Preface

As lead editor, it has been a privilege to work with an international and highly regarded authoring team. This has resulted in a body of practical work that combines proven guidance with new ideas. Expanding and elevating the position and perception of ITIL within the IT and service management industry, it also takes the industry on a fast-track journey into the world of Agile working and digital delivery.

There are several areas that are critical to success, such as team dynamics, organizational culture and change, customer experience, employee well-being, cross-team collaboration, automation, and commercial operation. These capabilities are described in further detail here, with an emphasis on people, culture, and ways of working, which are valued as much as the technology, processes, standards, and other proven structured approaches that underpin them.

This publication, along with the ITIL management practice guides, can be combined with knowledge from ITIL Foundation to form a holistic approach to service management. We hope that you will gain value from adopting this approach and putting its ideas into practice in your future endeavours.

Barclay Rae
Lead editor, ITIL^®4: Create, Deliver and Support