Friday, September 26, 2008

The New ITIL v3 Framework Qualification Scheme

ITIL v2, based on 10 processes and 1 function was a daunting enough framework to get fully qualified in. The qualification scheme was fairly straight forward with 2 levels; first you did your Foundation course to learn the basic concepts of the ITIL framework; then you had a choice of qualifying either as an IT Service Manager through the completion and passing of the Service Support and Service Delivery courses; or as an ITIL Practitioner Completing one or several Clustered Practitioners courses namely Agree and Define (IPAD), Release and Control (IPRC), Support and Restore (IPSR), Plan and Improve (IPPI).

However the new v3 framework has stretched its legs giving it a little more breathing space if you will. It has taken on broader concepts, spread out responsibility, and expanded on the vague areas of the v2 framework bringing the processes to a staggering 26, and the functions to a stronger 4. It then places these processes into a Lifecycle which consists of Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Support, and Continual Service Improvement.

The v3 qualification scheme certainly doesn’t get easier. There are now 5 levels to the new v3 framework and to progress to each level you require a certain amount of points. How do you achieve these points? You do a number of courses to progress to the next level of course.

So how does it all work? Let’s break it down and look a little closer.

Current Qualification Scheme for v3
The 5 levels are as follows:

Level 1: v3 Foundation for Service Management (Being the start)

The very best place to start is at the beginning. The Foundation level focuses on the terminology and comprehension of ITIL as well as the basic concepts of all the processes.

The best part is there are no prerequisites and on passing your Foundation exam you earn your self 2 points.

Level 2: Intermediate Lifecycle Stream

There are two intermediate streams. We discuss the other stream next. The Intermediate Lifecycle Stream focuses on the 5 ITIL Lifecycle phases focuses on the implementation of processes and related activities.

You will require 2 points if you wish to complete any of these courses. You can get these 2 points from your Foundation course.

There are 5 courses to choose from and after the successful completion of one of the courses, you will receive 3 points. If you complete all of the courses you will receive 15 points in total.
Level 2: Intermediate Capability Stream.

The Capability courses are based on the v2 Clustered Practitioners but broader in scope to support the v3 framework. Its focus is on the implementation of processes and their management in clustered groups. There are 4 Capability courses namely Operation Support and Analysis (OS&A), Service Offerings and Agreements (SO&A), Release Control and Validation (RC&V), Planning, Protection and Optimization (PP&O).

You will require 2 points if you wish to complete any of these courses. You can get these 2 points from your Foundation course.

There are 4 courses to choose from and after the successful completion of one of the courses , you will receive 4 points. If you complete all of the courses you will receive 16 points.

Level 3: Managing Across the Lifecycle

The capstone course called Managing Across the Lifecycle. This course focuses on the complete lifecycle and how it approaches Service Management. Knowledge gained from the Foundation and Intermediate streams are used here to test an individuals thorough understanding of the lifecycle.

You will require 15 points if you wish to complete this course. You can get these points from your Intermediate streams. You can do mix courses from both your Lifecycle and your Capability Intermediate stream to acquire these 15 points.

There is 1 course here and after the successful completion of this course you will receive 5 points.

Level 4: ITIL Expert

After the successful completion of the Managing Across the Lifecycle course, you will be awarded the ITIL Expert certification. This qualification means you are capable of implementing and managing processes and functions, as well as being competent in the use of ITIL terminology and a thorough understanding of ITIL comprehension.

You will require 22 points to achieve this qualification. You can acquire these points from your Foundation, Intermediate Streams, and Managing through the Lifecycle course.

Level 5: ITIL Masters

This level of qualification will test an individuals ability to analyse ITIL concepts in new areas.
This level of qualification is still under development



What to do if your v2

You may be asking, If I am v2 qualified how can I upgrade my qualification to v3 ITIL. Do you I need to start from scratch?

Good News!!! No you don’t need to start from scratch. You can continue your studying by just applying a bridge course to wherever you left off. Because v3’s qualification scheme works on a point system, the v2 qualifications have been assigned points as well.

Here is what you can do if you hold the following ITIL v2 qualifications

V2 Foundation course

If you have your certification for ITIL v2 Foundation then you have 1.5 points. Because you require 2 points to enter any of your v3 Intermediate courses you need to get an additional 0.5 points. Where do I get 0.5 points? You can get them by doing your v3 Foundation Bridge course

V1 or V2 ITIL Managers Certificate.

If you have your Service Manage certification then you have already earned yourself 17 points. All you need to do here is successfully complete the v3 Managers Bridge exam worth 5 points and you will then acquire 22 points. This means you will immediately get to Level 4 and be issued your ITIL Expert certification.

ITIL v2 Practitioners Certificate

Each v2 Clustered Practitioners courses is worth 3 points. You have 3 choices at this level:

Choice 1: Either you complete all your v2 Clustered Practitioner courses to acquire 12 points; then successfully complete the v3 Managers Bridge for 5 points brining your points to 17. And then successfully complete the Managing Across the Lifecycle course to acquire another 5 points brining you to 22 points which will give you your ITIL Expert certification.

Choice 2: Try and quickly successfully complete your v2 Managers exams both Service Support and Service Delivery. This will get you 17 points. Then complete the v3 Manager Bridge worth 5 points to bring you to 22 points. This means you will immediately get to Level 4 and be issued your ITIL Expert certification.

Choice 3: Do your v3 Foundation bridge and work your way through the v3 Intermediate stream to acquire 17 points (including your foundation points) and then do the Managing Across the Lifecycle to acquire 5 points bringing you to 22 points. This means you will immediately get to Level 4 and be issued your ITIL Expert certification.


Used with permission: Richard de Kock, ITIL Trainer & Consultant

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Sunday, September 21, 2008

Here comes the silly season....

The offers are starting to come through; more unwelcome emails that tell you what you need with respect to your ITIL v3 training.

I've made the point before and I'll make it again. Make up your own mind.

The 10 new courses (yes 10) that are defined in the ITIL Intermediate level of the certification program will be filtering into the marketplace.

One thing is for sure, if you want to follow the full ITIL v3 track you need to set yourself aside several months - up to a year or even more.

ITIL v3 will be around for a while, so there is no need to hurry. Look for clever offers that bundle a variety of courses together; saving you money. Also decide early on your strategy.

Will you opt for the Service Lifecycle courses, which will give you a solid grounding in the theoretical elements of the Framework or will you decide on a Service Capability track; which is more implementation/operation focussed.

It is true that you can mix and match different programs, but the clever money will be on those that follow a consistent path.

Demand for the ITIL v3 courses will grow over time; which programs attract the greatest interest will be interesting to observe.

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