Pre-Course Reading For Course 1285 1285 - SG - A2 - 102 - A1

Pre-Course Reading for Course 1285
ITIL® 4 Strategic Leader:

Digital and IT Strategy
1194/SG/A.2/102/A.1
by Sandra Kelly and Hitesh Patel
ITIL® is a registered trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Learning Tree International, Inc. and AXELOS Limited 2019. All rights reserved. Material in this document has been sourced from ITIL®
Foundation, ITIL 4 edition, 2019. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of both Learning Tree
International, Inc. and AXELOS Limited. Permission can be requested at www.LearningTree.com and licensing@AXELOS.com. ITIL® is a registered
trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved
All trademarked product and company names are the property of their respective trademark holders.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or translated into any language, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Copying software used in this course is prohibited without the express permission of Learning Tree International, Inc. Making unauthorized
copies of such software violates federal copyright law, which includes both civil and criminal penalties.
.
Pre-Course Reading Contents
Pre-course Review I: Digital and IT Strategy Syllabus ..................................... 1

Pre-course Review II: Practical Assignment Case Study ............................... 21
Pre-course Review III: Foundation Overview ................................................. 29
Pre-course Review IV: Appendix A DITS Practice Detail …………………… 73
Copyright © Learning Tree International, Inc. and AXELOS Limited 2019. All rights reserved. Material in this document has been sourced from
ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 edition, 2019. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of both Learning
Tree International, Inc. and AXELOS Limited. Permission can be requested at www.LearningTree.com and licensing@AXELOS.com. ITIL® is a
1194-SG-i
registered trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.
1285-SG-ii Copyright © Learning Tree International, Inc. and AXELOS Limited 2019. All rights reserved. Material in this document has been sourced from
Pre-course Review I:
Digital and IT Strategy Syllabus
Please review the following DITS syllabus. It contains important

information on the assignments to be delivered by candidates during
the class practical assignments and additional details on the DITS
exam.
1285-SG-1
ITIL® 4 Strategic Leader
Digital and IT Strategy (DITS)
Candidate Syllabus
AXELOS.com
August
2020
1285-SG-2
PUBLIC ITIL 4 Strategic Leader 2
Contents
1 INTRODUCTION 3
2 ITIL 4 DIGITAL AND IT STRATEGY SYLLABUS 4
3 CASE STUDY ASSESSMENT 8

3.1 Case study overview 8
3.2 Case study syllabus 9
4 MCQ ASSESSMENT 11
4.1 Exam overview 11
4.2 MCQ exam syllabus 12
5 ITIL 4 DIGITAL AND IT STRATEGY EXAMINATION DESIGN 16

5.1 Examination Administration 16
5.2 Question Types 16
5.3 Scoring 17
5.4 Weightings by BLOOM’S Level 17
5.5 Weightings by Learning Outcome 17
6 CERTIFICATION 18
1285-SG-3
Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2020.
AXELOS®, the AXELOS logo®, the AXELOS swirl logo® and ITIL® are all registered trademarks of AXELOS Limited.
Reproduction of this material requires the permission of AXELOS Limited.
All rights reserved.
EN_ITIL4_SL_DITS_2020_CandidateSyll_v1.0
3 ITIL 4 Strategic Leader PUBLIC
1 Introduction
The purpose of this document is to outline:

 the learning outcomes of the ITIL 4 Digital and IT Strategy (DITS) qualification and the assessment criteria
that a candidate is expected to meet for each learning outcome (with reference to the ITIL 4 Digital and
IT Strategy publication and the ITIL 4 Practice Guidance)
 the examination design, in terms of question types to be used, exam duration, and administrative
considerations
 the weightings (number of questions) for each learning outcome, assessment criteria and ‘Bloom’s level’
(level of cognitive processing required to answer the question/task, according to Bloom’s (revised)
taxonomy).
The target audience for this document is:

Candidates taking the Digital and IT Strategy qualification.
This module focuses on the importance and challenges of creating an appropriate digital strategy to enable the
success of businesses and how it can (and should) be integrated to the IT strategy and aligned with the wider
organization’s goals. It explores the use of ITIL framework to support organizations in their digital
transformation journey by providing a structured and flexible approach for addressing service management
challenges and utilizing the potential of modern technology to get the most value from digital technology. It also
adds a new perspective to the ITIL suite and elevates the discussion around ITIL concepts to the very strategic
level among companies and business leaders.

AXELOS®, the AXELOS logo®, the AXELOS swirl logo® and ITIL® are all registered trademarks of AXELOS Limited. 1285-SG-4
2 ITIL 4 Digital and IT Strategy Syllabus

The table below specifies the learning outcomes of the ITIL 4 Digital and IT Strategy qualification, and the
assessment criteria used to assess a candidate’s achievement of these learning outcomes, subsequent to a
course of study.
There are two forms of assessment in this qualification; the practical case study assignments, and the MCQ
(multiple choice question) exam. More information can be found in sections 3 and 4 of this document regarding
the different forms of assessment.
Learning Outcome Assessment Criteria BL
1. Demonstrate the 1.1 Relate the ITIL guiding principles to all aspects of Digital and IT Strategy: (2.10.4) BL4
use of the ITIL a) Focus on value
guiding principles b) Start where you are
in Digital and IT c) Progress iteratively with feedback
Strategy decisions d) Collaborate and promote visibility
and activities e) Think and work holistically
f) Keep it simple and practical
g) Optimize and automate
2. Understand how 2.1. Understand the following concepts: BL2

to leverage digital a) Digital Technology (2.1, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3)
strategy to react to b) Digital Business (2.3)
digital disruption c) Digital Organization (2.2)
d) Digitization (2.4)
e) Digital Transformation (2.5)
2.2 Understand the following concepts: BL2

a) Business strategy and business models (2.7.1, 2.8.1)
b) Digital and IT Strategy (2.7.2, 2.7.3)
c) Products (2.6)
d) Services (2.6)
2.3 Know how to explain the relationship between Digital and IT Strategy and the BL3
components of the ITIL SVS. (2.10 (excluding 2.10.4), strategy management
practice 2.1 & 2.4 including all subsections)

3. Understand the 3.1 Explain environmental analysis in terms of: BL3

relationship a) External analysis: PESTLE (4.1, 4.1.1, 4.1.3, 4.1.4)
between the b) Internal analysis: The four dimensions of service management (4.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3,
concepts of Digital 4.1.4)
and IT Strategy,
the service value
system and the
service value
chain, and explain
how to utilize them
to create value
4. Understand how 4.1 Know how to show how an organization’s viability is related to how agile, resilient, BL3
an organization lean, continuous and co-creational it is (8.1.2, 8.1.2.2)
uses Digital and IT
4.2 Know how to analyse the VUCA factors and address them in a Digital and IT BL4
Strategy to remain
Strategy (8.1 including subsections)
viable in
4.3 Explain and compare three levels of digital disruption: BL3
environments
a) Ecosystem (3.1, 3.1.1)
disrupted by digital
b) Industry/market (3.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3)
technology
c) Organizational (3.1, 3.1.4)
4.4 Show how an organization’s position in a particular market or industry is BL3

influenced by the following factors:
a) Achieving customer/market relevance (3.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.4)
b) Achieving operational excellence (3.2, 3.2.2, 3.2.4)
c) Internal and external focus (3.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.4)
d) Balanced approach (3.2, 3.2.4)
4.5 Use a digital positioning tool to determine the appropriate position for a digital BL4
organization (3.3 including subsections)

5. Understand 5.1 Know how to apply the following approaches to achieve customer/market BL3
strategic relevance:
approaches made a) Customer journeys (5.2.1, 5.2.1.1)
possible by digital b) Omnichannel delivery and support (5.2.1, 5.2.1.2)
and information c) Context-sensitive delivery and support (5.2.1, 5.2.1.3)
technology to d) Customer analytics (5.2.1, 5.2.1.4)
achieve e) Customer feedback and 360° approaches (5.2.1, 5.2.1.5, 5.2.1.6)
customer/market
5.2 Know how to achieve operational excellence in the four dimensions of service BL3
relevance and
management (5.2.2 including subsections)
operational
excellence 5.3 Understand the financial aspects of Digital and IT Strategy in terms of the BL3
following:
a) Financial policies (5.1.3, 5.1.3.3, portfolio management practice 2.1 & 2.4 and
service financial management practice 2.1 & 2.4, including subsections for all)
b) Portfolio optimization (5.1.3, 5.3.1, portfolio management practice 2.1 & 2.4
and service financial management practice 2.1 & 2.4, including subsections for
all)
c) Funding projects, products and services (5.1.3, 5.1.3.1, portfolio management
practice 2.1 & 2.4 and service financial management practice 2.1 & 2.4,
including subsections for all)
d) Balancing the cost of innovation and operation (5.1.3, 5.1.3.2, portfolio
management practice 2.1 & 2.4 and service financial management practice 2.1
& 2.4, including subsections for all)
e) Charging models (5.1.3, 5.1.3.4, portfolio management practice 2.1 & 2.4 and
service financial management practice 2.1 & 2.4, including subsections for all)
5.4 Assess strategic approaches for digital organizations (5.2 including subsections) BL4

