Duration:
A three-day intensive, interactive course.

Who should attend this course?
Service Management professionals who are working within a Release Management environment as a practitioner or those wishing to gain a qualification within this specific area of Service Management.

Prerequisites
Delegates must hold the Service Management Foundation certificate and should ideally have at least one year's experience working within Release Management.

Description
This three day event equips the IT Service Management professional with the skills to understand, sell, implement and manage a Release Management process.

It follows the ISEB syllabus for Release Management Practitioner and includes assignments and tests to enable delegates to develop new skills and to assess their progress. It finishes with a formal exam, leading to a recognised qualification.

Structure
The event is designed to present the information in memorable, manageable segments, with the opportunity throughout for delegates to test their understanding and raise and discuss issues of particular concern.  Practical sessions will allow delegates to develop their understanding as a group.

Course Documentation
Each delegate will receive a bound handout of the presentation slides with notes and clean copies of templates and other supporting material.

Qualification
ISEB Practitioner Certificate in Release Management.

Course Content

• Planning and implementation of the Release process
• Establishing and managing the Definitive Software Library (DSL) and the Definitive Hardware Store (DHS) together with the defining and implementing release policies and mechanisms.
• Defining and implementing effective schedules and release planning processes.
• Monitoring and reporting on the metrics of Release Management and reviewing the effectiveness of the process.
• Appreciating and understanding the scope of the Release Management process together with its interfaces to, and dependencies on, the other Service Management processes.

Detailed syllabus

• Planning
  Planning to implement Release Management and Release lifecycles
  Setting the objectives and scope of Release Management
  Understanding the potential costs, benefits and problems. Understanding support, tools and techniques for Release Management
  Roles and responsibilities in Release Management
  
  
• Release policies and mechanisms
  Establishing and managing the Definitive Software Library (DSL)
  Establishing and managing the Definitive Hardware Store (DHS)
  Designing and implementing quality assurance checks for the DSL and DHS
  Defining and implementing release policies and mechanisms.
  Emergency releases
  Release mechanisms (Full, Delta and Package)
  
• The Release lifecycle, scheduling and implementation
  Developing and implementing build, test, distribution and implementation processes Producing and managing release plans and schedules
  Liaising with Change Management on the scheduling of releases and changes
  Maintaining the DSL/DHS
  
  
• Build, Test and Implementation
  Ensuring that authorised releases are properly built
  Ensuring that authorised releases are independently tested
  Ensuring that authorised releases have back-out plans
  Co-ordinating and implementing releases
  Backing-out failed releases
  
  
• Monitor and Report
  Conducting Release reviews
  Identifying and reporting on the metrics of the release process
  Understanding the need for, and methods of, auditing process compliance
  Reviewing the Release Management processes
  
  
• Interfaces and Dependencies
  Defining and documenting the dependencies of Release Management on the other Service Management processes and information
  Implementing interfaces with other Service Management processes and tools
  Understanding the relationships with quality, project and development methodologies
  (ISO9000, DSDM, SSADM, PRINCE2)

Exam
Inclusive of fee.  The course finishes with a one and a quarter hour written assignment (essay style) and a one hour closed-book multiple-choice paper consisting of 25 questions. The questions will be based on a Case Study and a set of discipline specific appendices to the Case Study.

The Case Study will be the same across all disciplines and is also the same as the one used by candidates in completion of their in-course assignment.  Delegates must achieve a minimum of 50% in each exam and a combined overall total of 65%.