I just passed my ITIL V3 Foundation exam – which ITIL V3 Intermediate path to I choose now? May 4, 2009
Posted by ivankamenken in itil, itsm.Tags: certification, education, IT Service Management, itil, ITIL expert, ITIL V2, ITIL V3, itsm, the art of service, training
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This question was asked in the Linkedin Group for The Art of Service’s ITIL training.
Following is my answer:
Hmmmm… you mean the $64,000 question? Which path you choose depends entirely on your goals and objectives:
PATH 1:
ITIL V2 Foundation – ITIL V2 Manager – ITIL V2-3 Bridge
This path is used by many people who already have their ITIL V2 Manager certificate as they only have to do an eLearning bridge program to achieve ITIL Expert certification. The other reason to do this path is when you really want to master the art of selling the benefits of ITSM, as well as applying various ITIL opportunities to a variety of scenarios (businesses). I would recommend this path to people who already have a solid understanding of the ITIL V2 framework. The V2 Manager program is only available as a Classroom delivery due to the incourse assessments and nature of the program.
PATH 2:
ITIL V2 Foundation – ITIL V2 Practitioners (x4) – ITIL V2-3 Bridge – ITIL V3 Managing across Lifecycle (MALC).
This path is for people who really don’t want to sit the 2 three-hour open question exam that is part of the ITIL V2 Service Manager exam but still want a solid grounding in the ITIL V2 framework. The practitioner courses are more practical in nature with compulsory assignments and specific focus on HOW to design the processes and/or create the documents and communication plans.
Remember that you must do ALL ITIL V2 Practitioner programs (IPRC, IPSR, IPPI, IPAD), however the entire pathway can be done via eLearning or – if you wish to do so – via a combination of classroom and eLearning programs.
PATH 3:
ITIL V2 Foundation – ITIL V2-3 Foundation Bridge – ITIL V3 Intermediate – ITIL V3 MALC
When you have your V2 Foundation certificate you will need to sit the Foundation bridge exam prior to enrolling in the ITIL V3 Intermediate courses. Just like Path 2, it can all be done via eLearning programs but because you don’t have your V3 Foundation certificate you will need to do the bridging program first. Again, you will need to figure out the best balance – what works for you… When you have RCV for instance you don’t want to do Service Transition as it pretty much covers the same processes.
PATH 4:
ITIL V3 Foundation – ITIL V3 Intermediate – ITIL V3 MALC
This is the path followed by those who don’t have any prior certification in the ITIL Framework. The entire expert pathway can be done via eLearning, or alternatively through classroom programs.
Most of our students so far choose to attend the Capability Programs: OSA, RCV, SOA and PPO. At 4 points per program this will give you 16 points and enough to go to the MALC course.
Having said that – the Service Strategy course is also very popular (and I must admit that I thought this would be the least popular option!! see? Even after almost 15 year in the business you still can’t predict what people really like…)
I hope this covers all your questions about the Intermediate pathways, but please don’t hesitate to contact me directly for additional questions. I’ll be more than happy to answer them!
Also – for more information on The Art of Service’s accredited eLearning programs, visit our eLearning portal on http://theartofservice.org
Ivanka
[...] 1. First confusion: From the start there was the confusion on naming of the toplevel program. Initially the top level was called ITIL Diploma but later on this was changed to ITIL Expert. Try do a google search on ITIL diploma though… I am sure you’ll come up with approx. 103,000 hits. For the record – the top level is called ITIL Expert. the ITIL V3 Expert certificate is NOT achieved by attending the ITIL Expert course, as there is no such thing. The ITIL Expert certificate is earned by achieving a minimum of 22 credits though either the ITIL V2 + Manager Bridge programs or the ITIL V3 programs. I wrote about the different pathways in this post. [...]
Thank for the post with all the noice around ITIL, not a lot people knows what is the correct path. Foundations is just the begging of a long path. I have 22 years working on IT Services and I have to thanks ITIL to put everything in order.
Hi there – thanks for your nice comment! Especially now with the ITIL V3 certification pathway it can be a very long path indeed. But don’t underestimate the time it takes to fully understand and comprehend the benefits of ITIL Service Management in the IT environment. I have been working with ITIL Service Management for 15 years now and can’t believe how much I continue to learn on a daily basis!
