About This Course
In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, organisations depend on well-designed IT services to drive operational efficiency, satisfy customer expectations, and maintain competitive advantage. Poor service design leads to costly rework, service failures, and misaligned IT capabilities — challenges that organisations across all sectors can ill afford. ITIL Service Design provides a disciplined, proven approach to creating IT services that are fit for purpose, fit for use, and built to last.
ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is the globally recognised framework for IT Service Management (ITSM). The Service Design phase sits at the heart of the ITIL Service Lifecycle, governing how new or changed services are architected, resourced, and prepared for transition into live operation. It ensures that every element of a service — from availability and capacity to security and supplier management — is deliberately planned rather than left to chance.
TrainingComplex's ITIL Service Design Training is a five-day intensive programme that takes participants from foundational concepts through to hands-on application of the Service Design processes and their supporting tools. Delegates will work through realistic case studies, structured exercises, and group discussions that mirror the decisions IT managers, architects, and analysts face daily. By the end of the programme, participants will be equipped to contribute meaningfully to service design activities within their organisations and to support broader ITIL adoption initiatives.
This course is suitable for IT professionals who work within, or aspire to move into, service management roles. Whether you are preparing for the ITIL Intermediate Service Design examination or seeking practical skills to enhance your current role, this programme delivers both the conceptual rigour and the applied confidence you need.
Who Should Attend
- IT Service Managers and IT Managers seeking to formalise their service design practices
- Service Architects and Solution Designers responsible for designing new or changed IT services
- Business Analysts translating business requirements into IT service specifications
- IT Project Managers overseeing service introduction and transition activities
- Process Owners and Process Managers involved in ITSM process governance
- Application Managers and Technical Managers contributing to service design activities
- IT Consultants advising organisations on ITSM frameworks and service improvement
- Professionals preparing for the ITIL Intermediate Service Design certification examination
Learning Objectives
- Explain the purpose, scope, and objectives of the ITIL Service Design stage within the broader Service Lifecycle
- Describe the key principles and concepts underpinning effective service design, including the Four Ps of Design
- Apply the Service Design Package (SDP) to document and communicate comprehensive service designs
- Manage and coordinate the five major aspects of service design: services, processes, technology, measurement, and people
- Implement and govern the Service Catalogue Management process to maintain an accurate and accessible service portfolio
- Design for availability, capacity, and continuity using structured process frameworks and risk-based thinking
- Apply Information Security Management principles within the service design context to protect service integrity
- Manage supplier relationships and contracts through the Supplier Management process to underpin service quality
- Use Service Level Management to define, negotiate, and monitor service level agreements and operational level agreements
- Evaluate service designs using appropriate metrics and critical success factors to support continuous improvement
Course Modules
Module 1: The ITIL Service Lifecycle and the Role of Service Design
- Overview of the ITIL Service Lifecycle and the five lifecycle stages
- The purpose, scope, and objectives of the Service Design stage
- How Service Design interfaces with Service Strategy, Transition, Operation, and CSI
- Value of good service design to the business and the IT function
- Key definitions: service, service management, service design, utility, and warranty
- The importance of adopting a holistic, lifecycle-wide perspective when designing services
Module 2: Service Design Principles and the Four Ps of Design
- The Four Ps of Service Design: People, Processes, Products, and Partners
- Design principles: balanced design, service orientation, and alignment to business goals
- Understanding service requirements from business, user, and technical perspectives
- Constraints affecting service design decisions and how to manage them
