with feedback
Break down tasks into smaller, more
manageable chunks, and deliver value
more quickly.

By taking on feedback with every

deliverable, you may find out that the
original scope of the requirement has
changed down the line: either you will
have achieved your goal with less effort
than you anticipated, or you may need to
do more.
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 Collaborate and
promote visibility
Organizations are made up of people
with varied skill sets, backgrounds, and
perspectives. Collaborating with the
right people increases the chances of
success.

Think and work

holistically
Organizations don’t exist in a vacuum,
they’re always interconnected with
other organizations. The output of the
organization will suffer if its relationships
aren’t taken into account.

Keep it simple

When you’re looking to achieve an

objective, always try and minimise the
number of steps and processes that
you need to go through in order to get
there. Focus on the outcome you want
to achieve, then plan for it in a way that
is as straight forward and simple as
possible.

Optimize and
automate
The people in an organization are
its most valuable asset finding ways
to optimize existing features and
automating processes frees up the
human resource to focus in other areas.

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The seven guiding
principles - applied
Focus on value

To apply this principle, start by knowing

how your customers use your service.
Then encourage all staff to focus on
value during normal day-to-day activities
and during specific improvement
initiatives.

Start where you are

To apply this principle, try to be objective

about practices that already exist. Find
examples of success within the current
practices, and make sure that these can
be replicated in any practices.

Progress iteratively
with feedback

To apply this principle, take your time

to scope out and understand the
requirement. Gather feedback at every
point.

No matter what you deliver, always make

sure that it’s complete. It should be fully
functioning, regardless of how limited
the functionality is.
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 Collaborate and
promote visibility

When applying this principle, remember

that collaboration isn’t the same thing as
consensus. Not everyone needs to agree
about something before you proceed.

However you choose to communicate

your message, make sure that everyone
involved can access and understand it.
Lastly, make sure that all decisions are
data-driven.

Think and work

holistically

To apply this principle, take your time

to recognize the complexity level of the
systems involved. Applying solutions
which worked in simple systems may
not have the same effect in more
complex situations.

Collaborate whenever you can and

look for patterns in the needs of the
interconnected systems. Automate
whenever possible.

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 Keep it simple

To apply this principle, start by ensuring

that anything you do will deliver value.
Do less, but make sure that whatever
you do is done well. Keeping things
simple also respects the time of
everyone involved, which will make
them more productive and efficient.

Optimize and
automate

To apply this principle, always look to

optimize and simplify before automating
– automating complex processes is often
less efficient in the long run. Define
your metrics so that anything that’s
optimized or automated can be properly
measured.

Finally, don’t forget about the other

guiding principles when trying to
optimize and automate – they will help
shape and guide activity.

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Reflection
Now that you’ve learnt about the seven guiding
principles of ITIL 4, take a moment to reflect on them.
Are any of the principles influencing how you work
already? Identify which principles you are using, and
how you are using them.

Now, think about the remaining principles. Identify the

ones you aren’t already using, and write down how you
might include them into your organization.

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The 4 dimensions of
service management
The 4 dimensions of service management provide
the context in which you’ll be using the service value
system. It is therefore important that you understand
how the dimensions fit together, and how they impact
the view of any given service management practice.

Political factorsE conomical factors

1 2
Organizations Information
and people and technology

Products
and Services

Environmental factors Social factors

Value

Partners Value streams

and suppliers and processes
Legal factors 3 4 Technological factors

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Organizations and
people

Organizations cannot succeed if all

they have is formalised systems of
authority. Instead, they’re dependent
on their people having the capacity and
capability to perform. Most importantly,
the organization needs leaders who
promote a culture that inspires its
workforce to succeed and exceed
expectations.

One way organizations can do this is

by investing in their people, making
sure they have the right skills and
competencies, are able to communicate
effectively and can collaborate.

Information and
technology

From workflow management systems,

knowledge bases, and inventory
systems to communication systems
and analytical tools – technology is an
essential element of effective service
management.

Organizations need to consider the

information that is required to manage
and deliver these services, and how any
information assets will be protected,
managed, archived and disposed of.

Of course, no services exist in a vacuum,

so the information architecture –
specifically how information moves
between these services – needs to be
understood The regulations relating
to information must also be taken into
account.

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Partners and suppliers

Every organization and service depends

on other service providers to some
extent. This dimension is really about
focusing on those relationships through
service integration and management.

This method may touch on the

organization’s strategic focus, corporate
culture, resource availability, cost
concerns, subject matter expertise,
external constraints and demand
patterns.

Given the level of complexity involved,

organizations must decide whether
to keep their service integration and
management in-house or outsource it to
trusted external suppliers.

Many suppliers bundle the resources

and capabilities to deal with these
various constraints as a single product,
offered ‘as a service’. In turn, this means
the organization doesn’t need to invest
in expensive infrastructure or capability.

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 Value streams and
processes

The organization always needs to focus

on creating value, and this dimension
provides that perspective. It’s about
defining the activities, workflows,
controls, and procedures needed to
achieve the organization’s objectives.

The only way for an organization to

deliver consistent value is for every
integrated element to work in a co-
ordinated way. It’s very important that
everyone understands what value
they’re trying to co-create, and how
the various processes involved are
interconnected.

ITIL® is a registered trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of

AXELOS Limited.

Based upon AXELOS® ITIL® materials. Material is used under licence from AXELOS
Limited. All rights reserved.

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