Program Overview

The ITIL® Intermediate Qualification: Service Strategy Certificate is a free-standing qualification, but is also part of the ITIL® Intermediate Lifecycle 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 strategy as documented in the ITIL® Service Strategy publication.

Duration

This program is offered over a 3-day period and includes approximately 21 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 main target group for the ITIL® Intermediate Qualification: Service Strategy 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 on-going management, coordination and integration of strategizing activities within the Service Lifecycle.

The course covers the management of service strategy and core information of supporting activities within the Service Strategy stage, but not the detail of each of the supporting processes. The program may also be of interest to individuals who require a deeper understanding of the ITIL® Service Strategy stage of the ITIL® Service Lifecycle and how activities in it may be implemented to enhance the quality of IT service management within an organization; the audience may include, but not limited to:

• IT professionals working in roles associated with strategic planning, execution and control within a service-based business model, seeking an understanding of the concepts, processes, functions and activities involved in Service Strategy
• 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

Candidates wishing to be trained and examined for this qualification 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, to be eligible for the ITIL® Intermediate: Service Strategy Qualification, candidates must fulfill the following requirements:

• At least 21 contact hours (hours of instruction, excluding breaks, with an Accredited Training Organization (ATO) or an accredited e-learning solution) for this syllabus, as part of a formal, approved training course/scheme
• There is no minimum requirement but a basic IT literacy and around 2 years IT experience are highly desirable
• Hold the ITIL® V3 Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management or ITIL® V2 Foundation plus the bridging certificate
• It is recommended that students should complete at least 21 hours of personal study by reviewing the syllabus and the Service Strategy publication in preparation for the examination

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 will gain the necessary knowledge of the following subjects:

• the importance of Service Management as a Practice concept and Service Strategy Principals, Purpose and Objective
• How ITIL® Service Strategy interacts with other Service Lifecycle Processes
• The activities, methods and functions used in each of the ITIL® Service Strategy processes
• The roles and responsibilities within ITIL® Service Strategy and the activities and functions to achieve operational excellence
• Explain how to measure ITIL® Service Strategy
• Have a good understanding of technology and implementation considerations surrounding ITIL® Service Strategy
• Challenges, Critical Success Factors and Risks associated to ITIL® Service Strategy

The program will cover the following modules:

Service Strategy Principles

This unit introduces the candidate to the core concepts and practices in Strategy and organization applied to Service Management and IT. To meet the learning outcomes and examination level of difficulty, the candidates must be able to understand and describe:

• The logic of value-creation within the context of the ITIL® Service Lifecycle Capabilities and resources
• Service provider types, and be able to choose between the types
• Dynamics of a service model based on the concept of value networks
• Strategic perspectives, plans, positions and patterns as applied to service management and IT in their own organization

Defining Services and Market Spaces

This unit covers the core concepts and practices in internal marketing, business development, and opportunity analysis. To meet the learning outcomes and examination level of difficulty, the candidates must be able to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze:

• Formal definitions of services suitable for planning and execution across the Service Lifecycle
• Business outcomes of customers and relating them to customer assets and service assets
• Services into customer outcomes, service assets, utility and warranty elements
• Market spaces, opportunities for new or changed services, and services as configurations and patterns

Conducting Strategic Assessments

This unit covers the process of conducting strategic assessments with respect to customers, market spaces, and existing capabilities of a service provider. To meet the learning outcomes and examination level of difficulty, the candidates must be able to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze:

• Strategic assets of an organization their performance and potential for serving particular customers or market spaces (internal or external)
• Critical Success Factors and degree of alignment of existing services, capabilities, and strategies with customer’s business
• Business potential within existing customers and in adjacent market spaces through analysis of patterns within Service Catalogue, business strategy of customers, and environmental factors such as business trends, technological innovation, and regulatory compliance

Financial Management

This unit covers Financial Management and investments applied to Service Management. To meet the learning outcomes and examination level of difficulty, the candidates must be able to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze:

• Service valuation, financial modeling, service provisioning and analysis, and business impact analysis
• Funding the Service Portfolio and phases of the Service Lifecycle and defining expectations or return on investments

Service Portfolio Management

This unit covers Portfolio management concepts, methods, and principles applied to Service Management. To meet the learning outcomes and examination level of difficulty, the candidates must be able to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze Service Portfolio Management, methods, and processes related to service management and services.

Managing Demand

This unit covers Demand Management, profiling, segmentation, and service packaging strategies to effectively serve different types of customer needs and business activity patterns. To meet the learning outcomes and examination level of difficulty, the candidates must be able to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze:

• Challenges, opportunities and risks in fulfilling demand for a particular customer or market space
• High-level strategies for demand management that can be supported by capabilities across the Service Lifecycle
• Demand with respect to customer outcomes, patterns of business activity, and user profiles. Sources of demand and capacity within the Service Catalogue and Service Pipeline
• Core Service Packages and Service Level Packages
• The roles of Product Manager and Business Relationship Manager

Driving Strategy Through The Service Lifecycle

This unit covers How Service Strategy is implemented through tactics and operations framed by the Service Lifecycle. To meet the learning outcomes and examination level of difficulty, the candidates must be able to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze:

• How Service Strategy is driven through and informed by other elements of the Service Lifecycle
• Policies and constraints for Service Design that will encode strategic objectives and customer needs
• Requirements for Service Transition to act on behalf of Service Strategy in reducing costs and risks as service progress through the Lifecycle
• Tactical plans for the Service catalogue to be effectively hosted by Service Operation phase, with adjustments by customers and contracts
• Opportunities for improvement across the Service Portfolio and Service Lifecycle

Critical Success Factors and Risks

This unit covers Critical Success Factors and risks that determine the viability of strategic positions and plans. Specifically, after completion of this unit candidates will be able to:

• The role of organization development and sourcing as Critical Success Factors
• Automation and tools to meet strategic objectives through the framework of service management
• Benefits and risks from factors such as complexity, coordination, intangible assets, and total cost of utilization (TCU)
• Types of risks across the Lifecycle and high-level approaches for mitigating risks

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.