- The concept of design coordination and its role in integrating design activities
- Common pitfalls in service design and how structured principles prevent them
Module 3: The Service Design Package
- Purpose and structure of the Service Design Package (SDP)
- Key contents of an SDP: requirements, designs, transition plans, and acceptance criteria
- How the SDP is used across the transition and operation lifecycle stages
- Roles and responsibilities for producing and maintaining the SDP
- Workshop: drafting the core sections of an SDP for a simulated service
- Quality criteria and review checkpoints for a well-formed SDP
Module 4: Service Catalogue Management
- The purpose and scope of Service Catalogue Management
- Difference between the Service Portfolio, the Service Pipeline, and the Service Catalogue
- Designing a business-facing and a technical service catalogue
- Roles and responsibilities in maintaining the Service Catalogue
- Process flows: requesting, approving, and publishing catalogue entries
- Metrics and CSFs for measuring the effectiveness of Service Catalogue Management
Module 5: Service Level Management
- Purpose, objectives, and scope of Service Level Management (SLM)
- Drafting and structuring Service Level Agreements (SLAs): types and best practices
- Operational Level Agreements (OLAs) and Underpinning Contracts (UCs) and their relationship to SLAs
- Service Level Requirements (SLRs): capturing and validating business expectations
- Monitoring, reporting, and reviewing service performance against agreed levels
- Service Improvement Plans (SIPs) and how SLM drives continual improvement
Module 6: Availability Management
- Purpose, scope, and key concepts of Availability Management
- Availability, reliability, maintainability, serviceability, and resilience defined
- Proactive and reactive availability management activities and techniques
- Availability design techniques: redundancy, fault tolerance, and recovery planning
- Availability Measurement and Reporting: metrics, targets, and the Availability Plan
- Linking availability design decisions to business impact and continuity requirements
Module 7: Capacity Management
- Purpose, scope, and objectives of Capacity Management
- The three sub-processes: Business, Service, and Component Capacity Management
- Demand management and workload forecasting as inputs to capacity planning
- Capacity planning tools and modelling techniques for predicting future needs
- The Capacity Plan: structure, content, and how it informs design decisions
- Balancing cost, performance, and capacity to meet agreed service levels
Module 8: IT Service Continuity Management
- Purpose, scope, and relationship of ITSCM to Business Continuity Management (BCM)
- Business Impact Analysis (BIA): identifying critical services and recovery requirements
- Risk assessment and risk response strategies within ITSCM
- Designing recovery solutions: warm standby, hot standby, and cold recovery options
- Testing, reviewing, and maintaining continuity plans to ensure ongoing effectiveness
- Roles, responsibilities, and governance structures for ITSCM
Module 9: Information Security Management and Supplier Management
- Purpose and objectives of Information Security Management within service design
- Confidentiality, integrity, and availability as the pillars of information security
- Designing security controls and policies into services from the outset
- Purpose and scope of Supplier Management: categorising and governing suppliers
- The Supplier and Contract Database (SCD) and contract lifecycle management
- Aligning supplier performance to service quality through measurement and review
Module 10: Design Coordination, Metrics, and Continual Improvement in Service Design
- The Design Coordination process: ensuring consistency and quality across all design activities
- Governance structures and decision-making authorities within service design
- Defining and applying CSFs, KPIs, and metrics to evaluate service design outcomes
- Common challenges and risks in implementing Service Design processes
- Linking service design outputs to the Continual Service Improvement (CSI) register
- Building a service design culture: embedding practices, roles, and responsibilities for sustainable improvement
Requirements & Prerequisites
Participants should have a foundational understanding of IT Service Management concepts and ideally hold the ITIL Foundation certificate or equivalent knowledge. Basic familiarity with how IT services are delivered within an organisational context is recommended. Prior experience working in an IT operations, service management, or business analysis role is helpful but not strictly required for delegates with strong foundational ITSM knowledge.
