Who improves, which principles apply, and the value chain

Who is responsible for improvement, which guiding principles the continual improvement model leans on and where, and how the practice relates to the value chain activity that shares its name.

Lesson 12 of 12 in objective 7. Seven ITIL practices in detail, part of ITIL 4 Foundation.

The improve activity and the continual improvement practice are different things. Improve (value chain activity) — What it is: One of the six value chain activities; Where it applies: Its own place in the value chain; The trap: Reading it as the only home of improvement. Continual improvement (practice) — What it is: A practice, and an SVS component; Where it applies: Every activity, and all four dimensions; The trap: Reading it as owned by one team Improve (value chain activity) Continual improvement (practice) What it is One of the six value chain activities A practice, and an SVS component Where it applies Its own place in the value chain Every activity, and all four dimensions The trap Reading it as the only home of improvement Reading it as owned by one team
The improve activity and the continual improvement practice are different things.

Improvement is everyone's job

An organisation that creates a small continual improvement team and tells everybody else to refer ideas to it and otherwise get on with their day jobs has made a specific, examinable mistake. Continual improvement is everyone's responsibility. A dedicated team may coordinate, encourage and steward it, but the moment it becomes the only place improvement happens, most opportunities are never surfaced at all — because the people who can see them are no longer looking.

The nuance worth holding: having a dedicated team is not itself wrong. Making it the sole owner is. The correct option always keeps improvement embedded in how everyone works while allowing coordination to be somebody's role.

A team may coordinate improvement, and the failure starts where it becomes the sole owner. An axis from Improvement embedded in everyone's work to One team owns improvement outright. The permitted region covers everything from Improvement embedded in everyone's work up to Coordination is somebody's role and stops there: Everyone improves, and a team coordinates (coordination, encouragement and stewardship are fine). Beyond Coordination is somebody's role, toward One team owns improvement outright: The only place improvement happens: most opportunities are never surfaced, because the people who can see them stopped looking. Improvement embedded in everyone's work One team owns improvement outright Everyone improves, and a team coordinates coordination, encouragement and stewardship are fine The only place improvement happens: most opportunities are never surfaced, because the people who can see them stopped looking Coordination is somebody's role
A team may coordinate improvement, and the failure starts where it becomes the sole owner.

Which principles bite, and where

A team beginning an improvement and tempted to declare the current process a failure and design a replacement from a blank sheet is being challenged by "start where you are" — and the model step where that bites hardest is "Where are we now?", because that is the step whose whole job is an honest measured look at the current state. Questions here ask for the principle AND the step, so pairing them is the thing to practise.

An organisation that plans a series of small improvement cycles, each measured and reviewed before the next begins, rather than one large transformation, is applying "progress iteratively with feedback". Both halves are in the scenario — the cycles and the review between them — and that pairing is what distinguishes it from a merely phased plan.

Which wording in a scenario names which principle, and where one of them bites. Left column, The phrase in the scenario; right column, The principle it names. Declare the current process a failure and Design a replacement from a blank sheet both point at Start where you are (The scenario skips the honest look, which is how you spot it), which in turn reaches Where are we now? (The step whose whole job is an honest measured look, and questions want it named as well as the principle). A series of small improvement cycles and Each measured and reviewed before the next begins both point at Progress iteratively with feedback (Both halves are in the wording; a merely phased plan has only the first). The phrase in the scenario The principle it names Declare the current process a failure Design a replacement from a blank sheet Start where you are The scenario skips the honest look, which is how you spot it Where are we now? The step whose whole job is an honest measured look, and questions want it named as well as the principle A series of small improvement cycles Each measured and reviewed before the next begins Progress iteratively with feedback Both halves are in the wording; a merely phased plan has only the first
Which wording in a scenario names which principle, and where one of them bites.

The practice and the value chain activity

The continual improvement practice feeds the improve activity of the service value chain, and the relationship stops short of identity. Improvement applies to EVERY value chain activity and across all four dimensions, rather than being confined to the one activity that carries the name.

So the wrong answers to expect are the two symmetrical over-simplifications: that the practice and the activity are the same thing, and that improvement happens only inside the improve activity. The practice supports that activity in particular and reaches everywhere.

Worth carrying in

Everyone's responsibility
A team may coordinate improvement. It may not be the only place it happens.
Start where you are
Bites hardest at "Where are we now?" — the baseline step.
Progress iteratively with feedback
Small cycles, each reviewed and measured before the next.
Improve activity
One of the six value chain activities. Not the only home of improvement.
Continual improvement practice
Contributes to improve, and applies across every activity and all four dimensions.

What the exam does with this

Objective
7. Seven ITIL practices in detail
Share of the exam
47.5% (the whole objective)
Questions in this lesson
4
Signed for by a person
0

Partly checked. None of the 4 questions here has been read against the cited source by a person. 4 questions have been checked against their cited clause by an automated pass — which is not the same thing, and is not a signature.

Only questions a person has signed for are used in mock exams here. That is the whole difference between the two kinds of checking above.

How these questions are written — where each question comes from, what the verification ledger records, and what happens when one is found wrong.

Drill this lesson

A lesson is one sitting: the trainer draws a short run from these questions alone and spaces the ones you get wrong.

Practise Who improves, which principles apply, and the value chain

Questions in this lesson

Practise Who improves, which principles apply, and the value chain

The rest of objective 7