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Service Automation Foundation

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Service Automation Foundation

The Service Automation Foundation course will teach participants how to design automated services, through a mixture of design principles, processes and techniques, which can be made available through self-service technology.

OVERVIEW

The Service Automation Foundation (SAF) course is an introduction to the Service Automation Framework for the design and delivery of automated services. Service providers who use service automation deliver their services through a self-service portal, platform or application directly to users.

Service automation has quickly risen in popularity in recent years, mainly because of the success companies such as Uber, Netflix and Booking.com, who use a service delivery model that is completely automated. The main benefits of service automation includes a scalable business model, increased operational efficiency, and data-driven decision-making.

The Service Automation Framework is the first comprehensive and practical approach that provides a comprehensive model, as well a practical techniques to enable the design and delivery of automated services. The framework builds on existing best practices in design thinking and service management, with the core objective to deliver automated services.

In this course, participants will get an overview of the fundamental concepts and techniques of the Service Automation Frameworks. Participants will learn blueprinting techniques to design automated services and technology interfaces, and will learn which processes are required to provide an optimal user experience.

This course positions learners to successfully complete the Service Automation Foundation certification exam.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The course objectives of the Service Automation Foundation course include a practical understanding of:

  • The history of service automation and its core benefits
  • The business drivers for service automation
  • How service automation can provide a delivery model for scalable and cost-effective service delivery
  • The inter-relationship of service automation with other popular service management and design thinking approaches.
  • The structure and components of the service automation framework
  • The Service Automation Blueprinting technique to design automated services and automated processes
  • Self-Service Portal Design and approaches for enabling users to consume automated services
  • Measurement of User Experience (UX) in automated services
  • Practical automated processes for automated deployment, service delivery automation and customer retention.
  • Workflow design for delivery of automated services
  • The organizational impact of service automation on people.
  • Continual improvement of service automation practices.

AUDIENCE

The target audience of the Service Automation Foundation course includes Management, Operations, Developers and Testing professionals such as:

  • Anyone starting or leading an automation transformation program
  • Application Developers
  • Automation Architects
  • Automation Engineers
  • Business Managers
  • Change Agents
  • Consultants
  • IT Directors
  • IT Managers
  • IT Team Leaders
  • Product Owners
  • Scrum Masters
  • System Integrators
  • Tool Providers

LEARNER MATERIALS

Participants to the Service Automation Foundation course will receive the following study materials:

  • Sixteen (16) hours of instructor-led training and exercise facilitation
  • Learner Manual (excellent post-class reference)
  • Participation in unique exercises designed to apply concepts
  • Sample documents, templates, tools and techniques
  • Access to additional value-added resources and communities

PREREQUISITES

There are no official prerequisites. Familiarity with basic IT process language is preferred.

CERTIFICATION EXAM

Successfully passing (65%) the 60-minute examination, consisting of 40 multiple-choice questions, leads to the Service Automation Foundation Certificate. The examination and certification process is administered by APMG-International on behalf of the Service Automation Framework Alliance.

DETAILED COURSE OUTLINE

Module 1: Introduction to Service Automation

  • Defining Service Automation
  • The rapid growth of Service Automation
  • Benefits and business drivers for Service Automation
  • Similarities and differences between Business Process Automation, Service Automation and Robotic Process Automation.

Module 2: Characteristics of Automated Delivery Models

  • The role of the User and Service Provider
  • The self-service portal or interface
  • Introduction to workflows and scripting
  • Maturity of automated delivery models

Module 3: The Service Automation Framework

  • The six components of the service automation framework
  • Understanding design and delivery of automated services
  • Defining a roadmap for automated services: principles and techniques
  • Service Automation Practices

Module 4: Defining the User of Automated Services

  • Understanding User Experience (UX)
  • Defining User Groups and User Characteristics
  • Demographic and psychographic segmentation
  • User-centred service design
  • Measurement of User Experience

Module 5: The Design of Automated Services

  • Design principles for service automation
  • The structure and application of the Service Automation Blueprint
  • Drafting a Service Automation Blueprint
  • Defining a catalogue of automated services

Module 6: Self Service Portal Design

  • Different types and characteristics of Self-Service Portals
  • Selection of self-service portal technology
  • Best Practices in Self Service Portal Design
  • Technology interface modelling
  • Defining KPIs and metrics for Self Service Portals

Module 7: Service Automation Processes

  • Automated Deployment Processes
  • Service Delivery Automation Processes
  • Defining Serendipity Management
  • Measurement and monitoring of automated processes

Module 8: Workflow Design and Scripting

  • Understanding workflows and scripting
  • Workflow design principles
  • Understanding reproductible scripts
  • Workflow and scripting technology and tools

Module 9: Continual Improvement of Automated Services

  • Measurement and control practices
  • Collection and interpretation of user feedback
  • Analyzing portal data and metrics
  • Optimizing for User Experience

Module 10: Sample Exam and Official Examination

  • Review of course materials
  • The Service Automation sample exam
  • The official Service Automation Foundation exam

Download the Service Automation Foundation Brochure