ITIL maturity - where do you want to be and why.
As a rule, a practice is not considered mature unless it is at a level 3 or higher. This means that the single practice is mature enough to be working as designed and is being used by all relevant stakeholders. It also means that the data it is generating is mature and can be trusted for decision-making.
At Level 3 the practice has control points that provide management indication when and if intervention is required. The practice is end-to- end and collaboration across departments has been optimized. For many organizations reaching Level 3 seems to be the end of the journey.
However, the value proposition of an integrated ITSM practice approach is that when practices reach Level 4 they begin to interact with each other. This provides the ability to share common data and provide insight that is not available at Level 3.
By working cooperatively the practices become more efficient and effective and whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts. Level 4 is the desired target state for the practices in scope for most organizations.
A maturity of Level 5 is often seen in single departments but rarely across all departments. The effort required to get to this level of maturity is high and costly.
Many organizations do not have the ability or desire to reach Level 5. That is ok and not all organizations will have business need for this level of maturity.
While I agree with your premise, I see too many organizations pursuing a level of maturity for the sake of the number, with little regard for the business value derived. While reaching a Level 3 or 4 does, in itself, imply some connection with business goals, too many times I see this connection being lost. I’ve worked with many organizations that have found that the most valuable part of their quest for ITSM maturity is actually the journey, and not the achievement of a particular maturity level.
Amen! Too many ITIL journeys in general lack a focus on outcomes and demonstrable benefits. It is a little scary how many organizations have ITIL improvement projects underway but can’t actually define what real benefits they expect to achieve and how they will know they achieved them. Reaching a maturity level can be a means to an end, but certainly not the end. Thanks for your insight!