Passed MALC Exam.. ITIL General Notes

Omario · July 2017

I just passed ITIL MALC Exam and I would like to share with my experience.
I companied service lifecycle module with service capability and I decided to go with (OSA, CSI, RCV & SOA).
The main concept to pass the exams is to (think ITIL) and you will have this ability to (think ITIL) after you pass two intermediate exams where you will be familiar with ITIL framework and the other courses will add to you extra knowledge about ITIL. So do not afraid from ITIL!

To pass any exam you focus on the followings:

Processes scope, purpose and its relationships with others put in your mind (no processes is island).
Foundations especially SD it is very important and it will be with in all lifecycle stages.
Roles, responsibilities, and focus on (Service owner, Service manager & CSI manager).
Which roles connect be complained together (example: release and deployment with service validation and testing)

TIPs:

RACI you will have questions on it at least in two exams and put in your mind that must have one accountable and one to two responsible.
KPIs have be measured (percentage, number etc.), just have a good reading on it you do not need memorize it!
Always you have to consider the business

Good Sentences:

Check business/customer requirements, needs etc.
Gain high management commitment and sponsorship
Communicate what you are planning to do
Agree with IT and business the scope, reports etc.
Process is better than procedures ( in selecting best answer)
Make awareness/training about ITIL (in case you are introducing ITIL to your organization)

Bad Sentences

Review case by case
Giving number and stats to high management ( put in your mid you have to fulfil each entity needs for example business needs is deferent than IT management needs)
Padding (lot of words without specific steps and process).
Call the customer/business and tell them you are sorry and you promise to enhance your service etc.

Claire Agutter · July 2017

Congratulations! Some very helpful feedback there. I would add to make sure you know your case study inside out, you should have access to it before the exam.

genxfinalrevision · July 2017

Congratulations! I'm sure it took a lot of hard work so I am glad that it paid off.

That's also good info to share and I agree with Claire. Familiarity with the case study is key. I don't know how I would have done on the exam without reviewing it thoroughly. If nothing else, it gave me confidence that there was at least one aspect of the exam that wouldn't present any stumbling blocks.

ItsmHarun · July 2017

- It is just like taking the exam inside an exam centre, the only exception is you can choose where to sit your exam. An exam proctor will take hold of your computer and guide you through your exam process.
- In addition, there are many online ITIL® Foundation training courses available on the market. One can gain access to the course videos and learning materials immediately after purchase — without having to wait for the start of classroom lectures. Think of the saving in terms of transit time and waiting time.
- Some Aspirants have reported that they can begin their studies and get certified over the weekend with online training and exam. Normally, online courses for the ITIL® Foundation level can be completed with 20-30 hours of studies And it is highly advisable to choose only “accredited” course as the quality and correctness of the content can be guaranteed.

These are the most important tips I have learned from my ITIL® Foundation Certification preparation and exam taking experiences. Hope Aspirants can make use of these tips in their exam preparation to help them save a little time and headache.

The Foundationcertificate is a stepping-stone for everyone who is interested in learning moreabout ITIL best practices :http://www.itsmtech.in/

Wish you ITIL® success!

Lucy heard · December 2017

Hi there, I am due to take my online MALC Exam tomorrow and have read that you should have access to case study in advance. Is this correct?. Can I print it out and take it with me, if I can get hold of the case study. I am worried that I will not have the sane chance as others if this is true.

Kind regards
Lucy

Claire Agutter · January 2018

Hi Lucy, did your training provider not give you access to the case study as part of your course? The case study used in the exam and training are the same, and you should be thoroughly prepared on it before taking the exam. If you have not had access to it I would consider deferring your exam.

Claire

oddfever · July 2018

Hi all, I ve done online training with innovative learning ILEARN . I quote here the answer I got from them: Please kindly note that during the final exam you won’t have this case study, ( you know the banking one all are talking about) it will be a different one.
In fact, as indicated in the 1st page of the case study you sent us, this one is just an official simulation released by AXELOS in order to practice before the final exam.
I am totally confused! On the other hand from what I am reading here it appears that since at least 2013 all MALC trainings and all MALC exams are based on the SAME study case?!!

Claire Agutter · July 2018

Hi oddfever, the case study you use during the MALC course is the same one that you will have during the exam. I'm not sure why you've been given that information, Claire

Msuthu · September 2018

Hi Claire;

Just needed to thank you for the great platform, and also to thank everyone with their informative input and comments.

I wrote last year(2017) December, and I FAILED with on 1 mark, but as devastated as I was - I told myself that I'm going to rewrite it - and pass; and I did the rewrite last week Friday 20th September; and this time I FAILED with 2 marks

. Funny enough, I was not devastated as I was with first exam; and I'm ready to go back in 2 months time for 3rd time.

What can you advise I should, going into this rewrite, and I'm afraid that ITIL4 will bring new updates and obviously the Case Study might/will change too.

Claire, can you share a couple of pointers on how one can thoroughly prepare for the MALC exam? ...and also what added information can look into, in order to add more chances of passing this Exam? I have mastered the Case Study. I have - however - taken into consideration what has already been shared by previous candidate on this platform.

