As mentioned in one of our earlier ITIL 3 to 4 blog entries, ITIL® 4 introduces the concept of a Management Practice. Practices are a main focus of capabilities in the ITIL4 framework, replacing the emphasis on processes as ITIL has in previous iterations of the framework. Obviously, process does not go away, but a practice incorporates more than the workflows; it incorporates the need for human resources, technology, and 3rd party providers. Additionally, the 4 functions defined in ITIL 4 morph a bit and also roll over to be part of practices.
Currently, there is a high-level description of the practices in the ITIL 4 Foundation book. New books, which are almost ready for publication, will describe the practices in much more detail. For now, here are a few things to be aware of regarding the changes to processes as they become practices.
Most processes from ITIL 2011 become practices in ITIL 4; however, there are several new areas to take note of when considering ITIL 3 to 4. They include:
- Architecture Management
- Measurement and Reporting
- Organizational Change Management
- Project Management
- Risk Management
- Workforce and Talent Management
- Business Analysis
- Infrastructure Platform Management
- Software Development and Management
Another interesting change is that Release and Deployment Management has been broken down into two separate practices. There are also several practices that are named differently from their process predecessors, which reflect a different scope or approach to that process. An example of this is Change Control.
In the coming weeks, we will dive further into the practices of ITIL 4. Check out updates here. Discover the importance of conducting an ITIL assessment.