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Many professionals already ITIL Foundation certified struggle in the selection of the next step in the ITIL Intermediate certification path. What is the next step to improve your IT service management skills? With the info and the guide below we want to explain in easy words the ITIL certification path: the different options available, the credit system and the steps that will guide you to become ITIL Expert.

WHY CONTINUE YOUR TRAINING AFTER ITIL FOUNDATION?

While ITIL Foundation remains the core level, as it provides good preparation and insight into the relevant ITIL structure concepts in IT Service Management, the Intermediate Levels deepen specific concepts across the different phases or processes of the IT Service Management cycle. Furthermore, the ITIL Practitioner level is a practical guide on how to apply these concepts for a continuous improvement of services.

Depending on the needs of the candidates, their activities or their position, some specific Intermediate levels can improve professional skills and help them become more competitive.

WHAT ABOUT THE ITIL INTERMEDIATE LEVELS?

To start off it is very important to underline that all ITIL Intermediate certifications are available ONLY to ITIL Foundation certified professionals. In other words, ITIL Foundation certificate is the prerequisit in order to enter any intermediate level.

Secondly, the ITIL Intermediate levels are divided into two categories: Lifecycle Modules and Capability Modules.

The ITIL Intermediate Lifecycle Modules modules are relevant for professionals who have a role of manager or team leader that requires the management of different areas or works in different teams. All modules in this category are suitable for those who wish to focus on the processes and practices used as well as the service management skills to deliver quality service.

The ITIL Intermediate Lifecycle Modules are:

• Service Strategy (SS)
• Service Design (SD)
• Service Transition (ST)
• Service Operation (SO)
• Continual Service Improvement (CSI)

On the other hand, the ITIL Intermediate Capability Modules are relevant for professionals seeking specific knowledge in one or more process, with a focus on the day-to-day execution of ITIL practices and their interaction.

The ITIL Intermediate Capability Modules are:

• Operational Support and Analysis (OSA)
• Planning, Protection and Optimization (PPO)
• Release, Control and Validation (RCV)
• Service Offerings and Agreements (SOA)

Some professionals prefer to mix Service Lifecycle and Service Capability modules in order to combine managerial as well as technical knowledge.

To know more on IT Service Management career path follow this link: ITSM Career Path

ITIL INTERMEDIATE CREDIT SYSTEM: HOW DOES IT WORK?

Each of the ITIL Intermediate certification provides a certain amount of credits: this is the credit system which allows IT professional to reach the level of ITIL Expert (which requires 22 credits). 

1. First of all, ITIL Foundation provides 2 credits;
2. Secondly, as we've seen, candidates can choose between two separate Intermediate moduels, Lifecycle and Capability. Each of them has a number of modules: 5 modules for Lifecycle with 3 credits per module and 4 modules for Capability with 4 credits per level.
3. In addition to Intermediate levels, ITIL offers a practical module called ITIL Practitioner, which gives 3 credits. It can be taken after ITIL Foundation or after completing one of the Intermediate levels.
4. The access to ITIL MALC (Managing  Accross the Lifecycle), is obtained with a total of at least 17 credits, including 2 compulsory credits from the ITIL Foundation and 15 credits between Intermediate (Lifecyle & Capability) and Practitioner.
5. Once the ITIL MALC certification awards 5 credits, the title of ITIL Expert is issued!

To know more on IT Intermdiate credit system follow this link: ITIL Credit System

Source: Axelos

NEED EXTRA INFO?

Feel free to get in touch, we will ask our ITIL trainer to help you identify your next step!

