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.”
ITIL Guiding Principles FAQs
The ITIL (Version 5) Guiding Principles are universal recommendations that help organizations make effective decisions regardless of changes in technology, strategy, structure, or ways of working. They provide practical guidance for delivering value and consistently improving services.
ITIL (Version 5) includes seven guiding principles:
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
No. The seven guiding principles in ITIL (Version 5) retain the same names as those introduced in ITIL 4. However, some of the supporting guidance has been updated to reflect modern challenges, including AI adoption, digital transformation, and governance requirements.
The guiding principles help organizations avoid common service management mistakes, make better decisions, align activities with business goals, and focus on outcomes rather than simply following processes or practices.
Focus on Value means that every activity should contribute directly or indirectly to creating value for the organization, customers, users, and other stakeholders. Value should remain the primary consideration in all decisions and improvement efforts.
This principle encourages organizations to assess and build upon existing capabilities, processes, technologies, and knowledge before creating something new. Starting from scratch is often unnecessary and can result in wasted time, effort, and resources.
Large-scale changes are often more successful when delivered in smaller, manageable increments. Regular feedback helps organizations adapt to changing circumstances, reduce risk, and ensure improvements continue to deliver value.
Successful initiatives involve the right people, encourage transparency, and share information openly. Collaboration improves decision-making, increases stakeholder buy-in, and helps break down organizational silos.
Organizations should view products, services, teams, suppliers, processes, and technologies as interconnected parts of a larger system. Managing them in isolation can reduce effectiveness and negatively impact value delivery.
Organizations should eliminate unnecessary complexity and focus only on activities, processes, and metrics that contribute value. Simpler solutions are often easier to manage, understand, and improve.
This principle encourages organizations to improve processes before automating them and to use technology where it creates genuine value. Optimization and automation should increase efficiency while supporting business objectives.
ITIL (Version 5) specifically acknowledges the growing role of AI and emphasizes that technologies such as generative AI should be governed appropriately. Organizations should ensure that AI usage aligns with governance, compliance, ethical, and risk-management requirements.
ITIL recommends considering all seven principles together rather than selecting only one or two. The principles complement each other and are most effective when applied as a complete decision-making framework.
No. While they originated in ITSM, the guiding principles can be applied across business functions (including HR, facilities, and customer service), enterprise service management, digital transformation, and product management initiatives.
The principles encourage organizations to focus on outcomes, learn through feedback, simplify complexity, collaborate effectively, and optimize ways of working. Together, these behaviors create a culture of continual improvement and adaptability.
There is no single most important principle. Organizations should evaluate all seven principles together when making decisions. Their combined application helps ensure balanced, value-focused, and sustainable improvements.
Start by using the principles as a checklist when planning projects, improving services, implementing new technologies, or making operational decisions. Asking how each principle applies can help identify risks and opportunities, and uncover better ways to deliver value.
Yes. The principles are arguably more relevant than ever. As organizations adopt AI, automation, and digital products, the guiding principles help ensure that technology investments remain aligned with value creation, governance, collaboration, and continual improvement goals.
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.
