Books for ITIL

webslngr

Can anyone recommend some books for ITIL foundations and beyond?

Thanks!!

astorrs

Start with Foundations of IT Service Management, Based on ITIL V3

Then pickup the core publications (you can also buy them individually if you prefer), The ITIL v3 Lifecycle Publication Suite

LarryDaMan

We had a few spots for an ITIL training seminar become available. I am still pondering going. I have not done too much research into the certification.

I read the wiki and a few posts including these two:
http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=33715
http://techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=33599

Hypothetically, let's say I have no interest in the certification... besides a week away from work, would the knowledge gained be useful/interesting? I know these are very subjective things to ask, but I was thrown for a loop because this was not on my "learning roadmap" so to speak.

eMeS

LarryDaMan wrote:

Hypothetically, let's say I have no interest in the certification... besides a week away from work, would the knowledge gained be useful/interesting? I know these are very subjective things to ask, but I was thrown for a loop because this was not on my "learning roadmap" so to speak.

I have likened the take-away (other than the cert) from ITIL Foundation to be the equivalent of learning a common vocabulary, and at a high-level, what the various processes do in the collection of best practices.

Useful?
1) Yes, if your company is implementing ITIL and you need to share a common lingo/understanding with everyone else in the organization.
2) Yes, if you intend to learn more about ITIL, you have to start somewhere.

Interesting?
1) Depends on the instructor. Some can make it seem like a 3 day long root canal, while others are able to relate the content to useful stories and real implementations. This really isn't specific to ITIL though, as a bad instructor could ruin an interesting topic, and a good instructor could make a boring topic relevant...
2) Yes, if it includes a "simulation" that demonstrates all of the processes working together.
3) No, IMO, even training that I'm interested in can be dull at times. ITIL is often dull from a training perspective, and if delivered by someone that's never implemented it/achieved results with it, it can often leave students thinking wtf?

Unfortunately there are more instructors that only teach ITIL and have not practically implemented it, than there are those who have been through one or more real implementations...IMO, the risk of #3 above is high.

MS

eMeS

astorrs wrote:

Start with Foundations of IT Service Management, Based on ITIL V3

Then pickup the core publications (you can also buy them individually if you prefer), The ITIL v3 Lifecycle Publication Suite

2nd this...if you are interested in ITIL, read the core publications.

Also, check out the free information at http://www.itil.co.uk/

MS

LarryDaMan

eMeS wrote:

LarryDaMan wrote:

Hypothetically, let's say I have no interest in the certification... besides a week away from work, would the knowledge gained be useful/interesting? I know these are very subjective things to ask, but I was thrown for a loop because this was not on my "learning roadmap" so to speak.

I have likened the take-away (other than the cert) from ITIL Foundation to be the equivalent of learning a common vocabulary, and at a high-level, what the various processes do in the collection of best practices.

Useful?
1) Yes, if your company is implementing ITIL and you need to share a common lingo/understanding with everyone else in the organization.
2) Yes, if you intend to learn more about ITIL, you have to start somewhere.

Interesting?
1) Depends on the instructor. Some can make it seem like a 3 day long root canal, while others are able to relate the content to useful stories and real implementations. This really isn't specific to ITIL though, as a bad instructor could ruin an interesting topic, and a good instructor could make a boring topic relevant...
2) Yes, if it includes a "simulation" that demonstrates all of the processes working together.
3) No, IMO, even training that I'm interested in can be dull at times. ITIL is often dull from a training perspective, and if delivered by someone that's never implemented it/achieved results with it, it can often leave students thinking wtf?

Unfortunately there are more instructors that only teach ITIL and have not practically implemented it, than there are those who have been through one or more real implementations...IMO, the risk of #3 above is high.

MS

Thank you very much for the thoughtful response. I decided to go. Free training and time away from work are two of my two favorite things

I am researching the certification(s) aspect, but for now, I am just obligating myself to try to learn something during the week of training.

The beginning of the fiscal year always brings about many pie-in-the-sky ideas, this year ITIL is one of them for us.

ITILTRAIN

Are you looking for certification or just general knowledge?

goforthbmerry

Speaking for myself and not the initial poster, I need training for the cert at the foundations and the Incident management level. Yes, I want to pass the cert but I also need to use it in real life so the information must go beyond just the minimum for the tests. Any ideas? With a username of ITILTRAIN, I assume you do.

eMeS

goforthbmerry wrote: »

Speaking for myself and not the initial poster, I need training for the cert at the foundations and the Incident management level. Yes, I want to pass the cert but I also need to use it in real life so the information must go beyond just the minimum for the tests. Any ideas? With a username of ITILTRAIN, I assume you do.

I can get you through both pretty quickly if you'd like to come to our site in Texas. We can provide both the knowledge for the certs and examples of practical application of what ITIL teaches. My partners and I have actually implemented ITIL and have seen the benefits.

Outside of that, something could be arranged locally in your area.

Either way, the minimum student count for a Foundation class is 4 (no strict requirements, more a function of profitability). At the intermediate level in version 3 (or practitioner in version 2) the minimum student count required by accreditation is 6. Thus, staging any such training would require that we meet those numbers.

If you are interested in further discussion, including prices, etc..., let's take it to PM.

BTW, the class you probably want for Incident Management at the intermediate level is now called "Operational Support and Analysis" and lasts 5 days.

My advice to you is to avoid all of the people selling "video foundation" training. I've yet to see one of these that is worth the price and have never seen one that communicated anything beyond the information required to pass the exam. In other words, you are unlikely to find the practical information you seek in these things.

Also, try to find a training provider where the people doing the training have actually implemented ITIL best practices and accomplished some type of useful result. Sadly, about 99% of the people doing training (especially at the foundation level, where requirements to be a trainer are fairly lax) are at best theorists.

MS

goforthbmerry

Thanks for the advice. I am no where near TX but I might be sending a PM just to get the information. I keep trying to get more training. I think it would be useful for all of our staff to recieve some ITIL training at least on a foundational level. The company uses it but it is a common occurance that the managers and VPs send out "informational" emails that no one understands because of the terminology. Ironically, the group that have been designated to ensure that everyone is one the same page and understands the structure changes are the most confusing and use the most jargon.

dcyphr80

I just ordered and received this ITIL Foundations V3 Exam Study Guide from the same folks that made the "Foundations of IT Service Management" book.

ITILv3 Foundation Exam: The Study Guide

If you want to get to the point this should definitely be worth the look. It took me a little over a week to receive.