Switching from ITIL V2 to ITIL V3

The new ITIL V3 books are based very much on the principles known from ITIL V2, but unfortunately there are no detailed instructions for switching to the new set of “Service Lifecycle” processes. As a result, the only advice available is a rough outline of a two-step strategy for switching to V3:

• Take all existing ITIL processes and plug them into the new Service Lifecycle process structure
• Benchmark the existing processes against the new ITIL V3 recommendations and replace, add or improve processes as appropriate

An ITIL reference model, containing a complete ITIL V3 process framework, is able to support switching to the new ITIL version because existing V2 processes can be plugged into the new Service Lifecycle Structure.

An overview diagram of Problem Management, for example, presents how this process is interfacing with the other Service Operation processes. This makes it easy to decide where process interfaces must be modified, and any existing documentation on the Problem Management process can be incorporated into this structure.