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ITIL® 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver & Support

One of the four ITIL 4 Managing Professional modules. CDS covers how to integrate the work and value streams that create, deliver and support IT services end to end — from development through to ongoing support. Builds on ITIL 4 Foundation.

Enrol Now — £595
Level
MP module
Format
100% online
Exam
40 questions
Access
12 months

About this qualification

What Is ITIL 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver and Support?

The ITIL 4 Managing Professional module that brings the work of creating, delivering and supporting IT services together end to end.

The qualification explained

ITIL® 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver and Support (CDS) is one of the ITIL 4 Managing Professional (MP) modules from PeopleCert. It covers how to integrate the value streams and activities that create, deliver and support IT services — joining up the development, delivery and support work that too often sits in separate silos.

You’ll learn the development and SDLC approach to building services, how to plan and manage the resources and teams that deliver them, how to prioritise and manage work, and how to work effectively with suppliers and third parties. The module also covers using tools and automation to make service management more effective.

You need ITIL 4 Foundation before taking CDS. Foundation establishes the core concepts, service value system and guiding principles that CDS builds directly upon, so it is a required prerequisite for this module and its exam.

40
multiple-choice questions in the CDS exam
MP
a core ITIL 4 Managing Professional module
70%
pass mark — 28 out of 40 marks to pass
PeopleCert
awarding body for the ITIL 4 certification scheme

Is this for me?

This Course Is for You If…

CDS suits IT and service management professionals who want to join up how services are created, delivered and supported.

IT Service & Support Managers

Responsible for how IT services are delivered and supported, and want a structured way to improve them.

ITIL Foundation Holders

You’ve completed ITIL 4 Foundation and are ready to build toward the Managing Professional designation.

DevOps & Delivery Staff

Building and shipping services and want to connect development, delivery and support into joined-up value streams.

Team & Operations Leads

Leading the people, capabilities and culture that deliver services day to day across the value stream.

Service Desk Managers

Running support functions and want to prioritise work, manage suppliers, and apply tools and automation effectively.

ITSM Professionals Progressing to MP

Working toward the ITIL 4 Managing Professional designation, of which CDS is one of the four required modules.

Course structure & curriculum

What You’ll Learn — Module by Module

The course is structured across 7 modules, building your knowledge progressively — from teams and culture, through creating and delivering services, to suppliers, tools and exam preparation.

Introduction & the CDS Module
What CDS covers · How it fits the ITIL 4 Managing Professional path · Integrating create, deliver and support
~2 hrs
Organisations, People & Culture
Building effective teams · Developing team culture · Capabilities · Professionalism in IT and service management
~4 hrs
Planning & Managing Resources in the Value Stream
Planning resources and teams · Managing capacity and workforce · Sourcing the value stream
~4 hrs
Creating, Designing & Developing Services — the SDLC
The development and SDLC approach · Designing services · Value streams to create and design services
~4 hrs
Delivering & Supporting Services
Value streams for delivery and support · Model value streams · Defining minimum viable practice
~4 hrs
Managing Suppliers, Performance & Tools
Prioritising work · Suppliers and third parties · Commercial and sourcing considerations · Metrics, tools and automation
~4 hrs
Exam Preparation & Practice Papers
Exam technique · Full-length practice exam papers · Weak-area review · Final revision checklist
~4 hrs

All learning outcomes covered

Organisations, people and culture

Building effective teams and capabilities

Developing a positive team culture

Planning and managing resources

ITIL service value streams

Defining minimum viable practice

Modelling value streams end to end

The development and SDLC approach

Designing and developing new services

Value streams to create and design services

Value streams for delivery and support

Integrating delivery and support work

Prioritising and managing work

Information model effectiveness

Managing suppliers and third parties

Commercial and sourcing considerations

Measuring performance and metrics

Using tools to support the value stream

Automation of service management

Robotic process automation, AI and machine learning

Continuous integration, delivery and deployment

What’s included

Everything You Need to Succeed

Each course includes the materials, practice, and support you need to learn the syllabus properly and walk into the exam ready.

12 Months Course Access

Full access to all accredited course materials for 12 months. Study on any device, online 24/7. Never lose your progress.

Official PeopleCert Exam Included

Your official PeopleCert CDS exam is included in the price — there’s nothing extra to buy. We book it for you when you’re ready to sit it.

