ITIL Expert study resouces

Bryan_G

Hello ITIL Experts,

My 1st post...

I'm going to start a Fast Track ITIL Expert course in January which will last until the end of February.
I would like to gather some resources (Videos, Books, Online Study materials, Practice exams, etc...) so I can be as ready as possible prior to starting the course as it is a fairly condensed version and I will not have much off-time to study once it starts.

• Service Strategy & Service Design - 13.01.2014 - 17.01.2014
• Service Transition & Service Operation - 27.01.2014 - 31.01.2014
• Continual Service Improvement - 10.02.2014 - 14.02.2014
• MALC - 24.02.2014 - 28.02.2014

I've looked around in this forum a bit and see that Claire is the resident expert here, so would like to here from you Claire but also any other experts who would like to help me are more than welcome and appreciated..

Many thanks,
Bryan

Claire Agutter

Hi Bryan

Sounds like you have a challenging start to 2014!

Here's what I would recommend - unfortunately most of this has a cost so you will need to balance your budget against how much preparation you wish you to do.

1) Download the syllabi for the courses you're taking from the ITIL Official site. These will tell you what chapters it's recommended you read in the ITIL core volumes for each course
2) Get access to the ITIL core volumes. They're not cheap - you can buy books, a pdf or online access
3) If your budget stretches to it, you could take some e-learning modules before you start your studies, but this may also be an expensive option

I wouldn't recommend you try the practice exams before you've studied. There are only a small number of practice exams available for each course, so it's better to take them when you've done all your studies so you get a real 'feel' for how you will perform in the live exam.

Finally, the course you're taking will have been accredited as meeting the study needs of delegates, so don't worry too much or over-prepare. Your training provider should give you everything you need to be successful, it's good to do your own reading but the training is there to teach you what you need to know.

I'm personally not a fan of the 'bootcamp' style courses but I know there is a market for them. The training will have to cram towards the exams to a certain extent, but it's also important to remember why you're there and focus on what you're learning. It's great to have the qualification, but it's also good to go back to your role with fresh ideas for improving the way your organisation works.

Good luck, I hope you'll update us with your progress,

Kind regards

Claire

Bryan_G

Hi Claire,

Thanks for all your help. I'm sure I can get on the right track with all this knowledge now.
I agree with your last paragraph wholeheartedly. Nothing is worse than rushing through a course, passing the exam, then head back to work and not be able to add value to your department and organization.

Thanks again and have a great weekend..

Kind regards,
Bryan

Claire Agutter

Hi Bryan

You're very welcome, good luck with your studies!

Claire

Bryan_G

Hi Claire,

It's been a while since I posted but wanted to give a short update and ask for you help again.

I've passed all the Intermediate exams but unfortunately I failed the MALC exam with 30 points.
Anyhow, I took the exam in German but realized too late that the complexity of MALC was higher than expected in comparison to the Intermediate exams.

For my re-rest I've decided to take in my native language. The problem I have is finding the Case Study V1 and 2 in English. I've searched in Google but couldn't find them.

Could you point me to where I can find them?

Many thanks and all the best,

Bryan

ccnpninja

Hi guys,
I'm being curious, but what drives you to go for ITIL Expert? Is it the money/potential money or is it a work requirement?

Bryan_G

Hi ccnpninja -

I can tell you what drives me... Primarily I wanted to become an ITIL Expert because I believe it will help me to do my job better from the IT and business value perspective. If more money came with this, that would be a bonus, but it wasn't my objective. I'm an IT best practices, standards, process and procedures etc... kind of manager and ITIL has the framework that gives me a "proven" structure to work with. Also, the certification is showing up more and more on job descriptions as an "advantage", so I think it's value and recognition is growing in global corporations. In previous times, I'd see only the Foundation cert as a should have on job descriptions, if at all. Companies are realizing now the vast differences from Foundation to Expert.

ccnpninja

Thanks for this explanation Bryan, and good luck with your studies