Which guiding principle of ITIL recommends eliminating a process service action or metric when it fails to provide value or produce a useful outcome?

Tensions mount as the film nears its conclusion. The Death Star approaches the rebel base on the planet Yavin 4, which will soon be within range of the planet-destroying laser. The rebels have one chance. They must penetrate the Death Star’s defences, skim over the surface, and fire proton torpedoes into a small thermal exhaust port. If they can do this, the explosion will trigger a chain reaction and destroy the whole station. It’s an insane plan. The Death Star’s defences are formidable, and the rebels will encounter heavy resistance. The area they need to hit is tiny, near-impossible even for a computer targeting system. But it’s their only hope.

Because they are under so much time-pressure from the approaching Death Star, the rebels’ plan makes extensive use of the principle start where you are. They do not have the time to build up their fleet of ships. They do not have the resources to create a weapon powerful enough to breach the Empire’s defences. They have only a small number of one-man fighter ships and the knowledge of a tiny flaw in the Death Star’s construction.

Start where you are is about making use of what you have, and the rebels execute this principle flawlessly; they use their tiny, manoeuvrable ships to negate the Death Star’s firepower, which was designed to defend against a large-scale assault. They hope that a smaller, faster attack will allow them to get close enough to the exhaust port to fire their torpedoes.

“Do not start from scratch and build something new without considering what is already available to be leveraged. There is likely to be a good deal [...] that can be used to create the desired outcome.”2

The rebels, including Luke, take off. In the base, Leia and the rebel commanders watch a computer that shows the Death Star’s progress towards Yavin 4. They are ready to communicate with the fleet if necessary. The rebels soon start to use the principle think and work holistically. As the fighters fly in formation, the leaders call for a report. One by one, the pilots give a status update, checking their communicators are working properly. They approach the Death Star, and the leaders give orders over the communicators. As one, the rebels lock their ships’ wings into the trademark ‘X’ position and accelerate to attack speed. One group of rebels moves towards the target shaft, while another group cuts across to draw the enemy’s attention. They are working together, communicating flawlessly, and demonstrating an acute awareness of the importance of teamwork.

Think and work holistically is about operating as one entity. Every part of the operation should coordinate with the rest. This principle advocates leveraging assets together so that they become something greater than the sum of their parts. In other words, rebels working separately are unlikely to achieve much, but rebels working together can win against impossible odds.

“The outcomes [...] will suffer unless the organization works on the service as a whole, not just on its parts.”3

Once the Empire’s forces realize that the rebels are attacking, the fight begins in earnest. As lasers shoot through the air and bits of machinery explode, the rebels’ communication channel fills with routine warnings and instructions.

“Collaborate and promote visibility is about teamwork.”

Then, a more alarming warning comes in. The rebels on Yavin 4 have seen something on their monitors: a fleet of empire fighters has emerged from the Death Star to attack the rebels ship to ship. This piece of intelligence is crucial. As it turns out, the Empire has jammed the rebel ships’ visual systems so that no one can see the incoming fighters. Without the warning from the rebel base, the rebels would not have known that they were in danger. This exchange of information is a great example of collaborating and promoting visibility.

Which guiding principle of ITIL recommends eliminating a process service action or metric when it fails to provide value or produce a useful outcome?
Collaborate and promote visibility is about teamwork. When the rebel commanders share their knowledge of the incoming threat, they are essentially protecting the rebels’ ability to achieve their objective. The fact that they are literally collaborating to promote visibility makes this example especially pleasing.

“Working together across boundaries produces results that have greater buy-in, more relevance to objectives, and increased likelihood of long-term success. Achieving objectives requires information, understanding, and trust.”4

Progress iteratively with feedback is about working in the moment, reacting to new information, and adjusting trajectories to ensure that you keep moving forwards. When they learn that their computer systems will not warn them of incoming enemy fighters, the rebels adjust their strategies. They pair up, watching each other’s backs so that, if someone gets into trouble, they can intervene.

“Using feedback [...] will ensure that actions are focused and appropriate, even if circumstances change.”5

This tactic works well, and the rebels gain enough of an advantage to approach the exhaust port on the surface of the Death Star. Several rebels begin their attack run, but they are shot down by enemy fighters. The second attack fares better. The rebel ship in the lead fires his torpedoes at the exhaust port, but misses. Time is running out for the rebels; they have less than five minutes until the Death Star is close enough to destroy Yavin 4.

