Let's Talk About Service Transition

Better transition projects mean less disruption for thethe design phase of the lifecycle. It is during service
business and enable the service organisation to copedesign that the transition planning begins by considering
with much higher volumes of change. Since change isthe design of the actual testing to be carried out during
a constant in the modern workplace, the ability tothe service transition. Similarly, transition ends - not
embrace change and manage it effectively is the verywithin the transition phase of the lifecycle, but in the
cornerstone of a successful Service Managementoperational phase; with the successful conclusion of
implementation.Early Life Support ensuring that transitioned services
Service Transition is the heart of ITIL. If you really thinkare properly bedded-in and handed over to operational
about the idea of the service lifecycle - which, ofstaff.
course, implies movement - you will come to recogniseGood transition projects make the handover to
that no movement takes place without theoperational support seamless by effectively
involvement of service transition. No change is possibleoverlapping the project into the operational
without the approval - or pre-approval - of serviceenvironment and terminating only when appropriate
transition, Thus it may be considered that serviceexit criteria have been met.
transition is what actually drives the lifecycle.In addition to services, service transition is also involved
In V3, service transition gets a much higher profile thanin the release of any change deemed fit for a
the subject received in V2 with additional planning andproject-managed approach; naturally, subject to the
support processes providing all the extra bells andorganisation's policies. This encompasses the various
whistles needed for managing a successful releasepackages - Service Package and the like - that
project. It's not that we didn't do these things in V2; butthemselves are important elements of the framework.
just that there is much more in the guidance now inITIL effectively is intended to design and transition itself
relation to this important topic.into existence. However, this aspect is often
Service transition begins its involvement in the planningmisunderstood - even by some supposed experts.
of a transition - perhaps somewhat paradoxically - in