What are the ITIL basic principles?

The ITIL basic principles at a glance: Seven at a stroke

In ITIL^®4 there are seven basic principles:

1. Focus on value (value orientation)
2. Start where you are (Start where you stand)
3. Progress iteratively with feedback (Develop iteratively with feedback)
4. Collaborate and promote visibility (Collaborate and promote visibility/transparency)
5. Think and work holistically (Holistic thinking and working)
6. Keep it simple and practical (Pay attention to simplicity and practicality)
7. Optimize and automate (Optimize and automate)

The ITIL basic principles are so universally valid that they are not only used in ITIL^®4 or in other frameworks such as Agile, DevOps or COBIT, but actually also in many areas of everyday life. So the main thing is to work out a pattern of thinking that can lead companies to success.

1. The basic principle of "value orientation" puts the focus on the service consumer in order to understand how best to support them in generating added value - if necessary even by putting their own plans on hold.  
2. In the basic principle of "starting where you are", the current state is determined in order to evaluate what can be reused without having to redo everything from scratch. Of course, this also applies to employees who can acquire new knowledge.
3. The basic principle of "evolving iteratively with feedback" is primarily concerned with dividing tasks into smaller, more manageable steps that can be completed in a manageable time frame. For example: Lotus Notes is to be replaced by Office365 in the entire company. If the entire company is to be changed over at once, more planning time is required in advance than if you start with individual departments first and then scale up.   
4. The basic principle "Promote collaboration and visibility/transparency" is about, among other things, ensuring transparency of decisions, making proper use of employees' skills, understanding the flow of work in progress, identifying bottlenecks, and recognizing waste. Whenever people block actions, it is usually because they do not know the reasons for the actions. Here, it helps to eliminate the rejection attitude through information - true to the motto "motivation through information"!
5. The basic principle of "thinking and working holistically" leads one to look at the organization with all its components, processes, employees and any interdependencies. Every cogwheel - no matter how small - can cause the big picture to malfunction. External influences do the rest.
6. The focus in the basic principle "Pay attention to simplicity and practicability" is on consolidating value creation as a decision criterion. Anything that does not contribute to value creation should be omitted. This also includes respecting the time of the people involved. For example, when was the last time you sat in a meeting and thought to yourself, "What am I doing here?"
7. In conclusion, the basic principle of "optimize and automate" is about making something as effective as possible. Automation makes work faster, error-free and more effective. It also aims to make good use of employees' limited time and not waste too much time on repetitive tasks. For example, it can be very tiring to answer the same questions over and over again in support chat. Chatbots can provide a remedy here.

More knowledge in ITIL 4 Foundation

This short introduction is of course only an outline of the basic principles. Would you like to learn more? Then we look forward to presenting the basic principles to you in one of the many ITIL^®4 Foundations closer to you. Arrange a personal consultation appointment at Contact (serview.com), to illuminate the possibilities for your business.