A successfully implemented IT project is built on four pillars – what the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) describes as the “Four Dimensions of Service Management.”

Since the late 1980’s, the ITIL framework has been the gold standard for the creation, delivery, and continuous improvement of IT products and services. With the latest version, ITIL 4, it has defined four dimensions for implementation success: organizations and people, value streams and processes, information and technology, and partners and suppliers (the last being the newest addition.)

Following are some key questions to help you evaluate how well your project is using the ITIL framework:

Organizations and People

• Are the people ready for change?

• Are the business teams aligned across regions?

• Are the teams empowered to help drive the change from the new system?

Value Streams and Processes

• Have you considered the as-is process and made it more efficient?

• Have you considered the to-be process for when the system is implemented?

• Does the to-be process support your estimated business growth and future vision?

Information and Technology

• Do you have the right tools?

• Where is your organization with respect to technology adaption?

• Do the tools/technology align with business process?

• Does the technology provide the information and data you need?

Partners and suppliers

• What are the partner’s service or technology limitations?

• Do you have a plan for in-house service management and support?

• Do your service agreements with the business reflect your partner’s limitations?

Building your project on these four pillars – with these four ITIL dimensions – ensures that your product or service is aligned with the needs of the business, which increases your customer satisfaction, reduces support costs, and greatly reduces your service management risks.