Why do training organisations pay mega $$ for ITIL accreditation? October 21, 2009
Posted by ivankamenken in itil, itsm.Tags: apmg, elearning, exam, EXIN, IT Service Management, itil, ITIL V3, itsm, the art of service, value
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Caveat and pre-warning. This might turn into a little bit of a rant…
Today I was notified that we didn’t win a large training opportunity. This doesn’t happen often, but still.. not happy with the results. And as always I try to figure out where I could have assisted the client better in their purchasing process. Good thing is that this time I know who I lost the opportunity to, so I decided to check out what the differences are in our approach.
Now here’s the deal: The Art of Service is accredited with EXIN for all ITIL V2 and ITIL V3 certification courses, both for our classroom delivery and our eLearning delivery methods. And yes, the full list is:
- ITIL V2 Foundation
- ITIL V2 Practitioner IPAD, IPPI, IPSR, IPRC
- ITIL V2 Service Manager
- ITIL V2-V3 Foundation Bridge
- ITIL V2-V3 Manager Bridge
- ITIL V3 Foundation
- ITIL V3 Intermediate Capability SOA, PPO, OSA, RCV
- ITIL V3 Interemediate Lifecycle SS, SD, ST, SO, CSI
- ITIL V3 Managing Across the Lifecycle
This is important to us, as we want to do the right thing AND have that independent validation of our course materials.
(and I must admit – I am very critical of the fact that we have to be accredited for ITIL Foundation programs, when people can do self study or no study and sit the exam anyway… but we want to cover all bases hence the full suite of programs.)
This is what the friendly lady on customer service told me when I quizzed ‘the other company’ on their accreditation status:
you: Who is your ITIL Foundation course accredited with?
XXX: we don’t offer credits
you: ?
you: You offer ITIL V3 Foundation
XXX: yes
you: I only want to know if your ITIL course is ACCREDITED
you: who are you accredited with
you: ?
XXX: the training is a self study course
you: yes – I understand that
you: but who is the accrediting body who approved the courseware
you: or are you using somebody else’s materials?
XXX: We use the book from OCG which is the Official Guide to ITIL v3
you: that is great – but that’s only a book
you: who authorized the coursematerials?
XXX: and the training is instructor lead training delivered thru streaming video
XXX: the training is guaranteed
XXX: its not authorized by anyone
you: yes – who is the course approved / accredited / authorized by?
XXX:and noone has ever failed the exam after doing the training withus
XXX: with us
you: are you sure? (as this is compulsory for all providers due to copyright restrictions)
XXX: yes I am sure
you: ok – thank you
Isn’t that interesting? I mean – it will be a HUGE cost saving not to have to worry about the accreditation, audits, paperwork, renewals etc.
I might need to rethink our business model … what do you think?
The future of ITIL certification : NO more ITIL V2 exams October 16, 2009
Posted by ivankamenken in itil, itsm.Tags: certification, exam, EXIN, IT Service Management, itil, ITIL V3, itsm, the art of service
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I am packing up as my stay in Cairns has finished. The last 2 days were very good – I was invited to attend the EXIN partner event to hear about the direction EXIN is going to take in the future.
As always the presentations are mostly marketing and sales from EXIN to the training providers, but I did learn a few things that may be of interest to non-trainers as well:
1) Of all exams taken, approx. 40% are still ITIL V2 exams.
I was quite amazed at this number as my assumption was a lot lower percentage. We still have clients, in Europe and the Middle East mainly, who prefer ITIL ITIL “>V2 to ITIL V3 but I was not aware that this number is this high.
2) APMG / OGC are alledgedly taking the V2 exams out of production
The current understanding is that the ITIL ITIL “>V2 Foundation exam will no longer be available after June 2010 and that the ITIL V2 Practitioner exams and ITIL V2 Manager exams will be phased out between June and December 2010. There will still be the option for resits until somewhere in early 2011 but no new exams will be issued.
So when I take both of these together, that means that 40% of the market must change certification strategies.. OR we are going to lose that part of the market because these companies take an “ITIL V2 of nothing” approach.
Why should I do ITIL V3 Intermediate Programs via The Art of Service? September 30, 2009
Posted by ivankamenken in itil, itsm.Tags: exam, EXIN, goal, IT Service Management, itil, itsm, the art of service, value
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ITIL v3 Intermediate Courses
- Do the courses also include a paper textbook or strictly PDFs? My preference is on paper since easier on the eyes (especially with me doing cram weeks). If strictly PDF can I get the paper version too?
- Who would focus on the Capability versus Lifecycle program? I suspect I’m more interested in Capabilities but I want to understand the audience for each better.
