Select Itil Practices

---
name: select-itil-practices
description: "Pick the lightest set of ITIL 4 practices that delivers value, grounded in the service value system and guiding principles — adopt what earns its keep, skip the ceremony. Reach for this when standing up or right-sizing ITSM."
---

# Skill: Select ITIL 4 practices

ITIL 4 is a toolbox, not a checklist. Adopt the practices that trace to value; skip the rest.

## Step 1 — Start from value and the guiding principles
Name the outcomes the IT service must deliver and where it hurts today. Anchor on the seven guiding principles — especially *focus on value*, *start where you are*, *keep it simple and practical*, and *optimize and automate*.

## Step 2 — Select the core
The common core for most organizations: incident management, problem management, change enablement, service request management, service desk, and configuration management. Adopt these first, lightly.

## Step 3 — Add only on demonstrated need
Reach for further practices (service level management, availability, capacity, continuity, etc.) only when a real, named need appears — not because the framework lists them.

## Step 4 — Right-size the ceremony
For each adopted practice, cut anything that doesn't trace to value. A CAB that reviews standard changes, an SLA with no OLA behind it, an unmaintained CMDB — these are ceremony, not control.

## Step 5 — Wire governance + continual improvement
Set clear ownership, a small set of meaningful metrics, and a standing improvement loop. See [`../../knowledge/itil4-practices-reference.md`](../../knowledge/itil4-practices-reference.md).