The ITIL framework
ITIL is often referred to as a best practice framework within the industry. This means that ITIL is based on a set of recommended principles and practices, as opposed to a set of strict rules or even guidelines.
In practical terms, this means that ITIL represents a set of common processes and a standardized terminology. In the real world, this will help IT departments and organizations to work better with their non-IT counterparts, or "the business" side.
Under the ITIL framework, IT solutions and offerings are defined as "services." In contrast to the software development life cycle, ITIL will split the service life cycle into five cyclical stages:
- Service strategy
- Service design
- Service transition
- Service operations
- Continual service improvement
We will go into more detail on the ITIL framework in Chapter 9, Validating the Solution, where we will explore the concept of technical debt and the long-term total cost of ownership. Back in this chapter, we will focus on the functions and terminologies that matter in delivering a software project, including the overall "service" that ITIL provides to "the business."