ITIL FAQ's

WHAT IS ITIL 4 AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE CERTIFIED IN ITIL 4?

We are in a time of exciting change full of opportunity. Digital services are helping organizations to compete in the modern digital economy. But this new digital era, known as the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ and characterized by the unavoidable interaction between humans, digital technologies and physical assets, has created an increasingly fast-paced and complex environment, requiring organizations to be more agile, better equipped to adapt what they do, and ready to adopt new ways of working to succeed. 

ITIL 4 is the evolution of this well-established framework. It provides a flexible end-to-end IT/digital operating model for the delivery and operation of tech-enabled products and services, which helps organizations to connect and align these different challenges. ITIL 4 supports the existing investment that people and organizations have made in traditional service management activities, for example incident management and continual improvement.

 However, the scope of ITIL 4 has moved beyond ITSM and elevates the discussion outside of IT to a wider range of professionals working in the digital world.  By taking ITIL 4, organizations and professionals can:

• Enable value co-creation to meet business outcomes and customer changing needs via a clear capability model
• Drive business strategy and digital transformation through a future-proofed approach to digital services
• Adapt and align to new technologies, such as Cloud, Automation, and AI
• Adopt new ways of working, including Agile, DevOps and Lean.  

WHAT IS THE ITIL 4 CERTIFICATION SCHEME?

You can view the full certification scheme and the suggested ITIL 4 routes to certification for candidates who are already ITIL qualified at www.axelos.com/itil-4.

WHAT ARE THE ITIL 4 CERTIFICATION DESIGNATIONS CALLED?

There are four certification designations within the ITIL 4 scheme:

• ITIL 4 Foundation
• ITIL 4 Managing Professional designation, comprised of four modules:
• ITIL 4 Specialist Create, Deliver and Support (CDS)
• ITIL 4 Specialist Drive Stakeholder Value (DPI)
• ITIL 4 Specialist High-velocity IT (HVIT)
• ITIL 4 Strategist Direct, Plan and Improve (DPI) - Universal module
• ITIL 4 Strategic Leader designation, comprised of two modules: 
• ITIL 4 Strategist Direct, Plan and Improve (DPI) - Universal Module
• ITIL 4 Leader: Digital and IT Strategy.
• ITIL 4 Master 4

The ITIL 4 Managing Professional and ITIL 4 Strategic Leader designations will provide candidates a greater depth of knowledge and guidance in key areas of service management and IT strategy, to support their learning journey and career progression.

How to become an ITIL 4 Managing Professional

Candidates must be certified in ITIL 4 Foundation and all four modules that comprise the ITIL 4 Managing Professional designation.

How to become an ITIL 4 Strategic Leader

Candidates must be certified in ITIL 4 Foundation and both modules that comprise the ITIL 4 Strategic Leader designation. Candidates must also be able to demonstrate that they have at least three years’ minimum of managerial experience.

IS ITIL 4 TRAINING MANDATORY FOR CANDIDATES OR CAN THEY SELF-STUDY?

AXELOS has not mandated training for ITIL 4 Foundation, so you are able to self-study. However, candidates are encouraged to attend an accredited training course to fully understand the new material. 
For all modules in the ITIL 4 Managing Professional and ITIL 4 Strategic Leader designations (including the ITIL 4 Managing Professional Transition module) training is mandatory to enable candidates to fully understand the new material.

HOW TO TAKE AN ITIL 4 COURSE AND EXAM, AND WHAT IS THE RECOMMENDED DURATION FOR EACH COURSE?

You can find training or book an exam via PeopleCert, our official Examination Institute, or direct via one of the AXELOS Accredited Training Organizations’ (ATOs), such as HDAA.

Recommended duration for each course:

• The ITIL 4 Foundation course: two days (minimum of 12 contact hours)
• All of the ITIL 4 Managing Professional courses and the ITIL 4 Leader: Digital and IT Strategy course: three days (minimum of 18 contact hours)
• The ITIL 4 Managing Professional Transition module: five days (minimum of 30 contact hours).

All ITIL 4 courses can be taken in the classroom or online.

WHAT IS ITIL 4 FOUNDATION AND WHO IS IT AIMED AT?

ITIL 4 Foundation provides the building blocks of ITIL 4 and step one of the ITIL 4 journey.

ITIL 4 Foundation has been designed as an introduction to ITIL 4 and enables candidates to look at IT service management through an end to creation, delivery an end operating model for the d continual improvement of tech ITIL 4 Foundation is for anyone working within an enabled products and services. IT function who needs to understand the key concepts of IT and digital service delivery and is interested in helping their organization address new service management challenges. 

It is for professionals at the start of their ITIL 4 journey or those looking to upgrade their existing ITIL knowledge.

WHICH MODULES ARE IN THE ITIL 4 MANAGING PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATION AND WHO ARE THEY AIMED AT?

The ITIL 4 Managing Professional designation consists of the following four modules. 

ITIL 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver and Support (CDS) The ‘engine room’ of the digital and IT function

This specialist module is for IT practitioners and leaders who manage the operation of IT-enabled and digital products and services. CDS helps professionals who are responsible for service delivery, including development, deployment, and monitoring and support, and assuring that services are delivered and supported according to agreed levels.