Training Methodology
- Facilitated expert-led instruction covering each Service Design process with real-world context and worked examples
- Case study analysis using composite IT service scenarios drawn from finance, healthcare, and public-sector environments to illustrate design decisions
- Service Design Package workshops where participants collaboratively draft a complete SDP for a simulated new service
- Process mapping exercises in which delegates model current-state and future-state service design workflows
- SLA and OLA drafting practice using templates to negotiate and document realistic service level commitments
- Risk and impact assessment activities applied to availability, capacity, and continuity design challenges
- Group review and critique sessions where teams present their service designs and receive structured peer and facilitator feedback
- Post-module reflection prompts linking course content to participants' actual organisational contexts and current service challenges
Organisational Benefits
- IT services are designed with clear alignment to business requirements, reducing costly mismatches between IT delivery and organisational expectations
- Structured service design practices reduce service failures, incidents, and unplanned rework across the IT function
- Organisations gain a consistent, repeatable methodology for introducing new services and managing changes to existing ones
- Improved availability, capacity, and continuity planning reduces operational risk and supports business resilience
- Stronger supplier governance through formal Supplier Management processes protects service quality and contractual value
- A well-maintained Service Catalogue improves transparency and customer satisfaction by giving stakeholders clear visibility of available services
- Participants return with practical tools, templates, and process knowledge immediately applicable to live service management environments
- Organisations accelerate their ITIL adoption journey by building internal expertise and a shared service design vocabulary
Where Is ITIL Service Design Training Offered?
This course runs in-person across: Dubai, Zanzibar, Addis Ababa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Pretoria, Nairobi, Arusha, Abuja, Cape Town, Kigali, Kampala, Riyadh, Johannesburg, Accra, Naivasha, Mombasa, Lagos, Dar es Salaam, plus Live Virtual (online) cohorts. Browse live dates for your city below.
Upcoming Schedules
| Location | Format | Dates | Price |
|---|
| Live Virtual |
Online |
12 Oct 2026 – 16 Oct 2026 |
KES 80,000 |
| Live Virtual |
Online |
24 Oct 2026 – 15 Nov 2026 |
KES 80,000 |
| Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 4,100 |
| Zanzibar, Tanzania |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 2,500 |
| Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 2,400 |
| Kisumu, Kenya |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
KES 120,000 |
| Nakuru, Kenya |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
KES 120,000 |
| Pretoria, South Africa |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 3,300 |
| Nairobi, Kenya |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
KES 115,000 |
| Arusha, Tanzania |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 2,100 |
| Abuja, Nigeria |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 2,800 |
| Nakuru, Kenya |
In-Person |
2 Nov 2026 – 6 Nov 2026 |
KES 120,000 |
| Cape Town, South Africa |
In-Person |
2 Nov 2026 – 6 Nov 2026 |
USD 3,800 |
| Nairobi, Kenya |
In-Person |
2 Nov 2026 – 6 Nov 2026 |
KES 105,000 |
| Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
In-Person |
2 Nov 2026 – 6 Nov 2026 |
USD 4,100 |
+227 more dates — view live schedule →
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to hold the ITIL Foundation certificate before attending this course?
The ITIL Foundation certificate is strongly recommended as it ensures you have the core ITSM vocabulary and lifecycle awareness needed to engage fully with the Intermediate-level content. Candidates with equivalent practical knowledge and experience may also be suitable — contact TrainingComplex to discuss your background before enrolling.
Does this course prepare me for an ITIL certification examination?
Yes. The programme is designed to align with the ITIL Intermediate Service Design syllabus and prepares delegates for the associated examination. Examination registration is handled separately through an accredited examination body, and TrainingComplex can advise you on the appropriate process.
What is the daily schedule and how is the course structured?
Each training day runs approximately eight hours, including facilitated instruction, workshops, and group exercises. Content is delivered across ten structured modules, with each day covering two modules and incorporating practical activities that reinforce the theory presented.
Will I receive any materials or tools to take back to my organisation?
Participants receive a comprehensive course workbook, process templates, SDP frameworks, SLA drafting guides, and reference cards covering all ten Service Design processes. These materials are designed for immediate practical use within your workplace.
Is the course available as an in-house programme for my organisation's team?
Yes. TrainingComplex offers this programme as a dedicated in-house delivery for teams of six or more, customised to your organisation's service management context and IT environment. Contact our training advisors to discuss scheduling, pricing, and any tailoring requirements.
