THE FORERUNNER TO ISO/IEC 20000

BS 15000 is the forerunner to ISO/IEC 20000 and was published under the authority of the British Standard Institute "Standards Policy and Strategy Committee". The "Specification for Service Management" (Part 1) was introduced on the 27th September 2002 and was supplemented by the "Code of Practice" (Part 2) on the 22nd January 2003. The itSMF certification scheme was effective from July 2003 allowing organisations worldwide to become accredited to the standard. Two additional countries introduced their own national standard versions of BS 15000; AS 8018 (Australia) and SANS 15000 (South Africa). These were based fundamentally on BS 15000 with nominal changes.

From inception to 15th December 2005 a total of 52 certificates were awarded and 13 Registered Certification Bodies accredited. In June 2005 the itSMF introduced the Accredited Course Provider (ACP) scheme allowing course providers to lecture regarding the standard. During this period of time PRO-ATTIVO, who were one of the first ACPs to be awarded accreditation, were probably the most successful company in terms of delegates trained and pass rates.

THE TRANSITION TO ISO/IEC 20000

ISO/IEC 20000 was published on the 15^th December 2005. Its foundation was BS 15000 which was submitted for fast track approval under the ISO/IEC 20000 banner. ISO/IEC 20000 is ostensibly the same as BS 15000 with minor differences which can be summarised as follows:

Formatting changes
Re-wording changes that do not affect the intent of the BS 15000 requirement
16 requirement changes, 7 of which occur in a single clause and none of them are radical from an IT Service Management point of view

Therefore anyone considering the transition from BS 15000 to ISO/IEC 20000 should find it a relatively straight forward activity for those organisations that have already achieved certification.

THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE itSMF CERTIFICATION SCHEME

ISO/IEC 20000 certificates can be awarded from January 2006
Subject to the Registered Certification Body confirming to the itSMF that their staff are familiar with the changes to BS 15000 under the ISO/IEC 20000 standard certification audits can take place from mid-January 2006.

BS 15000 certificates can still be awarded up to and including 15^th June 2006
This will enable organizations that are currently going through the certification process to remain on course based upon their existing plans. Organisations seeking certification past this date will need to consider the ISO/IEC 20000 standard instead.

BS 15000 certificates will be invalid after 15^th June 2007
Any organization previously certified to the BS 15000 standard will need to undergo a surveillance audit to "upgrade" their certificate to ISO/IEC 20000, a full certification audit is not required. The surveillance audit will concentrate on all new or changed requirements.

THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE itSMF QUALIFICATION SCHEME

itSMF Accredited BS 15000 Auditors and Consultants
All existing qualified Auditors and Consultants under the itSMF Qualification Scheme will be entitled to confirm that they are now itSMF Qualified ISO/IEC 20000 Consultants or Auditors. It is encouraged that all qualified individuals familiarise themselves with the new standard. New certificates are not going to be issued for existing qualified delegates.

PRO-ATTIVO have completed the transition to ISO/IEC 20000 and we are now offering consultancy and accredited training for the new standard based upon our very successful and proven BS 15000 service catalogue.