Start the new year with the right knowledge! If you missed out on the five articles below, we give you another chance to download and learn! These are the top 5 most visited and downloaded articles of 2017, enjoy your reading! 1. PRINCE2 for small scale projects: This article is an excellent review of the challenges people face when using PRINCE2 for smaller projects, together with very useful and practical recommendations on how to scale down the method without losing the essence of its principles. It explains explains the rationale for a ‘light-touch’ approach to the management of small projects based on PRINCE2. Since the launch of PRINCE2 in 1996 organizations have worked to embed the method and this introduction describes some of the outcomes. DOWNLOAD 2. PRINCE2 2017 Chapter 4 Tailoring and adopting PRINCE2: The fourth chapter of the official PRINCE2 2017 manual has the goal to show how to use the inherent flexibility of PRINCE2 to tailor it for any project and build an organizational PRINCE2-based project management method. This chapter includes situations that the project manager may encounter. The chapter also contains specific lists of tips that refer to how to ensure that the tailoring of the methods actually adds value, and illustrates 5 common situation where to tailor PRINCE2. DOWNLOAD 3. Five Ways PRINCE2 can be Agile: AGILE practices started in the 1990 : working groups of experts edited the “AGILE Manifesto” followed quickly by the launch of the “AGILE alliance”. At present, there are about 13 agile approaches used in project management. We asked our expert trainer and consultant Antoine Breton IF and HOW PRINCE2 can be tailored and applied to the so called “Agile Projects”. In this article, he shows 5 PRINCE2  elements that can actually give Agility to your projects. DOWNLOAD 4. What’s the future for Project Management? This article from QRP International has the goal to explain what’s the general status within Project Management world, and how the changes in this environment have helped raise the need for an updated version to PRINCE2. By analyzing the latest report in Project Management, the “The Future Project Management Professional” from Axelos, the article examines the 4 main aspects of change for the profession of Project Manager, and highlights how these changes have a great impact on a well-known and internationally recognized certification like PRINCE2. DOWNLOAD 5. PMO Definitions Challenges Solutions: This is a KEY document for anyone embarking in a PMO challenge. As project management has become accepted as a mainstream management discipline, many organisations have established a PMO (Portfolio, Programme or Project Management Office) function to increase the maturity of their project management approach. This paper describes the community of stakeholders that benefit from the existence of a PMO, the services that are most important to them, the key challenges that PMOs are facing and the ideas that are helping to meet these challenges. DOWNLOAD PRINCE2 2017 Process Map Not an article, but still in the TOP 10 of most downloaded item from our Knowledge Center is definitely the updated PRINCE2 Process Map to 2017 version: a graphical ‘at a glance‘ representation of all the PRINCE2 processes and how they fit together and it shows all the processes involved in running a PRINCE2 project from start to finish. This version of the Process Map is the renewed and updated one according to the new 2017 version of the PRINCE2 method. A key document for all project managers that want to run a project following the recommended steps. DOWNLOAD REMAIN UP-TO-DATE Register to our newsletter to receive new content directly in our inbox!

At QRP International we are committed to provide the best quality of training as well as the broadest offer, to make sure we can answer to our customers' needs.

This is what we kept in mind when working to prepare the new 2018 training calendar, now available at this link to be checked out: find out all upcoming dates for your Project, Programme, Portfolio, PMO, IT and Change Management training!

OUR TRAINING OFFER

As ATO (Accredited Training Organization) QRP Internationals offers the full range of Project, Programme, Portfolio, PMO and Change Management accredited training:

• Project Management: PRINCE2, AgilePM, PRINCE2 Agile, PMP, Scrum
• Programme Management: MSP
• Portfolio Management: MoP
• PMO Management: P3O
• Change Management: Change Management
• IT Service Management: ITIL

NEED TO TRAIN YOUR TEAM?

Looking for an easy and efficient solution to train your team of colleagues, or department? Get in touch to discover our in-house, tailored and customized solutions!

A big news was released few days ago by Axelos, the joint venture company, created in 2013 by the Cabinet Office, and owner of ITIL.

"Over the last 18 months we have embarked on a programme of extensive research (30+ global workshops engaging with over 300 partners, professionals and SMEs so far), and we recognise that this update cannot be done without the cooperation and input from our valued partner network. We are keen to work with you all to ensure that the new guidance will support you and your customers."

What we know so far about the ITIL Update:

• The core elements of ITIL will remain and will continue to derive from the experiences of thousands of specialists and experts. Research has confirmed that ITIL remains best practice for the ITSM industry.
• The Update will include practical guidance on how ITIL is adopted in conjunction with practices such as DevOps, Agile and Lean.
• Individuals who have already certified will have their current certifications recognised in the new scheme.