ITIL 4 Specialist: Drive Stakeholder Value (DSV) Ensuring digital and IT services delight

This specialist module is for IT professionals who are responsible for managing and interfacing with stakeholders and fostering relationships to gain value realization. DSV is beneficial to those who design or manage customer journeys and experiences and manage customer demands and expectations.

ITIL 4 Specialist: High-velocity IT (HVIT) The future of digital and IT services 

This specialist module is for IT managers and practitioners working within or towards the delivery of digital products and services. HVIT will help anyone involved in digital services or working on digital transformation projects; and those working in or migrating to Lean, Agile or DevOps ways of working or highly automated environments.

ITIL 4 Strategist: Direct, Plan and Improve (DPI) - Universal Module Bringing digital and IT strategies to life

This strategist module is for IT and digital managers of all levels involved in aligning work to organizational strategy or developing a continually improving team or service. DPI will help anyone involved in planning work, improving products, and managing organizational change, and those responsible with interfacing with governance, risk and compliance.

ONCE I COMPLETE THE FOUR MODULES, DO I NEED TO PASS AN ADDITIONAL EXAM TO GET THE ITIL 4 MANAGING PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATION?

No, once you pass all four modules you will automatically receive the ITIL 4 Managing Professional

ITIL  4 STRATEGIST: DIRECT, PLAN AND IMPROVE IS A UNIVERSAL MODULE, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN, AND WILL I HAVE TO TAKE IT TWICE?

ITIL 4 Strategist: Direct, Plan and Improve is a core module that forms part of both the ITIL 4 Managing Professional and ITIL 4 Strategic Leader designations.  Once you have passed the exam once, you will not need to pass it again.

WHICH MODULES ARE IN THE ITIL 4 STRATEGIC LEADER DESIGNATION AND WHO ARE THEY AIMED AT? 

The ITIL 4 Strategic Leader designation consists of the following two modules: 

ITIL 4 Strategist: Direct, Plan and Improve (DPI) - Universal Module Bringing digital and IT strategies to life.

This strategist module is for IT and digital managers of all levels involved in aligning work to organizational strategy or developing a continually improving team or service. DPI will help anyone involved in planning work, improving products, and managing organizational change, and those responsible with interfacing with governance, risk and compliance.

ITIL 4 Leader: Digital and IT Strategy (DITS) Enabling business success through the creation of digital and IT strategies 

This module is for IT and business directors, heads of department, aspiring C-Suite professionals and other business leaders across the organization who are looking for guidance that will help them craft a digital vision, shape IT and business strategy and drive organizational change. 

DITS will help business leaders demonstrate how IT strategy differs from digital strategy, provide guidance for integrating IT and digital strategies and promote the importance of a successful digital strategy on business success, including its impact. 

WHAT IS THE ITIL 4 LEADER: DIGITAL AND IT STRATEGY MODULE? 

ITIL 4 Leader: Digital and IT Strategy adds a new perspective to the ITIL 4 guidance and elevates the discussion around ITIL concepts to an organizational strategy level.  
The module enables IT and digital leaders to influence and drive strategic business decisions, by helping them to: 

• Create an appropriate digital strategy aligned to wider business goals  
• Understand how business and IT leaders across the globe are responding to disruption by reshaping corporate strategy, adapting processes and even repurposing entire business models.  
• Explore the use of the ITIL 4 framework to support organizations on their digital transformation journey, addressing service management challenges and utilizing new technology.  

The module also covers how ITIL 4 can be integrated with emerging practices and new technologies to meet new internal and external challenges.

HOW IS THE ITIL 4 LEADER: DIGITAL AND IT STRATEGY COURSE STRUCTURED

The recommended course duration is 18 hours via a face-to-face or virtual class; or online in a self-paced format.
 
ITIL 4 Leader: Digital and IT Strategy includes four Case Study assignments, that are graded in-session, and a multiple-choice exam at the end of the training course.
 
Candidates must pass all the Case Study assignments in order to take the exam. This will be confirmed to candidates by the trainers before the end of the training. 

Candidates who fail to complete the Case Study assignments in-session, may be given an additional individual written assignment that is based on the same case-study. 

HOW TO TRANSITION FROM ITIL V3 TO ITIL 4.

ITIL v3 professionals have four routes to transition to ITIL 4.

Route 1: ITIL v3 Foundation candidates and less than five ITIL v3 credits

The recommended approach is to take ITIL 4 Foundation in order to transition to the new certification scheme. There is a large amount of new material in ITIL 4 Foundation, therefore a new single exam is required to assess end learner’s knowledge of the new ITIL 4 Foundation guidance.

However, professionals may also want to consider continuing their accumulation of ITIL v3 credits to be eligible for the ITIL 4 Managing Professional Transition module, in line with their career goals.

Route 2: ITIL v3 candidates with six to 10 credits, including ITIL v3 Foundation (worth 2 credits)

Candidates who have achieved six to 10 credits would benefit from continuing their ITIL v3 journey, in order to collect 17 credits and be eligible for the ITIL 4 Managing Professional Transition module. 