Good luck on your adventures in IT Service land!
Ivanka
[...] “I just passed my ITIL V3 Foundation exam – which ITIL V3 Intermediate path to I choose now?” [...]
Only fly in the ointment is that the Qualification Board and the official Accreditor do not recommend following a single path with the Intermediates i.e. not all Capability modules, I know its a “quick” way to get the credits – but then is that what we want just to achieve ITIL Expert level (and exactly what does that mean “to be an ITIL Expert?”)or do we want knowledge and understanding so that we can provide an improved service to our employers and customers alike. Maybe even help our employers improve their ROI in both the company and ourselves. Sorry its much too easy to say follow a single Intermediate path. The individual need to identify their objectives / goals and thyen find the best path to achieve those goals (keeping in mind that their employer / sponsor may have some objectives themselves).
Hi Dave –
yes I know and I am not suggesting that everybody must follow a single path.
However, we looked at a number of pathway options and it becomes quite tricky when you want to do the ‘mix-and-match’ option as you can’t do the same content twice. For example: when you’ve done the RCV Capability Program you can’t do the Service Transition as you will basically cover most of the same content and APMG doesn’t recognize the credits towards ITIL Expert certification.
I personally find the Capability pathway a great option for most practitioners as they usually seem to enjoy the more practical / role based approach more. Consultants and Managers on the other hand seem to be drawn to the Lifecycle modules as they need to know the full details of the theory and benefit from purchasing the OGC books as required study materials (as they will use it later as a reference guide).
And don’t forget that most Career driven IT Professionals want to achieve the certificate to improve their careers and resume, and they usually have to pay for it out of their own pocket. So the ROI for them is in enrolling in our eLearning Capability Pathway. It takes them to ITIL Expert via accredited and quality Intermediate programs through online eLearning delivery. Put yourself in their shoes… it sounds good to me, wouldn’t you agree?
Hi there,
Guess I’ve still not understood on what path to choose from the answers mentioned above.
A brief, I have 5 years experience in IT and skills include .net, c++, c and to some extent c6x Texas Instruments DSP’s. I have recently cleared ITIL v3 foundation exam and now looking towards the intermediate level. My question quite similar to the above is
1. “What intermediate courses (Lifecycle/Capability) to choose to gain points to the expert level?”
My goal/objective is to move from programming to a managerial position and have found Service Management to be the best option. 2. Which part of ITIL (lifecycle/capability) focusses more on client interaction?
Maybe my questions seem amateur, but a guiding response would be very helpful.
Kind regards
Sri.
Sri,
I sent you a separate email answering these questions but wanted to talk a bit more about the client interaction.
The ITIL Framework is based around IT Service Management (so basically the activities that need to be done to create, deliver and manage IT Services).
As the focus is on the management of services it is of vital importance to stay in constant contact with your clients, every phase in the Service Lifecycle focuses on customer interaction.
For Example:
Service Strategy – Demand Management needs to listen to the clients to figure out what the Patterns of Business Activity are. What is it that the client needs from IT in terms of service types and support?
Service Design – This phase has processes like Service Level Management and Service Catalog Management. The Service Catalog has a business component to help clients make appropriate decisions in relation to the type of services they wish to purchase. This phase also starts the creation of a Service Design Package which features User Acceptance criteria.
Service Transition – This phase interacts with the customers about changes to the Services and Service Experience. Change Management will interact with the clients for high impact changes as their input is important in the assessment and authorization of changes.
Service Operation – This phase interacts mainly with the End-users of the service as this is the phase where all day to day activities take place. The Service Desk is the first point of contact between the business community and the IT Group.
Continual Service Improvement – This phase needs clear direction from the business and as such interacts with the customers in relation to vision, mission and strategy. Customer Satisfaction surveys are usually initiated from this phase in the lifecycle.
See? Every phase interacts with the clients and end-users at various levels. The IT group can’t work in isolation (anymore…) and needs to know exactly what it needs to deliver to the customers to what level of expectations.
Thank you for your question and I hope that my answer helps.
Ivanka