Looking forward to feedback;

Thanks a Million;

Claire Agutter · September 2018

Hi Msuthu, I can understand you must be very frustrated to be so close to success on both occasions. Have you had your post-exam reports to identify if you are struggling in one particular syllabus area? That's a good place to start as it will help you target your studies.

You can also try asking your training provider to give you the sample exams for all of the intermediate courses that you didn't do - SS and CSI are particularly good practice for the MALC exam but they are all helpful to hone your exam technique.

That is some initial advice but please let me know if I can be of any further assistance, Claire

Msuthu · September 2018

Hi Claire;

Yes - I have both the exam reports, and the APMG one is not specific but the PeopleCert is specific. I have started doing the SS and CSI intermediate papers too.

Thank you for the feedback, and I will keep you posted on the progress.

Much appreciated

Msuthu

Claire Agutter · September 2018

Please do let me know Msuthu, it would be great to hear your progress. Claire

csmrs · October 2018

Hi, I lost the first and second attempts. In both exams I did not get the same questions. I am going to present a third attempt and I would like to know if the questions of the third attempt are definitely going to be different? Thank you.

trungpb · July 2019

Below are some tips for taking MALC exam. Hope it helps.

1 - Pay specific attention to details of the scenario, the question, and the answers

Scenario/question: "You need to decide what set of service metrics to use for the real-time web-based sale support service … "

If you do not pay attention to the word "service", any common-sense metrics might fool you. Otherwise, you can eliminate all "process", "technology" or "component" metrics from your feasible options.

Option “Decrease in the total cost of handling IT service incidents” seems appealing. Think twice, and you can realize this is actually a process metrics (Incident Management process). So, it should not be in the best answer.

Option “Mean time between failure (MTBF) of the web application during the agreed service hours” seems a good choice. However, it is a component metric (Web Application component) only. Even though web-based sale support service relies heavily on Web Application, it is only a component of the whole service. And as a matter of fact, business users do not care about performance of specific components. So, this metric should not be in the best answer.

Scenario/question: “at which service lifecycle stage, the metric can be measured”

This question is totally different from such question as “for which service lifecycle stage, the metric can be applied”.

Some metrics are very good to measure activities in Service Strategy, Service Design or Service Transition stages, but the only way to do the measurement is after the service go live, so it can only be measured at Service Operation.

Scenario/question: “it is felt that an overall skills and organization assessment should be undertaken to understand how to make best use of the staff and to identify where there are skills deficiencies”

The scenario obviously discusses People Assessment, so a Full Assessment will not be appropriate even though it covers Process, People, Technology and other aspects.

2 - For bullet-pointed answers, you should rate and mark each bullet points as NEGATIVE, NEUTRAL or POSITIVE.

Based on that, you could easily find out which answer is the best. The criteria for this 3-level rating are

POSITIVE: Accurate and Relates to case study issues
NEUTRAL: Generally accurate and/or Not relates to a case study issue
NEGATIVE: Inaccurate

3 - When answers refer to a non-existing process, they should be rated NEUTRAL

Processes that are not exist or formally conducted are:

Knowledge Management Process
Service Portfolio Management Process
Change Evaluation

4 - Operational staffs should be involved in both Service Design and Service Transition stages

If answers suggest engaging operational staffs in Service Design or Service Transition, rate it NEUTRAL

For example, option “Drawing on knowledge of operations staff during design” should be rated NEUTRAL, while option “The identification of the appropriate times during design and transition to draw on knowledge of operations staff” is POSITIVE

5 - Staffs from Service Desk and Incident Management process are those who have direct contact with customers and users

These function and process are well-established and effective already. So, any improvements on these staffs do not contribute much.

Hence, option such as “Additional training in customer care should be provided for all staff members who have direct contact with customers and users” is NEUTRAL

6 - Any options that mention the engagement/integration of staffs from acquired company into service lifecycle should be rated POSITIVE

7 - Any options that do not provide any new information (since it has been covered in scenario already) should be rated NEUTRAL

For example: “The inclusion of application development staff in transition activities” is generally accurate but does not provide any new information, so it is rated NEUTRAL

8 - If an option has too broad scope compare to what is required from scenario, rate it NEUTRAL.

For example: The scenario discuss the improvement of some practices, while the option mentions all practices/processes, it should be rated NEUTRAL

9 - If scenario expresses some concerns regarding value of the services, the following aspects and according processes/activities should be included in the best answer

Understand customer: Business Relationship Management Process + Good relationship with business
Has well-informed decision: Service Portfolio Management Process
Understand cost: Financial Management for IT Services Process.

10 - In SWOT analysis, Opportunities should not be in the form of an “Action”

For example, such Opportunities as “Purchasing as opposed to developing software” and “Renegotiating contract with external WAN provider” are rated NEGATIVE.

Well-formed Opportunities might be “Available funding for improvement projects across both business and IT” or “Business strategy to integrate and automate business and IT operations”.

11 - If scenario mentions any “significant changes”, it is likely that the best answer includes Change Evaluation and/or Design Coordination processes

Claire Agutter · July 2019

Excellent feedback, thanks for sharing!