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ITIL® 4 Strategist: Direct, Plan and Improve
- Categories:
- Service Management
- Level:
- Expert
- Code:
- ITIL4SDPI
- Exam:
- Yes - Included
Overview
This three-day course forms a key part of both the ITIL® 4 Managing Professional and ITIL Strategic Leader pathways.
The ITIL 4 Direct, Plan and Improve (DPI) course is intended to provide the learner with the practical skills necessary to create a ‘learning and improving’ IT organization, with a strong and effective strategic direction. Furthermore, provide practitioners with a practical and strategic method for planning and delivering continual improvement with the necessary agility.
Prerequisites
Participants must hold either an ITIL® 4 Foundation or ITIL® v3 Foundation certification prior to attending this course.
Target audience
This course is suitable for individuals in roles responsible for:
- Designing, planning, reviewing, or improving IT products and services
- Managing or leading organisational change initiatives
- Ensuring governance, compliance, and risk alignment
- Developing, directing, or enabling continual improvement strategies
- Aligning teams or departments to wider organisational goals
What's included
Select your preferred way to learn:
What is Virtual?
Live, instructor-led training delivered online
Interactive online sessions led by subject matter experts. Learners join live classes, take part in discussions, and complete practical exercises from any location, making it easy to fit collaborative learning into busy schedules.
If you prefer to connect to a course that is taking place in a physical classroom, you can choose our Remote Access option. .
Best for: Teams and individuals who want expert guidance, real-time collaboration, and flexible access.
What's included?
3 Days instructor led course
Exam: Yes - Included
Pre-coursework
6 month free access to QA learning platform
Free 6-Month Access: Learning Platform Discovery plan
Included FREE with every instructor‑led course
Get free guided access to the QA Learning Platform. Assess your skills, explore in-demand topics, and understand which areas to focus on.
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Validate knowledge and highlight gaps with skills assessments.
What is bespoke training?
Custom instructor-led training designed by QA to fit your needs
Tailored programmes built around your organisation’s goals, challenges, and skill levels. Delivered in the format that suits you to maximise relevance and impact.
Best for: Organisations and teams looking to target specific business priorities and capabilities with QA subject matter expertise.
Find out more about the course:
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
- Understand the key concepts of Direct, Plan and Improve
- Understand the scope of what is to be directed and/or planned, and know how to use key principles and methods of direction and planning in that context
- Understand the role of Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) and know how to integrate the principles and methods into the service value system
- Understand and know how to use the key principles and methods of continual improvement for all types of improvements
- Understand and know how to use the key principles and methods of communication and organizational change management to direction, planning and improvement
- Understand and know how to use the key principles and methods of measurement and reporting in direction, planning and improvement
- Understand and know how to direct, plan and improve value streams and practices
Course outline
Foundations and strategy alignment
- Key definitions, concepts, and terminology of DPI
- Establishing scope and responsibility within service value systems
- Understanding the role of strategy and strategic direction
Principles and methods of direction and planning
- Governance models and delegation of authority
- Strategic, tactical, and operational planning
- Integrating direction and planning with ITIL guiding principles
Governance, risk and compliance (GRC)
- Principles and drivers of governance in IT service management
- Risk management frameworks and roles
- Aligning GRC activities to value delivery and stakeholder needs
Continual improvement frameworks and techniques
- Defining and managing improvement initiatives
- Prioritising improvements using data and stakeholder input
- Embedding improvement into daily work culture
Organisational change management (OCM) and communication
- Principles of effective communication within change contexts
- Developing communication strategies to support planning and direction
- Leading people through change and minimising disruption
Measurement and reporting
- Identifying metrics that support performance improvement
- Aligning measurement with stakeholder needs and business value
- Reporting strategies for transparency and decision-making
Improving value streams and practices
- Evaluating and directing service value streams
- Using value stream mapping to identify improvement opportunities
- Aligning planning activities across practices for operational efficiency
Exams and assessments
This course concludes with a formal certification exam:
- 40 multiple-choice questions
- 90 minutes duration
- Closed book format
- Pass mark: 28 out of 40 (70%)
- The exam is delivered online via PeopleCert and may be scheduled at the learner’s convenience
All PeopleCert certifications issued from 2023 must be renewed after three years.
Hands-on learning
This course features a range of practical and scenario-based learning opportunities, including:
- Exercises to map and analyse current organisational practices
- Group tasks on planning and directing service improvements
- Role-play scenarios focused on communication, governance, and change management
- Collaborative workshops to design continual improvement frameworks
Good to know
Why choose QA
- 98% say our ITIL® training will improve job performance
- 92% pass rate for our ITIL® training courses
- 98% quality rating for our ITIL® trainers' knowledge
- We are fully accredited by PeopleCert
ITIL® and the Swirl logo are registered trademarks of the PeopleCert group. Used under license from PeopleCert. All rights reserved.
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What our customers are saying
“We can’t understate the success of this ITIL® training programme. With exam pass rates that simply can’t be bettered, QA has done an outstanding job in providing our people with the service management skills we need – in the most cost-effective way possible, and with no loss of results.”
Cheryl Cumberworth
E-Learning & Support Manager, Atos Origin
“QA's Cloud Academy platform allows us to quickly train and certify our support engineers on the complete portfolio of Microsoft products. We will use our resulting skills inventory data to intelligently assign our support incidents to the most qualified engineers, resulting in faster resolution times, higher throughput, and greater customer satisfaction.”
Caroline Dumont
CE&S Learning Leader at Microsoft
Portfolio Director
Paul Wigzel
Service Management Portfolio Lead, QA
Frequently asked questions
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When will I receive my certificate?
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