Exam details →

Built-In AI Tutor

An AI-powered tutor built right into your course — ask it anything, any time, and get clear, instant explanations of tricky topics 24/7.

Meet your AI tutor →

Account Manager Support

A dedicated account manager to guide you through enrolment, exam booking and any questions along the way.

Certificate & Digital Badge

On completion, receive a verifiable PeopleCert certificate and digital badge to share directly on LinkedIn and your CV.

Shareable & verifiable →

14-Day Money-Back Guarantee

Enrol with confidence. If the course isn’t right for you, you’re covered by our 14-day money-back guarantee.

In practice

ITIL 4 CDS in the Real World

CDS practices apply wherever IT services are built, delivered and supported. See how it works in practice.

Service & Support

Joining up a fragmented support function across a national retailer

A national retailer’s service desk, application support and infrastructure teams each worked in isolation, so incidents bounced between queues. Using CDS value-stream thinking, the IT team mapped the end-to-end support value stream and identified the hand-offs that were causing delays. Defining a minimum viable practice for triage gave every team a shared way of working without a heavyweight process change.

CDS in action By modelling the support value stream and assigning clear ownership at each hand-off, the team cut repeat reassignments and resolved priority incidents noticeably faster — without adding headcount.

Service Delivery

Integrating development and support for a new customer portal

A financial services firm building a new customer portal applied the CDS development and SDLC approach to connect its delivery and support teams from day one. Rather than throwing finished features “over the wall”, support requirements were designed in early, and a single value stream covered design, build, release and ongoing support — giving senior stakeholders end-to-end visibility.

CDS in action Because support was designed into the value stream from the start, the portal launched with runbooks and monitoring already in place — reducing post-launch incidents and the firefighting that usually follows a major release.

Suppliers & Automation

Managing third parties and automating routine work in an ITSM team

An ITSM team relied on several third-party suppliers and was spending too much time on repetitive, manual tasks. Applying CDS guidance on managing suppliers, performance and tools, they tightened commercial and sourcing arrangements and introduced automation — including robotic process automation for routine requests — to free people for higher-value work.

CDS in action Clearer supplier performance metrics and automation of high-volume, low-complexity requests let the team redirect specialist effort toward improving services rather than processing tickets.

Exam details

About the ITIL 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver and Support Exam

Your official PeopleCert exam is included in the course price and sat online via PeopleCert. You’ll need to hold ITIL 4 Foundation before taking the CDS exam. When you’re ready, simply contact your account manager — we’ll arrange the booking for you.

Questions
40
Format
Multiple choice
Pass mark
28 / 40(70%)
Duration
90 minutes
Type
Closed book
Prerequisite
ITIL 4 Foundation

What to Expect on Exam Day

You sit the exam online through PeopleCert’s remote proctoring platform. Here’s the full process, from booking to results.

Booking

When you feel ready, contact your account manager. We handle the booking with PeopleCert and confirm your exam date, time, and joining instructions — usually within 5–10 working days.

Equipment required

You need a laptop or desktop computer (not a mobile or tablet), a working webcam and microphone, and a stable internet connection.

On the day

Log in 15 minutes before your scheduled start. The invigilator will verify your identity using photo ID and ask you to scan your room. The 90-minute timer then begins. No notes or materials are permitted — the exam is closed book.

Results

You get a provisional pass or fail result as soon as you finish. Your official PeopleCert certificate follows within a few working days and is added to PeopleCert’s register of successful candidates.

Rescheduling

If you need to reschedule, contact us at least 48 hours before your exam time. We will arrange a new date at no additional charge.

Student reviews

What Our Students Say

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1,247 verified reviews

The majority of students pass first time, based on an internal student survey conducted in May 2026.

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Career Growth Path

Where This Qualification Takes You

ITIL 4 Specialist: CDS builds on Foundation and moves you toward the Managing Professional designation. See the roles it supports — and the certifications that take you further.

Where You Are Now

ITIL 4 Foundation

ITIL 4 Specialist: CDS

£45k–£62k avg.

You are here

Service Delivery Manager

£55k–£70k avg.

ITSM Manager

£65k–£85k avg.

Head of IT Service Management

£80k–£100k avg.

