BCS Specialist Certificate in Service Desk and Incident Management

Special Notices

You will need to bring along a photo copy of your ITIL Foundation Certificate as evidence that you have passed the Foundation Certificate.

Overview

This course provides candidates with an understanding of industry best practice in relation to the operation of the Service Desk function and the Incident Management process. In addition to the principles underpinning these service management disciplines the course provides practical experience of planning, implementing, operating, monitoring, reporting, and improving a Service Desk and the management of incidents.

The Service Desk and Incident Management Specialist Certificate qualification reflects the general industry best practices currently in use in IT Service Management (ITSM) and particularly Service Desk and Incident Management (SDIM). The subject matter within this qualification is based on best practice, frameworks and standards including ITIL, COBIT and ISO/IEC 20000. This qualification forms part of the 'ITSM Specialist' series.

Target Audience

This course is aimed at those working or preparing to work in a Service Desk function and/or within an Incident Management process whether at a technical, operational, supervisory or managerial level. This course may also be of interest to Project Managers, Business Managers and Business Process Owners.

The purpose of the Specialist qualification in SDIM is to certify that the candidate has gained the knowledge of relevant industry best practices and is capable of applying them in a working environment.

This course is aimed at:

• Individuals who require a working knowledge of the industry best practice used in SDIM and how it may be used to enhance the quality of ITSM within an organisation.
• IT professionals who are working within an organisation which has adopted and adapted some of these practices and are required to deliver or improve SDIM within an ongoing Service Improvement Programme (SIP).

Prerequisites

BCS Specialist Certificate in Service Desk and Incident Management

• Possession of the ITIL Foundation Certificate in Service Management (2 credits) is mandatory before the qualification can be awarded.
• Candidates who do not yet hold the above (e.g. they are waiting for their Foundation result) will have their exam result withheld until they can provide evidence of certification.
• On attending the course please ensure you provide documented evidence that you have passed the ITIL Foundation Certificate by either presenting your certificate (or a copy of your certificate) to the course lecturer. If you cannot provide the physical certificate, then as a minimum you must provide the certificate number. If the exam board was not The BCS, you must also provide the name of the examination board who issued the certificate. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in you exam results being withheld by the exam accreditation body. If you have lost your certificate or you do not have a record of your certificate number please contact The BCS directly before attending the course. The BCS can be contacted on the following number 01793 417655.
• Success on the course will be enhanced by candidates spending at lead 10 hours on reviewing their ITIL Foundation material prior to attending one of the BCS Specialist courses

Proof of identification:

If taking an exam, candidates are required to provide Photo ID with a valid signature e.g. driving license, passport or named work ID badges prior to sitting their exam. Failure to produce this ID will result in their exam results being withheld until proof of ID is provided to the BCS. Please note that if proof is not provided within 40 days, candidate's exam results will be null and void and a re-sit would be required.

BCS Reasonable Adjustments Policy

All candidates requiring any additional assistance with exams must be aware of the BCS Reasonable Adjustments Policy. Prior notice and proof of any additional support must be requested in writing 3 weeks prior to attending any BCS course. Delegates failing to advise QA of any special requirements may result in additional support not being provided

Candidates who are resident in a country where English is not an official language are entitled extra 15 minutes to complete their exams. Candidates who qualify for extra exam time should complete the attached BCS Extra Time Request Form and send it to the QA Examination Administration team at ExamAdmin@qa.com at least 3 weeks prior to attending the course. Failure to notify QA of these requirements may result in this extra time being denied.

Course Outline.

Holders of the ISEB Specialist Certificate in SDIM will be able to demonstrate their competence in, and their ability to:

• Explain the goal and objectives of the Service Desk
• Explain the goal and objectives of Incident Management
• Understand and explain processes, roles and functions, especially those related to SDIM
• Use different approaches to, and application of, standards, industry best practice frameworks and guidelines, relevant to SDIM
• Develop and improve the customer and business focus of SDIM
• Use and apply the Incident Management process to manage the resolution of incidents by the Service Desk and all other areas of IT
• Define Service Desk requirements and understand, select, develop and implement the most appropriate Service Desk solutions, technology and environment
• Implement and manage incidents through all stages of the incident lifecycle
• Develop and agree incident categories and priorities in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders
• Co-ordinate, schedule, target and focus resources on the resolution of incidents, based on priorities
• Be aware of the support tools and techniques available for the implementation and support of Incident Management and the Service Desk, where possible identifying and instigating improvements
• Practical analysis of incident records, reports and statistics and propose resolutions to reduce the number of incidents by proactively preventing potential incidents, in conjunction with Problem Management
• Produce SDIM reports for dissemination and interpret and use their contents
• Understand the interdependencies between SDIM and other IT areas and processes
• Assist with the planning and implementation of SDIM

Examination

• The examination is a 1½ hours 'closed book', multiple-choice paper. There are 25 questions which are scenario based.
• Normally, the examination will be held on-site at the conclusion of the course. However, ISEB will normally also arrange four central examinations per year in March, June, September and December; please contact the ISEB for further details.

Certification

• This qualification forms part of the ISEB ITSM Specialist series.

ITIL® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Cabinet Office in the United Kingdom and other countries

IT Infrastructure Library® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Cabinet Office in the United Kingdom and other countries

Related training courses

• BCS Specialist Certificate in Business Relationship Management
• BCS Specialist Certificate in Change Management
• BCS Specialist Certificate in Problem Management
• BCS Specialist Certificate in Service Level Management
• BCS Specialist Certificate in Supplier Management