However, they may also want to consider starting their ITIL 4 journey and working their way through the certification scheme, in line with their career goals.

Route 3: ITIL v3 candidates with 11+ credits, including ITIL v3 Foundation (worth 2 credits)

Candidates with 11+ v3 credits can consider collecting ITIL v3 credits, to reach the required 17 credits to be eligible for the ITIL 4 Managing Professional Transition module. 

This enables them to fast track to the ITIL 4 Managing Professional designation. 

Route 4: ITIL v3 Experts or candidates with 17+ v3 credits, including ITIL v3 Foundation (worth 2 credits) ITIL Experts and experienced ITIL v3 candidates with 17+ v3 credits are automatically eligible for the ITIL 4 Managing Professional Transition module, enabling them to fast track to the ITIL 4 Managing Professional designation. 

After achieving the ITIL 4 Managing Professional designation, candidates would only need to complete the ITIL 4 Leader: Digital and Strategy module to achieve the ITIL 4 Strategic Leader designation.

Once candidates have obtained both designations, they are eligible to move towards ITIL 4 Master.

For routes two and three, candidates can also take ITIL 4 Foundation as a contribution to the pre-requisite criteria for ITIL 4 Managing Professional Transition, while it remains available. 

The ITIL 4 scheme itself does not provide any credits but if a candidate has ITIL 4 Foundation then they will only need 15 credits from ITIL v3 to be eligible.

In this case, the 15 ITIL v3 credits must be made up of:

• ITIL v3 Foundation (worth 2 credits) and/or
• A combination of ITIL v3 Intermediate and Practitioner modules (totalling 13 credits)

WHY IS THERE NO ITIL 4 FOUNDATION TRANSITION MODULE?

Due to the structure of ITIL 4 and the Foundation syllabus, a single exam is required to assess the candidate’s knowledge of the new ITIL 4 Foundation guidance.

HOW DOES ITIL V3 MAP AGAINST ITIL 4?

ITIL 4 retains many of the core elements of ITIL v3 and much of the existing guidance will be recognizable in parts of ITIL 4, however there are no direct like-for-like modules between the two certification schemes. 
 

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ITIL V3 AND ITIL 4? 

The context of ITIL 4 has greater emphasis on the business and technology world, how it works today, and how it will work in the future with Agile, DevOps and digital transformation.  

Lifecycle to Service Value System. ITIL has evolved beyond the delivery of services to providing end-to-end value delivery. ITIL 4 is now centred around a service value system (SVS). 

The central element of the SVS is the Service Value Chain, an operating model which outlines the key activities required to respond to demand and facilitate value creation. Sequences of these activities are known as value streams, of which the v3 Service Lifecycle is one such example.

Processes to practices. ITIL 4 refers to practices, where previous versions had referred to processes. A practice is a set of organizational resources designed for performing work or accomplishing an objective. Thus, practices comprise not just processes and procedures, but also people, skills, partners and suppliers, information, tools, and so on.

There are 34 practices in ITIL 4.

Guiding principles. The ITIL 4 guiding principles, first introduced in ITIL Practitioner, are at the core of ITIL 4. 

• Focus on value
• Start where you are
• Progress iteratively with feedback
• Collaborate and promote visibility
• Think and work holistically
• Keep it simple and practical
• Optimize and automate

Four dimensions of service management. To support a holistic approach to service management, ITIL 4 also defines four dimensions that collectively are critical to the effective and efficient facilitation of value for customers and other stakeholders in the form of products and services.

The four dimensions represent perspectives which are relevant to the whole Service Value System.

Other ways of working. ITIL 4 will reflect other frameworks and integrate with new ways of working including Agile, DevOps, Lean, IT governance and Leadership.

HOW WILL ISO 20000 MAP TO ITIL 4?

Some of the ITIL 4 Lead Architect Team are closely involved with ISO 20000 so we can ensure that ITIL 4 aligns across the standard to an adequate level. 

HOW DOES ITIL 4 INTEGRATE NEW WAYS OF WORKING, SUCH AS DEVOPS, LEAN AND AGILE?

ITIL 4 reflects other frameworks and integrates new ways of working including Agile, DevOps, Lean, IT governance and leadership. There are multiple touch points in ITIL 4 including:

Guiding principles:

They are at the core of ITIL 4. They are a set of principles that provide a comprehensive and holistic vision of how an organization should manage and execute its work.
The focus on collaboration, automation, and keeping things simple, reflects principles found in Agile, DevOps and Lean methodologies.

Examples:

• Focus on Value (Lean)  
• Progress Iteratively with Feedback (Agile) Collaborate and Promote Visibility (DevOps CALMS/Kanban)
• Optimize & Automate (Lean/ DevOps CALMS) Value Streams show how DevOps or Agile work connects to upstream work (business alignment) and downstream work (release, operations & support) via a holistic approach.

The ITIL 4 practices also reflect new ways of working, balancing the need for governance record keeping with empowering the teams closest to the work.