ITIL v3 Foundation Test Experience
Posted by Ravindran A Varier
After a lot of deliberation and rethinking and after about 20 days of preparation, I finally made up my mind to take the ITIL v3 Foundation Course. A rainy afternoon welcomed me to put my plan into action. As I went to the test centre, I kept reminding myself that this is a perfect business case wherein I have to concentrate on a break-even for the investment than arriving at huge ROI.
For all those who have been used to ITIL v2 concepts, v3 Foundation would come as a shower after the drizzle. And the best way to enjoy this downpour is to get drenched in it. What I mean is that while v2 concentrates only on Service Support and Service Delivery, v3 comes with a whole lot of concepts ranging from Service Strategy, designing the Service Design Package to transitioning them into Operations, complete with a framework for Continual Service Improvement. A humble request to all the prospective test-takers – Do not have a schoolboy approach of preparing only a handful of key concepts because the 40 questions will literally take you through every nook and cranny of these 5 service lifecycles.
During my preparatory phase, I had used websites like http://www.itilprime.com/ and http://www.itilquestions.com/ to understand the test-taking pattern and sample question formats. Of course, some of the information in these websites cannot exactly be termed as encouraging, like – “anyone who has ever done the ITIL v3 Foundation exam can attest to you that it won't be easy to pass”. J http://www.itilquestions.com/
My Test Experience:
Out of the 40 questions, at least 15 were absolute sitters. There were questions like:
- What does C in RACI model stand for?
- Define Risk.
- What is the objective of Service operations?
- Define Demand management, etc.
to boost your confidence and hopes (of clearing!)
At least 10 questions were complicated with about 5 of them being highly confusing. Similar to v2, questions of the type – ‘What BEST describes…’ will have all the four options seem to be likely answers.
Questions on Request Fulfillment, Availability management had options which tested the fundamental understanding of concepts and your memory, as these lines were directly lifted from the v3 books. Also questions on Roles and their corresponding Responsibilities were on the tougher side.
My overall Test experience lasted about 17-20 mins with about 12 mins to answer the questions and another 5 mins to review them.
To sum up, ITIL v3 Foundation actually builds a good foundation to understand ITIL v3 concepts.
Comments
I would second the experience which Ravinder has shared here, V3 is a complete different game as compared to V2 wherein now they have defined ITIL framework as service lifecycle very similar to ELC in NAD(New Application Development) world. Service Strategy - Service Design- Service Transition - Service Operation and Continuous Service Improvement.
Especially processes such as Change and Release management which were earlier included under Service support in ITIL V2 are now part of Service Transition out of the 5 phases of service life cycle under ITIL V3.
Karan Sehdev
Consultant, ITIL V3 Certified
IMS - Infosys Technologies Ltd.
Posted by: Karan Sehdev | September 24, 2008 09:13 PM
With so much more meat to cover, V3 Foundations should be just entry level introduction to the glossary. The exam is not difficult if you go thru the braindumped questions, but the 3 days training is inapropriate for any serious intro to the complexity of V3.
Posted by: doc | October 10, 2008 02:15 PM
Ravindran, there was a time when clients used to place a lot of emphasis on certifications and it paid to get certified. People used to scramble to get SUN certified in the heydays of the boom. Full blown infrastructure outsourcing is relatively new. What is your take on the ITIL certification? Does it help with clients or do people take it just to improve skills?
Posted by: Prakash | October 12, 2008 02:15 PM
Prakash, you are right in saying that a complete Infra Outsourcing is just at the onset... But personally, I feel that the ITIL certification is really helpful. Of course, v3 is new and hence when it comes to clients, awareness and readiness for ITIL v3 is a major concern. Nevertheless, ITIL as a benchmarked standard for the Infrastructure world is really helpful.
Posted by: Ravindran | October 13, 2008 04:08 AM
About to sail the sea of Version 3 ..
Any practical tips as how to approach the training??
Mock exam Questions?
Posted by: lee Mccarthy-Biggs | October 30, 2008 04:52 PM
Hi Lee,
Well, like I said in my earlier blog, v3 Foundation is not a big challege. In case you have taken the v2 tests, then this would almost be a walkthrough! :) My only advice would be to not spend time going into details but to cover as much breadth as possible regarding basic v3 concepts. Hope it helps and ALL THE BEST! :)
Posted by: Ravindran | October 31, 2008 03:48 AM
Hi Ravinder,
As a starter in ITIL, it would be good to start with V3 materials or 1st get the basics of V2.
Posted by: Gopinath | November 10, 2008 07:21 AM
Hi Gopinath,
If I were to speak from my personal experience, I directly went ahead with v3. Of course I did spend some time understanding a brief introduction about v2 which just gave me enough knowledge and know-how about ITIL.
Posted by: Ravindran | November 10, 2008 05:02 PM
Hi Ravindran,
Can you please tell me from where I can get the latest mock test or question papers for year 2008 for ITIL v3. I am planning to appear in the exam in 1st Week of Dec, 2008.
Posted by: Nandita | November 18, 2008 07:06 AM
Hi Nandita,
Now thats a very tricky question :) But to tell you the truth, I did not prepare from any mock test papers or questions dumps, etc. In fact, I would advise all prospective test-takers to prepare from the actual books than use any questions dumps because the exam is not as tough as it seems from reading the complete v3 book! In fact, I have even listed down in the blog a few questions which will give you an idea of what you can expect.
All the Best! :)
Posted by: Ravindran | November 18, 2008 11:05 AM
Hello,
I'm a novice with the ITIL stuff. Even so with ITIL v3.
I'm keen on taking up V3 (EXo-101). I have been following this book, 'Passing Your ITIL Foundation Exam: The ITIL Foundation Study Aid Book'. (https://www.tsoshop.co.uk/bookstore.asp?FO=1159966&ProductID=9780113310791&Action=Book)
I am at the end of the book and not confident enough to take the test, and adding to my woes, any sample test I do, I fail in it!.
Are there any other resources, sample test questions for V3 that will help me crack this test?
I definitely cannot think of reading all the 5 books available at TSO.
Posted by: Ravi | November 24, 2008 02:14 PM
Hi Ravi,
I am not aware of sample test questions for v3. The material that I had used was the v3 books, but of course, the enormity of the v3 books might cast doubts in one's minds. Perhaps what I could suggest, going by my personal experience, is that you should probably skim through the v3 books and then try giving a sample test as you already have learnt the gist of v3 from the existing prep material.
As it is always said - Look at the 'bigger' picture! :)
All the Best!
Posted by: Ravindran | November 25, 2008 06:37 AM