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The ITIL® Intermediate Qualification: Release, Control and Validation (RCV) Certificate is part of the ITIL® Intermediate Capability stream, and one of the modules that leads to the ITIL® Expert in IT Service Management Certificate. This 5 day course immerses students in the practical aspects of the ITIL Service Lifecycle and processes associated with the Release, Control and Validation of services and service delivery. The main focus of this course is on the operational-level process activities and supporting methods and approaches to executing these processes. To implement new services in a controlled and cost-effective manner, IT departments must successfully implement ITIL® Release, Control and Validation best practices. Students gain the skills required to take the ITIL® Release, Control and Validation Certification Exam.
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1. Introduction and Overview
- Analyzing and exploring the importance of the Service Capability stream
- Service Management as a practice
- The Service value proposition
- How the Release, Control and Validation capabilities support the Service Lifecycle
2. Core Release, Control and Validation Processes
- Change Management
- Purpose, goals and objectives
- Implementing change with minimum disruption and rework
- Evaluating business, technical and financial aspects
- Achieving successful service transition
- Activities, methods and techniques
- Post-implementation review
- Key metrics to measure success
3. Service Asset and Configuration Management
- Business value of monitoring service transition
- Activities, methods and techniques
- Establishing configuration baselines
- Correlating IT services with need components
- Tracking and reporting asset values
- Establishing metrics that measure success
4. Service Validation and Testing
- How Service Validation and Testing creates business value
- Assuring transition integrity and quality
- The Service V Model
- Fit for purpose : Fit for Use
- Acquiring relevant test data
5. Release and Deployment Management
- Analyzing how services are released into production to enable effective use of services
- Planning, scheduling and controlling releases
- Moving to the live environment
- Illustrating the main activities and how they relate to the capability of Release, Control and Validation
- Maintaining information on service deployment
- Defining metrics for process quality
6. Request Fulfillment and Service Evaluation
- Analyzing how service requests should be handled
- Avoiding congestion and obstruction of the normal incident and change management processes
- Process scope and objectives
- The triggers, input and output of request fulfillment
7. Evaluating services against target performance in the context of change
- Meeting committed service level performance
- Activities, methods and techniques
- Key metrics to measure success
8. Knowledge Management
- Purpose, goals and objectives
- Enhancing decision support
- Activities, methods and techniques
- Establishing metrics to measure service delivery quality
9. Roles and Responsibilities
- Change management
- Service asset and configuration management
- Service validation and testing
- Release and deployment
- Service desk (fulfillment) and service evaluation
10. Technology and Implementation Considerations
- Technology as part of implementing service management
- Special technology features related to Release, Control and Validation
- Generic requirements and evaluation criteria
- Good practices for implementation
- Challenges, critical success factors and risks
11. Common Service Activities
- Service monitoring and control
- Deming cycle
- CSI techniques
12. Continual Service Improvement
- The relationship of CSI in respect to organizational change
- Implementing an effective CSI program
- Service reporting
- Cost benefit justification
Individuals who have an ITIL® 2011 Foundation Certificate (or the ITIL® v1/v2 Foundation + v3 Foundation Bridge certificate) and want to pursue the intermediate and advanced level ITIL® certifications. IT professionals involved in IT Service Management implementation and improvement programs. Operational staff involved in Change Management, Release and Deployment Management, Service Validation and Testing, Service Asset and Configuration Management, Request Fulfillment, Service Evaluation.
Students should hold an ITIL® 2011 Foundation Certificate or ITIL® v2 Foundation + v3 Foundation Bridge Certificate.
Before taking the course, it’s recommended (though not required) that candidates have approximately two years exposure to basic concepts in IT and related work experience. It is also strongly recommended that candidates:
- Can demonstrate familiarity with IT terminology
- Have familiarity with ITIL® Service Lifecycle Practices core publications
- Have exposure working in the service management capacity with responsibility emphasizing on a management process:
- Change Management
- Release Management
- Configuration Management
- Service evaluation and quality assurance
- Knowledge management
- Service validation and testing
At the end of this 5 day course, the student will gain competencies in:
- Service Management as a Practice
- Processes across the Service Lifecycle pertaining to the capability of Release, Control and Validation management
- Change management as a capability to realize successful service transition
- Service validation and testing as a capability to assure the integrity and the QoS transition
- Service asset and configuration management as a capability to monitor state of service transition
- Knowledge management as part of enhancing the on-going management decision
- Service request fulfillment and evaluation to assure meeting committed service level performance
- Common Service Operation activities for supporting the service management Lifecycle
- Release, Control and Validation process roles and responsibilities
- Technology and Implementation Considerations
- Challenges, Critical Success Factors and risks
- Prepare for and take the certification exam
Special emphasis to:
- Change management
- Service release and deployment management
- Service validation and testing
- Service asset and configuration management
- Knowledge management
- Request fulfillment
- Service Evaluation