CDS is one of four modules that lead to the ITIL 4 Managing Professional designation
ITSM and service management skills remain consistently in demand across UK IT employers

Recommended next certifications

CDS is one of the four ITIL 4 Specialist and Strategist modules — alongside Drive Stakeholder Value (DSV), High Velocity IT (HVIT) and Direct, Plan & Improve (DPI) — that together lead to the ITIL 4 Managing Professional designation.

→ Engage stakeholders

ITIL® 4 Specialist: Drive Stakeholder Value

Master the customer journey and engagement across all parties in the service relationship.

MP moduleLearn more →
 → Go high-velocity

ITIL® 4 Specialist: High Velocity IT

Apply digital and agile ways of working to deliver IT services at speed.

MP moduleLearn more →
 → Direct & improve

ITIL® 4 Strategist: Direct, Plan & Improve

The universal module covering direction, planning and continual improvement — shared across MP and Strategic Leader.

MP moduleLearn more →
 → Start here if you haven’t

ITIL® 4 Foundation

The required prerequisite for CDS — covering the core ITIL 4 concepts, service value system and guiding principles.

PrerequisiteLearn more →

Pricing

Simple, Transparent Pricing

One course. Everything included. No hidden extras.

CDS is right for you if…

You already hold ITIL 4 Foundation and want to integrate how services are created, delivered and supported across the value stream.

Working toward Managing Professional?

CDS is one of four modules — with DSV, HVIT and DPI — that together lead to the ITIL 4 Managing Professional designation.

ITIL 4 Specialist: CDS — Sale Price

£695 £595 inc. VAT Save £100

Everything you need to gain your ITIL 4 Specialist: CDS certificate — official PeopleCert exam included, no extras to buy.

Official PeopleCert CDS Exam Included
PeopleCert accredited — we arrange the booking
12 Months Course Access
Study anytime, on any device, 24/7
Built-In AI Tutor
24/7 AI help while you study
Account Manager Support
A dedicated contact from enrolment to exam
Certificate & Digital Badge
Verifiable — share on LinkedIn on completion
14-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Enrol with complete confidence

Finance available at checkout · 14-day money-back guarantee

Pay Monthly

From £37.82/month

CAREER SMARTER LTD is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Social Money Limited t/a Payl8r who is authorised by the FCA under Ref. Number 675283. Credit is subject to creditworthiness and affordability assessments. Missed payments may affect your credit file, future borrowing and incur fees. Representative Example: £440.00 over 12 months at 2.50% fixed per month. Rep APR 65.5%. Monthly: £47.67. Total repayable: £572.04. 0% interest rate applies only where the loan is repaid in full within 3 months.

Team & Corporate

Bulk discounts available

Training 3 or more employees? Get volume pricing, a dedicated account manager, and custom reporting.

Talk to Our Team

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know before you enrol.

Do I need ITIL Foundation first?

Yes. ITIL 4 Foundation is a required prerequisite for ITIL 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver and Support. Foundation establishes the core ITIL 4 concepts, service value system and guiding principles that CDS builds directly upon, so you'll need to hold it before sitting the CDS exam.

Is the exam included?

Yes. Your official PeopleCert CDS exam is included in the course price — there's nothing extra to buy. The exam is taken online via PeopleCert, and we arrange the booking for you when you're ready to sit it.

Is the certificate recognised by employers?

Absolutely. ITIL is the most widely adopted IT service management framework in the world, and the ITIL 4 scheme is owned and awarded by PeopleCert. Your CDS certificate is recognised by employers globally and verifiable on PeopleCert's register of successful candidates.

How long does the course take?

Most students work through the material in a few weeks studying around 1–2 hours per day, though there is no fixed time limit. You have 12 months access, so you can study at whatever pace suits you.

What is Create, Deliver and Support?

CDS is one of the four ITIL 4 Managing Professional modules. It covers how to integrate the value streams and activities that create, deliver and support IT services end to end — including the development/SDLC approach, planning and managing resources and teams, prioritising work, managing suppliers and third parties, and using tools and automation.

How does finance at checkout work?

At checkout you can choose flexible finance options to spread the cost. You'll gain immediate full access to all course materials as soon as your first payment is confirmed.

Start Today

Create, deliver &
support IT services.

Take the next step toward ITIL 4 Managing Professional with Career Smarter. Flexible, affordable, and fully recognised by PeopleCert.

£595inc. VAT

Finance available at checkout · 14-day money-back guarantee

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