6. Understand the 6.1 Explain the concept of risk management in the context of a digital organization BL2
risks and (11.1, 11.2, 11.3 including subsections for all, risk management practice 2.1 & 2.4
opportunities of including all subsections)
Digital and IT
6.2 In the context of Digital and IT Strategy, explain how to: BL2
Strategy
a) Identify risk (11.5 including subsections)
b) Assess risk (11.7, 11.8 including subsections for all)
6.3 Know how to explain the concept of risk posture and show how to determine an BL3
acceptable balance between opportunity and risk (11.10, 11.11, 11.12 including
subsections for all)
6.4 Explain the concept of innovation, including its key elements and techniques (10.1, BL2
10.2, 10.3, 10.5, 10.6, 10.10 including subsections for all)
6.5 Know how to apply techniques to develop and maintain a culture of innovation BL3
(10.5, 10.8, 10.9 including subsections for all)
7. Understand the 7.1 Know how to use a digital readiness assessment to perform a gap analysis between BL3
steps and an organization’s current and desired positions (4.3 including subsections)
techniques
7.2 Explain how to define and communicate a vision and a strategy (3.4, 5.1.1, 5.1.2 BL2
involved in defining
including subsections for all)
and advocating for
a Digital and IT 7.3 Know how to use business cases to advocate for a Digital and IT Strategy (5.3.2, BL3
Strategy 5.3.3, 5.3.4 including subsections for all)
8. Understand how 8.1 Know how to define operating models for digital organizations (2.9, 12.2, BL3
to implement a architecture management practice 2.1 & 2.4, and workforce and talent
Digital and IT management practice 2.1 & 2.4, including subsections for all)
Strategy
8.2 Explain the major skills required of leaders in a digital organization (6.2 (excluding BL2
6.2.1), 9 including subsections)
8.3 Apply the following approaches to strategy coordination and implementation: BL4
a) Large-scale transformation (6.1, 6.2.1, 6.1.1)
b) Incremental transformation (6.1, 6.2.1, 6.1.2)
c) Mergers and acquisitions (6.1, 6.2.1, 6.1.3)
d) Individual changes (6.1, 6.2.1, 6.1.4)
8.4 Explain approaches to POMs (parallel operating models) (8.2 including subsections) BL2
8.5 Explain how to assess success of a Digital and IT Strategy (7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 BL2
including subsections for all, measurement and reporting practice 2.1 & 2.4
including all subsections)
8.6 Explain the typical activities of a digital transformation programme (6.3.4 BL2
including subsections)

3 Case study assessment

The case study has been created for the practical assignments of the ITIL 4 Leader: Digital and IT Strategy
course.
It describes three fictional companies; any resemblance to real companies is unintentional.
Participants of the course are expected to work on the practical assignments in small groups, or individually, if
they are undertaking a self-paced online course.
Practical assignments are assessed by the trainer(s) of the course.
3.1 CASE STUDY OVERVIEW
Materials Any This is an ‘open book’ assessment. Any available materials are allowed to
allowed be used during the assignments, including the ITIL 4: Digital and IT Strategy
publication and the ITIL Practices Guidance documentation.
Exam duration Variable Duration:
• Three assignments of 60 minutes, one assignment of 90 minutes in the

group work format, or
• Four individual written assignments of 60 minutes each in individual

format.
Number of 40 marks Number of assignments: 4

marks
Number of assessment criteria: 5
Marks: Each assessment criterion is worth 8 marks. There are 40 marks

available.
There is no negative marking.
Pass mark 30 marks 75% or higher – a raw score of 30 marks or above.
Level of Bloom’s level 4 For Bloom’s 4 questions, candidates need to analyse the information
thinking provided and make a judgement on whether a course of action is effective
and appropriate.
Question types Assignment All four assignments are based on a case study which describes three
companies engaged in service relationship. All assignments address two
assessment criteria (ACs). There is one dedicated AC that all the
assignments are focused on, which is AC 1.1 ‘Relate the ITIL guiding
principles to all aspects of Digital and IT Strategy’.

3.2 CASE STUDY SYLLABUS
The learning outcomes and assessment criteria that relate to the case study are in the table below.
1. Demonstrate the use 1.1 Relate the ITIL guiding principles to all aspects of Digital and IT Strategy: BL4
of the ITIL guiding (2.10.4)
principles in Digital and a) Focus on value
IT Strategy decisions b) Start where you are
and activities c) Progress iteratively with feedback
d) Collaborate and promote visibility
e) Think and work holistically
f) Keep it simple and practical
g) Optimize and automate
4. Understand how an 4.2 Know how to analyse the VUCA factors and address them in a Digital and IT BL4
organization uses Digital Strategy (8.1 including subsections)
and IT Strategy to
4.5 Use a digital positioning tool to determine the appropriate position for a BL4
remain viable in
digital organization (3.3 including subsections)
environments disrupted
by digital technology
5. Understand strategic 5.4 Assess strategic approaches for digital organizations (5.2 including BL4
approaches made subsections)
possible by digital and
information technology
to achieve
customer/market
relevance and
operational excellence
8. Understand how to 8.3 Apply the following approaches to strategy coordination and implementation: BL4
implement a Digital and a) Large-scale transformation (6.1, 6.2.1, 6.1.1)
IT Strategy b) Incremental transformation (6.1, 6.2.1, 6.1.2)
c) Mergers and acquisitions (6.1, 6.2.1, 6.1.3)
d) Individual changes (6.1, 6.2.1, 6.1.4)

There are four assignments which cover five of the syllabus’ assessment criteria, as described in the table
below.
Assessment criterion 1.1 is ‘relate the ITIL guiding principles to all aspects of Digital and IT Strategy’ a task that
is included in all four assignments.
Assessment criteria Assignments

1.1 Relate the ITIL guiding principles to all aspects of Digital and IT Strategy All
4.5 Use a digital positioning tool to determine the appropriate position for a digital organization 1
5.4 Apply strategic approaches for digital organizations 2
4.2 Apply Digital and IT Strategy in managing VUCA environments 3
8.3 Apply the approaches to strategy coordination and implementation 4

4 MCQ assessment
The MCQ exam consists of 30 questions, each of which has four answer options. For each question, one option is
correct and the other three are incorrect.
4.1 EXAM OVERVIEW
Materials None This is a ‘closed book’ exam. The ITIL 4: Digital and IT Strategy publication
allowed and the ITIL Practices Guidance documentation should be used for study,
but are NOT permitted to be used in the exam.
Exam duration 60 minutes Candidates taking the exam in a language that is not their native or working
language are allowed 25% extra time, i.e. 75 minutes in total.
Number of 30 marks There are 30 questions, each worth 1 mark. There is no negative marking.
marks
Pass mark 21 marks Candidates need to get 21 questions correct (70%) to pass the exam.
Level of Bloom’s levels 2 “Bloom’s level” describes the type of thinking needed to answer the
thinking &3 question. For Bloom’s 2 questions, candidates need to show understanding
of the concepts, methods and principles of DITS. For Bloom’s 3 questions,
candidates need to demonstrate application of these concepts, methods
and principles of DITS, as well as information from the related practices
Question types Standard classic, The questions are all ‘multiple choice’.
Negative, & List
For the ‘standard classic’ questions, candidates have a question and four
answer options.
‘Negative’ questions are ‘standard’ question in which the stem is negatively

worded.
For the ‘list’ questions, there is a list of four statements and candidates
have to select two correct statements from the list.

