Program Overview

The ITIL® Intermediate Qualification: Planning, Protection and Optimization (PPO) Certificate is a free-standing qualification, but is also part of the ITIL® Intermediate Capability stream, and one of the modules that leads to the ITIL® Expert in IT Service Management. The purpose of this training module and the associated exam and certificate is, respectively, to impart, test, and validate the knowledge on industry practices in service management and design as documented in the ITIL® Planning, Protection and Optimization publication.

Duration

This program is offered over a 5-day period and includes approximately 30 hours of student-instructor interaction; a 1.5 hours formal certification exam on the afternoon of the third day, or the following week.

The course approach combines theoretical and hands-on knowledge transfer, including individual and group practical exercises. The Minimum number of students per session is 6 where the maximum is 12.

Delivery Methods

- Instructor led Classroom based
- Virtual Web based

Audience

• The audience for the ITIL® Intermediate Qualification: Planning, Protection and Optimization Certificate includes, but is not restricted to CIOs, CTOs, managers, supervisory staff, team leaders, designers, architects, planners, IT consultants, IT audit managers, IT security managers and ITSM trainers involved in the ongoing management, coordination and integration of Planning, Protection and Optimization activities within the Service Lifecycle.
• The course covers the management and control of the activities and techniques within the Planning, Protection and Optimization stage, but not the detail of each of the supporting processes. This course may also be of interest to:
  • Individuals who have attained the V3 ITIL Foundation certificate in Service Management, or the V3 Foundation Bridge certificate and who wish to advance to higher level ITIL certifications
  • Individuals who require a deep understanding of ITIL Certificate in the Planning, Protection and Optimization processes and how it may be used to enhance the quality of IT service support within an organization
  • IT professionals that are working within an organization that has adopted and adapted ITIL who need to be informed about and thereafter contribute to an ongoing service improvement program
  • Operational staff involved in Capacity Management, Availability Management, ITSCM, Information Security Management, Demand Management, Risk Management, who wish to enhance their role-based capabilities
  • Individuals seeking the ITIL® Expert certification in IT Service Management for which this qualification is one of the prerequisite modules
  • Individuals seeking progress towards the ITIL® Master in IT Service Management for which the ITIL® Expert is a prerequisite

• Note: The success in achieving this certification is highly dependant upon participants’ effort in doing their homework, and self-study before and during the program. Therefore, it is highly recommended that:
  • The exam is scheduled one week to maximum two weeks after the training to allow sufficient time for preparation.
  • Course participants purchase the appropriate ITIL® V3 OGC publication to enable them proper review, study and preparation.

Prerequisites

• Course candidates must already hold the ITIL® Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management (the V3 Foundation or V2 Foundation plus Bridge Certificate) which shall be presented as documentary evidence to gain admission.
• Additionally, it is strongly recommended that candidates demonstrate familiarity with IT terminology and understand the context of Planning, Protection and Optimization management of their own business environment; and
• Have exposure working in the service management capacity within a service provider environment, with responsibility emphasizing on at least one of the following management processes:
  • Capacity Management Process
  • Availability Management Process
  • IT Service Continuity Management (ITSCM) Process
  • Information Security Management Process
  • Demand Management Process Challenges, Critical Success Factors and Risk Management For Service Planning, Protection and Optimization

To be eligible for the examination leading to an accredited ITIL Certificate in Planning, Protection and Optimization, the candidate must complete the following requirements:

• At least 30 contact hours (hours of instruction, excluding breaks, with an Accredited Training Organization (ATO) or an accredited e-learning solution) for this program, as part of a formal, approved training course/scheme
• Hold the ITIL V3 Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management or ITIL V2 Foundation plus the bridging certificate
• It is also recommended that students should complete at a minimum 12 hours of personal study by reviewing the syllabus and the pertinent areas of the ITIL Service Management Practice core guidance publications and in particular, the Service Design publication
• There is no minimum mandatory requirement but 2 to 4 years professional experience working in IT Service Management is highly desirable

Content and Objectives

Through a series of lectures designed at achieving a clear understanding of the ITIL® Best Practice lifecycle approach and through various exercises, assignments and discussions, participants can expect to gain competencies in the following upon successful completion of the education and examination components related to this certification:

• Service Management as a Practice
• Processes across the Service Lifecycle pertaining to the practice elements within Planning, Protection and Optimization
• Capacity management as a capability to realize successful service design
• Availability management as a capability to realize successful service design
• IT Service Continuity Management as a capability to support overall Business Continuity Management
• Information security management as part of the overall corporate governance framework
• Roles and responsibilities
• Technology and Implementation Considerations
• Challenges, Critical Success Factors and risks

And specifically in the following key ITIL process and role areas

• Capacity Management
• Availability Management
• IT Service Continuity Management
• Information Security Management
• Demand Management

Following completion of this unit, the candidate should possess knowledge of:

• The importance of Service Management as a Practice concept and Service Operation Principles, Purpose and Objective
• The importance of ITIL Planning, Protection and Optimization while providing service
• How all processes in ITIL Planning, Protection and Optimization interact with other Service Lifecycle Processes
• The processes, activities, methods and functions used in each of the ITIL Planning, Protection and Optimization processes
• How to use the ITIL Planning, Protection and Optimization processes, activities and functions to achieve operational excellence
• How to measure ITIL Planning, Protection and Optimization
• The importance of IT Security and its contributions to ITIL Planning, Protection and Optimization
• Understanding of technology and implementation considerations surrounding ITIL Planning, Protection and Optimization
• Challenges, Critical Success Factors and Risks associated to ITIL Planning, Protection and Optimization

The program will cover the following modules:

