ITIL Version 3.0 Qualification Scheme

I know this board is mostly focused on direct-tech certifications, but occasionally I see a post or question about ITIL.

In case you guys don't follow ITIL, a significant makeover has been released recently.

I attended an ITIL Version 3.0 Roadshow today in Chicago to review the makeover. One of the most anticipated topics was the certification/qualification makeover:

Current (ITIL 2.0) Certifications

1. Foundation Level - 2-3 day course covering the basics with terms and definitions followed by a relatively easy 40 question exam. 26 of 40 correct is passing. This exam is somewhat easy if you know the lingo, and can be taken without attending the class. The class is around $1500..not sure what the test fee is, but when I took it, it was included in the class.

2. Practitioner Level - A certification for each ITIL process designed for those who actually work in the process areas. The process areas are Service Level Management, Incident Management, Problem Management, Change Management, Config Management, Release Management, Availability Management, Financial Management for IT Services, Capacity Management, and Continuity Management. Service Desk is a function.

At the practitioner certification level, courses are either seperate (e.g., Service Level Management called "Agree"), or clustered (e.g., Service Level Management + Financial Management for IT Services call "Agree and Define"). Seperate courses plus exam cost around $1800 for 3 days, whereas clustered courses plus exam cost about $2500 for 5 days.

If I remember correctly the Practitioner tests are 40 question multiple choice. They are very very difficult. You must attend the course to take one of these exams. I passed the SLM course earlier this by 1 point! I believe the pass rate on these exams is between 50% and 60%.

3. Manager Level - This level is the top certification on all of the ITIL books, and is currently split into Service Delivery and Service Support. This is about 2 full weeks of classes + 2 days of classroom study (I think) plus 2 days of testing. All sessions are manadatory and cost about $8k total.

The tests consist of both multiple choice and essay. The multiple choice are very difficult. The essay is very difficult and harshly graded (marked). Typically you are asked a question such as "What are the major sub-processes of Capacity Management?" and you are expected to name the sub-processes and provide an "adaquate" explanation (including what might be evidence that the sub-processes are being followed) in a bullet format.

The current Manager level exams are insanely hard. Over two days it is not uncommon for 50+ pages to be written for the essay section. The pass rate at this level is less than 50%.


bah...enough about 2.0...

The new ITIL 3.0 Proposed Qualifications

Please note. The presenter indicated today that these are "proposed" and could change.

They have moved to a credit system. Each course completed and exam awarded results in the award of a certain number of "credits".

1. Foundation Level - Broader scope from .0 but less depth. Same timeframe. Multiple choice exam.

2. Service Lifecycle Modules and Service Capability Modules. These are modular classes that replace both the ITIL 2.0 Manager and Practitioner classes. The Service Lifecycle Modules replace the Manager classes and cover each of the 5 individual books of ITIL 3.0. The Service Capability Modules replace the current Practitioner training. Currently the topics are proposed but not final. These are 5 of these also. Multiple choice exams for all of these and 3 credits are awarded when the exam is passed.

3. Managing Through the Lifecycle - Capstone course that normalize the information in the Service Lifecycle Modules and Service Capability Modules - 5 credits upon passing the multiple choice exam.

4. ITIL Diploma - Achieved when 22 total credits have been earned. 2 for Foundation, 15 credits earned at the module level (#2), and 5 for Managing Through the Lifecycle.

5. Advanced or Professional Diploma - A "supercertification" that can only be achieved by earning the ITIL Diploma plus other industry certifications. This is likely to mean something like the CMC certification for consultants, but I could see something like the MCA being a fit. They have not determined the exact requirements at this level.

Bridge Classes

For those of use that hold ITIL 2.0 certifications, they have created bridge classes that cover the delta between 2.0 and 3.0, they are:

1. Foundation bridge - 1 day course, multiple choice test at the end. Foundation 2.0 certification = 1.5 credits in the 3.0 system. Passing the bridge course earns .5 credits.

2. Practitioner Level - Current holders receive 3.75 credits for a clustered course and 1 credit for a single course. There is not bridge at this level.

3. Manager bridge - If you hold the current Manager certificate, the bridge courses is a 3 day course that awards. The version 2.0 Manager certificate is worth 17 credits. This bridge course is 5 credits, which provides 22 credits for the ITIL Diploma.

No proposed pricing was given on any of these new courses or exams. They did indicate that some version 3.0 Foundation courses have completed and more are currently scheduled. For the other levels it is likely to be a while before all of the training material is in place.

So the big news here is that the essay exams are going away. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, because with the essay exams you can **** as much as you want about the topic. They only mark you for correct answers...they do not deduct points for things that are wrong. They said that the new multiple choice exams will be "complex multiple choice". I am assuming that the Foundation level will still be relatively easy.

Whew...I wanted to get it all out and documented...customers will be asking about this soon enough. Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

MS