The Famous Five Run Away Together

The nice folks at OGC must have had a giggle when they choose the cover designs for all the new ITIL v3 material.

On more than one occasion a passer-by has commented on the cover design for the "Vendor pre-release briefing" - "That's marijuana!!" one rather eldery woman commented.

It was of course my civic duty to enquire about her knowledge on such a topic - however, no answer was forthcoming as she tripped off to another destination.

But then I had a look at the covers of the "Famous Five" books that are flooding the market faster than a free iPhone giveaway competition.

X-ray images of Peas and Poppies, sea shells and starfish - there is a definite hint that the team were out to have a bit of laugh in choosing the designs.

I think the term "Famous Five" is very apt for the books. Those of us lucky enough to have grown up on the stories of Enid Blyton we will fondly remember Julian, Anne, Dick, George and Timmy the dog.

Just like "Five Run Away Together" we can understand our intrepid authors looking forward to their usual holiday at George' s home and tucking into Aunt Fanny's and Joanna the cook's delicious food !!

I'm just thinking that the designers of the covers for the new material were tucking into something a little bit more powerful when the concept was discussed. At least we're talking about it, so in that regard it's a great success.

Authoring over 700 books in her career we thank our modern day Enid B. (aka Sharon Taylor) who held those rascally authors at just 5 books.

;-)

Comprehensive ITIL Education and Certification update

There is a lot of talk and speculation regarding ITIL education and certification in the marketplace.

So I thought that perhaps I should throw in my views and opinions which are based on:

1. Face-to-face discussions with the APM Group
2. Attendance at the official launch of ITIL v3 (London 5th June 2007)
3. A whole host of e-mails and phone calls

I am making the information public as we have all been given a taste of what the new structure may look like. This paper gives you the first real evidence of an education track for IT Service Management.

So, have a read, but BEWARE.. everything comes with a health warning. Some elements may change, but I would suggest that the primary skeleton will remain.

Download this free ITIL paper on Education and certification.

Make comments, ask questions, I'll respond and answer all.

What ever happened to....

It was late 2006 that Exin and ISEB tied the knot in a (what could only be considered as a commercial) agreement; that was an effectual thumbing of the nose at the APM Group.

It was early 2007 that both Exin and ISEB signed up as Examination Institutes under the APM Group. It is now mid 2007 and the waters are still muddy over the new certification scheme and who will play what part.

What is interesting is the apparent lack of knowledge (still) amongst the vendor community about the Examination Institutes.

I read the blog at Court Square in the Round. Refer to the first paragraph, the first two key words "Last week..." and then jump to the last paragraph "There are two certification tests... ISEB and EXIN". It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that it was an HP program, but shame on the instructor not providing participants with the complete story.

There are THREE certification test... Exin, ISEB and APMG. Perhaps it was a minor oversight, perhaps it was a deliberate attempt to not educate the market place; but as a major player in the industry you would hope that HP are able to present the facts as they are.

ATOs and EIs

As the official accreditor the APM Group must have a big say in who gets to be appointed as an Examination Institute (EI).

It is an interesting fact that the APM Group has two distinctive roles..

1. As the "official accreditor" - where it gets to lay down rules and guidelines for EIs and manage the examination question bank

and

2. as an Examination Institute - where it works with Accredited Training Organizations (ATOs).

I'm not a gambling man, but I can't see the APMG breaking it's own rules; whereas other EIs may not be so quick to tow the line.

Could this be a good enough reason to back training organizations that have aligned themselves with the APM Group?

Confusion reigns on certification

The impending upgrade of ITIL (r) v2 to version 3 is going to create a lot of debate and questions regarding the change in content.

However, let's not forget all those that have worked hard to earn ITIL certification in Foundation, Practitioner or Managers level programs.

There is a lot of misinformation about changes to the certification scheme. The one certainty is that there will be change. The Foundation level program is expected to stay roughly the same - pitching a common understanding in the fundamentals of ITIL.

However, the upper levels of certification may head along the Six Sigma path. With classroom components, but an element of "real world" proof of practice required.

Questions are coming in thick and fast about new programs, bridging courses and validity of v2 certification. We really need to see the Examination institutes put out some definitive answers to these questions and concerns rather than the stock standard answer "we are currently reviewing the system and will provide more information".

People want dates, not flimsy excuses.