How ITIL Practices Contribute Across the SVS and Value Streams
What the exam asks
This domain tests which practice contributes at which point of the service value system and value streams, and what each practice is for. You need purpose plus placement, not definitions alone.
Core rules
- Change enablement maximizes the number of successful service and product changes. Three types: standard (pre-authorized, low risk, repeatable), normal (assessed by a change authority), emergency (fast-tracked for urgent situations).
- Deployment management moves components into live environments; release management makes functionality available to users. A release may not be deployed, and a deployment may not be released.
- Incident management restores normal service as quickly as possible; problem management reduces the likelihood and impact of incidents by managing known errors.
- Service desk is the single point of contact for users and captures demand; service request management handles predefined, low-risk requests.
- Service level management sets and manages agreed service levels; the service catalogue is the customer-facing view of services.
- Supporting practices include service design, information security, capacity and performance, availability, IT asset, service configuration, supplier, knowledge, measurement and reporting, portfolio, and workforce and talent.
Worked example
A monthly patch is applied to 200 servers. Reasoning: it is repeatable, low risk and pre-authorized, so it is a standard change. It is executed by deployment management. The new feature inside it is only released when the feature flag is switched on. Because it is not restoring a failed service, incident management does not own it.
Traps
- 'Release equals deployment' is the most frequent CDS error.
- Assuming change enablement approves every change; standard changes are pre-authorized.
- Mixing incident and problem: incidents restore service, problems remove the cause.