Value Chain (Eight Lifecycle Activities)
Overview
In ITIL v5, the value chain constitutes "the entire set of activities that enables value through the provision of a product or service." These eight activities align with the Product and Service Lifecycle stages: Discover through Support.
Organization's Purpose and Operating Model
Organizations create value for customers and stakeholders by translating their intended value into a defined purpose — what the organization does for consumers and why.
An operating model represents "how an organization co-creates value with customers and other stakeholders, and how the organization runs itself."
Four Dimensions at the Heart of the Operating Model
ITIL v5 structures operating models around four dimensions of product and service management:
- Value streams and processes: workflows organizing value-creating activities
- Organizations and people: culture, competencies, and team structures
- Information and technology: data, information systems, and tools
- Partners and suppliers: third-party contributions
The value chain represents the highest level within the value streams and processes dimension.
What the Lifecycle Model Is For
The Product and Service Lifecycle model helps organizations identify, analyze, and describe key management activities, enabling them to build tools and techniques including:
- Value chain patterns
- Operating models
- Value stream maps
From ITIL 4 to ITIL v5 (Exam Context)
| Aspect | ITIL 4 | ITIL v5 |
|---|---|---|
| High-level activities | Six SVC activities (Plan, Improve, Engage, Design & Transition, Obtain/Build, Deliver & Support) | Eight lifecycle stages tied to product and service work |
| Scope emphasis | Strong on service value chain wording | Products and services as two facets of one solution |
| Use | Combine activities into value streams | Same concept: no fixed sequence; combine into operating models and streams |
ITIL v5 maintains value-stream thinking — organizations continue combining activities differently per scenario.
Value Streams and Practices
Each value chain activity receives support from multiple management practices. Every practice contributes to managing particular aspects of digital products and services. Combined, these practices enable lifecycle management throughout all stages.
Complete practice-to-value chain mapping appears in the Practices and Value Chain Mapping reference.
Value Chain Patterns
Every digital product and service traverses all lifecycle stages. Responsibility distribution varies based on organizational purpose, operating model, and sourcing preferences.
Common Value Chain Patterns
| Pattern | Description | Lifecycle Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Full lifecycle (internal IT) | Internal technology organization managing complete lifecycle | All eight stages: Discover through Support |
| Product vendor | Organization creating and maintaining digital products for external customers | Primarily: Discover, Design, Acquire, Build, Transition |
| Service provider | Organization delivering and supporting services using vendor products | Primarily: Transition, Operate, Deliver, Support |
| Managed service provider | External organization managing part or all lifecycle on behalf of consumer | Varies by contract: typically Operate, Deliver, Support |
Example: Internal IT Organization (Full Lifecycle)
| Stage | Activities |
|---|---|
| Discover | Technology teams with internal business customers identify and prioritize needs, translating them into product development initiatives |
| Design | Technology teams analyze initiatives and stakeholder feedback, designing solutions including changes to existing or new products |
| Acquire | Together with procurement, ensure acquisition and allocation of resources required by designed solutions |
| Build | Build, integrate, and test designed solutions; business representatives may participate as team members or testers |
| Transition | Deploy new or changed versions to live environment, ensuring safe deployment and operational readiness |
| Operate | Ensure safe and reliable operations of live products; manage supplier relationships for operational support |
| Deliver | Enable users to access and consume services; manage service levels |
| Support | Resolve user queries, incidents, and service requests; identify improvement opportunities |
Example 2: Internal IT Focused on Service Delivery (External Products)
When internal technology organization purpose emphasizes "efficient and reliable delivery of IT services based on third-party technology solutions," responsibility for earlier stages shifts to external vendors.
