The new version of ITIL – ITIL (Version 5) or “new ITIL” – was announced at the start of 2026. As with ITIL 4, the ITIL guiding principles, first introduced in 2016’s ITIL Practitioner guidance, were included.
As I stated in my original ITIL 4 Guiding Principles article, people should view this change as a step in elevating their IT service management (ITSM) thinking from ITSM processes to the focus on better outcomes. Whether the outcomes are for the:
- Parent business
- Customer (and their use of a product or service)
- End-user
- IT organization
- Third parties, such as suppliers.
A Brief History of the ITIL Guiding Principles
The Guiding Principles in ITIL (Version 5)
ITIL (Version 5) describes these as:
“Recommendations that can guide an organization in all circumstances, regardless of changes in its goals, strategies, type of work, or management structure.”
Source: PeopleCert, ITIL Foundation: ITIL (Version 5) Edition
Please keep reading to learn more about the latest incarnation of ITIL guiding principles, but first, here’s their initial inclusion in the ITIL Practitioner guidance.
The ITIL Guiding Principles in ITIL Practitioner (2016)
The ITIL guiding principles were introduced in ITIL publications in 2016. When a reader views the list of simple phrases, these original ITIL guiding principles might seem glib. However, when their meanings are considered (shared below for the ITIL (Version 5) guiding principles), they offer valuable insight into common ITIL adoption mistakes and how your organization can avoid them.
The initial ITIL guiding principles list was:
- Focus on value
- Design for experience
- Start where you are
- Work holistically
- Progress iteratively
- Observe directly
- Be transparent
- Collaborate
- Keep it simple.
You might notice there were originally nine ITIL guiding principles. This was refined to seven when ITIL 4 was introduced in 2019.
The ITIL 4 Guiding Principles (2019)
ITIL 4 had seven (rather than the previous nine) ITIL guiding principles, within the ITIL service value system (which became the ITIL Value System in ITIL Version 5):
- Focus on value
- Start where you are
- Progress iteratively with feedback
- Collaborate and promote visibility
- Think and work holistically
- Keep it simple and practical
- Optimize and automate
The ITIL Version 5 Guiding Principles Explained
Yes, the ITIL guiding principle titles haven’t changed between ITIL 4 and ITIL (Version 5):
- Focus on value
- Start where you are
- Progress iteratively with feedback
- Collaborate and promote visibility
- Think and work holistically
- Keep it simple and practical
- Optimize and automate
The following explanations of guiding principles are taken from the ITIL Foundation: ITIL (Version 5) Edition publication.
Focus on value
“All activities conducted by the organization should link back, directly or indirectly, to value for itself, its customers, and other stakeholders.”
Start where you are
“In the process of eliminating old, unsuccessful methods, products, or services and creating something better, there can be a strong temptation to remove what has been done in the past and build something completely new. This is rarely necessary or a wise decision. This approach can be extremely wasteful, not only in terms of time, but also in terms of the loss of existing capabilities, competencies, people, and tools that could have significant value in the improvement effort. Do not start over without first considering what is already available to be leveraged.”
Progress iteratively with feedback
“Whether working to improve a product, service, practice, process, or technical environment, no improvement iteration occurs in a vacuum. While the iteration is being undertaken, circumstances can change, new priorities can arise, and the need for the iteration may be altered or even eliminated. Seeking and using feedback before, throughout, and after each iteration will ensure that actions are focused and appropriate, even in changing circumstances.”
Note – this isn’t provided as an explicit “explanation” like the other guiding principle texts are in the new ITIL Foundation publication.
Collaborate and promote visibility
“When initiatives involve the right people in the correct roles, efforts benefit from better buy-in, more relevance (because better information is available for decision-making) and increased likelihood of long-term success.”
“Recognition of the need for genuine collaboration has been one of the driving factors in the evolution of ways of working. Without effective collaboration, neither agile, Lean, nor any other product and service management framework or method will work.”
Think and work holistically
“No product, service, practice, process, team, or supplier stands alone. The outputs that the organization delivers to itself, its customers, and other stakeholders will suffer, unless it works in an integrated way to handle its activities as a whole, rather than as separate parts.”
Keep it simple and practical
“Always aim to minimize the number of steps to accomplish an objective. Apply outcome-based thinking to produce practical solutions. If a process, product, service, action, or metric fails to increase value or produce a useful outcome, then eliminate it.”
Optimize and automate
“Technology can help organizations to scale up and take on an increasing number of tasks, allowing people to do more complex decision-making. However, the use of technology, especially generative AI, should be subject to governance, ethical, and compliance policies and controls. Automation for automation’s sake can increase costs, introduce significant risks, and reduce organizational resilience.”
From Theory to Practice: Applying the ITIL Guiding Principles
These explanations are taken from the PeopleCert ITIL Foundation: ITIL (Version 5) Edition publication.
While simple, the ITIL guiding principles can be powerful in focusing your organization’s ITSM capabilities (and ITIL adoption) on the right things. For example, getting the IT service desk more focused on end-user experience or customer experience.
Finally, the ITIL Foundation publication also adds some specific context that should be heeded:
- “In addition to being aware of the ITIL Guiding Principles, it is important to recognize that they interact with and depend upon each other.”
- “Organizations should not use just one or two of the principles but should consider the relevance of each of them and how they complement each other.”
- “Do not hesitate to adapt and adjust them to the context of your organization. It is more important to have a set of principles that is aligned with the organization’s values and resonates with all members of the organization, than to blindly adopt the seven guiding principles offered by ITIL.”
Sophie Danby
Sophie is a freelance ITSM marketing consultant, helping ITSM solution vendors to develop and implement effective marketing strategies.
She covers both traditional areas of marketing (such as advertising, trade shows, and events) and digital marketing (such as video, social media, and email marketing). She is also a trained editor.
