{"id":20062,"date":"2020-03-26T12:54:59","date_gmt":"2020-03-26T12:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/?p=20062"},"modified":"2025-05-06T10:21:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T09:21:24","slug":"itil-service-lifecycle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/itil-service-lifecycle\/","title":{"rendered":"What happened to the ITIL service lifecycle in ITIL 4?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve checked out the ITIL 4 best practice guidance or the guide on ITIL, you might be wondering what happened to the ITIL service lifecycle we first saw in ITIL v3. Well, it\u2019s no longer there. Before I elaborate on what happened to the service lifecycle in ITIL 4, here\u2019s a quick recap of what it is.<\/p>\n

The ITIL service lifecycle explained<\/h2>\n

The ITIL v3 best practice guidance is built around the concept of a service lifecycle. The five stages of the service lifecycle correspond to the five ITIL v3 publications. The stages all work together to allow service organizations to envision, design, agree, deliver, support, and improve the IT and business services that their service-receiving organizations need. Think of it as a wheel that service organizations travel around when operating, including the need for continual improvement.<\/p>\n\n

Source: AXELOS, ITIL v3\/2011<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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The five stages of the ITIL service lifecycle<\/h2>\n

So,\u00a0what happens in each of the five stages of the\u00a0service lifecycle?\u00a0Here\u2019s a quick overview\u00a0based on the\u00a0ITIL 2011 Glossary:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Service strategy\u00a0\u201cdefines the perspective, position, plans and patterns that a service provider needs to execute to meet an organization\u2019s business outcomes.\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. Service design\u00a0\u201cincludes the design of the services, governing practices, processes and policies required to realize the service provider\u2019s strategy and to facilitate the introduction of services into supported environments.\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. Service transition\u00a0\u201censures that new, modified or retired services meet the expectations of the business as documented in the service strategy and service design stages of the lifecycle.\u201d<\/li>\n
  4. Service operation\u00a0\u201ccoordinates and carries out the activities and processes required to deliver and manage services at agreed levels to business users and customers. Service operation also manages the technology that is used to deliver and support services.\u201d<\/li>\n
  5. Continual service improvement (CSI)\u00a0\u201censures that services are aligned with changing business needs by identifying and implementing improvements to IT services that support business processes.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How ITIL 4 changed\u00a0the ITIL service lifecycle<\/h2>\n

    The quick answer to\u00a0what\u00a0happened to the\u00a0service lifecycle\u00a0in ITIL 4\u00a0is that it disappeared completely when the ITIL 4 Foundation publication came out in February 2019.\u00a0The ITIL 4 approach and best practice guidance\u00a0is\u00a0now built around the service value system and service value chain:<\/p>\n

    \n\"\"\n

    Source: AXELOS, ITIL Foundation ITIL 4 Edition (2019)<\/p>\n

    Don\u2019t worry:\u00a0the service lifecycle isn\u2019t dead\u00a0(or consigned to history):\u00a0it can still help service organizations.\u00a0If you want to continue\u00a0to use\u00a0the service lifecycle approach, you have three options:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Simply continue to use the ITIL v3 guidance \u2013 and ignore ITIL 4.<\/li>\n
    2. Replicate the ITIL service lifecycle using the ITIL 4 service value chain.<\/li>\n
    3. View the ITIL 4 guidance through an ITIL service lifecycle lens. In other words:\u00a0continue to use\u00a0the\u00a0ITIL\u00a0service lifecycle\u00a0while\u00a0adopting\u00a0the newer ITIL 4 practices over the ITIL v3\u00a0processes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      I\u2019ll explain each of\u00a0your\u00a0options\u00a0in more detail below.<\/p>\n

      Option 1:\u00a0Continue to use\u00a0the ITIL v3 guidance<\/h3>\n

      This is\u00a0basically\u00a0the \u201cdo nothing\u201d option.<\/p>\n

      If ITIL v3 is working for your organization,\u00a0you might think that an \u201cif it\u00a0ain\u2019t\u00a0broke, don\u2019t fix it\u201d approach\u00a0will\u00a0work for you.\u00a0And yes, it\u2019ll\u00a0definitely save\u00a0your organization from the necessary investment in the ITIL 4 approach and the associated disruption caused by the various changes to the status quo.<\/p>\n

      On the other hand, there are\u00a0a number of\u00a0good\u00a0reasons why ITIL v3\u00a0needed to be updated, including\u00a0the impact of\u00a0the changes in the technologies that need to be managed and the expectations\u00a0of organizations.<\/p>\n

      If you go for option 1, your organization won\u2019t benefit from the new ITIL best practices that address these and other ITSM ecosystem and business changes. As you\u2019ll see later, option 3 is more appropriate if you want to hold on to the service lifecycle.<\/p>\n

      Option 2: Replicate\u00a0the\u00a0ITIL\u00a0service lifecycle using the ITIL 4 service value chain<\/h3>\n

      Options\u00a0two\u00a0and\u00a0three\u00a0are very similar. In\u00a0both options, you\u00a0continue to use\u00a0the ITIL v3\u00a0service lifecycle along with the newer ITIL 4 best practices\u00a0across the 34 ITIL management practices.<\/p>\n

      The difference is that\u00a0option\u00a0two\u00a0uses\u00a0the\u00a0ITIL 4 service value chain approach, which\u00a0recognizes that the ITIL v3\u00a0service lifecycle\u00a0stems from a time\u00a0when IT used a waterfall approach\u00a0to change.\u00a0In contrast,\u00a0ITIL 4\u2019s new value stream approach is fit for both waterfall and iterative methodologies.<\/p>\n

      So how can you replicate the\u00a0service lifecycle using the service value chain?\u00a0Use the various value chain activities as\u00a0follows:<\/p>\n