The ITIL Guiding Principles

Question 1

What are the four reasons for using the 7 guiding principles?

Answer 1

1) Are recommendations to guide an organization in all situations.
2) Support successful actions and good decisions of all types and at all levels.
3) Ensure a common understanding and approach to service management across the organization.
4) Are universally applicable to almost any initiative and to relationships with all stakeholder groups.

Note: the principles should be reviewed and applied based on their relevance in different situations.

Question 2

What are the 7 guiding principles?

Answer 2

1) Focus on Value
2) Start where you are
3) Progress iteratively with feedback
4) Collaborate and promote visibility
5) Think and work holistically
6) keep it simple and practical
7) Optimize and automate

Question 3

Explain the first guiding principle: Focus on Value

Answer 3

Focus on Value: Map every action, directly or indirectly, to value for the stakeholders. Encompasses all perspectives, including the experience of customers and users.

Question 4

Explain the second guiding principle: Start where you are.

Answer 4

Start Where You Are: Always consider what is already available to be leveraged. Current state should be investigated and observed directly to ensure it is understood.

Question 5

Explain the third principle: Progress iteratively

with feedback.

Answer 5

Progress iteratively with feedback: Do not attempt to do everything at once. Use smaller, manageable iterations to execute and complete in a timely manner and maintain focus on each effort. Use feedback before, throughout and after to ensure actions are focused.

Question 6

Explain the fourth principle: Collaborate and

promote visibility.

Answer 6

Collaborate and promote visibility: Work together across boundaries to have greater buy-in and better likelihood of long-term success. Work should be visible, hidden agendas avoided and information shared to the greatest degree possible.

Question 7

Explain the fifth principle : Think and work

holistically.

Answer 7

Think and work holistically: No service, or element used to provide a service, stands alone. The outcomes will suffer unless the organization works on the service as a whole, not just on its parts.

Question 8

Explain the sixth principle: Keep it simple and

practical

Answer 8

Keep it simple and practical: Eliminate that which provides no value or produces no useful outcome. In a process or procedure, use the minimum number of steps necessary to accomplish the objective(s). Use outcome-based thinking for practical solutions and results.

Question 9

Explain the seventh principle: Optimize and

automate

Answer 9

Optimize and automate: Resources, including human resources (HR) and technology, should be used to their best effect. Human intervention should only happen where it really contributes value.