- What’s the pass rate for the intermediate exams? I’ve heard it’s fairly low.
When you prefer paperback books, the only option is to purchase the Certification Kits via Amazon.com as they supply the Paperback version. We only have the PDF eBooks on our system.
Amazon only does the single products though – and you don’t have the option of the full pathway package.
Capability programs are more rolebased, and typically suited to the practitioner – the person in the field who deals with the implementation on a regular basis. The programs cover a number of chapters from various Lifecycle phases as each role would require knowledge and skills covered in multiple phases.
Lifecycle Programs are purely theory based and more suited to executive management and consultants who need an intimate knowledge of the details. Each lifecycle Program is written for one singular Lifecycle Phase.
Passrates – Well, let me get the official figures:
The Art of Service compared to the rest of the world...
So with the exception of Service Transition our students score consistently higher than the EXIN average!
I’m sure that will fill you with a high level of comfort! When you want to start with the programs – contact us!
The ITIL pyramid scheme September 20, 2009
Posted by ivankamenken in itil, itsm.Tags: certification, exam, EXIN, ITIL V3, the art of service, value
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One of the entries in our ITIL Experience Book talks about the “Pyramid Scheme” for the ITIL V3 Certifications.
He probably referred to the way the certification scheme is illustrated
the official qualification scheme
APMG probably didn’t mean to have people talk about this qualification scheme as a ‘pyramid scheme’ but a lot of discussion is happening in offices around the world about the investment required to do the certification Programs.
This has been one of the drivers for The Art of Service to develop the entire qualification pathway as eLearning Programs. You go through fully accredited course materials, supported by ITIL Expert Trainers, at a fraction of the classroom price.
You can achieve your entire ITIL Expert qualification through our eLearning programs, which are accredited by EXIN.
Do you get PDU credits when you enrol in ITIL V3 eLearning Programs? September 17, 2009
Posted by ivankamenken in itil, itsm.Tags: exam, EXIN, IT Service Management, itil, ITIL expert, ITIL V3, itsm, the art of service, value
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Many of our students are registered with PMI and because of this, they are interested in the PDU values.
After you complete your eLearning Program you receive a certificate of completion. This certificate has our company name on it and the contact hour equivalent of the program.
For example:
ITIL Foundation eLearning is equivalent to 18 contact hours
ITIL Intermediate Lifecycle eLearning is equivalent to 21 contact hours
What most students do is forward a copy of the certificate to PMI to get the PDU’s approved.
There is curently also a discussion going on about this exact question in a Linkedin Group:
“I heard on the AOS Foundations forum that PMPs can get 17 PDUs for the v3 Foundations cert.
Did any PMP’s here get this credit? Can you confirm the number of PDUs and which Category Code was used?”
-Manish Gupta: I applied for 16 PDUs against the ITIL V3 e-learning program under category 4. And, it was accepted.
- Christopher Little: I have since passed my exam and received 18 PDU’s for the ITIL v3 Foundation cert under Category 4. TAOS does indeed put them on their certificates.
So go ahead – enrol in an eLearning class.. it has the same end result as the classroom programs, at a fraction of the cost!
ITIL V3 Certification Passrates close to 100% August 26, 2009
Posted by ivankamenken in itil, itsm.Tags: certification, exam, IT Service Management, ITIL expert, ITIL V3, success, the art of service
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Many people ask for passrates of our students, and to be quite honest there is no complete answer to this question. Reason being that most of our ITIL V3 Foundation students organise their exams independently via Prometric test centres. We don’t get the feedback on how they performed (apart from a select few who send us happy emails, flowers and boxes of chocolate to say thank you!)
But you ask, and we aim to please, so we provide the most up to date information we have in the form of a graph etc.
We are extremly happy and proud of the results (and feedback) with regards to all our programs – in particular the Intermediate programs which have been a resounding success, most course achieving close to 100% pass rates.
Managing Across the Lifecycle is quite a different exam from the rest of the Intermediate exams – there is a lot more practical work experience required to be successful in this exam! (don’t think lightly about this exam – even an 8 question exam can be very tricky and difficult!). Our trainers passed the exam in their first sitting, but that is only due to the fact that they have a lot of experience in this field, know the ITIL methodology inside out and listen to the examples from students every day of the week.
So when you’re getting ready for this exam: make sure you’re prepared!
Didn’t pass your ITIL V3 Foundation exam?? Don’t despair.. you’re NOT alone! June 20, 2009
Posted by ivankamenken in itil, itsm.Tags: certification, exam, EXIN, Foundation, Foundation Bridge, IT Service Management, itil, ITIL V3, itsm, the art of service
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As I mentioned in an earlier blog – as of the 1st of May 2009 there is a new syllabus for the ITIL V3 Foundation and ITIL V3 Foundation Bridge exam. This new syllabus is a result of the global review and lots of feedback from many students, training providers and examination institutes.
