ITIL: Should I shift to version 3 or remain on version 2?

Originally developed in the eighties, version 2 of IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) came out in 1999. It was less detailed than the earlier edition in terms of IT and introduced more formal processes. The goal was to promote better business-IT working relationships, eliminate redundant processes, improve levels of services and reduce operating costs. But ITIL v2 was far from the finished article. Several years of review and consultation have gone into further ITIL refinements.

In 2007 the third version of ITIL was released. Rather than representing a big bang, v3 can be thought of as being an evolutionary step. It doesn’t negate earlier ITIL efforts, nor does it require a completely new set of practices.

So what should companies do? The answer is – it all depends. For those involved in ongoing ITIL v2 implementations, it is probably best to stay the course. This approach already has senior management buy-in and it might not be advisable to change mid-stream. Why confuse people with new labels when the underlying intent will remain largely unaltered?

If organisations decide to stay with v2, however, the project team should review v3 as soon as ongoing v2 projects are completed. There should be an after-action task to understand the differences between the two versions, and only then commission work to adjust the processes.

If an organisation has been struggling to commence ITIL because it has failed to achieve a common point of understanding among stakeholders, it may be best to switch to v3 as it will probably facilitate better understanding. ITIL v3’s changed viewpoint does a better job of communicating the value of ITIL.

It goes without saying that all new initiatives should proceed on v3. Using the service perspective of v3 will permit senior managers to better understand the advantages IT brings to the organisation, both from a service quality and a cost perspective. Since it is more customisable, it will meet the organisations needs more closely than the older method. As a result, the odds of success will be improved.

What’s different?
In case anyone is worried about having to learn a whole new methodology, the good news is that the core of ITIL stays much the same as before.  Only the labels have changed slightly. ITIL v3’s core practices are now:

Service Strategy: This consists of most ITIL v2 Business Perspective processes, some Service Catalogue work plus new service lifecycle definition processes.

Service Design: All ITIL v2 Service Delivery processes plus Vendor Management from Business Perspective.

Service Transition: Some ITIL v2 Service Support processes (Change and Release Management, Configuration Management) plus new Testing, Knowledge Management and Transition Planning processes.

Service Operation: Most Infrastructure Management processes, some Service Support processes (Incident and Problem Management, Service Desk) plus new Event Management, Access Management processes.

Continuous Service Improvement: minor parts of all ITIL v2 functions (Service Delivery, Service Support, etc.).

Probably the best way to describe the difference is to look upon ITIL v2 as being process oriented whereas v3 is much more service oriented. In other words, v2 is more about linear process flow from business to infrastructure where v3 is a hub-and-spoke structure that adds flexibility and addresses the unique challenges of the web. In addition, v3 adds flexibility by providing structure to incorporate complimentary best practices such as Six Sigma.

One way to visualise the difference is with a Lego set. The basic building blocks always remain the same. It is how you put them together that determines the end result. Put them together one way and you build a castle; another way and you build an airplane. The core building blocks of ITIL have pretty much remained the same since v1. It is the structure that is evolving to meet changing organisational needs.

Note, though, that IT staff still face the same challenges as with v2.  The v2 structure permitted process views to evolve from Resources through Services to Business. In v3, this staged approach is eliminated and it relies on more immediate change to a mature view. For example, capacity planning’s primary focus will change from starting with an individual infrastructure resource to that of an IT service or business process. Consequently, IT staff will have to make that leap in maturity in one bound rather than making a more gradual transition.

Ronald Potter is Manager IT Best Practices at TeamQuest Corporation