ITIL Service Managers exam

[malvolio]

Oh good. So on top of the existing population of manager-qualified people who know nothing of Service Management, we now get a qualification structure that will render pre-existing qualifications useless, add zero value in terms of delivering IT services and take the practicailities even further away from the people that have to sit at a desk and make it happen.

I think I'll save my £5k exam fees for something more relevant...

[boredsenseless]

Oh good. So on top of the existing population of manager-qualified people who know nothing of Service Management, we now get a qualification structure that will render pre-existing qualifications useless, add zero value in terms of delivering IT services and take the practicailities even further away from the people that have to sit at a desk and make it happen.

I think I'll save my £5k exam fees for something more relevant...

Upset?

[malvolio]

No, not really. I recently saw a £3m ITIL programme fail because the fully qualified ex-Transco dipstick in charge didn't know the first thing about introducing processes to a resistant workforce, so I am not in awe of qualifications as proof you can actually do the job. Secondly, if they are completely restructuring the model then (a) why, it's supposed to be simple and logical, not a detailed methodology and (b) a lot of money will be spent "upgrading" from one system to the next to no real benefit.

I've been making IT departments work for around 25 years now, before ITIL started. When it came out it was a realistic and comprehensive codification of how the real world should work. Over the last 5 years, it's moved from best practice to "Do it this way or your company will fail". It was never intended to be a regimented, defined process (bearing in mind I've worked with some of the people who wrote the original), it was supposed to be a way to identify the weak points in your organisation against a given standard.

It's no different with PM work, come to that. Prince qualifications are now so devalued - you can get Practitioner in a week these days - many people are also asking for PMI to prove you know what you are talking about. On the other hand, I prefer to take on people who have actually delivered the end product a few times, regardless of how they actually did it. But then, what do I know...

[cojak]

we now get a qualification structure that will render pre-existing qualifications useless

No Dear, that's my point - they won't make v2 quals useless - they are and will be still going strong until the powers-that-be get their act together and I have no confidence of that until Spring 2008 at the earliest. They may even be run in parallel; nobody knows. I would actually suggest that you take the exam before June 2007. A Manager's Certificate is a Manager's Certificate - they won't be rescinded and you'll be qualified. I only need to take v3 because I'm a trainer.

TP's will be offering v2 - v3 upgrades but they don't know if people will take them up. And do you expect agents to be aware of such subtilties? They don't know what ITIL stands for let alone what version it's on!

Take the exam asap and don't worry about the future - that's my advice...

[malvolio]

Don't disagree, but in 2008 we will see reqs for ITIL3 people. ITIL1 to ITIL2 was no big deal, since it stayed much the same anyway and it wasn't really up in the public consciousness as much as it is now (how many jobs have you seen that demand both ITIL and Prince, like they're parallel skills).

And I stand by my original thesis, we should use people on the basis of what they can do, not what the paperwork says they might be able to do - but that will never happen i the current market!

[cojak]

And I stand by my original thesis, we should use people on the basis of what they can do, not what the paperwork says they might be able to do - but that will never happen i the current market!

I agree with you on this - but I'm working with how it is, that's all...