The biggest comment was that the Foundation program was basically ‘too much information’ for a 3- day course and the regional representatives spent 2 days talking about a better way of teaching this Foundation level of the ITIL V3 Service Management program.
Based on this feedback and these discussions, APMG created a new syllabus for the Foundation and Foundation bridge exam and a completely new set of examination questions that are in line with the syllabus. The accredited training providers received the new syllabus and two sample exams to prepare their new course materials to be in line with the new formal exams.
Soooooo, as of the 1st of May all training providers are offering new materials based on the updated training and exam requirements.
A quick check with a number of providers shows that from the 1st of July the percentage of successful candidates has decreased quite dramatically for Foundation exam participants. Also – the average results has dropped from 85% -90% to as low as 70 percent.
Now – as training providers we do NOT have access to the real exam questions (and that’s a good thing, as it keeps the training separate from the exam. It ensures that your certification is independent from the training), the only thing we have to go on is the syllabus, exam requirements and the sample exam. This drop in number of successful candidates is something that is being investigated by a number of training providers.
IF you are one of the candidates that sat your Foundation exam AFTER the 1st of May 2009 and you feel that the exam was quite different from the course materials and the sample exam. In other words – you feel that the course and sample exam did not give you a true indication of what the real exam was like – contact your training provider and let them know!
Every 4 months there is a formal review of exam results to assess if the exam and/or syllabus needs to be updated.. all feedback is important, so speak up!
ITIL V3 Certification – are you confused?? You are NOT alone… June 17, 2009
Posted by ivankamenken in itil, itsm.Tags: capability, certification, exam, EXIN, IT Service Management, itil, ITIL expert, ITIL V3, itsm, lifecycle, the art of service
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For a scheme that has been around for approx. 2 years now, it is pretty sad that there is no increased clarity around the ITIL V3 certification scheme. Where a few years ago most clients would be confused because of the scheme it self, now it seems that training providers are able to do their own thing..
OK – so what are the confusions:
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.
2. The second confusion developed around the 1st of May 2009. From this day onwards, APMG released their new ITIL V3 Foundation and ITIL V3 Foundation bridge syllabus and exams. This means that from this day onwards ALL training providers have to adhere to the new syllabus with the amended timelines for Foundation and Foundation Bridge. The biggest change is in the ITIL V3 Foundation Bridge program, as the number of contact hours has increased to 9.5 hours.
This means that the Foundation Bridge program is now a 2-day classroom program (as I can’t imagine people wanting to do this in 1 day… just imagine: 9.5 contact hours + 30 minutes for coffee break in the morning + 30 minuted for coffee break in the afternoon + 1 hour for lunch + 30 minutes for the exam + some setup time for the exam… a minimum of 12 hours are required for this course! As an educator, teacher and trainer I know from experience that after 8 hours in the classroom people simply don’t absorb any more information…. your guess is as good as mine when you try to think about the effects on the passrates for the ITIL V3 Foundation Bridge exam.)
3. Third confusion is on naming conventions again. The courses that follow the ITIL V3 Foundation program are called “the Intermediate Programs”. Within the Intermediate programs there are 2 type of modules: Capability Modules and Lifecycle Modules. This is the naming convention that APMG described in their certification scheme and the associated documentation and illustrations. However, there are a number of course providers who have created their own petnames for these programs. Probably seemed a good idea when the marketing department came up with it… but what it does is completely confuse and frustrate the clients out there.
Example – earlier this week we received an enquiry to do the ITIL Expert pathway and this person was convinced that this was a 4 day bootcamp. When we viewed the link with the course information we could see where the confusion came from.
“ITIL Expert Certificate: Service Operation”- 4 day bootcamp….
This is NOT the ITIL Expert certificate.. this is a 4 day classroom program around Service Operation which will gain you 3 points towards the 22 needed for ITIL Expert certificate.
4. Fourth confusion is on the difference between ITIL V2 qualification and ITIL V3 qualification. This comes down to naming convention again:
ITIL V2 qualification is build up as follows: Foundation certificate, Practitioner certificates (x4), Manager Certificate
ITIL V3 qualification is build up as follows: Foundation certificate, Intermediate certificate (x9), Managing Across the Lifecycle certificate, ITIL Expert.
As both these qualification pathways co-exist, we as training providers have an obligation to separate to two pathways as much as possible to make it easy for our clients to know which type of program they have signed up for.
The whole certification and qualification thing is confusing enough as it is… let’s work together as training providers to shine a clear light so our clients don’t trip along the way.