4.2 MCQ EXAM SYLLABUS
The learning outcomes and assessment criteria that relate to the case study are in the table below.
Learning Outcome Assessment Criteria BL No.

marks
2. Understand how 2.1. Understand the following concepts: BL2 2

to leverage digital a) Digital Technology (2.1, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3)
strategy to react to b) Digital Business (2.3)
digital disruption c) Digital Organization (2.2)
d) Digitization (2.4)
e) Digital Transformation (2.5)
2.2 Understand the following concepts: BL2 2

a) Business strategy and business models (2.7.1, 2.8.1)
b) Digital and IT Strategy (2.7.2, 2.7.3)
c) Products (2.6)
d) Services (2.6)
2.3 Know how to explain the relationship between Digital and IT Strategy and BL3 2
the components of the ITIL SVS. (2.10 (excluding 2.10.4), strategy
management practice 2.1 & 2.4 including all subsections)
3. Understand the 3.1 Explain environmental analysis in terms of: BL3 1

relationship a) External analysis: PESTLE (4.1, 4.1.1, 4.1.3, 4.1.4)
between the b) Internal analysis: The four dimensions of service management (4.1,
concepts of Digital 4.1.2, 4.1.3, 4.1.4)
and IT Strategy,
the service value
system and the
service value
chain, and explain
how to utilize them
to create value


marks
4. Understand how 4.1 Know how to show how an organization’s viability is related to how agile, BL3 1
an organization resilient, lean, continuous and co-creational it is (8.1.2, 8.1.2.2)
uses Digital and IT
4.3 Explain and compare three levels of digital disruption: BL3 1
Strategy to remain
a) Ecosystem (3.1, 3.1.1)
viable in
b) Industry/market (3.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3)
environments
c) Organizational (3.1, 3.1.4)
disrupted by digital
technology 4.4 Show how an organization’s position in a particular market or industry is BL3 2
influenced by the following factors:
a) Achieving customer/market relevance (3.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.4)
b) Achieving operational excellence (3.2, 3.2.2, 3.2.4)
c) Internal and external focus (3.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.4)
d) Balanced approach (3.2, 3.2.4)


marks
5. Understand 5.1 Know how to apply the following approaches to achieve customer/market BL3 2
strategic relevance:
approaches made a) Customer journeys (5.2.1, 5.2.1.1)
possible by digital b) Omnichannel delivery and support (5.2.1, 5.2.1.2)
and information c) Context-sensitive delivery and support (5.2.1, 5.2.1.3)
technology to d) Customer analytics (5.2.1, 5.2.1.4)
achieve e) Customer feedback and 360° approaches (5.2.1, 5.2.1.5, 5.2.1.6)
customer/market
5.2 Know how to achieve operational excellence in the four dimensions of BL3 2
relevance and
service management (5.2.2 including subsections)
operational
5.3 Understand the financial aspects of Digital and IT Strategy in terms of the BL3 2
excellence
following:
a) Financial policies (5.1.3, 5.1.3.3, portfolio management practice 2.1 &
2.4 and service financial management practice 2.1 & 2.4, including
b) Portfolio optimization (5.1.3, 5.3.1, portfolio management practice 2.1
& 2.4 and service financial management practice 2.1 & 2.4, including
c) Funding projects, products and services (5.1.3, 5.1.3.1, portfolio
management practice 2.1 & 2.4 and service financial management
practice 2.1 & 2.4, including subsections for all)
d) Balancing the cost of innovation and operation (5.1.3, 5.1.3.2, portfolio
management practice 2.1 & 2.4 and service financial management
practice 2.1 & 2.4, including subsections for all)
e) Charging models (5.1.3, 5.1.3.4, portfolio management practice 2.1 &
2.4 and service financial management practice 2.1 & 2.4, including


marks
6. Understand the 6.1 Explain the concept of risk management in the context of a digital BL2 1
risks and organization (11.1, 11.2, 11.3 including subsections for all, risk
opportunities of management practice 2.1 & 2.4 including all subsections)
Digital and IT
6.2 In the context of Digital and IT Strategy, explain how to: BL2 1
Strategy
a) Identify risk (11.5 including subsections)
b) Assess risk (11.7, 11.8 including subsections for all)
6.3 Know how to explain the concept of risk posture and show how to BL3 1
determine an acceptable balance between opportunity and risk (11.10,
11.11, 11.12 including subsections for all)
6.4 Explain the concept of innovation, including its key elements and BL2 1
techniques (10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.5, 10.6, 10.10 including subsections for
all)
6.5 Know how to apply techniques to develop and maintain a culture of BL3 1
innovation (10.5, 10.8, 10.9 including subsections for all)
7. Understand the 7.1 Know how to use a digital readiness assessment to perform a gap analysis BL3 1
steps and between an organization’s current and desired positions (4.3 including
techniques subsections)
involved in defining
7.2 Explain how to define and communicate a vision and a strategy (3.4, 5.1.1, BL2 1
and advocating for
5.1.2 including subsections for all)
a Digital and IT
Strategy 7.3 Know how to use business cases to advocate for a Digital and IT Strategy BL3 1
(5.3.2, 5.3.3, 5.3.4 including subsections for all)
8. Understand how 8.1 Know how to define operating models for digital organizations (2.9, 12.2, BL3 1
to implement a architecture management practice 2.1 & 2.4, and workforce and talent
Digital and IT management practice 2.1 & 2.4, including subsections for all)
Strategy
8.2 Explain the major skills required of leaders in a digital organization (6.2 BL2 1
(excluding 6.2.1), 9 including subsections)
8.4 Explain approaches to POMs (parallel operating models) (8.2 including BL2 1
subsections)
8.5 Explain how to assess success of a Digital and IT Strategy (7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 BL2 1
including subsections for all, measurement and reporting practice 2.1 &
2.4 including all subsections)
8.6 Explain the typical activities of a digital transformation programme (6.3.4 BL2 1
including subsections)

5 ITIL 4 Digital and IT Strategy Examination Design
5.1 EXAMINATION ADMINISTRATION

Duration: 60 minutes
NOTE: Candidates taking the exam in a language that is not their native or working language may be awarded
25% extra time, i.e. 75 minutes in total.
Materials permitted: This is a ‘closed book’ examination. No materials other than the examination materials are
permitted.
Prerequisites: The candidate must have passed the ITIL 4 Foundation examination. In addition, the candidate
must have attended an accredited training course for this module (the recommended duration for this training is
18 hours including the examination). This includes 4.5 to 5 hours of group work on the practical assignments or 4
hours of individual online assignments.
5.2 QUESTION TYPES

All 30 questions are Objective Test Questions (OTQs), which present four options from which one option is
selected. Distractors (wrong answers) are options that candidates with incomplete knowledge or skill would be
likely to choose. These are generally plausible responses relating to the syllabus area being examined. Question
styles used within this type are: ‘standard’, ‘list’ (2 correct items), and, exceptionally, ‘negative’ standard OTQ.
Example ‘standard’ OTQ: NOTE: Two of the list items are correct. List style
Which is a source of best practice? questions are never negative.
a) Q Example ‘negative’ standard OTQ:
b) P Which is NOT a defined area of value?
c) R
a) Q
d) S
b) P
c) R
Example ‘list’ OTQ: d) S
Which statement about service asset and
configuration management is CORRECT?
1. It does Q NOTE: Negative questions are only used as an
exception, where part of the learning outcome is to
2. It does P
know that something is not done or should not
3. It does R occur.
4. It does S
a) 1 and 2
b) 2 and 3
c) 3 and 4
d) 1 and 4

5.3 SCORING
Number of questions: 30
Marks: Each question is worth 1 mark. There are 30 marks available.
There is no negative marking.
Pass mark: 70% or higher – a raw score of 21 marks or above
5.4 WEIGHTINGS BY BLOOM’S LEVEL

There are 12 questions at Bloom’s Level 2 = 40%
There are 18 questions at Bloom’s Level 3 = 60%
5.5 WEIGHTINGS BY LEARNING OUTCOME

These weightings are for the MCQ exam only.
Learning Outcome No.OTQs Approx. weighting
1. Demonstrate the use of the ITIL guiding principles in Digital and IT 0 0%

Strategy decisions and activities
2. Understand how to leverage digital strategy to react to digital 6 20%

disruption
3. Understand the relationship between the concepts of Digital and IT 1 3%

