Newsletter E-mail
Keep up to date on what is happening in the world of ITIL and how we at aQuip International are continually improving our service and training offerings. Simply enter your email address below and click on subscribe.
Frequently Asked Questions
"All you wanted to know about ITIL...
but were too afraid to ask!"
What is ITIL?
The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) works with government to facilitate the successful delivery of IT-enabled business change. This is achieved through monitoring and support of large-scale procurements in which IT plays a major part. They produce best practice guidance scalable for all size projects.
As part of this evolution, the OGC developed the ITIL structure which focuses on the support and delivery of IT to the business.
ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) is the most widely accepted approach to IT Service Management in the world. ITIL provides a cohesive set of best practice, drawn from the public and private sectors internationally.
It is supported by a comprehensive qualifications scheme, accredited training organisations, and implementation and assessment tools.
The best practice processes promoted in ITIL both support and are supported by the British Standards Institution's Standard for IT Service Management (ISO 20000).
What is ISO 20000?
ISO 20000 is the standard for IT Service Management set by the British Standards Institution. The standard covers much the same ground as ITIL best practice and covers one or two additional areas including Security Management and Relationship Management, with suppliers and customers.
What is IT Service Management?
IT Service Management (ITSM) is a top-down, business driven approach to the management of IT that specifically addresses the strategic business value generated by the IT organisation and the need to deliver a high quality IT service. IT Service Management is designed to focus on the people, processes and technology issues that IT organisations face.
Why do we need ITIL?
Today we are placing higher demands on IT resources to adapt to changing conditions. At the same time, new regulations and technological innovations complicate the operational environment. Managing IT as a business and delivering the right level of service to customers, partners and employees is critical to meeting their demands in a cost- and resource-effective manner.
What are the benefits of using ITIL?
ITIL provides a systematic and professional approach to the management of IT service provision. Adopting its guidance can provide such benefits as:
- reduced costs
- improved IT services through the use of proven best practice processes
- improved customer satisfaction through a more professional approach to service delivery
- standards and guidance
- improved productivity
- improved use of skills and experience
- improved delivery of third party services through the specification of ITIL or ISO 20000 as the standard for service delivery in services procurements.
Who can I turn to for more information?
There are a great number of organisations where help is offered but we would respectfully suggest you turn to the itSMF for the best help available.
What is the itSMF?
The IT Service Management Forum (itSMF) is the only internationally recognised and independent organisation dedicated to IT Service Management. It is a not-for-profit organisation, wholly owned, and principally operated, by its membership.
The itSMF is a major influence on, and contributor to, industry “best practice” and Standards worldwide, working in partnership with a wide range of governmental and standards bodies worldwide.
Formed in the UK in 1991, there are now national chapters in an ever-increasing number of countries.
ISEB
The Information Systems Examination Board (ISEB) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Computer Society.
ISEB qualifications add value to professional careers by providing both the means and the platform for recognition and enhanced career development.
Through the Information Systems Examinations Board or ISEB, BCS provide industry-recognised qualifications that measure competence, ability and performance in many areas of IS, with the aim of raising industry standards, promoting career development and providing competitive edge for employers.
The Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management demonstrates this level of understanding of the Service Management disciplines. This examination is available as a Computer Based Exam.
The Manager's Certificate in IT Service Management is for experienced IT professionals, who will be involved in the implementation and/or management of service management functions.
Where do I start?
aQuip International Limited have many years of expertise in the field of IT Service Management and have been heavily involved with the development of the ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) framework.
Founded in 2003, aQuip International have delivered high value training in the Service Management Foundation and Managers Certificates.
aQuip International can provide advice and guidance on the planning of your individual training requirements and can offer either in house or public courses tailored to suit your needs.
Exam Technique
Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management
The IT Service Management Foundation Examination is a one-hour closed book paper.
It comprises 40 multiple choice questions, the choice generally being from four options provided. The pass mark is 65% which means that you need 26 correct answers or more to pass. There is no distinction level in this exam.
The exam is generally taken on the final day of the Foundation Course and is supervised by an official ISEB appointed invigilator. It is also possible to take the course individually at a Prometric centre.
aQuip International hints and tips:
- There are 40 questions and 60 minutes; that’s one and a half minutes per question. Take your time. Use the full hour; it is not clever to leave early. If you see others leaving early don’t be put off. Take your time.
- The most important advice is to read the question very carefully. Ensure that you identify key words (such as direct benefit, not, main responsibilities, false) it is a good idea to underline key words on your question paper to re-enforce your understanding of the question.
- The three pass system works well for multiple choice papers. Read through the paper slowly, answering the easy ones – only those you are absolutely certain about. On the second pass read the questions again very carefully and try to answer the majority of them but still leaving particularly difficult ones ‘till the end. On the third pass you have a small number of difficult questions and a certain number of minutes left. Use the time to come up with the best answer to each of these. There will always be one or two you are not happy with so make an educated guess.
- It is generally not a good idea to go back and change earlier answers.
- Beware of imperatives and superlatives. In other words look out for words like must, always, never, as far as possible as these options may be going over the top;
e.g.
The extent of CI information held in the CMDB should:
- Be as detailed as possible so that frequent reports can be produced to avoid spending a lot of money
- Be as high level as possible
Both these options are wrong because they are too extreme; 'as detailed as possible' would be unmanageable and ridiculous; 'as high level as possible' would be of no value.
Manager’s Certificate in IT Service Management
Examination format
The Manager’s Certificate is awarded when you have passed two three-hour written examinations, one predominantly based upon ITIL Service Support and the other predominantly based upon ITIL Service Delivery.
There are five questions in each paper. There is no choice. In order to be successful in this exam you need to answer all ten questions.
