ITIL Expert: Release, Control and Validation Process

I'm glad to report that in 2013 I started working towards achieving ITIL v3 Expert status. I took my first Practitioner level exam (RC&V) in October and passed!  Including the Foundations certification (passed in 2011), I have completed (2) of the (6) exams required for Expert.  My plan is to achieve Expert by April 2014...wish me luck!

The Release, Control and Validation exam was a worthy opponent. In my preparation, I found RCV to be more tightly integrated with Service Design than I had anticipated.  Having a sound understanding of RCV is critical for a solid Service Management organization. RCV integrates into Service Operation closely but also provides CSI information back into business goals and objectives as defined in Service Design (service design package, SDLC lifecycle, etc.).   

The primary processes in scope for RCV are:

• Transition Planning & Support
• Service Asset and Configuration Management (SACM)
• Change Management
• Release & Deployment
• Service Validation & Testing
• Change Evaluation
• Knowledge Management
• Request Fulfillment

To help learn these areas, I created an RCV Process Summary Chart with key objectives, activities, challenges, etc. for reference and study. Feel free to use this for your own study or as a day to day Service Management reference.

I will be posting more summary charts as I progress through the other exams. Next on my agenda is the Operational Support and Analysis course.