Strategy, the service value system and the service value chain, and
explain how to utilize them to create value
4. Understand how an organization uses Digital and IT Strategy to 4 13%

remain viable in environments disrupted by digital technology
5. Understand strategic approaches made possible by digital and 6 20%

information technology to achieve customer/market relevance and
operational excellence
6. Understand the risks and opportunities of Digital and IT Strategy 5 17%
7. Understand the steps and techniques involved in defining and 3 10%

advocating for a Digital and IT Strategy
8. Understand how to implement a Digital and IT Strategy 5 17%
1285-SG-18
6 Certification
The DITS certification is based on of the two assessment types described above. A candidate must
successfully pass both the multiple-choice exam and the practical assignments to achieve the certification.
Successful fulfilment of the practical assignments is a prerequisite for the MCQ exam as described in the
table below.
Scenario Next steps

MCQ exam Practical
assignments
Passed Passed If the other prerequisites that are required by the syllabus are fulfilled,
the candidate is issued a DITS certificate
Failed Passed The candidate should rebook and pass the exam to gain the
certification
Passed Failed The candidate should be assigned an individual written assignment (and
achieve the passing score in the practical assignments to gain the
certification)
Failed Failed The candidate should repeat the training and the exam to gain the
certification
1285-SG-19
1285-SG-20
Pre-course Review II:
Practical Assignment Case Study
Please review the following case study referenced by the syllabus. It will
be used in the four (4) in-class practical assignments. Consider which
case study you would prefer to analyze. Your instructor will place you
into groups based on preferences and class make-up.
1285-SG-21
ITIL® 4: Digital and IT
Strategy case study
AXELOS.com
July 2020
1285-SG-22
ITIL 4 Strategic Leader Case Study
Contents
1 About the case study 3
2 MCL 4
3 The New Hospitality Company (TNH) 5
4 InteLearn 6
5 A major risk report 7

All rights reserved. 1285-SG-23
ITIL 4 Strategic Leader Case study
1 About the case study

The case study below is designed for the practical assignments of the ITIL 4 Leader: Digital and IT Strategy
course.
It describes three fictional companies; any resemblance to real companies is unintentional.
The course participants are expected to work on the practical assignments in small groups. Each group
should select one company from the case study for all practical assignments during the course. It is
recommended that different groups select different companies. However, all participants are expected to
be familiar with the entire case study.
As well as containing descriptions of the companies, the case study includes a brief overview of the major
risk, which is likely to affect all of the described companies. Where relevant, this information should be
used during the exercises.
Participants can add any information about the companies that is not described here, as long as the
assumptions that they make are reasonable and explicitly stated during the practical assignments.

1285-SG-24
2 MCL
MCL is an international education company that specializes in language training and educational travel. The
company was founded 10 years ago in London, UK. Currently, the company’s headquarter is based in
Amsterdam. It is privately owned by the founder’s family.
MCL offers language courses through its in-house classes. It also has a franchise network covering 20
countries, including: Germany, France, Russia, Japan, Spain, Italy, China, and the USA. Language courses
are offered in multiple formats, including: individual tutoring, face-to-face and virtual classes, and tailored
programmes for corporate customers. 12 languages are available to study.
MCL offers widely recognized international language certifications, and is an accredited partner of the
certification bodies in most of the countries in which it operates.
The company also offers educational travel, which includes exchange programmes, as well as short-term
and medium-term attendance at language campuses that have a reputation for excellent education,
reasonable prices, safety, and discerning cultural programmes. The campuses are run in collaboration with
MCL’s travel and hospitality partner, The New Hospitality Company (TNH).
MCL has adopted a divisional organizational structure, with six regional offices in: Europe, Asia, North
America, Central and South America, Australia and New Zealand, and Africa. Each regional office follows
the company’s guiding principles, quality standards, methods and curricula. However, each office has
significant autonomy in business development, marketing, and commercial matters.
A shared learning and content management system is used globally for all online classes. In most cases the
system meets the company’s requirements, despite having only limited support for mobile devices.
There are currently 3000 employees working within MCL globally, and about 5000 in franchise language
centres.
At a global language learning conference last year, MCL reported the following key trends based on its
observations from the last ten years:
● The demand for multilingual professionals is growing in Europe, Asia, and the USA.
● The demand for online and blended (online and in-class) programmes is growing every year across the
globe. The fastest growth has been observed in Northern Europe, and the slowest is in countries and
areas with limited internet coverage.
● The demand for educational travel is growing slowly. There is a noticeable growth in travel services for
younger children (5 to 9 years old) and a decline in demand from young adults (20 and 25 years old).
● Demand for certification is growing across regions and age groups. Up to 95% of students aim to achieve
a recognized certification, to demonstrate their proficiency in their chosen language.
● Rapidly developing digital translation services have not yet affected demand for language classes.
However, it is expected that in the next few years demands will change:
● from widely spoken to less commonly spoken languages
● from basic levels to higher proficiency
● from general to specialized language skills.
Online learning is moving rapidly from computers to handheld devices, from offices and homes to other
locations (transport, parks, cafés, etc.).

1285-SG-25
3 The New Hospitality Company (TNH)

The New Hospitality Company (TNH) was founded over 30 years ago and has been involved in several
mergers and acquisitions since then. It currently manages three key brands (TNH hotels, TNH selection, and
TNH Nature, which offer business hotels, luxury hotels, and resort and countryside accommodations
respectively). The company has over 300 hotels in 25 countries with over 30 000 rooms. The company’s
headquarters are in London, UK.
3.1 COOPERATION WITH MCL

Ten years ago, ‘we speak your language’ became TNH’s global motto for its hotels. It was announced that
TNH staff across the globe would be able to welcome, serve, and help guests in their language. To deliver
on this promise, TNH analysed their customer base, identified the key languages used by guests and
included sufficient language proficiency in the requirements and development plans for all customer-facing
staff across the globe. MCL, which at the time was a young ambitious company, was selected as the global
partner for the language classes run for all TNH staff. In the first two years, the contract with TNH
comprised up to 60% of MCL’s revenue. This collaboration has continued with a growing number of classes
run online. These classes follow a curriculum developed specifically for TNH.
Soon after the cooperation between TNH and MCL started, the companies’ leaders proposed using TNH
resorts during off seasons, as language campuses for MCL’s educational travel programme. This proved to
be a success. The collaboration between the two companies has developed into a partnership based on
trust, respect, and shared values.
3.2 DIGITIZATION
TNH explores the opportunities that are provided by developing digital technology. The company was
among the first to adopt:
● online booking
● integration with booking engines and aggregators
● IoT-enabled facilities and security systems
● smart devices for guests in every hotel room
● centralized resource planning and management systems
● mobile applications for the loyalty programme.
Nonetheless, the company understands the importance of people and environment when creating a great
experience for its guests. ‘Technology helps us to be wonderful hosts for our guests, but it cannot replace
hospitality. It is our people who create a great experience, not computers,’ the TNH Chief Hospitality
Officer likes to repeat.

1285-SG-26
4 InteLearn
InteLearn is a start-up company based in San Francisco, USA. It was founded a year ago and has grown from
just three people to three offices (San Francisco, Utrecht, and Singapore), with 35 employees globally. Six
months ago, InteLearn launched two successful products:
● InteLearn is an online learning platform, which supports multiple formats of self-paced and virtual
learning. It allows users to seamlessly switch between desktop, laptop, and mobile devices. It works on
all of the main platforms and operating systems, and provides a wide range of useful tools for teachers
and students. The company approached many training organizations in the US and across the globe,
which resulted in several contracts. The satisfaction rating of trainers and students has never dropped
lower than 94%, a fact that makes the company’s founders particularly proud.
● InteLounge is a collaboration platform for virtual networking, video conferencing, webinars, and e-
learning. It is a freemium product, with all of the key features available for free and business-level
features requiring a subscription. The product became viral and its global adoption led to the opening of
the European and Asian offices of InteLearn. The offices are mostly focused on localization, user support,
and corporate sales within their regions.
The products are cloud-based; the company has direct contracts with three major global cloud service
providers.
InteLearn is a true Silicon Valley start-up. The company uses the latest technology and management
approaches. It has two key product teams working closely with the marketing team and the regional
offices. Most of the supporting activities are outsourced to specialized service companies. The founders
work closely with the teams and make most decisions, sharing their time between strategic business
development and operations. They have managed, however, to ensure that they are never involved in
coding, testing, and other software development, and management activities of the product teams.
InteLearn’s ambitious vision is ‘to become the number one brand for online learning and collaboration
globally by the end of next year.’
4.1 CONTACTS WITH MCL

InteLearn approached MCL at last year’s global language learning conference. The management of MCL
expressed some interest in InteLearn products. Further discussions followed from the demo session at MCL’s
headquarter. A trial version of the learning platform was licensed to MCL. Meanwhile, the USA and Canada
office of MCL adopted the InteLounge platform, for its internal communications and marketing webinars
and was well-received by all users. However, it was not welcomed by the MCL’s Information Security
Officer.

