Program Overview

The ITIL® Intermediate Qualification: Continual Service Improvement (CSI) 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 design as documented in the ITIL® CSI 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 following week. 

 

The course approach combines theoretical and hands-on knowledge transfer, including individual and group practical exercises. 

 

 

Current Delivery Method

-    Instructor led Classroom based (In-House and Public Course)

-    The Minimum number of students per session is 6 where the maximum is 12.

 

Audience

·         The audience for the ITIL® Intermediate Qualification: Continual Service Improvement 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 Continual Service Improvement activities within the Service Lifecycle.

·         The course covers the management and control of the activities and techniques within the Continual Service Improvement stage, but not the detail of each of the supporting processes. This course may also be of interest to:

o         Individuals who require a detailed understanding of the ITIL® Continual Service Improvement phase of the ITIL®  core Lifecycle and how it may be implemented to enhance the quality of IT service provision within an organization

o        IT professionals working within or about to enter a Continual Service Improvement environment and requiring a detailed understanding of the processes, functions and activities involved

o        Individuals seeking the ITIL®  Expert in IT Service Management for which this qualification is one of the prerequisite modules

o        Individuals seeking progress towards the ITIL®  Master in IT Service Management for which the ITIL®  Expert is a prerequisite

 

Exam 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. Participants may 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, to be eligible for the ITIL® Intermediate: Continual Service Improvement Qualification, candidates shall 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

·         It is recommended that students should complete at least 21 hours of personal study by reviewing the syllabus and the Service Design 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 can expect to gain competencies in the following upon successful completion of the education and examination components related to this certification:

·         Introduction to Continual Service Improvement

·         Continual Service Improvement Principles

·         Continual Service Improvement Process

·         Continual Service Improvement Methods and Techniques

·         Organization for Continual Service Improvement

·         Technology for Continual Service Improvement

·         Implementation Considerations

·         Critical success factors and risks

 

Following the completion of this program, program participants will know:

·         The importance of Service Management as a Practice

·         Concept and Continual Service Improvement Principals, Purpose and Objective

·         How all processes in ITIL® Continual Service Improvement interact with other Service Lifecycle Processes

·         The sub-processes, activities, methods and functions used in each of the ITIL® Continual Service Improvement processes

·         The roles and responsibilities within ITIL®  Continual Service Improvement and the activities and functions to achieve ServiceImprovement excellence

·         Technology and implementation considerations surrounding ITIL®  Continual Service Improvement

·         Challenges, Critical Success Factors and  Risks associated to ITIL®  Continual Service Improvement

 

 

The program will cover the following modules:

 

Introduction

This unit introduces the candidate to concepts and terminology in the field of Continual Service Improvement. Specifically, after completion of this module candidates will be expected to understand and describe:

·         the purpose and objectives of Continual Service Improvement

·         the scope of Continual Service Improvement

·         the approach to Continual Service Improvement

·         the interfaces with other ITIL®  Lifecycle stages  

 

Continual Service Improvement Principles

This unit will cover general approach and identifies the key elements within Continual Service Improvement.  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 the success of CSI depends upon an understanding of change upon an organization

·         how CSI drives the adoption of, and is influenced by, Service Level Management 

·         how the Deming Cycle is critical to both the implementation and application of CSI 

·         how CSI can make effective use of the various aspects of  Service Measurement 

·         how Knowledge Management is a mainstay of any improvement initiative

·         how CSI can make effective use of internal and external Benchmarks

·         how CSI can be used to ensure good governance where goals are aligned and good management is achieved

·         how frameworks, models, standards and quality systems fully support the concepts embodied in CSI

 

Continual Service Improvement Process

This unit covers in detail the ITIL®  processes primarily covered in the Continual Service Improvement stage, and the relevant activities relating to other ITIL®  processes. 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:

·         the 7-step improvement process. Specifically, the candidate will be able to articulate what is being done at every step andwhere the Information is actually found

·         how CSI integrates with the other stages in the Service Lifecycle

·         Service Reporting and articulate reporting policies and rules

·         Service Measurement Specifically, the candidate will be able to describe targets, and describe, use and interpret metrics andreports

·         the importance of properly defining metrics and measurements

·         the concept of Return on Investment for CSI. Specifically, the candidate will be able to demonstrate how to create a return oninvestment, establish a business case and measure the benefits achieved

·         the various Business questions for CSI

·         the relationship between CSI and Service Level Management

 

Continual Service Improvement  Methods and Techniques

This unit will provide detailed coverage of the activities primarily used to deliver Continual Service Improvement phase.  Specifically, after completing this module, candidates will be able to apply available methods and techniques, select appropriate techniques for circumstances, justify recommendations and application of those techniques including:

·         what to assess and when to use Assessments

·         how a gap analysis can provide insight into the areas that have room for improvement

·         Benchmarking

·         the Measuring and Reporting frameworks such as the Balance Scorecard and the SWOT analysis

·         the Deming Cycle and its uses for service improvement

·         the relationships and interfaces between CSI and the other service management processes

·         how availability management techniques such as CFIA, FTA, PSA, TO and the expanded Incident Lifecycle can be used by CSI 

·         how capacity management techniques such as business, service and component capacity management, workload anddemand management

·         the iterative activities of capacity management can be used by CSI 

·         how CSI needs to take IT Service Continuity Management requirements into consideration and how CSI can use RiskManagement to identify areas for improvement

·         Problem management supports the activities of CSI

 

Organization for Continual Service Improvement  

This unit covers the roles and responsibilities appropriate within Continual Service Improvement and the Continual Service Improvement focused processes as well as related organizational structures and their applicability to different circumstances. The program will enable to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze the nature of the activities and the skills required for the 7-step improvement process. Additionally, candidates will get familiar with the responsibilities, skills and competencies for:

·         Service Manager

·         CSI Manager 

·         Service Owner 

·         how authority matrices (RACI) can very used when defining communication procedures in the CSI process

 

Technology for Continual Service Improvement 

This unit covers the appropriate technology and tools to support the Continual Service Improvement processes and activities; it will enable candidates to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze:

·         how the following tools can be used to assist some or all of the activities of the Continual Service Improvement process

·         IT service management suites

·         System and network management

·         Event management

·         Automated Incident/Problem resolution

·         Performance Management

·         Statistical Analysis tools

·         Project and Portfolio Management

·         Financial management

·         Business Intelligence reporting

 

Implementing Continual Service Improvement

This unit covers the key considerations in implementing CSI. It should enable candidates to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze:

·         where to start

·         the role of Governance to CSI

·         the effect of Organizational Change for CSI 

·         a Communications strategy and Plan

 

Critical success factors and risks

This unit addresses the positive and negative factors affecting the Continual Service Improvement process as well of the effect of CSI upon the organization.  Candidates will be able to understand, describe, identify, demonstrate, apply, distinguish, produce, decide or analyze:

·         the effects on an organization of the challenges facing Continual Service Improvement

·         the appropriate critical success factors for Continual Service Improvement

·         the potential impact if the risks associated with implementing CSI

·         the potential value to business, benefits and costs

 

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.