A COMMUNITY-LED INITIATIVE: GET INVOLVED!

Axelos actively encourages practitioners to provide insight and feedback to directly influence the update via the Global Research Programme. Currently more than 650 members have signed up to the programme. Sign up too!

The end of the year is coming closer and many professionals do their best to get certified before the end of the 2017, to start off the new year with the right foot!

Here below a list of all confirmed courses until December: you can find Project, Programme, Portfolio, IT Management and AgilePM courses available!

CONFIRMED COURSES IN NOVEMBER

• Project Management - PRINCE2 - French: 13-14-15-16-17 November (Luxembourg) - Info
• IT Service Management - ITIL - French: 15-16-17 November (Luxembourg) - Info

CONFIRMED COURSES IN DECEMBER

• Project Management - PRINCE2 2017 - English: 4-5-6-7-8 December (Luxembourg) - Info

CONTACT US

Looking for a way to train a group of people, like your team or department? Get in touch!

The best way to integrate new knowledge and to put what you're learnt into practice, is to appeal to as much of your senses as possible. Classroom courses and expert trainers make sure to integrate different learning styles to their teaching skills. Let's see in the examples below which ones are the recognized learning styles, and how a trainer can make sure to integrate them into a training class of Project Management:

• Auditory learning: learning through listening and hearing. The expert trainer explains the matter, focusing on the most important parts of the Project Management methodology, highlighting tools and techniques.
• Visual learning: in order to better understand the ideas and concepts, drawings on flip charts can be an important tool to integrate new information. If we take the example of a PRINCE2 training, imagine what impact could have a drawing that explains you the difference between outputs, business change, outcomes and benefits. A picture says more then a thousand words. In some cases, you will even see that these drawings are put on the walls in the training room and are continuously used by the trainer when he/she comes back to this topic.
• Kinesthetic learning: this is what we call “learning by doing”. Classrooms are ideal places to exercise on how to put the theory into practice. Let's take the example of an AgilePM training: an important tool is the PRL (Prioritized Requirements List). What better way to understand how to create this list then to do this in group during the course? It’s a first-hand experience that will help you to put it into practice when you’re back in the office.

Knowing the existence of different learning styles, why is a classroom course the best option to learn? 1) The Trainer as Subject Matter Expert In front of you, there’s a person who’s an expert on the new skills you want to acquire. He/she has real life experience and is able to give practical examples and answer your questions on the spot. There’s also room to tackle subjects and questions outside of the standard context of the course which will enable you to link it immediately to your own working environment. 2) Sharing Experiences and Social Interaction Each of the participants in the course have their backpack filled with experiences from the past. Some are good, other are bad experiences and both are valuable. By sharing those experiences, everybody in the room can learn from those real life examples (even the trainer!). They add an extra dimension to what we’ve just learned and see the link with real life. 3) Expert Trainers Who Make the Learning Experience Engaging and Interesting There’s a good reason why someone is moderating the training. Trainers we are there to help you understand the subject and are able to correct you so that you’re getting it right by the end of the course. Trainers are the glue between the subject and all of the participants and will engage everyone so that it becomes a highly valuable experience. The trainer is also able to instantly adapt the learning experience to the needs of the delegates so that it becomes personalized for each individual. 4) Quiet, Dedicated Time Out of the Office to Really Focus on Your Needs Most of us have a very demanding job with people constantly coming into our office or calling us with, as always, very urgent and critical questions or tasks. This is not the ideal environment to study, learn and develop new skills. Even at home, with the kids or the partner running around the house, you’re not in a good environment to get the most out of a training. A classroom training offers you the possibility to take a distance from home and work so that you can deep dive into something new. You can focus on only one thing which will improve the integration of the skills so that you can put it into practice more quickly. Our trainer and consultant David Maegerman wrote an article about the different learning styles, the reasons why a classroom course has several advantages, and the difference with a distance-online-learning training. Want to have a soft copy of the full article? Follow this link for the free download.