ITIL Service Offerings & Agreements Capability Module

ITIL® is recognised internationally as the best practice approach to IT Service Management aligning the provision of IT Services with the needs of the business. It is used globally by thousands of organisations throughout the private and public sectors to improve the way in which they implement and manage IT Services.

The ITIL intermediate qualification in Service Offerings and Agreements (SOA) is a freestanding qualification, but is also part of the ITIL Intermediate Capability stream, and one of the modules that leads to the ITIL Expert Certificate in IT Service Management.

The ITIL Certificate in Service Offerings and Agreements enables delegates to apply SOA practices to the service management lifecycle and specifically in the following key ITIL process, role and function areas:

Service portfolio management
Service catalogue management
Service level management
Demand management
Supplier management
Financial management for IT services
Business relationship management
This course also introduces and explores the implementation of SOA practices, as well as technology considerations

To find when the next course is running in your area, please contact us on 0845 467 7029.

Audience: Who is the course for?

IT Professionals
Business managers
Business process owners
Individuals who require a deep understanding of the Service Offerings and Agreements processes and of how it may be used to enhance the quality of IT service support within an organisation
IT professionals who are working within an organisation that has adopted and adapted ITIL and who need to be informed about and contribute to an on-going service improvement programme
Operational staff involved in service portfolio management; service level management; service catalogue management; demand management; supplier management; financial management for IT services and business relationship management who wish to enhance their role-based capabilities
Individuals who have attained the ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management and wish to advance to higher level ITIL certifications
Individuals seeking the ITIL Expert Certificate in IT Service Management for which this qualification can be one of the prerequisite modules
Individuals seeking progress toward the ITIL Master Certificate in IT Service Management for which the ITIL Expert is a prerequisite.

Course duration:

Five day (the exam is normally taken during the afternoon of the fifth day)

Benefits to the individual:

Recognised professional qualification
Understand the application of ITIL guidelines and frameworks that contribute to industry best practice
Helps individuals to understand the Service Offerings and Agreements processes and how they may be used to enhance the quality of IT service support within an organisation
Pre-requisite module for ITIL Expert certification in IT Service Management

Benefits to the business:

The adoption and application of proven best practice processes results in improved IT services and increased productivity throughout the business
Improved customer satisfaction and less down time through quicker fixes
Better process management leads to increased efficiency and reduced costs
The framework is flexible, scalable, and systematic and can be used within different organisations irrespective of size or industry

Pre-requisites:

Delegates must have passed ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management in order to attend ITIL Capability courses and will need to present their certificate as documentary evidence to gain admission.

It is also recommended that candidates:

Can demonstrate familiarity with IT terminology and understand the context of SOA management within their own business
Have experience of working in the service management capacity within a service provider environment, with responsibility for at least one of the following management processes and activities:
- Service portfolio management
- Service catalogue management
- Service level management
- Demand management
- Supplier management
- Financial management for IT services
- Business relationship management

It is highly recommended that delegates read the ITIL Service Lifecycle core publications, in particular those from ITIL Service Strategy and ITIL Service Design, in advance of attending the course.

Delegates will also need to undertake at least 12 hours of self-study reviewing the syllabus and course materials and also the key areas within the ITIL Service Strategy and ITIL Service Design core guidance to prepare for the exam.

Course outline:

The objectives of this course are:

To give delegates an in-depth understanding of the Service Offerings and Agreements processes and how they may be used to enhance the quality of IT service support within an organisation
To enable delegates to apply the practices of Service Offerings and Agreements

The course is conducted through interactive group study using practical examples and activities. An in-depth case study allows delegates to see how the theory is applied in a real life situation. Over the five day course, the following topics are covered.

Introduction to service offerings and agreements (SOA)

The value to the business of SOA activities
The lifecycle within the SOA context
How services deliver value to customers and the business and the relevance to the SOA processes
How requirements are identified through the SOA processes
Understanding return on investment (ROI) and the business case

Service portfolio management

Service portfolio management, including concepts, methods, activities, roles and operation as well as its organisational structure and the interfaces with other processes
Service portfolio management in relationship to the service catalogue and service pipeline and how these support SOA
Metrics and critical success factors (CSFs) associated with service portfolio management in support of SOA

Service catalogue management

Service catalogue management, including its concepts, activities, roles and operation as well as its organisational structure and the interfaces with other processes
Service catalogue in relationship to the service portfolio, the business catalogue, the technical service catalogue and how these components are used to ensure service quality within SOA
Metrics and CSFs associated with service catalogue management in support of SOA

Service level management

Service level management (SLM), including its concepts, activities, roles and operation as well as its organisational structure and any interfaces with other processes
SLM components and activities, including service level agreements (SLAs) structures, service level requirements (SLRs), operational level agreements (OLAs), CSFs, underpinning contracts (UCs), their metrics, performance and monitoring
How these components are used to ensure service quality within SOA

Demand management

Demand management process, including its concepts, activities, roles and operation as well as its organisational structure and any interfaces with other processes
Demand for services especially in relation to patterns of business activity and how it is used within SOA
Service portfolio interaction with demand management and how demand can be managed for service in relation to providing business benefits and in support of SOA
Metrics and CSFs associated with demand management in support of SOA

Supplier management

Supplier management process inclusive of its concepts, activities, roles and operation including its organisational structure as well as any interfaces with other processes
Supplier management components and activities (for example supplier categorisation, supplier evaluation, supplier and contract database, metrics and CSFs) and how these are used to ensure service quality within SOA

Financial Management for IT services

Financial management for IT services, including its concepts, activities, roles and operation as well as its organisational structure and any interfaces with other processes
Financial management for IT services components and activities, including budgeting, accounting and charging and how these are used to ensure service quality within SOA
Metrics and CSFs associated with financial management for IT services in support of SOA

Business relationship management

Business relationship management, including its concepts, activities, roles and operation as well as its organisational structure and any interfaces with other processes
Metrics and CSFs associated with business relationship management in support of SOA

SOA roles and responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities related to all of the SOA processes

Technology and implementation considerations

Service management tools and where/how they would be used within SOA for process implementation
The tools that support SOA
What best practices should be used in order to alleviate challenges and risks when implementing Service Management technologies and designing technology architectures

Exam details:

The 90 minute exam consists of eight multiple choice, scenario-based, gradient scored questions. Each question will have four possible answer options – one is worth five marks, one is worth three marks, one is worth one mark and one is an incorrect answer worth no marks.

The pass mark is 28/40 or 70%. This is a closed book exam i.e. entrants may not refer to any course materials or their own notes.