ITIL 4 vs ITIL 5: what changed, and which to take

The change that costs the most marks is the operating model. The service value chain and its six activities are gone: the product and service lifecycle has eight. Plan, Improve and Engage are not in it, and Obtain/Build splits into Acquire and Build.

The service value system is now the ITIL Value System. Its elements are the guiding principles, governance, the product and service lifecycle, practices and continual improvement — which is therefore no longer an activity of the operating model.

The framework also widens its scope: it treats digital products and services together, puts weight on digital experience, and describes itself as designed for AI from the outset.

You do not need to retake Foundation to progress: ITIL 4 qualifications remain recognised as prerequisites for the higher ITIL 5 modules, and the two versions run in parallel for a transition period.

If you want the ITIL Foundation (Version 5) certificate, a one-day bridge module (ITIL Foundation Bridge), with its own assessment, leads to it without repeating the full course. It is optional.

ITIL 5 certificates carry a three-year renewal date, and passing any ITIL 5 certification also renews your ITIL 4 certificates.

Much of it still holds: the guiding principles, the four dimensions, the seven-step continual improvement model. But any question asking which service value chain activity does something describes a retired model. Learning the six old activities means walking into the exam with a model it no longer uses.

Kwestio’s ITIL 5 questions are checked automatically against that trap: none presents the service value chain as current.