They have time for one more assault, and this time Luke is in the lead. He and two other rebels accelerate towards their target. They are under heavy fire, with enemy fighters still chasing after them. Luke’s ship wobbles, and he frantically asks R2-D2 to repair his stabilizer.

The rebels use droids like R2-D2 as automated mechanics on their ships. These droids can control flight and power distribution systems, as well as perform emergency repairs, even when flying. The rebels, it seems, know how to optimize and automate.

Optimize and automate is about reducing waste and maximizing the use of technology. Other examples of automation include the rebels’ visual scanners and computer targeting systems, which drastically reduce human error and enable more accurate firing. The rebels use these systems to great effect in their assault (until their visual systems are jammed), which means that the pilots have more mental capacity to apply to tactics and manoeuvres.

“Eliminate anything that is truly wasteful and use technology to achieve whatever it is capable of. Human intervention should only happen where it really contributes value.”6

R2-D2 repairs Luke’s ship, and the rebels continue skimming the surface of the Death Star at a terrifying rate. One by one, Luke’s wing mates are hit, leaving him alone and in danger from Darth Vader. He speeds towards the target, watching his targeting computer count down the distance. The pressure is immense, the music mounts, the audience tenses.

Then, a disembodied voice echoes around Luke. It’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, whose consciousness was preserved in the Force after his death. He tells Luke to use the Force, the galaxy’s life energy, to guide him. Luke hesitates, but then, resolute, he deactivates his targeting computer.

Keep it simple and practical is about streamlining. Sometimes, the simplest solution is the most effective. Luke had already seen one set of torpedoes miss the target, even when guided by the computer. He was being told by his mentor, whom he had thought lost, to trust himself and his abilities. Knowing he could hit the exhaust port on his own, Luke chose the simplest solution.

“If a process, service, action, or metric fails to provide value or produce a useful outcome, eliminate it. In a process or procedure, use the minimum number of steps necessary to accomplish the objective.”7

His decision causes worry in the rebel base, but there is no time for debate. Darth Vader is dangerously close to destroying Luke’s ship, and the Death Star has come within range of Yavin 4. The rebels are out of options.

In the final, climactic seconds, Luke draws up to the target and Darth Vader begins to fire. All seems lost, but the Millennium Falcon appears, destroys the enemy fighters, and clears the way for Luke’s attack. The rebels hold their breath. Luke fires.

Everything has led to this moment. Throughout the assault (mistakes, miscalculations, and deaths included), the rebels remained focused on this one outcome. Focus on value is about knowing what you need to achieve and keeping that goal in mind as decisions are made. The goal could be anything, including destroying your enemy or providing customers with a great service. What matters is the commitment to the goal and the willingness to do what it takes to achieve it.

“Everything that the organization does needs to map, directly or indirectly, to value.”8

Luke’s torpedoes hit. The rebels race away. Two heartbeats later, the Death Star explodes. A halo of light and debris concusses outwards. They have won.

“Focus on value is about knowing what you need to achieve and keeping that goal in mind as decisions are made.”

2 AXELOS. 2018. ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. pp39. TSO. London.
3 ibid.
4 AXELOS. 2018. ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. pp39. TSO. London.
5 AXELOS. 2018. ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. pp39. TSO. London.
6 ibid.
7 AXELOS. 2018. ITIL® Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. pp39. TSO. London.
8 ibid.

Which guiding principle of ITIL recommends eliminating anything that is truly wasteful and using technology to achieve desired outcomes?

The seventh and final guiding principle is optimise and automate - resources of all types, particularly human resources, should be used to their best effect. Eliminate anything that is truly wasteful and use technology to achieve whatever it is capable of.

Which guiding principle recommends that the unnecessary work should be eliminated?

Focus on Value This Guiding Principle has its origins in Lean Manufacturing and aims to eliminate all kinds of waste.

Which guiding principle of ITIL recommends working together across greater buy in and improve the likelihood of long term success?

Collaborate and promote visibility Working together across boundaries produces results that have greater buy-in, more relevance to objectives, and increased likelihood of long-term success. Achieving objectives requires information, understanding, and trust.

What is the ITIL 4 recommendations regarding the start where you are principle?

2. Start where you are. Don't start from scratch and build something new without considering what you already have. It's almost always better to improve what you currently have than to throw it all away and start again, although you must also be able to recognise when a complete replacement is, in fact, needed.