All Four. Always.

Why FE digital change keeps stalling and what systems thinking reveals.

I have just published an article on FE News that reflects on why digital change in Further Education so often under-delivers, even when the technology choices and intentions are sound. It looks at this through the ITIL lens of Digital Product and Service Management and the need to work across all four dimensions together, rather than optimising one at the expense of the rest.

The core idea is simple but challenging. When upstream decisions are made without clear ownership, operational thinking, or an understanding of how services are actually experienced day to day, the outcome is predictable. Friction, workarounds, and a slow erosion of trust in the service.

I would value feedback from the ITSM community, particularly on this question. In sectors like education and the public sector, where accountability is shared and supplier influence is high, how realistic is it to expect teams to genuinely design and manage products and services end to end using ITIL thinking?

Article link: https://www.fenews.co.uk/fe-voices/all-four-always/