About ISO/IEC 20000 - IT Service Management Consultants

About ISO/IEC 20000

History and Purpose

The first IT Service Management standard was published in the United Kingdom by the British Standards Institution (BSI) in 2002. Called BS 15000 this was quickly adopted with very few changes as an international standard, ISO/IEC 20000 in 2005. Ongoing development of the standard is the responsibility of Joint Technical Committee 1 Sub-Committee 7 Working Group 25 (JTC 1 / SC7 / WG 25) at the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), in which representatives from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) also participate. This group, which consists of IT service management professionals from each of the member countries, produced a new version of Part 1 of the standard during 2011.

The standard provides a way for service providers to obtain external recognition and evidence of the quality of their IT service management processes. This is useful in a number of different ways. Firstly, for external service providers (outsourcers) it may give them an edge over the competition in tender situations and enhance their general credibility in the marketplace. Secondly, for internal IT organisations it acts as a definable set of goals to achieve in improving their IT service management. For in-house IT teams, certification acts as reassurance for the Board, Shareholders and Regulators that IT services are under control.

The Parts of the Standard

ISO/IEC 20000 actually consists of 5 Parts with more currently being developed. The Specification (Part 1) contains the requirements against which an organisation is audited. Part 2 provides more (optional) guidance about the best way to fulfil the requirements of Part 1 and we recommend that both parts are purchased by an organisation seeking certification. The full list of parts is as follows:

Part 1 -  Specification
Part 2 -  Code of Practice
Part 3 -  Guidance on Scoping
Part 4 -  Process Reference Model
Part 5 -  Exemplar Implementation Plan

The Certification Scheme

As of late 2010 the ISO/IEC 20000 certification scheme is now run by APMG-International who appoint the Registered Certification Bodies (RCBs) i.e. those organisations that may carry out certification audits and the Accredited Training Organisations (ATOs) who may run courses leading to ISO/IEC 20000 qualifications.

ISO/IEC 20000 Training

Although we don't provide training ourselves, Public IT has a good knowledge of the training market and can offer independent advice on which courses may be appropriate for the different levels within your team and who the main providers are.

There are three types of ISO/IEC 20000 courses available which lead to a recognised qualification. These are provided by Accredited Training Organisations who must be registered as such with APMG.

ISO/IEC 20000 Foundation
Usual Duration: 2 days
No Pre-requisites
Provides a basic knowledge of the contents and requirements of the ISO/IEC 20000 standard
Exam: 60 mins, 40 multi-choice questions, 50% pass mark, closed book

ISO/IEC 20000 Practitioner
Usual Duration: 3 days
Pre-Requisite - Foundation pass
Provides a more detailed knowledge of the standard for those closely involved in implementing it within an organisation
Exam: Paper 1 - 60 mins, 25 multi-choice questions, 13/25 pass mark, closed book
Paper 2 - 60 mins, 4 written questions, 13/25 pass mark, closed book

ISO/IEC 20000 Auditor
Usual Duration: 2 days
No Pre-requisites
Provides auditors with sufficient knowledge of the standard to undertake internal audits
Exam: 60 mins, 25 multi-choice questions, 18/25 pass mark, closed book