ITIL Intermediate Module - Service Design


ITIL Service Design (SD) focuses on the design of IT services and covers the architectures, processes, policies and documentation that will enable you to design services that meet the needs of the organization or programme.

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ITIL Service Design provides best-practice guidance for the service design stage of the ITIL service lifecycle. The purpose of the service design stage of the lifecycle is to design IT services, together with the governing IT practices, processes and policies, to realize the service provider’s strategy and to facilitate the introduction of these services into supported environments ensuring quality service delivery, customer satisfaction and cost-effective service provision.

The Concept

The design process is vital to the continued improvement and development of services within the IT lifecycle and this module will also teach you techniques required to develop, manage and integrate service design into the IT Service management process. The course introduces the purpose, principles and processes of service design and will also teach you how to organize and implement this as part of overall service management as well as providing guidance on technology-related activities and considerations. It also demonstrates how service design relates to the other stages of the ITIL Service Lifecycle.

The course covers management and control of activities and techniques that are documented in the ITIL Service Design publication, but it does not provide the full detail of each supporting process. More information about these processes can be found in the Service Offering and Agreements module from the Service Capability work stream. The SD module is worth three credits towards the minimum of 17 required to progress to the Managing Across the Lifecycle module, which is the final step before the ITIL Expert Level.

Target Candidate

The course syllabus covers the management-level concepts and core information of the activities and techniques within service design, but not specific details about each of the supporting processes. The main target group for the ITIL Intermediate Qualification: Service Design Certificate includes, but is not restricted to:


  • Chief information officers (CIOs)
  • Chief technology officers (CTOs)
  • Managers
  • Supervisory staff
  • Team leaders
  • Service designers
  • IT architects
  • IT planners
  • IT consultants
  • IT audit managers
  • IT security managers
  • ITSM trainers involved in the ongoing management, coordination and integration of design activities within the service lifecycle
  • Individuals who require a detailed understanding of the ITIL service design stage of the ITIL service lifecycle and how it may be implemented to enhance the quality of IT service provision within an organization
  • IT professionals working within, or about to enter, a service design environment and requiring an understanding of the concepts, processes, functions and activities involved
  • Individuals who have attained the ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management and wish to advance to higher level ITIL certifications
  • Individuals seeking the ITIL Expert Certificate in IT Service Management for which this qualification can be one of the prerequisite modules
  • Individuals seeking progress toward the ITIL Master Certificate in IT Service Management for which the ITIL Expert is a prerequisite.


Qualification Learning Objectives

This qualification provides a complete management-level overview of service design, including all its related activities. Candidates can expect to gain competencies in the following upon successful completion of the education and examination components related to this certification:

  • • Introduction to service design
  • • Service design principles
  • • Service design processes
  • • Service design technology-related activities
  • • Organizing for service design
  • • Technology considerations
  • • Implementation and improvement of service design
  • • Challenges, critical success factors and risks.

In addition, the training for this certification will include examination preparation, including a mock examination opportunity.

The exam format is as follows:

  • The exam contains complex scenarios upon which the 8 examination questions will be based. 
  • All questions are contained within the Question Booklet and each question will clearly state the scenario to which the question relates. 
  • In order to answer each of the 8 questions, you will need to read the related scenario carefully. 
  • On the basis of the information provided in the scenario, you will be required to select which of the four answer options provided (A, B, C or D) you believe to be the optimum answer. 
  • You may choose ONE answer only, and the Gradient Scoring system works as follows:
  • Closed book
  • 90 minutes duration

• If you select the CORRECT answer, you will be awarded 5 marks for the question
• If you select the SECOND BEST answer, you will be awarded 3 marks for the question
• If you select the THIRD BEST answer, you will be awarded 1 mark for the question
• If you select the DISTRACTER (the incorrect answer), you will receive no marks for the question

In order to pass this examination, you must achieve a total of 28 marks or more out of a maximum of 40 marks (70%).