ISO/IEC 20000
ISO/IEC 20000 is an IT standard that allows companies to demonstrate excellence and prove best practice in IT management. The standard ensures companies can achieve evidence-based benchmarks to continuously improve their delivery of IT services. ISO/IEC 20000 was released in 2005 based on the IT infrastructure library (ITIL®) best practice framework. The adoption of ISO 20000 has grown quite rapidly in the international arena of IT service providers and it has become a competitive differentiator for delivery of IT services.
APMG-International owns and operates the ISO/IEC 20000 certification and qualification schemes formerly managed by itSMF. For answers to questions about the schemes, the transferral from itSMF to APMG-International and the implications, read our Frequently Asked Questions.
What is ISO/IEC 20000?
ISO/IEC 20000 is the first worldwide standard specifically aimed at IT Service Management. It describes an integrated set of management processes for the effective delivery of services to the business and its customers.
ISO/IEC 20000 is aligned with and complementary to the process approach defined within ITIL from the Cabinet Office.
ISO/IEC 20000 consists of two parts:
- ISO/IEC 20000-1:2005 is the formal specification and defines the requirements for an organisation to deliver managed services of an acceptable quality for its customers. The scope includes:
- Requirements for a management system
- Planning and implementing service management
- Planning and implementing new or changed services
- Service delivery process
- Relationship processes
- Resolution processes
- Control processes
- Release processes.
- ISO/IEC 20000-2:2005 is the Code of Practice and describes the best practices for Service Management processes within the scope of ISO/IEC 20000-1. The Code of Practice will be of particular use to organisations preparing to be audited against ISO/IEC 20000 or planning service improvements.
ISO/IEC 20000 Training Courses - To book an ISO/IEC 20000 training course, contact any of APMG-International's ISO/IEC 20000 Accredited Training Organisations (previously known as ACPs).
Qualifications - New Format Exams
All New Format Exams are based on the 2011 version of the ISO/IEC 20000 standard. View the Previous Format Exams for Information on the structure of the 2005 or 2011 ISO/IEC 20000 based standard.
The exam formats are as follows:
Foundation
The Foundation is the first of the ISO/IEC 20000 examinations you are required to pass to become an ISO/IEC 20000 Practitioner. Though not a mandatory requirement, passing the Foundation examination prior to taking the ISO/IEC 20000 Auditor qualification will provide a helpful basis on which to complete further study.
The purpose of the Foundation qualification is to confirm that you have sufficient knowledge of the contents and requirements of the ISO/IEC 20000 standard and understand how the standard operates in a typical IT service provider organisation. The Foundation is also a pre-requisite for the Practitioner qualification.
The ISO/IEC 20000 Foundation qualification has been awarded 1.0 credits of the 6 complementary credits avaliable to put towards the ITIL Expert certification.
- Multiple choice
- 40 questions per paper
- 26 marks required to pass (out of 40 available) - 65%
- 60 minutes duration
- Closed book.
Practitioner
Prerequisites - A candidate must hold one of the following qualifications to qualify to sit the Practitioner exam:
- ISO/IEC 20000 Foundation
- ITIL Foundation
At Practitioner level you should understand and be able to apply the content of the ISO/IEC 20000 standard within currently certified organisations or those considering certification.
- Multiple Choice
- Objective testing
- 4 questions per paper, 20 marks available per question
- 40 marks required to pass (out of 80 available) - 50%
- Three hours duration
- Open Book.
Auditor
Auditors should understand the principles of IT Service Management and the contents of ISO/IEC 20000:2011.
Delegates attending the course are required to have a minimum of three years’ experience conducting audits in an IT environment. This may be as a third party auditor or as an internal auditor for an organisation.
- Multiple choice
- 40 questions per paper
- 26 marks required to pass (out of 40 available) - 65%
- 60 minutes duration
- Closed book.
Read our APMG-International ISO/IEC 20000 Certification Interactive Brochure for further information on the qualification.
In this section
| ISO/IEC 20000 | |
| Accredited Training Providers | |
| Successful Candidate Register | |
| Frequently Asked Questions |
Certification Scheme
For information about our ISO/IEC 20000 Organizational Certification Scheme and a full listing of Registered Certification Bodies (RCBs), visit our dedicated website at:
www.isoiec20000certification.com
ISO/IEC 20000 Blog
Read our blog where we discuss the ISO/IEC 20000 qualifications and standard in detail.