1285-SG-27
5 A major risk report

Recently, significant risks of high likelihood and impact have been identified.
Environmental events of a great scale are more likely to occur than in the past. These events might affect
many countries, leading to a complete or partial lockdown of the affected countries and a freeze on many
business activities. Entire countries might be isolated, with travel to and from these countries prohibited.
Digital connections and IT services are likely to remain fully or largely functional, with a significant
increase in demand.
In these circumstances, governments of the affected countries might introduce emergency regulations that
include various constraints. In some cases, financial support might be offered to the affected people and
businesses. Emergency situations might last from a few days to several weeks or even months.
5.1 IMPACT ON MCL

All countries where MCL currently operates are affected by this risk. In the event of an emergency, all
language centres are likely to be shut down for the entire duration of the emergency.
5.2 IMPACT ON TNH

TNH hotels are present in some of the countries that have a high probability of experiencing this risk.
Based on government emergency plans, peoples’ ability to travel and commute would be limited. Some
guests would be locked in hotels, there would be limited staff availability, and no new guests would be
accepted during the emergency.
5.3 IMPACT ON INTELEARN

InteLearn is likely to experience significant spikes in demand for the collaboration platform in all affected
countries across the globe. This might present an opportunity but could also cause capacity issues. At the
same time, information security analysts suggest that there would be an increase in the number of attacks
on online systems.

1285-SG-28
Pre-course Review III:
Foundation Overview
The prerequisite to DITS is ITIL 4 Foundation. Candidates are expected to have

general knowledge of ITIL 4, in particular the Guiding Principles. This material will
not be covered in class.
1285-SG-29
Course 1285
Foundation Review
Copyright © Learning Tree International, Inc. and AXELOS Limited 2019. All rights reserved. Material in this document
has been sourced from ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 edition, 2019. No part of this document may be reproduced in any
form without the written permission of both Learning Tree International, Inc. and AXELOS Limited. Permission can be
requested at www.LearningTree.com and licensing@AXELOS.com. ITIL® is a registered trade mark of AXELOS
1285-SG-30
Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.
Contents
ITIL 4 Foundation Review

► Practices in Digital and IT Strategy
► Guiding principles
Copyright © Learning Tree International, Inc. and AXELOS Limited 2019. All rights reserved. Material in this document has been sourced from ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 edition, 2019.
1285-SG-31
No part of this document may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of both Learning Tree International, Inc. and AXELOS Limited. Permission can be requested
at www.LearningTree.com and licensing@AXELOS.com. ITIL® is a registered trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.
Understanding Value
Service Management. A set of specialized organizational

capabilities for enabling value for customers in the form of services
Value. The perceived benefits, usefulness, and the importance of something
► Developing the specialized organizational capabilities in service

management requires an understanding of
• The nature of value
• The nature and scope of the stakeholders involved
• How value creation is enabled through services
1285-SG-32
Services and Products
Service. A means of enabling value co-creation by facilitating outcomes that customers

want to achieve, without the customer having to manage specific costs and risks
Product. A configuration of an organization’s resources designed to offer value for a

consumer
► Products are typically complex and are not fully visible to the consumer
• The portion of a product that the consumer actually sees does not always
represent all of the components that comprise the product and support its
delivery
► Organizations define which product components their consumers see, and
tailor them to suit their target consumer groups
► The services an organization provides are based on one or more of its
products
1285-SG-33
What Is a Service Offering?
Service Offering. A description of one or more services, designed to address the needs of a
target consumer group; a service offering may include goods, access to resources, and
service actions
Goods Access to Resources Service Actions
• Ownership is transferred • Ownership is not • Performed by the provider

to the consumer transferred to the to address a consumer
• Consumer takes consumer need
responsibility for future • Access is • Performed according to
use granted/licensed under agreement with the
agreed terms or consumer
conditions
1285-SG-34
Value, Outcomes, Costs, and Risks
Value. The perceived benefits, usefulness, and importance of something
1285-SG-35
The Four Dimensions of Service Management
1285-SG-36
Dimension 1: Organizations and People
Formal
organizational Culture
structures
Required staffing
Roles and
and
responsibilities
competencies
1285-SG-37
Dimension 2: Information and Technology
Information and
Technologies
knowledge
Relationships
between the
components
1285-SG-38
Dimension 3: Partners and Suppliers
Service
Organization’s
provider/service
partner and
consumer
supplier strategy
relationships
Factors that
Service
influence
integration and
supplier
management
strategies
1285-SG-39
Dimension 4: Value Streams and Processes
► Value streams and processes define the activities, workflows, controls,

and procedures needed to achieve agreed objectives
How value
Activities the creation is ensured
How activities
organization for all stakeholders
undertakes are organized
efficiently and
effectively
1285-SG-40
The ITIL Service Value System
1285-SG-41
Service Value Chain
1285-SG-42
Strategy and the Service Value Chain
Value Stream. The series of steps that an organization undertakes to create and deliver
products and services to its customers
► Value streams include a description of activities, capabilities and

resources that flow through the service value chain to meet demand and
co-create value
► Improving existing value streams or creating new value streams could be
the basis for strategy
2
3
5
1 4 6
1285-SG-43
Contents
Introduction
► ITIL 4 Foundation Review
Practices in Digital and IT

Strategy
► Guiding principles
1285-SG-44
Practices
General management Service management Technical management

practices practices practices
• Architecture management ** • Availability management • Deployment management
• Continual improvement ** • Business analysis • Infrastructure and platform
• Information security • Capacity and performance management
management management • Software development and
• Knowledge management ** • Change enablement management
• Measurement and reporting ** • Incident management
• Portfolio management ** • IT asset management
• Organizational change • Monitoring and event
management ** management
• Project management ** • Problem management
• Relationship management ** • Release management
• Risk management ** • Service catalog management
• Service financial • Service configuration
management ** management • Practices discussed in ITIL 4
• Strategy management ** • Service continuity management Foundation certification
• Supplier management • Service design
• Workforce and talent • Service desk ** Practices referenced in ITIL 4
management ** • Service level management Digital and IT Strategy
• Service request management
• Service validation and testing
1285-SG-45
Practices Referenced in Digital and IT Strategy
► Architecture management
• To explain the different elements that form an organization. To explain how
the elements interrelate to enable the organization to effectively achieve its
current and future objectives
► Continual improvement
• To align the organization’s practices and services with changing business
needs through the ongoing identification and improvement of products,
services, and practices, or any element involved in the efficient and effective
management of products and services
► Portfolio management
• To ensure that the organization has the right mix of programs, projects,
products and services to execute the organization’s strategy within its funding
and resource constraints
1285-SG-46
► Strategy management
• Formulate the goals of the organization and adopt the courses of action and
allocation of resources necessary for achieving those goals. Strategy
management establishes the organization’s direction, focuses effort, defines
or clarifies the organization’s priorities, and provides consistency or guidance
in response to the environment
► Workforce and talent management
• Ensure that the organization has the right people with the appropriate skills
and knowledge and in the correct roles to support its business objectives
◦ Covers a broad set of activities focused on successfully engaging with the
organization’s employees and people resources, including planning,
recruitment, onboarding, learning and development, performance
measurement, and succession planning
1285-SG-47
► Service financial management

