IT Service Management

One year full-time or two years part-time. Students attend lectures, seminars and workshops throughout two taught semesters (14 weeks each).

For those that are studying via distance learning, access to the University's virtual learning environment is supported by video conferencing. Full distance learning is available over a flexible timeframe.

For students that choose to start the course in September, the course ends in July. The final dissertation or applied research project is work-related and takes 6-12 months to complete.

This course has been designed to meet the need for competent and qualified staff that can enable organisations to maximise the value of Information Communications Technology (ICT) and IT Services. It is suitable for any student wishing to move into IT Service Management, and is particularly relevant to business strategic planning, service delivery and support, continuity planning, application and infrastructure management, quality management, project and change management.

It is now recognised that information is the most important strategic resource that any organisation has to manage, and that this information is not managed or exploited if ICT systems and services are below the required quality. The global body, itSMF, ensures the adherence of quality and standards in the provision of IT Services underpins the importance of IT Service Management and the quality of staff employed in this profession.

This course addresses the need to understand the responsibilities, components and opportunities for IT Service Management, an area of expanding job opportunities and skill shortages in the modern world of business computing and service delivery. The rationale for the course is based on the recognition that the effectiveness of all IT Services is a vital aspect to the prosperity of any organisation. The course embraces best practice from leading service providers, and by continual reassessment, ensures all material is relevant to today's computing and management expectations.

The course encompasses IT Service Management through a series of progressive units developing the student's knowledge from fundamental concepts, through to units addressing IS strategy, management information, quality management, application development, infrastructure, service support and delivery, continuity planning, people and operational issues of implementing IT Service Management Best Practice. The course addresses current standards for IT Service Management, such as ISO20000 and ITIL.

• Perfect course for IT students wishing to move into IT service management
• IT service management has expanding job opportunities

• Implementing Service Management
• Information Systems Development
• Project and Change Management
• Quality and IT Service Provision
• Strategic information Systems and Quality Management
• Knowledge, Asset, Access and Event Management

The course has a mixture of assessment involving practical work, essays, reports based on real-world provision, case studies, portfolios, oral presentations as well as examinations. The emphasis is on assessment by coursework and in the final year the 10-15,000 word applied research project is a key element of the course.

Graduates from this course have excellent career prospects in the field of IT service management. They are equipped with the skills for outsourcing, IT and business strategic planning, service delivery and support, continuity planning, application and infrastructure management. Graduates are prepared for employment in all areas of service management from help desk through to second and third level work in IT support. They have the knowledge and expertise to lead projects such as outsourcing management, contingency planning, strategic alignment, implementing continuous improvement, reducing costs, project and change management.