| Stage | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Discover | Business leaders accept responsibility for product selection, often involving external consultants. Technology teams may be consulted or informed. |
| Design | External solution vendors design products. Internal teams may be consulted ensuring solutions can be operated and supported. |
| Acquire | External product vendors manage acquisition and resource allocation, remaining invisible to the client organization. |
| Build | External vendors build digital products, remaining invisible to the client organization. |
| Transition | Internal technology teams may integrate products into live environment or reconfigure infrastructure. |
| Operate | Internal technology teams typically manage operations when products run in organization's live environment. Vendor manages if products run in vendor-controlled cloud. |
| Deliver | Internal technology teams deliver services based on external products: agreeing SLAs, fulfilling service requests, ensuring user access. |
| Support | Internal technology teams support users. Vendors and third parties may resolve certain incident types, but overall support responsibility stays internal. |
Example 3: Internal IT as a Service Integrator
Many organizations use managed service providers to operate, support, and sometimes deliver digital services.
| Stage | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Discover | Managed and performed by business leaders and managers, often supported by external consultants. Technology teams are consulted or informed. |
| Design, Acquire, Build, Transition, Operate | Performed by external vendors, integrators, and service providers. Technology teams may select, source, and coordinate third parties, focusing on supplier management. |
| Deliver, Support | May be performed by external suppliers and partners; however, technology teams remain responsible for service delivery and support quality. |
Example 4: Digital Product Vendor
When organizational purpose emphasizes "providing digital products to individual users and small businesses," the pattern emphasizes product development with minimal service delivery.
| Stage | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Discover | Product teams continually review market, technology opportunities, current product performance, and stakeholder feedback. They identify and prioritize improvements, updating the product roadmap. |
| Design | Product teams perform this activity, often combined with Discover. Users and other stakeholders may participate in prototype testing, but product teams retain design responsibility. |
| Acquire | Product teams acquire additional technical resources required by new design, potentially involving procurement or SRE teams. |
| Build | Product teams build and test new components and products. Other teams may be involved. |
| Transition | Typically highly automated, with product updates rapidly deployed using CI/CD approaches and tools, including app marketplace updates. |
| Operate | Product teams remain accountable for live product quality, though responsibility may be delegated to SRE, IT Operations, or external service provider. |
| Deliver | Most mass-market digital products require no delivery actions. Access is customer-initiated and fully automated. |
| Support | End-user support may be provided through in-app help, AI-powered chatbots, and community forums, typically designed as product features rather than service interactions. |
Example 5: Custom Software Development
When organizational purpose emphasizes "developing and shipping software to meet specific customer requirements," the vendor focuses on creating unique solutions.
| Stage | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Discover | Software vendor may be involved in identifying consumer organization needs or leave this to the customer. Vendor doesn't typically own Discover. |
| Design | Software vendor designs solutions by involving customer representatives to gather requirements and confirm design decisions. |
| Acquire | Vendor acquires and allocates technical resources for building, testing, and deployment. Consumer organization may manage acquiring resources for operation, delivery, and support. |
| Build | Vendor builds and tests the product. Customer representatives may participate in some testing forms. |
| Transition | Vendor typically collaborates with consumer organization (and sometimes an integrator) when product is hosted by the consumer or third party. |
| Operate | If product is hosted by consumer organization or third party, consumer's technical team manages and performs this activity. |
| Deliver | Service delivery based on the product is consumer organization's technical teams' responsibility. |
| Support | Vendor may participate in support (typically expert support for complicated issues), but activity remains consumer organization's responsibility. |
Core and Enabling Value Streams
Core value stream: "a value stream that enables value for consumers in a form intended by the organization's operating model."
Enabling value stream: "a value stream that enables value for internal customers to support the organization's core value streams."
| Type | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Core | Directly delivers value to external consumers | New customer onboarding; incident resolution; product development |
| Enabling | Supports core value streams internally | IT infrastructure provisioning; security management; employee onboarding |
Example Combinations
| Scenario | Stages Typically Emphasized |
|---|---|
| New capability rollout | Discover → Design → Build → Transition → Operate / Deliver |
| Restore user service | Support ↔ Operate ↔ Deliver |
| Ongoing improvement | Discover → Design → Acquire → Build → Transition |
| Proactive problem prevention | Operate → Support → Discover → Design |