• To support the organization’s strategies by providing reliable financial
information. Provides visibility into the budgeting, costing, and accounting
activities related to products and services
► Measurement and reporting
• To support good decision-making and continual improvement by decreasing
the levels of uncertainty. The is achieved through the collection of relevant
data on various managed objects and the valid assessment of this data in an
appropriate context. Managed objects include, but are not limited to,
products and services, practices and value chain activities, teams and
individuals, suppliers and partners, and the organization as a whole
► Risk management
• To ensure that the organization understands and effectively handles risks
◦ Managing risk is essential to ensuring the ongoing sustainability of an
organization, and creating value for its customers
1285-SG-48
► Knowledge management
• To maintain and improve the effective, efficient, and convenient use of
information and knowledge across the organization.
► Organizational change management
• To ensure that changes in an organization are implemented smoothly and
successfully, and that lasting benefits are achieved by managing the human
aspects of the changes
1285-SG-49
► Project management
• To ensure that all projects in the organization are successfully delivered. This
is achieved by planning, delegating, monitoring, and maintaining control of all
aspects of a project, and ensuring motivation for the people involved.
► Relationship management
• To establish and nurture the links between the organization and its
stakeholders at strategic and tactical levels. It includes the identification,
analysis, monitoring, and continual improvement of relationships with and
between stakeholders.
1285-SG-50
Practices Referenced in
► Additional detail in Appendix A
• NOTE: This material is testable !
1285-SG-51
Value Stream/SVC/Practices
2
3
5
1 4 6
Practices
1285-SG-52
Contents
Introduction
► ITIL 4 Foundation Review
► Practices in Digital and IT Strategy
Guiding principles
1285-SG-53
The ITIL Guiding Principles
1285-SG-54
► The ITIL guiding principles are not

independent
• You need to think about all of them,
each time you need to
◦ Make a decision
◦ Prioritize work
◦ Review improvement opportunities
◦ Resolve a conflict
• Sometimes you will decide that only
one or two principles apply
◦ But you need to consider all of
them
1285-SG-55
Understand and identify the service

consumer
Understand the consumer’s perspective of

value
Everything the organization

does should link back, directly Map value to intended outcomes, which
or indirectly, to value for itself, its
customers and other
change over time
stakeholders
Understand the customer experience (CX)

and/or user experience (UX)
1285-SG-56
Know how consumers use Encourage a focus on value

each service among all staff
Focus on value during Include a focus on value in

operational activity as well as every step of any improvement
during improvement initiatives initiative
1285-SG-57
► Decisions should be based on accurate information

obtained through direct observation supported by
appropriate measurement
► Measurement should support analysis of what has
been observed rather than replace it
When engaged in any ► Over-reliance on data analytics and reporting can
improvement initiative, introduce bias and risk in decision-making
do NOT start over
without first considering ► The act of measuring can affect the results
what is already available
to be leveraged
“When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.”

—Goodhart’s Law
1285-SG-58
Determine if successful
Look at what exists as
practices or services can be
objectively as possible
replicated or expanded
Apply your risk management Recognize that sometimes

skills in the decision-making nothing from the current state
process can be reused
1285-SG-59
► Organize work into smaller, manageable

sections
Working in a time-boxed, iterative

manner with feedback loops
embedded into the process allows
for greater flexibility, faster • Sequential or simultaneous
responses to customer and • Manageable and managed
business needs, the ability to
discover and respond to failure • Tangible results
earlier, and an overall • Timely manner
improvement in quality
• Can be built-on to create future improvements
1285-SG-60
A feedback loop is a situation where part of

the output of an activity is used for new input
• The initiative and its component

iterations, must be continually re-
evaluated to reflect changes in
circumstances
• Seek and use feedback before,
throughout, and after each iteration
Feedback loops between participants

helps them understand where work comes
from, outputs go and how their actions
affect the outcomes
1285-SG-61
The ecosystem is constantly

Comprehend the whole but
changing, so feedback is
do something
essential
Fast does not mean

incomplete
1285-SG-62
Information
Understanding
sharing
Collaboration
Real
Trust accomplishment
When initiatives involve
the right people in the
correct roles, efforts
benefit from better buy-
in, more relevance and
increased likelihood of
long-term success
1285-SG-63
► Without transparency
• There may be an impression that the work is not a priority
• Improvement work may take a lower priority over other
tasks with daily urgency
• Insufficient visibility of work leads to poor decision-
making
◦ Understand the flow of work
◦ Identify bottlenecks and excess capacity
◦ Uncover waste
Improvement Daily
work work
1285-SG-64
Collaboration does not mean Communicate in a way the

consensus audience can hear
Decisions can only be made

on visible data
1285-SG-65
Demand Value
A holistic approach to
service management
requires an
understanding of how
all the parts of an
organization work
together in an
integrated way
1285-SG-66
Collaboration is key to
Recognize the complexity of
thinking and working
the systems
holistically
Where possible, look for

Automation can facilitate
patterns of interactions
working holistically
between system elements
1285-SG-67
Establish a holistic view of the Start with an uncomplicated

organization’s work approach, add later
Outcome-based thinking
should be used to Do not try to produce a Be mindful of competing
produce practical solution for every exception objectives
solutions which deliver
valuable outcomes while
using the minimum
number of steps needed
1285-SG-68
Simplicity is
Do fewer things,
Ensure value the ultimate
but do them better
sophistication
Simplicity is
Respect the time Easier to
the best route
of the people understand, more
to achieving
involved likely to adopt
quick wins
1285-SG-69
Understand and agree to Assess the current state

the to understand where it can
context for the optimization be improved
Ensure the optimization has

Optimization means to Focus on simplification and
the appropriate level of
make something as value when agreeing to the
stakeholder engagement
effective and useful as future state
and commitment
makes sense. Before an
activity can be effectively
automated, it should be
optimized to whatever
degree is possible and
Execute the improvements
reasonable
in an iterative way, using Continually monitor to
metrics and other feedback identify opportunities and
to check progress; stay on improve work methods
track and adjust as needed
1285-SG-70
• Automation is the use of technology to perform a step or series of steps

correctly and consistently with limited or no human intervention
• Automating frequent and repetitive tasks helps organizations scale up and
allows human resources to be used for more complex decision-making
• The simplest form of automation involves standardizing and streamlining
manual tasks to allow decisions to be made ‘automatically’
Input Activities Output Input Activities Output
1285-SG-71
ITIL 4 Foundation—Summary
1285-SG-72
Pre-course Review IV:
Appendix A DITS Practice Detail
Included in the DITS syllabus is general information and practices success factors
for several practices. Candidates are expected to review this material outside of
class time. Following is a summary of the syllabus area for each DITS practice.
1285-SG-73
Appendix A
Practices Referenced in
Copyright © Learning Tree International, Inc. and AXELOS Limited 2019. All rights reserved. Material in this document
has been sourced from ITIL® Foundation, ITIL 4 edition, 2019. No part of this document may be reproduced in any
form without the written permission of both Learning Tree International, Inc. and AXELOS Limited. Permission can be
requested at www.LearningTree.com and licensing@AXELOS.com. ITIL® is a registered trade mark of AXELOS
1285-SG-74
Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.
Contents
Strategy Management
► Portfolio Management
► Service Financial Management
► Risk Management
► Architecture Management
► Workforce and Talent Management
► Measurement and Reporting
1285-SG-75
Objectives/Contents
1285-SG-76
Strategy Management
► Purpose of strategy management is to

formulate the goals of the
organization and adopt the courses of
action and allocation of resources
necessary for achieving those goals.
Strategy management establishes
the organization’s priorities, and
provides consistency or guidance in
response to the environment
► Strategy management ensures that
• Organization’s vision, objectives and
direction are defined and continually
validated or redefined
• Actions that are needed to realize the
vision are identified, agreed, and
communicated
• Execution of the strategy is
continually evaluated, challenged and
improved
1285-SG-77
Strategy Management
► Typically the responsibility of the executive leaders

