Let’s now take a closer look at practices in ITIL 4.
Practices are sets of organisational resources designed for performing work or accomplishing an objective.
They include people, processes, information, and technology.
Practices replace the concept of processes from earlier versions of ITIL.
ITIL 4 includes three categories of practices: general management practices, service management practices, and technical management practices.
Practices are designed to be flexible and adaptable to different organisational contexts.
They support the service value chain and help organisations perform work consistently and effectively.
Understanding practices is important for applying ITIL concepts in real-world situations.
2. How this applies to TakeCars (car-rental marketplace)
This section explains why TakeCars should think in “practices” rather than rigid processes or tools.
a) Practices reflect reality better than processes
For TakeCars, real work is never just a flowchart.
A TakeCars “practice” includes:
- People: support agents, ops managers, supplier contacts
- Processes: booking, dispute handling, refunds
- Information: booking data, photos, messages, history
- Technology: platform, payments, messaging, automation
ITIL deliberately moved away from “process-only” thinking because it ignores how work actually gets done.
b) Why this matters in a marketplace
Marketplaces break when:
- Tools change but behaviours don’t
- Policies change but data doesn’t support them
- Processes exist but people bypass them
Practices force TakeCars to ask:
“Do people, tools, data, and rules actually work together?”
That is the real unit of execution.
c) Flexibility without chaos
ITIL practices are:
- Not prescriptive
- Not one-size-fits-all
- Adaptable to context
For TakeCars:
- Supplier management practice differs by country
- Incident handling differs by severity
- Payment handling differs by risk profile
Thinking in practices allows variation without losing coherence.
3. Key ideas to read right before the exam (high-yield)
Practices are a core ITIL 4 concept, often tested conceptually rather than by memorisation.
Core understanding
A practice:
- Is a set of organisational resources
- Includes people, processes, information, and technology
- Supports work and objectives
If an answer:
- Treats practices as just processes → wrong
- Includes multiple resource types → strong
Exam trap to avoid
Wrong answers often:
- Use “process” language only
- Ignore people or technology
- Treat practices as rigid
Correct answers:
- Emphasise resources working together
- Highlight flexibility
- Link practices to value creation
Fast exam shortcut
If the question asks:
- “How does ITIL organise work?”
→ Practices, not processes.
One-line exam anchor
Practices combine people, processes, information, and technology.
Keep this sentence in mind — it resolves most practice-related questions quickly.
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