ITIL™ 4 Strategist: Direct, Plan and Improve

1. Understanding the foundations of direction, planning and improvement

• Understand the following key terms:
  • Direction.
  • Planning.
  • Improvement.
  • Operating model.
  • Methods.
  • Risks.
  • Scope of control.
• Understand the differences between the following key concepts:
  • Vision and mission.
  • Strategy, tactics and operations.
  • Governance, compliance and management.
  • Policies, controls and guidelines.
• Understand value, outcomes, costs and risks, and their relationships in direction, planning and improvement.

2. Identifying and implementing what needs to be directed or planned

• Identify the scope of control and its associated elements:
  • Cascading objectives and requirements.
  • Defining policies, controls and guidelines.
  • Assigning decision-making authority at the appropriate level.

3. Understanding GRC and its integration into the ITIL service value system

• Understand the role of risk and risk management in direction, planning and improvement.
• Understand the impact of governance on direction, planning and improvement.
• Understand how to ensure controls are sufficient without being excessive.

4. Understanding continual improvement principles and tools

• Use the ITIL continual improvement model to drive improvement.
• Apply it to the service value system or any of its components.
• Identify objectives, outcomes, requirements and assessment criteria.
• Select an assessment method suited to a particular situation.
• Define and prioritise the desired outcomes of an improvement.
• Build, justify and advocate a business case.
• Establish management reviews and lessons-learned analysis.
• Embed continual improvement at every level of the service value system.

5. Understanding communication and change management principles and tools

• Understand the nature, scope and potential benefits of organisational change management.
• Use key communication and organisational change management principles and methods:
  • Identifying and managing different stakeholder types.
  • Communicating effectively with and influencing others.
  • Establishing effective feedback channels.
• Establish effective interfaces across the value chain.

6. Understanding measurement and reporting principles and tools

• Define indicators and measures to support objectives.

7. Understanding direction, planning and improvement requirements

• Understand the differences between value streams and practices and their impact on direction, planning and improvement.
• Select and use appropriate methods to direct, plan and improve value streams and ITIL practices:
  • Considering the 4 dimensions.
  • Applying the guiding principles.
  • Value stream mapping.
  • Optimising workflows.
  • Eliminating waste.
  • Ensuring feedback is available and used.