certification

Aidan Lawes on ITIL certification

It is a happy day indeed for the IT Skeptic when I find myself singing the same song as such a venerable member of the ITIL community as Aidan Lawes, and yet that is very much the case with a recent blog entry by Aidan. Does the ITIL V3 certification scheme provide real value to the buyer?

Multiple choice questions criticised but not in ITIL V3 this time

I wonder if APMG are in the same building as some of the British school examination designers?

Why do we waste money training people in ITIL? Just More Crap

It greatly concerns me the huge numbers of people being sent on ITIL Foundation training. Given the cost of ITIL certification, I suggest companies who send staff on theoretical ITIL training - other than the small number actually involved in designing the transformation - are wasting their money. The real target group for that theoretical training are the specialists and consutants. My recommendations are:

Should you spend the money on ITIL V3 certification?

There is a distinction between education and certification. If you want to learn about ITIL you can do that in several ways. If you want a certificate to say you have studied ITIL, is it worth it?

The rules of ITIL V3 certification and training

APMG have published a book of rules for ITIL V3 certification and training. This is excellent, exactly the kind of thing that should be public. We now look forward to OGC, itSMF and TSO doing the same in other areas, such as:

  • acceptance of Complementary publications
  • contractual agreements between the entities (for example did you know that itSMF have a contractual agreement with APMG to “use all reasonable endeavours to promote and market their services worldwide”)
  • itSMF member code of conduct
  • IPESC charter and approvals process
  • itSMF charter(s) and constitution(s)

The booklet is excellent. It lays out just what we need to know. More of this please, Castle ITIL.

There were a few interesting bits...

Hurry for your ITIL V3 Expert certification

If you want an ITIL V3 Expert certification, hurry before the fast-track is gone. Reportedly an ITIL V2 Manager's certificate followed by a Bridge course is the fastest and (relatively) cheapest route to an ITIL V3 Expert certification. The great lumbering beast that is the ITIL V3 certification program just took one more plodding step towards cutting it off.

ITIL Prime

It has come to my attention that somebody is claiming that ITIL Prime was one of the sites removed from this blog for copyright violation in their ITIL Foundation exam preparation questions. This is entirely untrue. If I find out who started this rumour I hope for the opportunity to discuss it with the perpetrator out back in a carpark. Not only is the allegation untrue but it is clearly false on two counts:

  • we list only free sites - ITIL Prime is by subscription
  • we clearly state the sites were subsequently taken down as a result of my complaint to their hosting company

ITIL V3 Foundations effectively put on hold until May 2009?

While the IT Skeptic has been off playing with idle fripperies like Second Life, all sorts of exciting things have been happening quietly behind the scenes in Castle ITIL. It is time we caught up to date with developments. In particular, I wouldn't be doing ITIL V3 Foundation training right now.

Un-Common Language

[A guest post today from long-time reader Alison Adams with more feedback from the field on ITIL V3 exam questions:]

How confident are you in identifying the difference/s between a stated AIM, a PURPOSE, a GOAL and an OBJECTIVE ?

A dictionary might not help much, look them up in dictionary.com, they reference one another in a complete circle. Even the official ITIL glossary includes -

"Objective: the defined purpose or aim of a Process and Activity or an Organisation….."

APMG has our full support

I remember seeing an Aussie comedy TV show once (The Games as I recall?) where it suggested that a public statement by the Prime Minister that "So-and-so has our full support" meant they would be out within days. This memory came to me as I wondered why it was necessary for Keith Aldis, CEO itSMF, to come out with a press release to tell the world that “Real progress is being made in the development and implementation of ITIL V3 qualifications". A year and a half after go-live one would bloody hope so.

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