Can I do ITIL V3 Intermediate as self study, or do I have to attend a class? May 5, 2009
Posted by ivankamenken in itil, itsm.Tags: certification, elearning, exam, EXIN, IT Service Management, itil, ITIL expert, ITIL V3, itsm
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Can I prepare for my ITIL V3 Intermediate exam through self study?
I receive this question in my inbox a lot of the time and it seems that there might be some confusion on the exam requirements. The short answer is NO, you can not prepare for your ITIL V3 Intermediate exam by doing self study. The exam requirement is that you have been part of an accredited course, delivered by an accredited ATO.
Does this mean I have to attend a classroom program?
Again, the answer is NO – it is not compulsory to attend a classroom / instructor led program. The Art of Service offers all ITIL V3 Intermediate programs as accredited eLearning courses. The eLearning is still instructor facilitated, but as you can imagine – the instructor is at a distance and facilitation is via email, voice and video conferencing. The difference between classroom and eLearning is that you have your instructor all to yourself! You can ask all questions directly and are guaranteed an answer within 24 hours (but usually much quicker)
But what if my training provider says that I can’t attend eLearning courses, that this is not possible?
I don’t want to talk on behalf of other training providers, but what they probably mean is that they don’t offer elearning courses. Most organisations will have the ITIL V3 Intermediate programs as classroom option only. The Art of Service has chosen for a dual approach: we offer all ITIL programs as classroom option as well as eLearning program. The only exception to this is the ITIL V2 Service Manager program, as this program can not be delivered online and must be delivered as a classroom course.
If I choose to do eLearning, what is my chance of passing the exam?
In the past 5 years of offering ITIL education programs as eLearning as well as classroom option, we have learnt that the passrate for both delivery methods is comparable. If anything, we noticed that due to the highly personalized nature of elearning and the fact that you have the opportunity to restudy the same material when the subject is not quite clear, our online students might actually perform slightly better during exams.
Also, we have developed a number of additional educational tools and instructional material to help you make the best of your exams. These are the exam preparation programs; specialised elearning programs that focus on exam preparation. It’s like you do the last day of the course again and again until you’re confident and ready to sit your exam!
The Benefits of ITIL V3 Intermediate eLearning courses April 18, 2009
Posted by ivankamenken in Uncategorized.Tags: certification, elearning, exam, EXIN, Green IT, IT Service Management, itil, ITIL expert, ITIL V2, ITIL V3, itsm, the art of service
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Our students choose to enroll in our eLearning programs for ITIL V3 Intermediate for a number of reasons:
- The ability to study in the evening, nights and weekends (if you so desire); this way you can still attend your day job or complete your project, or maximise your billable hours while you gain new knowledge and prepare for the exam.
- No need for travel; eLearning can be done everywhere, including -but not limited to- your desk at the office or at home on the couch. Additional benefits include: no cost for petrol and parking, no extra demand on the environment because you don’t have to fly to a training venue. This is true for the students, but also for the instructor/trainer. This is offering Green IT in a practical way!
- One on One interaction with your instructor. During classroom programs you always have to share with your fellow students. And sometimes the instructor doesn’t have the time to answer your specific question due to the time pressure of going through the curriculum in 3, 4 or 5 days. With eLearning you have your instructor all to yourself and you can ask as many questions as you want.
- The ability to work in your tempo; In classroom programs you are at the mercy of the instructor and this is usually not in the best interest of the individual. From a tempo point of view – most instructors will work according to the average, or sometimes even slowest, student within the constraints set by the curriculum. As you have access to the eLearning for 3 months you can study at your own convenient tempo. Do you need to finish this program quickly? Go through it in 3 really really long days… need more time to go over the materials again? Just do it. You have 3 months to finish the materials.
- Lower course fee; of course this is a benefit to the student! Because eLearning has a lot less overhead (no need for course venue, catering, etc.) the ‘admission price’ to attend a program is lower than for classroom courses.
The Art of Service has been offering web-based elearning for ITIL V2 and ITIL V3 certification since February 25th, 2002. What started off as an extra service to our classroom students, has grown into a valuable offering to customers and students globally. We have individual students studying for their ITIL certification, but we also offer the complete Learning Management System with a site license to corporations who need company based coaching to complement the online content.
Passrate for ITIL V2 (Foundation and all 4 Practitioner) and ITIL V3 (Foundation and all Intermediate) certification has been equal, if not better than classroom students! We currently have a number of students who are going through the entire ITIL Expert certification stream online. All our ITIL certification courses are EXIN accredited.
For more information on our eLearning and to see a demo of our eLearning programs, go to http://theartofservice.org