• Important to engage a broad group of internal and external stakeholders in
strategy development
• Executive team has critical role of making the final decisions
► Provides inputs to many practices including:
• Architecture management
• Workforce and talent management
• Risk management
• Service financial management
• Project management
• Organizational change management
• Portfolio management
• Relationship management
► Frequent communication and feedback between these and strategy
management is needed to ensure strategic alignment
1285-SG-78
Strategy Management Practice Success Factors
► Ensuring that the organization’s strategies are effective and sustainable,

and meet the stakeholders’ evolving needs
• To create and execute an effective strategy, organizations must:
◦ Explore the strategy at distinct intervals:
 Long-term
 Mid-term
 Short-term
◦ Constantly reinvent and stimulate the strategic dialog
◦ Engage the broad organization
◦ Invest in execution and monitoring
1285-SG-79
► Ensuring that the organization’s strategies are effective and sustainable,

and meet the stakeholders’ evolving needs
• Not a one-off activity
• Requires good understanding of the position of the organization
• Operational reports to monitor performance, identify deviations and to initiate
corrective actions
• Analytical reports to identify trends and explanations and investigations
• Data at the core of decision-making process
◦ Insight to gain accurate and deep understanding of the subject is required
1285-SG-80
► Ensuring that the agreed strategies and models are communicated across
the organization and embedded into the organization’s practices and value
streams
• Without adoption of the strategy across the organization, strategy
management is just a planning exercise
• Key factors of successful execution:
◦ Effective communication
◦ Continual improvement
◦ Effective organizational change management (OCM)
◦ Embedding the vision and principles in the organizational culture
 OCM and workforce and talent management help to develop the
culture and establish an improvement loop between the strategy and
the culture
1285-SG-81
► Ensuring that the agreed strategies and models are communicated across
the organization and embedded into the organization’s practices and value
streams
► Continual improvement
• All practices should be designed for strategic alignment and continual
improvements
► Adoption and execution of new strategy often requires organization
change
1285-SG-82
Contents
► Strategy Management
Portfolio Management
► Risk Management
1285-SG-83
Objectives/Contents
1285-SG-84
► The purpose of the portfolio

management practice is to ensure
that the organization has the right mix
of programs, projects, products, and
services to execute the organization’s
strategy within its funding and
resource constraints
► This practice ensures that the right
investment decisions are made and
that results are reviewed against their
expected outcomes in order to
minimize investing in
underperforming efforts.
1285-SG-85
► Portfolio management
encompasses several portfolios:
Portfolio • Product and service portfolio
A collection of • Program and project portfolio
• Customer portfolio
assets into which an
• Resource portfolios (e.g.
organization
application, business segments)
chooses to invest its
resources in order to
receive the best
return
1285-SG-86
1285-SG-87
Portfolio Management—Practice Success Factors
► Portfolio management practice success factors:

• Ensuring sound investment decisions for programs, projects, products, and
services within the organization's resource constraints
• Ensuring the continual monitoring, review, and optimization of the
organization's portfolios
1285-SG-88
► Ensuring sound investment decisions for programs, projects, products,

and services within the organization's resource constraints
• Ensures internal and external perspectives are included and prioritized
• Strategic alignment of priorities
• Criteria and weight for criteria should be transparent and applied consistently
• Portfolios are communication tools
1285-SG-89
► Ensuring the continual monitoring, review, and optimization of the

organization's portfolios
• Investments are monitored to ensure expected value and original value
proposition is valid
• All portfolio items (old and new) should be reviewed and evaluated regularly
1285-SG-90
Contents
Service Financial Management

► Risk Management
1285-SG-91
Objectives/Contents
1285-SG-92
► Service financial management

• To support the organization’s
strategies by providing reliable
financial information. Provides
visibility into the budgeting, costing,
and accounting activities related to
products and services
► Economics of services
• Understanding and optimizing the
financial aspects of service delivery
and consumption
• Understanding and optimizing the
costs of organizations products
through out their lifecycle
• Providing high-quality financial
information about products and
services to stakeholders
1285-SG-93
► Ensure the organization’s products and services are sufficiently funded

by:
• Providing information on costs and products
• Planning and managing budgets for products and servicing
• Anticipating and monitoring revenues from service delivery
► Financial management supported by specialized roles such as finance,
accounting, and financial analysis
• Important to combine expertise in areas of:
◦ Product and service management
◦ Financial management
► Solutions include:
• Financial professional in digital product teams
• Digital and IT partners within the finance tams
• Dedicated finance team within IT
• Specialized training in finance for product and service managers and IT
leaders
1285-SG-94
Service Financial Management—Practice Success Factors
► Ensuring that the organization’ service financial management supports it

overall strategy and stakeholder requirements
► Ensuring that reliable financial information is available as needed to
support decision-making
1285-SG-95
► Ensuring that the organization’ service financial management supports it

overall strategy and stakeholder requirements
• Follow an agreed approach
• Financial management is overhead
◦ Balance the benefits with the costs
• Plan the approach with stakeholders
◦ Use the guiding principles—for example
 Start where you are—analyze currently available tools, procedures,
etc. Optimize and integrate them before investing resources in new
solutions
1285-SG-96

• Not focused entirely on compliance and control
• Primary focus on provision of reliable financial information to the
organization's stakeholders
◦ Close conjunction with:
 Knowledge management
 Service configuration managements
 IT asset management
◦ Integration with:
 Strategy management
 Capacity and performance management
 Availability management
 Service continuity management
 Workforce and talent management
 Supplier management
1285-SG-97

• Not focused entirely on compliance and control
• Primary focus on provision of reliable financial information to the
organization’s stakeholders
◦ Close conjunction with:
 Knowledge management
 Service configuration managements
 IT asset management
◦ Integration with:
 Strategy management
 Capacity and performance management
 Availability management
 Service continuity management
 Workforce and talent management
 Supplier management
1285-SG-98
Contents
Risk Management
1285-SG-99
Objectives/Contents
1285-SG-100
Risk Management
► The purpose of the risk management practice is to ensure that the

organization understands and effectively handles risks. Managing risk is
essential to ensuring the ongoing sustainability of an organization and
co-creating value for its customers. Risk management is an integral part
of all organizational activities and therefore central to the organization’s
service value system (SVS)
► Risk management is performed at all levels of the organization
• Strategic risk management—long-term risks that may impact the ability of
the organization to perform its mission.
• Program and project risk management—risks that may affect medium-term
goals and objectives.
• Operational risk management —focused on short-term goals and
objectives.
► Risk management at each of these levels must be based on direction
from the governors of the organization
1285-SG-101
Risk Management—Practice Success Factors
► The risk management practice includes the following PSFs:

• Establishing governance of risk management
• Nurturing a risk management culture and identifying risks
• Analyzing and evaluating risks
• Treating, monitoring, and reviewing risks
1285-SG-102
► Establishing governance of risk management

• All risk management activities require a clear understanding of the
organization’s risk capacity and risk appetite
• Critical aspects of organizational governance
• Some risks pose an existential threat to the organization
◦ These risks should be owned by the governing body of the organization
1285-SG-103
► Nurturing a risk management culture and identifying risks

• Everyone in the organization should take responsibility for identifying and
reporting any risks that they discover
• Requires a culture where people feel safe to identify mistakes made by
themselves and others, without fear of reprisal
• Managers and leaders need to nurture an open and honest culture
1285-SG-104
► Analyzing and evaluating risks

• Understand the impact and
likelihood of risk
• Output of this risk analysis:
◦ Determines the level of risk
◦ Document in a risk register
◦ Decide the required risk
treatment
1285-SG-105
► Treating, monitoring, and reviewing risks

• Every risk must be treated in the same way
◦ A risk should be documented, communicated to relevant stakeholders,
and reviewed regularly to ensure that changes to the probability, impact,
or cost of controls are considered
◦ Accepting and managing a risk:
 Suitable controls need to be designed and implemented
 Maintained to ensure relevance
1285-SG-106
Contents
► Risk Management
Architecture Management
1285-SG-107
Objectives/Content
1285-SG-108
► Architecture management
• To explain the different elements that form an organization. To explain how
the elements interrelate to enable the organization to effectively achieve its
current and future objectives.
• Provides the principles, standards, and tools that enable an organization to
manage complex change in a structured and Agile way
► Applies to all levels of an organization’s architecture:
• Business
• Product and service
• Information systems (data and application)
• Technology
• Environmental
► Scope determined by organization’s position, vision and strategy
1285-SG-109
Product and service

architecture:
Formalized description
Business architecture:
of an organization’s
Formalized description
products and services,
of how an organization
their components and
uses its resources for
inter-relationships and
realizing its strategy
and objectives the principles and
guidelines governing
their design and
evolution over time.
1285-SG-110
Technology architecture:
Formalized description of Environmental
an organization’s architecture:
technology infrastructure, Formalized description of
including information, external factors impacting
operational, and the organization and the
communications drivers for change, as well
technologies, their inter- as all aspects, types, and
relationships and the was levels of environmental
they support the control and their
organization’s information management
systems
1285-SG-111
► Architecture management ensures that:

• Current architecture is understood and mapped to the strategy
• Target architecture is identified and agreed
• Architecture is continually optimized to achieve the target architecture
1285-SG-112
Architecture Management—Practice Success Factors
► Architecture management practice success factors

