Monday, February 9, 2009

Getting that elusive ITIL v3 Expert certificate

By now there are many folks that qualify as an ITIL v3 Expert, based on the number of credits they have earned.

The vast majority of these will be people that were ITIL v2 Managers certified and have completed and passed the exam for the ITIL v2/v3 Managers Bridge.

Questions are now being asked about how this qualification is actually recognized. Is it a case that the Managers Bridge certificate is proof of being an ITIL v3 Expert.

No.

There is actually a certificate and badge available for those that have qualified. It is driven by each individual Examination Institute (EI) and requires you to have completed the final exam that allows to qualify as an ITIL expert with the EI that you apply to for the certificate and badge.

For example, if you have done all your exams with APMG, but decide to take your Managers Bridge exam with Exin, then talk to Exin. If you have completed v2 Managers with Exin and done several Service Capability courses with Exin, that got you over the 22 credit line with APMG, then talk to APMG.

You'll find in the application that you have to sign away your soul (which is the equivalent of letting the itSMF hound you about joining their group), but it is perhaps a small price to pay to get that final certificate and "badge of honour".

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Thursday, April 10, 2008

ISO 20000 set to take over ITIL ?

It is a question; not a statement.

However, it is a question that should get some of the fine brains that are ITIL entrenched talking. There has been a fair degree of dissatisfaction with the changes to the certification scheme that have been introduced with ITIL v3.

Perhaps this is what has prompted Exin to develop an entire track of certification based on ISO 20000. The first course and exam (ISO 20000 Foundation) is now filtering into the marketplace.

To give an indication of the seriousness that Exin is putting into ISO 20000 it is undertaken the relatively expensive step of listing the exam at Prometric test centres. Self study options are also available for the ISO 20000 Foundation, another indicator that the entire community is starting to look at this ITIL alternative.

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Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Still questions on ITIL v3 certification

I am still getting questions about the ITIL v3 certification scheme. Here is the latest set of questions I got and the associated answers.

1. I would like to find out if the Manager’s is a certificate or the Diploma?
If there is any Diploma in this ITIL course let me know which one.

2. I have also learnt about the ITIL Expert, please elaborate what it is all about.


ITIL Managers, Diploma and Expert are all synonymous with the highest level qualification in ITIL.

The ITIL version 2 top level qualification is (and was always) referred to as “ITIL Managers”.

When ITIL v3 was published there was a lot of planning done by the APM Group regarding the new certification structure. Foundation level still remains as the entry level and pre-requisite for more training, then comes the Service Lifecycle and Service Capability programs, finally the top level examinable qualification (Managing Across the Lifecycle).

The plan was that if you were successful at all the examinable courses and once you had passed sufficient exams, you would automatically qualify for the ITIL DIPLOMA in IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT.

However, after a few months the DIPLOMA name was dropped and it is now referred to as “ITIL EXPERT”.
Remembering there is no exam to be receive the ITIL Expert certification, you have to qualify for it.


3. There was also what is called Practitioner Exam and Manager’s Exams. Does Practitioner’s exam still exist?

The ITIL v2 Managers exams and ITIL v2 Practitioner exams still exist and are likely to until APM Group decide that they are to be withdrawn. At this stage there are no plans to withdraw these exams until at least the end of 2008.

In ITIL v3 the Practitioner exams level is effectively replaced by four Service Capability courses and five Service Lifecycle courses.


4. I have also learnt of the Managers Exam V3 Bridge. In other words, are Managers V3 Exams available or not?

If you are ITIL v2 Managers certified or you have sufficient credit points earned from ITIL v2 Practitioner courses, then you can in fact take the ITIL v2 Managers Bridge course and exam. At the time of writing the exam is only available to Accredited Training Organizations, but it is expected the exams will be publicly available in the next few months.

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Monday, December 10, 2007

Managing Across the Lifecycle syllabus

APMG, the official accreditor for all ITIL and Prince2 certifications have released the first draft syllabus for the "capstone" course - Managing Across the Lifecycle.

The course, is looking like it will be a 28 contact hour course, with 50% of the contact hours being devoted to practical exercises and assignments.

All the new ITIL v3 course syllabi & exams are based around a "Blooms Taxonomy" Level. Blooms Taxonomy is a system created to help educators plot a progressive path for education. The levels move from basic knowledge and comprehension (Blooms level 1 & 2) through application and analysis (Blooms 3 & 4) and on to synthesis and evaluation (Levels 5 & 6).

The Managing across the Lifecycle will most likely be pitched at Blooms Level 5 (although the current syllabus indicates Level 4).

The exam for the Managing Across the Lifecycle is set to follow the Service Lifecycle and Service Capability programs with a "gradient style scoring system" for complex multiple choice questions. The exam looks set to have a duration of 90 minutes and will most likely have 20 questions.

Like all exams the final test is supervised and will be closed book. The prerequiste for the Managing Across the Lifecycle course will be a ITIL v3 Foundation level certificate (either straight v3 or the v2 + the v2 to v3 upgrade) and 15 credit points earned at the Service Lifecycle/Service Capability layer.

It is too early to discuss the actual contents of the syllabus as it is subject to change. Current opinion is that the program will be a fitting test of competency for those that want to fully appreciate the intricacies of ITIL v3 including risk management, managing strategic change and the associated organizational challenges.

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Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Latest from Exin...

Things are really heating up in the battle of Examination Institutes (EIs). Exin have outlined their plans for the future and while ITIL and the relationship with APMG features, it is certainly not dominant.

Exin have for many years offered a variety of certification programs, but the latest news from them can be seen as a focussed effort to break away from relying too heavily on ITIL.

