Programme overview
Technical depth: Practitioner · Practical mode: Case study
Introduction
IT functions often measure themselves by tickets closed while users experience slow fixes, repeated outages and changes that break services. Service desks work without a catalogue, problems are never traced to their root cause, and service levels are agreed but not managed. This Core Concept course grounds IT staff in service management practice, from key concepts and the ITIL (Version 5) lifecycle to incident, request, problem, change and service level management. Participants apply each practice to case material from several sectors and leave with an ITSM Process Improvement Plan for their own IT function.
Course Objectives
- Explain service management concepts, the seven guiding principles and the value a service creates for its consumers
- Describe the ITIL (Version 5) product and service lifecycle, the ITIL 4 service value system and the ISO/IEC 20000-1 requirements they support
- Operate incident, service request, problem and change practices using defined categories, priorities and records
- Define service levels, operational agreements and metrics that reflect user experience
- Identify process failures in major incidents, configuration data and knowledge management and apply corrective practices
- Prepare an ITSM Process Improvement Plan for the participant's own IT function
Target Audience
- Service desk analysts and team leaders handling incidents and requests
- Technical support and operations staff resolving issues and implementing changes
- Service coordinators and service owners maintaining catalogues and service levels
- Change, configuration and problem coordinators in IT operations
- Staff in outsourced and shared service providers delivering IT services to clients
Course Outline
Day 1: Service Management Concepts and the Current State
- Service Value Concepts: Outcomes, Costs, Risks and Utility and Warranty
- Service Relationship Roles: Consumer, Provider, Sponsor and User
- The Seven ITIL Guiding Principles
- Service Portfolio and Service Catalogue Structure
- ITSM Process Capability Self-Assessment
Day 2: Service Management Frameworks and Standards
- ITIL (Version 5) Product and Service Lifecycle: Discover to Support
- ITIL 4 Service Value System and Service Value Chain
- ISO/IEC 20000-1:2018 Service Management System Requirements
- COBIT 2019 and VeriSM in Relation to ITIL
- Service Integration and Management (SIAM) for Multi-Supplier Environments
Day 3: Core Service Management Practices
- Incident Management: Logging, Categorisation, Priority Matrix and Escalation
- Service Request Management and Self-Service Portal Design
- Problem Management: Known Error Records and Ishikawa Root Cause Analysis
- Change Enablement: Change Types, Risk Assessment and Change Authority
- Service Level Management: SLA, OLA and Experience Level Agreement Design
Day 4: Failure Points and Optimisation
- Major Incident Procedure and Stakeholder Communication Templates
- Configuration Management Database Design and Service Mapping
- Knowledge Management with Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS v6)
- AI-Assisted Ticket Triage and Automation Use Cases
- Service Desk Metrics: First Contact Resolution, MTTR and the Watermelon SLA Trap
Day 5: Case Work and the ITSM Process Improvement Plan
- University Service Desk Case Study: Backlog Recovery
- Retail Chain Case Study: Failed Change and Outage Review
- Incident, Request and Change Process Map Build
- ITSM Process Improvement Plan Drafting
- Peer Review and Continual Improvement Register Defence
Skills You Will Gain
- Incident Handling
- Service Request Fulfilment
- Problem Analysis
- Change Risk Assessment
- Service Level Monitoring
- Configuration Data Management
- Knowledge Article Writing
- Service Process Mapping
Why Attend This Course
- Return with an ITSM Process Improvement Plan grounded in your own service desk and operations data
- Understand how your daily work fits the ITIL lifecycle and ISO/IEC 20000 service management system
- Recognise the process gaps behind recurring incidents, failed changes and misleading service reports
- Exchange practical experience with IT staff from other sectors and countries
Conclusion
Good IT service management shows in fewer repeat incidents, safer changes and service levels that reflect what users actually experience. This course moves from core service concepts and the current state, through the ITIL (Version 5) lifecycle, ITIL 4 and ISO/IEC 20000, to the incident, request, problem, change and service level practices that shape daily work, and then to the failure points that undermine them. The final day produces an ITSM Process Improvement Plan that participants take back to their team as a practical agenda for improvement.