Introduction

This unit introduces the candidate to the concepts and terminology of the Service Lifecycle and the role of PPO within the Lifecycle. It will enable the candidates to understand and describe:

• Service Management as a practice
• The concept of Service, its value proposition and composition
• The functions and process across the Lifecycle
• The role of the processes in the Service Lifecycle
• How Service Management creates business value
• How the processes within Planning, Protection and Optimization practices support the Service Lifecycle, including their roles and responsibilities

Capacity Management

This unit covers the Capacity Management process and how it contributes to Planning, Protection and Optimization. It will enable the candidates to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze:

• The purpose, goal and objectives of Capacity Management
• The scope of Capacity Management
• The importance of Capacity Management as a process to generate business value
• Capacity Management policies, principles and basic concepts
• The main activities, methods and techniques that enable Capacity Management and how they relate to Planning, Protection and Optimization
• The triggers, inputs and outputs of Capacity Management and its interfaces with other processes
• How the key metrics can be used to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of successful Capacity Management

Availability Management

This unit covers the Availability Management process and how it contributes to Planning, Protection and Optimization. It will enable the candidates to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze:

• The purpose, goal and objectives of the process
• The scope of the process
• The importance of Availability Management as a process to generate business value
• Availability Management policies, principles and basic concepts
• The main activities, methods and techniques that enable Availability Management and how they relate to Planning, Protection and Optimization
• The triggers, inputs and outputs of Availability Management, and its interface with other processes
• How the key metrics can be used to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of successful Availability Management

IT Service Continuity Management

This unit covers the IT Service Continuity Management (ITSCM) process and how it contributes to Planning, Protection and Optimization. It will enable the candidates to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze:

• The purpose, goal and objectives of the process
• The scope of the process
• The importance of ITSCM as a process to generate business value
• ITSCM policies, principles and basic concepts
• The main activities, methods and techniques that enable ITSCM and how they relate to Planning, Protection and Optimization, particularly Stage 1 of the ITSCM lifecycle, Initiation
• The main activities, methods and techniques that enable ITSCM and how they relate to Planning, Protection and Optimization, particularly Stage 2 of the ITSCM lifecycle, Requirements and Strategy
• The main activities, methods and techniques that enable ITSCM and how they relate to Planning, Protection and Optimization, particularly Stage 3 of the ITSCM lifecycle, Implementation
• The main activities, methods and techniques that enable ITSCM and how they relate to Planning, Protection and Optimization, particularly Stage 4 of the ITSCM lifecycle, Ongoing Operation
• The triggers, inputs and outputs of ITSCM, and its interface with other processes
• How the key metrics can be used and applied to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of successful IT Service Continuity Management

Information Security Management

This unit covers the Information Security Management process and how it contributes to Planning, Protection and Optimization. It will enable the candidates to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze:

• The purpose, goal and objectives of the process
• The scope of the process
• The importance of Information Security Management as a process to generate business value
• Information Security Management policies, principles and basic concepts
• The main activities, methods and techniques that enable this process and how they relate to Planning, Protection and Optimization
• The triggers, inputs and outputs of Information Security Management and its interface with other processes
• How the key metrics can be used and applied to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of successful Information Security Management

Demand Management

This unit covers the Demand Management process and how it contributes to Planning, Protection and Optimization. It will enable the candidates to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze:

• The basic concepts of Demand Management
• The activity based Demand Management and business activity patterns
• The interfaces to Service Design
• Managing demand for Service
• Analyze and discuss the main activities, methods and techniques that enable this process and how they relate to Planning, Protection and Optimization

Challenges, Critical Success Factors and Risks

This unit covers Challenges, Critical Success Factors and Risks and how they contribute to Planning, Protection and Optimization. It will enable the candidates to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze:

• The challenges, Critical Success Factors and risks are, related to Capacity and Demand Management
• What the challenges, Critical Success Factors and risks are, related to Availability Management
• What the challenges, Critical Success Factors and risks are, related to ITSCM
• What the challenges, Critical Success Factors and risks are, related to Information Security Management
• Explain the challenges, Critical Success Factors and risks directly associated with Service Design phase of the Service Lifecycle and how it relates specifically to PPO

Planning, Protection and Optimization Roles and Responsibilities

This unit enables the candidate to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze how Service roles and responsibilities contribute to Planning, Protection and Optimization. It will enable the candidates to recognize the key roles / functions responsible for executing each process step as related to:

• Capacity Management process
• Availability Management process
• IT Service Continuity Management process
• Information Security Management process

Technology and Implementation Considerations

This unit covers Technology and Implementation Considerations and how they contribute to Planning, Protection and Optimization. It will enable the candidates to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze:

• the generic requirements for technology to assist Service Design
• the evaluation criteria for technology and tooling for process implementation
• the good practices for practice and process implementation
• the challenges, Critical Success Factors and risks related to implementing practices and processes
• How to plan and implement Service Management technologies
• The consideration for implementing technologies in supporting the processes within Planning, Protection and Optimization practice, in particular, designing technology architectures

Summary, Exam Preparation and Directed Studies

This module summarizes the material covered in the previous modules and prepares candidates for the examination through the review and practice of a mock examination. The Examination is comprised of eight (8) multiple choice, scenario-based, gradient scored questions. The standard duration of the exam is Maximum 90 minutes.

Program Material

This training program includes the following as reference documentation:

• Program slide presentation
• ITIL® V3 acronyms and glossary
• Sample examination questions and answers

Simulation and practical application

We provide the students with real life experiences; we use the client organization as “Case study” example for the purpose of discussion to show the value of using best practice. We integrate group exercises and sample exam questions to simulate and practice the subject matter.