First bit of news. In the past if you wanted to take the Exin Service Quality Management Foundation (SQMF) exam, (which is Exins answer to the itSMF ISO20000 program) - you first had to pass the ITIL Foundation exam.

That requirement is now gone. So now anyone can take the globally recognized ISO 20000 Foundation certification exam - very good news and well done to Exin. This move demonstrates that understanding ISO 20000 does not require ITIL theory knowledge, but Exin still state the ITIL understanding will help or the participant should have some good working experience in IT; but it is no longer a pre-requisite for taking the exam.

Secondly in the ISO 20000 field, Exin have published the long awaited second level - Service Quality Management Advanced (SQMA) syllabus and certification.

Pilots for this program were held in the Netherlands (makes sense as this is Exin's Head Office location) and Australia (also makes sense as the Aussies are big adopters of new initiatives and proud to lead the way !!).

Exin state that the SQMA program will involve theory elements, but also practical work assignments. However, it yet another attempt to completely confuse the market the way that Exin are describing their program leaves me trying to work out how to position it all.

Yes, there are explanations, but the fact sheet on the Exin Service Quality Management program ISO/IEC 20000 is a combination of both ITIL and ISO 20000 certification.

Here is an example of where the confusion comes from.

Exin "The ISO/IEC 20000 SQM Foundation program is targeted at a ....."

Exin "Exin's SQM program consists of two Foundation exams: Foundation in IT Service Management (based on ITIL) (ITILF) and SQM Foundation (SQMF)."

Deeper reading and analysis uncovers the strategy.

Exin are looking to create a certification for ISO 20000 consultants, based on ITIL and ISO 20000 certification. This could be seen as competition to the APM Groups Diploma in IT Service Management, as the complete Exin track is 4 courses...

1. ITIL Foundation (ITILF)
2. ISO 20000 Foundation (SQMF)
3. ITIL Managers
4. ISO 20000 Advanced (SQMA)

Either way Exin are putting up alternatives and this can only be a good thing for the marketplace.

So, in summary - you can now take an ISO 20000 Foundation certificate without having to first take the ITIL Foundation course and exam.

Next, Exin have announced end dates on all their single practitioner exams.

In effect, all the single practitioner Exin courses are now defunct. So for those vendors that invested heavily in the development of material and the accreditation; well perhaps that work can be used as part of developing the Clustered courses that Exin bought in several years ago.

It would appear that all the single practitioner exams will disappear effective immediate EXCEPT Serice Level Management and Security Management (both expire 1 January 2008).

Next on the "Exin news" is the statement that Exin will offer the APMG ITIL v3 Foundation exam. We knew this was going to happen, but interestinly, and in an even more apparent move to stamp their mark on the ITIL certification world, the certificate issued will be an APMG certificate.

Now perhaps this is by agreement between Exin and APMG or perhaps APMG have dictated that all ITIL Foundation certificates will carry the APMG stamp - but the days of Exin certifications for ITIL Foundation are at an end. I wonder if this is the case for ISEB as well?

Exin take great pains to point out that passing the APMG exam - whereever it is taken is recognized and acts as a starting point for the "broader IT Service Management certification program".

So, the wheels are turning in what was always going to be an interesting few months.

Exin's decision to broaden the availability of the ISO 20000 certification (SQMF) can only be seen as a good thing and APMG have no way to prevent that from happening. However, it would appear that the move by Exin is a clever one in terms of starting to give the marketplace a different path to travel when it comes to certification.

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Thursday, June 28, 2007

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.

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Sunday, June 17, 2007

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?

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Friday, June 1, 2007

ITIL Certification future

The future for ITIL Certification rests in the hands of the APM Group - who are the "official" ITIL Accreditation body (as appointed by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) in 2006.

The release of ITIL v3 has prompted a total overhaul of the certification scheme and this task rests with the APMG appointed Examination Panel.

Word on the street is that the concept of the Foundation exam will remain in v3 - except the examinable syllabus will be a selected sub-set of the v3 material (to cover all the material at a Foundation level would take too long).

The concept of the Practitioner program also looks set to remain through a well designed "Service Capability" series of exams that will be based around specialist topics and material.

The glorious Managers program, it is said, will be reborn as the "Service Management" series and here it would make sense to have 5 courses, 5 exams - one for each of the core books (but shorter courses - maybe 2 to 3 days each).

I've also heard that there may also be a "capping" course and exam that covers the all important concept of the service lifecycle.

Now, if this wasn't interesting enough. All of the courses (including current ITIL v2 certificates and ITIL v2 to v3 upgrade exams) would be assigned a number of points. Earn enough points in a given time period and you would qualify for a "junior degree" (or Diploma) in IT Service Management.

.....AND then there is also talk about an Advanced Diploma - which - rather than being examinable is earned by reputation, contributation to the industry and consideration from peers.

Now, this is early news - don't bank it, but it could be the first concrete evidence we've seen about the future certification program. And early indications are that it looks like a solid program that APMG have defined.

The important point is like it or not.. if the APM Group decree it, then Exin and ISEB will HAVE to follow suit for their ITIL certification programs.

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Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Who will want ITIL v2 learning?

The Examination Institutes (APMG, Exin, ISEB) are happy to tell the public that v2 exams will co-exist with the new v3 exams for some time (up to 12 months).

Begs the question - who will want them?

Two schools of thought; but I believe both can be countered with a logical argument....

1. Consultants who need to get some ITIL Qualifications in order to apply for positions. Forget it, go for v3 - with Version 3 knowledge you'll be a shoe-in for any v2 work as well.

2. Organizations that have already invested heavily in v2 certification. Forget it, v2 exams will not be available in the future - bite the bullet and start investing in v3 certification and all those bridging courses that the vendors will offer.

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Sunday, May 20, 2007

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.

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