The Knowledge Academy Materials and Trainers
The Knowledge Academy ITIL® course materials and trainers are accredited by APM Group Ltd. ensuring that delegates receive a consistently high standard of training. The Knowledge Academy course materials are regularly assessed and maintained in line with stringent standards administered by APM Group Ltd. The Knowledge Academy trainers are regularly assessed by The Knowledge Academy and AMP Group Ltd. to ensure that their knowledge of Service Desk Management and ITIL® are strong enough to deliver training that helps delegates extract maximum benefit from attending our courses.
Pre-Reading Material
It is a prerequisite that delegates hold the ITIL® Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management or the version 2 to version 3 bridge equivalent.
Please note that delegates are advised to purchase and read the following publication in advance of the course ISBN 9780113313082
It is also strongly recommended that candidates:
Can demonstrate familiarity with IT terminology and understand the context of Service Strategy management in their own business environment
Have exposure working in a Service Management capacity within a service provider environment, with responsibility emphasizing at least one of the following Service Deployment Management and Evaluation Management
Complete the pre-course work which includes reading the Key Element Guide Service Transition and Key Element Guide Service Operation. If possible, reading the ITIL Service Lifecycle core publications—in particular, the Service Transition and Service Strategy books—in advance of attending the training will help with overall understanding of the course.
It is recommended that Intermediate courses require approximately 1 hour of home study each evening.
APMG Intermediate examination
The course forms part of the ITIL® Intermediate qualification programme. Successful candidates will be awarded 3 credits towards the ITIL® Expert qualification.
The examination will consist of a complex multiple choice, closed book paper of 8 questions, to be answered within 90 minutes. (Candidates sitting the examination in English and who do not have English as their first language will be allowed 120 minutes to allow use of a dictionary.) The pass mark is 70% or more.
Course Content
Candidates can expect to gain knowledge and understanding in the following:
Introduction to Continual Service Improvement
The Service Gap Model, how Service Level Management contributes to the management of gaps and how a Service Improvement Programme can be utilized
The 7-Step Improvement process used in the Continual Service Improvement
The processes and service lifecycle stages that Continual Service Improvement interfaces with
The fundamental aspects of Continual Service Improvement and be able to define them
Continual Service Improvement Principles
How Service Level Management supports Continual Improvement, providing details and examples related to use of Service Level Agreements, Operational Level Agreements and Underpinning Contracts
How the complete Deming Cycle works and how it can be applied to a real world example
What role benchmarking plays in Continual Service Improvement and the interaction it has with governance
What situations require the use of frameworks and models and examples how each type can be used to achieve improvement
Continual Service Improvement Process
What the 7-Step Improvement process is, how each step can be applied and the benefits it produces
The use and interaction of all other lifecycle stages and activities that contribute to Continual Service Improvement
The benefits and differences between the types of metrics (i.e. Technology, Process and Service) and how each is used to support Continual Service Improvement
The differences between the Technology Domain and the Service Management Domain, and how each is viewed by Continual Service Improvement
Continual Service Improvement Methods and Techniques
How Availability Management techniques such as Component Failure Impact Analysis, Fault Tree Analysis are used to support Continual Service Improvement
How Capacity, Problem, Risk and IT Service Continuity Management can all be used holistically to support Continual Service Improvement
When and where to use benchmarking, Balanced Scorecards and SWOT (Strength, Weakness Opportunity Threat) analysis
Organization for Continual Service Improvement
How to design, implement and populate a RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) diagram as well as how to use it to support Continual Service Improvement
The Continual Service Improvement related roles and responsibilities such as Service Manager,
Continual Service Improvement Manager and Service owner and provide examples of how they can be positioned within an organization
Technology for Continual Service Improvement
The technology and tools required, as well as, how these would be implemented and managed, to support Continual Service Improvement activities such as Performance, Project and Portfolio
Management as well as Service Measurement and Business Intelligence reporting
Implementing Continual Service Improvement
Continual Service Improvement implementation: Strategy, planning, governance, communication, project management, operation as well as how to deal with cultural and organizational change
The day-to-day concerns, support and operations of a large corporate Continual Service Improvement group
Critical Success Factors and Risks
The challenges and risks such as staffing, funding, management, etc., which can be related to Continual Service Improvement and the details behind how each challenge can be addressed
The Critical Success Factors related to Continual Service Improvement as well as how to measure and monitor them