• Ensuring that the organization’s strategy is supported with a target
architecture
• Ensuring that the organization’s architecture is continually evolving to the
target state
1285-SG-113
► Ensuring that the organization’s strategy is supported with a target

architecture
► Architect’s need to understand a wide range of factors including (but not
limited to):
• Organization’s strategy
• Pain points
• Technology factors and trend
► Effectiveness can be expressed characteristics including (but not limited
to :
• Scalability
• Cost effectiveness
• Compliance
1285-SG-114
► Ensuring that the organization’s architecture is continually evolving to the

target state
► A roadmap should be developed
• Collection of initiatives to change from current state to target
Transition from current architecture

to target is rarely a revolution!
1285-SG-115
Contents
► Risk Management
Workforce and Talent

Management
1285-SG-116
Objectives/Content
1285-SG-117
Workforce and Talent Management
► Workforce and talent management

• To ensure that the organization has the right people with the appropriate
skills and knowledge and in the correct roles to support its business
objectives
◦ The practice covers a broad set of activities focused on successfully
engaging with the organization’s employees and people resources,
including planning, recruitment, onboarding, learning and development,
performance measurement, and succession planning
• People are the most valuable asset of an organization
◦ Effective management is critical for success
• Supported by specialized roles and structures
◦ Dedicate human resources teams
 Different levels of expertise to support IT teams
◦ Important to ensure that IT leaders/managers/teams share responsibility
for effective management
1285-SG-118
► Workforce and talent management based on these premised to be

effective:
• Organizations are open systems—relationships cannot be ignored
• As organization’s strategy evolve, so should the HR strategy
• Digital technologies change the way organizations’ work and the skills
needed
• Decisions should be driven by principles, not rules
• Recognize and embrace complexity
• Agility/adaptability/efficiency should be enables
• Responsibility of every team/manager/leader in the organization, not just HR
professionals
1285-SG-119
► Workforce and talent management practice success factors:

• Ensuring continual alignment of the workforce and talent management
approach to the organization’s strategy
• Ensuring that motivated and competent people effectively contribute to the
achievement of the organization’s objectives
• Ensuring that the administrative processes for this practice effectively
supports the organizations strategy and objectives.
1285-SG-120
Workforce and Talent Management—PSFs
► Ensuring continual alignment of the workforce and talent management

approach to the organization’s strategy
• Organizations’ strategies continually evolve
• With high levels of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity:
◦ Organizations move from long-term, rigid, and detailed plans to an agile
approach with
 Goals are continually redefined and adjusted based on the analysis of
external and internal factors
• Need agile approach to organization planning
◦ Adopting organizational forms that are optimized for agility and efficiency
◦ Nurturing an organizational culture that is optimized for agility, creativity,
and efficiency
◦ Inspiring and promoting servant leadership
◦ Planning for changes that are in demand in the organization’s workforce
1285-SG-121
► Ensuring that motivated and competent people effectively contribute to the

achievement of the organization’s objectives
• Organizations create and maintain effective approaches to:
◦ Management of the employee journey
◦ Continual learning and development
◦ Maintaining a healthy organizational culture
◦ Conscious leadership
1285-SG-122
► Ensuring that the administrative processes for this practice effectively

supports the organizations strategy and objectives
• Includes important administrative feature:
◦ How many teams and people they have
◦ Workload
◦ Competencies
◦ Current and future availability
◦ Work performance, associated costs, etc.
• Practice ensures the effective integration of the administrative procedures
for:
◦ Teams, practices, value streams, policies, processes, and procedures.
◦ Ensure a sufficient level of control, conformance, and compliance without
excessive bureaucracy
1285-SG-123
Contents
► Risk Management
Measurement and Reporting
1285-SG-124
Objectives/Contents
1285-SG-125
Measurement and Reporting Management
► To support good decision-making and continual improvement by

decreasing the levels of uncertainty. The is achieved through the
collection of relevant data on various managed objects and the valid
assessment of this data in an appropriate context. Managed objects
include, but are not limited to, products and services, practices and value
chain activities, teams and individuals, suppliers and partners, and the
organization as a whole
• Must first understand the organization’s objectives
• KPIs based on objectives
◦ CSF
 Metrics
 Measurements
1285-SG-126
Measurement and Reporting Management—PSFs
► Practice success factors:

• Ensuring that measurements are driven by objectives
• Ensuring the quality and availability of measurement data
• Ensuring effective reporting to support decision-making
1285-SG-127
► Practice success factors:

• Ensuring that measurements are driven by objectives
1285-SG-128
Measurement and Reporting
Management—PSFs
► Ensuring the quality and availability of
measurement data
► High quality data should be:
• Intrinsically good
◦ Accuracy, objectivity, believability,
and reputation of the data source.
• Contextually appropriate data
◦ Useful and valuable in the given
context. It includes completeness,
relevancy, timeliness, and volume.
• Clearly represented data
◦ Understandable, consistent, and
interpretable
• Accessible data
◦ Available to the designated
consumers and can be accessed as
agreed
1285-SG-129
► Ensuring effective reporting to support decision-making

► Reports designed to answer:
• Who is the report consumer?
• What is the purpose of the report?
• What decisions it is supposed to support?
• Who will generate and work with the report?
• How will the report be used?
• What data should the report contain?
• How will the report data be structured and displayed?
1285-SG-130

Pre-Course Reading For Course 1285 1285 - SG - A2 - 102 - A1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Pre-Course Reading For Course 1285 1285 - SG - A2 - 102 - A1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Pre-Course Reading for Course 1285

ITIL® 4 Strategic Leader:

by Sandra Kelly and Hitesh Patel

Pre-course Review I: Digital and IT Strategy Syllabus ..................................... 1

Please review the following DITS syllabus. It contains important

2 ITIL 4 DIGITAL AND IT STRATEGY SYLLABUS 4

3 CASE STUDY ASSESSMENT 8

5 ITIL 4 DIGITAL AND IT STRATEGY EXAMINATION DESIGN 16

The purpose of this document is to outline:

The target audience for this document is:

Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2020.

2 ITIL 4 Digital and IT Strategy Syllabus

Learning Outcome Assessment Criteria BL

2. Understand how 2.1. Understand the following concepts: BL2

2.2 Understand the following concepts: BL2

Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2020.

Learning Outcome Assessment Criteria BL

3. Understand the 3.1 Explain environmental analysis in terms of: BL3

4.4 Show how an organization’s position in a particular market or industry is BL3

Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2020.

Learning Outcome Assessment Criteria BL

Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2020.

Learning Outcome Assessment Criteria BL

Strategy 5.3.3, 5.3.4 including subsections for all)

Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2020.

3 Case study assessment

3.1 CASE STUDY OVERVIEW

Exam duration Variable Duration:

• Three assignments of 60 minutes, one assignment of 90 minutes in the

• Four individual written assignments of 60 minutes each in individual

Number of 40 marks Number of assignments: 4

Marks: Each assessment criterion is worth 8 marks. There are 40 marks

There is no negative marking.

Pass mark 30 marks 75% or higher – a raw score of 30 marks or above.

Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2020.

3.2 CASE STUDY SYLLABUS

Learning Outcome Assessment Criteria BL

Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2020.

Assessment criteria Assignments

Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2020.

4.1 EXAM OVERVIEW

‘Negative’ questions are ‘standard’ question in which the stem is negatively

Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2020.

4.2 MCQ EXAM SYLLABUS

Learning Outcome Assessment Criteria BL No.

2. Understand how 2.1. Understand the following concepts: BL2 2

2.2 Understand the following concepts: BL2 2

3. Understand the 3.1 Explain environmental analysis in terms of: BL3 1

Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2020.

Learning Outcome Assessment Criteria BL No.

Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2020.

Learning Outcome Assessment Criteria BL No.

Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2020.

Learning Outcome Assessment Criteria BL No.

Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2020.

5 ITIL 4 Digital and IT Strategy Examination Design

5.1 EXAMINATION ADMINISTRATION

5.2 QUESTION TYPES

Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2020.

5.4 WEIGHTINGS BY BLOOM’S LEVEL

5.5 WEIGHTINGS BY LEARNING OUTCOME

Learning Outcome No.OTQs Approx. weighting

1. Demonstrate the use of the ITIL guiding principles in Digital and IT 0 0%