This qualification covers the knowledge required to gain an understanding of the content and requirements of the international standard, ISO/IEC 20000: IT Service Management.
ISO/IEC 20000 was formally known as BS15000 a British Standard, but it is now recognized across the Globe.
This course covers the certification requirements of ISO/IEC 20000-1:2005 and how the guidance in ISO/IEC 20000-2:2005 can be adopted by an organization to deliver effective managed services and enable these services to continually improve.
The qualification is aimed at staff both in internal and external service provider organizations that require knowledge and an understanding of the ISO/IEC 20000 standard and its content. The course provides:
- Service owners, process owners and other Service Management staff with an awareness of and familiarity with the ISO/IEC 20000 standard
- Individuals with the necessary knowledge to assess the relevance and importance of the ISO/IEC 20000 standard to the Service Management activities within their own organization
- Managers and team leaders with a knowledge of a typical ISO/IEC 20000 IT Service Management System
- Internal auditors, process owners, process reviewers and assessors with a good knowledge of the ISO/IEC 20000 standard, its contents and justification of the need for internal reviews, assessments and audits
- Evidence that delegates have achieved a foundation level of knowledge of the ISO/IEC 20000 standard
However, this qualification does not provide the advanced level of knowledge for external auditors, consultants or those responsible for managing implementation of the standard in a service provider organization.
Additional courses are provided by the itSMF accredited course providers, which cover the Consultant or Auditor level and provide a more in depth insight into the standard. Although this course provides a good foundation level for delegates preparing for these more advanced courses, it is not a pre-requisite for these courses.
The examination consists of a one hour exam with forty multiple choice questions. Normally, the examination will be held on-site at the conclusion of the course. However, ISEB are also arranging to run four examinations over a year, probably quarterly, at a central location.
To be entered for the ISO/IEC 20000 examination leading to the Foundation certificate, ideally the candidate must demonstrate at least three year's IT Service Management experience or hold the IT Service Management Foundation certificate.
Candidates taking the examination immediately following a course will be entered for the examination by the Training Provider. Those wishing to take the ISEB quarterly examination should register direct with the ISEB, from whom the entry form can be obtained.
In order to offer training leading to the ISO/IEC 20000 Foundation Certificate, Training Providers must first be accredited by the ISEB. A list of accredited Training Providers is available on the ISEB web site. The training may be offered in a variety of formats, in class, on-line, but is most commonly available as a three-day course consisting of at least eighteen hours training as recommended for this course.
Finally, it is understood that EXIN a counterpart to ISEB, based in Holland, is planning to launch an ISO/IEC 20000 Foundation Certificate, although currently details are yet to be confirmed.