BCS Specialist: Business Relationship Management

ITIL® is recognised internationally as the best practice approach to IT Service Management (ITSM) 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 qualification scheme also recognises other certifications which add value to ITIL best practices and its own certification portfolio. These certifications are recognised under the ITIL Complementary Qualifications Scheme. Such certifications are given a credit value which successful delegates can add to the credits gained from other ITIL certifications and use towards their ITIL Expert Level qualification.

The BCS Specialist certifications focus on a single IT service management job role and provide in-depth information and knowledge on how that job role operates within an organisation. They enable delegates to develop their job specific skills using industry best practices.

The BCS Specialist Certificate in Business Relationship Management (BRM) provides a comprehensive understanding of the principles required and practical experience of using industry best practices in the operation, monitoring, reporting, implementation, planning and improvement of BRM.

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

Audience: Who is the course for?

• Those working within a business relationship environment whether at a technical, operational, supervisory or managerial level
• Project Managers, Business Managers, Business Process Owners, Service Owners and others working in other areas of ITSM
• Those who require a working knowledge of the industry best practice used in BRM and how it can be used to improve the quality of ITSM within an organisation
• Those who are working within an organisation which has adopted these practices and are required to deliver or improve BRM within an on-going Service Improvement Programme (SIP)

Course duration:

This is a three day course. The exam is taken on the third day.

Benefits to the individual:

• Recognised professional qualification
• Understand the application of BCS BRM principles that contribute to industry best practice
• Understand the BCS BRM processes and how they may be used to enhance the quality of IT service support within an organisation
• Understand the value of IT to the business, the business value chain and the value network
• Gain credits towards the 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
• Practical analysis of BRM reports and statistics allows changes to made to improve the overall service performance
• Better BRM processes lead to greater productivity and increased customer satisfaction
• The framework is flexible, scalable, and systematic and can be used within different organisations irrespective of size or industry

Prerequisites:

Delegates must hold the Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management and will need to present their certificate as documentary evidence to gain admission. It is also recommended that delegates have:

• A minimum of one year's experience in an IT Service Management environment either as a practitioner, supervisor or manager
• Several years' experience in a specialist service management area aiming to take on a supervisory or managerial role
• Responsibility for the delivery and maintenance of a specific service management process

Course outline:

The objectives of this course are:

• To enable delegates to apply industry best practices in their working environment
• For delegates to understand the objectives and to apply the principles and processes of BRM
• To enable delegates to develop and improve the customer and business focus of BRM
• To enable delegates to understand the business viewpoint and the need for communication
• For delegates to be able to assist with the planning and implementation of BRM

The course is conducted through interactive group study using practical examples and activities. Delegates will sit a mock exam in order to help them prepare for and successfully pass the real exam. After completing the mock exam, delegates and the tutor will review the mock exam paper as a group.

Over the three day course, the following topics are covered:

Introduction

• Introduction to course
• Overview of course structure, objectives, exam format and agenda
• History of ITSM, introduction to ITSM in general, including standards, good practice and frameworks such as ISO/IEC 20000, ITIL and COBIT® and the differences in approach
• The goal and objectives of Business Relationship Management including Supplier Relationship Management and the roles and responsibilities of the Account Manager and Service Delivery Manager and an outline of the related functions, roles and processes

Business Relationship Management and related processes. BRM concepts and principles:

• The responsibilities and objectives in support of generic BRM
• The business value chain
• The approaches to business/IT alignment
• Understanding the business viewpoint
• Managing the provision of services
• Supplier relationship management
• Implications of outsourced suppliers

The how - ITIL and its application to BRM:

• The structure intent and use of ITIL
• The key BRM guidelines within ITIL
• Interfaces with and dependencies on other areas of ITIL especially, Service Level Management, Supplier Management, Service Portfolio Management, Capacity Management, Request Fulfilment and Change Management

The generic Business Relationship Management process including:

• Business Relationship Management – developing effective working relationships between the business and IT at strategic, tactical and operational levels using negotiation and communication skills
• Communicating and representing business views, needs, impact and priorities to other IT personnel and processes
• High level Requirements Analysis and Demand Management for identifying and documenting future requirements
• Planning, review and development – continual review and planning of improvements within a business-focused culture in IT, principally at the strategic level
• Liaison, Education and Communication – coordination and development of knowledge and skills, distribution of information within IT. Principally operating at the tactical and operational levels
• Ensuring that Customer satisfaction is surveyed, measured and improved

The what – the requirements of the ISO/IEC 20000 standard:

• The structure, intent and use of ISO/IEC 20000
• The key BRM requirements of Part 1 of the standard including Planning and Implementation of New and Changed Services, the Relationship processes, Service Level Management and Service Reporting
• Supporting material from Part 2 of the standard
• The overall Service Management System
• Interfaces with and dependencies on other areas of the standard

Tools, methods and techniques

• Awareness, knowledge and use of BRM support tools and techniques
• Generic requirements for BRM toolsets
• Integration with other areas, processes and functions
• The benefits of automation

BRM roles and responsibilities – SFIA and ITIL. Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) and its use with defining BRM roles:

• Overview of the structure and content of the SFIA framework
• BRM roles, levels of responsibility and work activities

ITIL and its use in defining BRM roles:

• BRM roles and responsibilities

Control, measurement and reporting activities. COBIT® and its application to BRM:

• The structure intent and use of COBIT®
• The key BRM requirements of COBIT® DS1
• Interfaces with and dependencies on other areas of COBIT®

The preparation of BRM reports for dissemination:

• The purpose of service reports, management reports and reporting. What to report on - and what not to?
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Critical Success Factors (CSFs)
• How statistics can be used, and abused
• Common categories of classification and analysis

Analysis of reports, statistics and trends. The analysis of reports, statistics and reports, identifying trends:

• Identification of areas of weakness and proposing resolutions for the proactive improvement of services

Interfaces and dependencies

• The appreciation and understanding of the interfaces and dependencies BRM has with other areas, functions and processes, including.
  • Service Level Management
  • Request Fulfilment
  • Problem Management
  • Change and Release Management
  • Service Asset and Configuration Management
  • IT Security Management
  • Capacity, Availability, Finance and Continuity principles
  • Projects and major changes
  • Supplier Management
  • Technical, Operations and Applications Management teams

Planning, improvement and implementation

• The planning, implementation and continual improvement (Plan/Do/Check/Act) of BRM

Exam details:

The 90 minute exam consists of 25 multiple choice questions. The questions are based on a number of scenarios and the pass mark is 16/25 or 64%. This is a closed book exam i.e. entrants may not refer to any course materials or their own notes.