Approximately 60% of the questions will be based on a case study that will be published a few weeks before the exam.
The pass mark for the exam is 50%.
You will be awarded a distinction if you achieve 65 % in each paper at the same sitting.
Should you fail one paper, re-sits of individual papers are possible and a pass will be awarded following a successful re-sit.
aQuip International hints and tips:
How to prepare
Sources of information
The following are issued to all aQuip delegates and should be used to guide your revision:
- aQuip International delegate folder and course handouts
- itSMF Pocket Guide
- ITIL Service Delivery and Service Support books
- ISEB Case Study
Experience
This examination is intended for managers and attempts to test your experience of practical Service Management as well as your knowledge of best practice. Use whatever experience you have got in answering the questions. Use the time between now and the examination to talk to people in your organisation (or elsewhere if possible) who are doing the job. Try to learn from their experience.
Learning Techniques
If possible work together with others in your organisation who are taking the exam or others who are on the course; test one another.
Write it down; make notes when you revise. This will help the learning process.
Practice questions
Do as many practice questions as possible. You will do full mock exams as part of the aQuip course. Your lecturer will also provide you with extra questions, on request. On the revision day you can expect the lecturer to provide you with some specially constructed questions relating to your particular exam case study.
Timing for Revision and the Examinations
Make time for revision. It is best to book time off now, both for the revision and for the two exam days. Stay overnight near the exam location if possible. Wherever you stay be early – allow for hold-ups.
Tips on answering the questions
- Timing
- Divide up the time – 35 minutes per question
- Allocate time according to points, 1 ½ minutes/point
- Make sure that you answer the right question. This is the number one tip. If you have been through an aQuip International course you will have a very good chance of passing both papers at the first sitting. The main reason why a very small percentage of our delegates fail a paper is that they have not answered the question that was asked. No matter how eloquent, informative and structured your answer is, if it answers the wrong question it will get no marks. So:
- Read the questions at least twice
- Read them very carefully
- Reverse the question in the answer – copying it out carefully and in full. This will help you to start off down the right path.
- Then make sure with effective use of English grammar that every point made relates directly to that question.
e.g.
Q. What might be the problems associated with the introduction of problem management within GIGA Inc. before the Incident Management process has been implemented?
A. The problems associated with the introduction of problem management within GIGA Inc. before the Incident Management process has been implemented might be:
Incident details might not be...
We might not have enough...
The GIGA Service Desk might not be able to...
Technique
- Start with an easy question
- Use the first two or three minutes on each question to plan the answer - jot down a structure – a breakdown.
- State the obvious – don't be implicit.
- Use a bullet-point format but avoid one or two word answers. Generally two or three line bullets are best.
- For fuller descriptions bullets can be indented.
- If in doubt, put it in – they don’t take marks off for superfluous information.
- Introduce your experience when relevant "In my experience...".
- Refer to case study – use names.
Publications | Qualifications
ITIL® V3
ITIL®, the most widely adopted approach to IT Service Management in the world has undergone a refresh. It has been three years in development and eagerly anticipated. In addition to updating and refreshing the material, the guidance brings together key material from some of the peripheral publications in version 2. This ensures that the wider service management picture is presented in the five core publications which together provide a lifecycle approach to service management.
Publications
- Service Strategy
A view of ITIL that aligns business and IT so that each brings out the best in the other. It ensures that every element of the Service Lifecycle is focused on customer outcomes and relates to all the companion process elements that follow.
- Service Design
In order to meet the current and future business requirements, Service Design provides guidance on the production and maintenance of IT policies, architectures, and documents for the design of appropriate and innovative IT infrastructure service solutions and processes.
- Service Transition
Service Transition provides guidance and process activities for the transition of services in the operational business environment. It covers the broader, long-term change management role, release and deployment practices, so that risks, benefits, delivery mechanisms and the support of ongoing operational services are considered.
- Service Operation
Service Operation introduces, explains and details delivery and control activities to achieve operational excellence on a day-to-day basis. Readers will find many of the familiar processes from the former service support and service delivery books, which have been updated where necessary.
- Continual Service Improvement
Alongside the delivery of consistent, repeatable process activities as part of service quality, ITIL has always emphasised the importance of continual improvements. Focusing on the process elements involved in identifying and introducing service management improvements, this publication also deals with issues surrounding service retirement.
Qualifications
The qualifications associated with this material are also undergoing re-work and whilst they are still in development the following structure is emerging.
ITIL® Advanced Certificate
Professional level qualification
|
ITIL® SM Expert Certificate
 Managing through the Lifecycle
|
ITIL® Foundation Certificate for Service Management |
The final details are yet to be confirmed by the qualification body but the expert level qualification is expected to be modular in design with a capability stream offering certificates similar to the current practitioners and a lifecycle stream offering a certificate for each of the five publications. In order to achieve the certificate delegates need to accumulate a number of credits from the modules described above and complete a final element called ‘Managing through the Lifecycle’. If the delegate has previously gained the version 2 Foundation certificate the Foundation bridge is a prerequisite for the version 3 Intermediate level certificates.
A professional level Advanced Certificate is also in development.
Your existing version 2 certificates will remain valid and you can still gain the version 2 service Manager’s certificate. However, it is now possible to update version 2 Foundation certificates to version 3 with the Foundation Bridge Certificate, and the bridge from version 2 Manager’s certificate to version 3 is expected to be launched by the end of Q1 2008.
aQuip International is very pleased to be able to offer the version 3 ITIL® Foundation Certificate for Service Management and the version 2 to version 3 Foundation Bridge at this time.
The remaining certificates are expected to be available to the following timetable:
Version 2 Manager’s to version 3 Bridge
Modular Intermediate examinations leading to Expert
ITIL® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries
The Swirl logo™ is a Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce