Progress!
Taking (and passing) the Brainbench ITIL Concepts exam this last week has provided me with some motivation and renewed enthusiasm.
Since the exam, I've done the following activities:
- Printed the free flashcards (posted here) and completed a cursory review of them.
- Reviewed some PROCESS material in one of the posted free study guides.
- Studied some Continuous Service Improvement CSI material
- Retook the Brainbench exam with the following improved results:
ITIL Concepts
Score: 3.83
Percentile: Scored higher than 96% of previous examinees
Demonstrates a clear understanding of many advanced concepts within this topic. Appears capable of mentoring others on most projects in this area.
Strong Areas
• Problem Management
• Incident Management & Service Desk
• Capacity Management
• Service Level Management
• IT Service Continuity Management
Weak Areas
• Availability Management
I've also (finally) scheduled the EXIN exam.
That was painful. The registration process appeared to "hang" a couple times and I was unable to print a receipt of my payment. I did receive email notification that I had registered, so I'll check with the testing center to verify everything is good. I'll also visit the testing center prior to the exam to ensure that I know EXACTLY where to go and to evaluate if any road construction would cause delays.
After all these months, I'm finally going to take the exam.
Finally.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
ITIL Pass Rates - updated
Earlier information indicated that the pass rate on an ITIL V3 Foundation exam was at approximately 95%.
Too good to be true I guess.
[Web site here]
Per EXIN, one of the test centers, here is their 2008 pass rate based on the language version of the exam:
ITIL® V3 Foundation (ITV3F) (V3)
84% ITIL® V3 Foundation (ITV3F) (V3) English
85% ITIL® V3 Foundation (ITV3F) (V3) German
78% ITIL® V3 Foundation (ITV3F) (V3) French
67% ITIL® V3 Foundation (ITV3F) (V3) Spanish
70% ITIL® V3 Foundation (ITV3F) (V3) Spanish (Latin America)
86% ITIL® V3 Foundation (ITV3F) (V3) Japanese
Too good to be true I guess.
[Web site here]
Per EXIN, one of the test centers, here is their 2008 pass rate based on the language version of the exam:
ITIL® V3 Foundation (ITV3F) (V3)
84% ITIL® V3 Foundation (ITV3F) (V3) English
85% ITIL® V3 Foundation (ITV3F) (V3) German
78% ITIL® V3 Foundation (ITV3F) (V3) French
67% ITIL® V3 Foundation (ITV3F) (V3) Spanish
70% ITIL® V3 Foundation (ITV3F) (V3) Spanish (Latin America)
86% ITIL® V3 Foundation (ITV3F) (V3) Japanese
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
ITIL on Brainbench - PASS
OK, so I finally did something constructive. Something tangible.
I just passed the Brainbench exam on ITIL concepts. My score was 3.19 of 5, or roughly 64%. Candidly, although I passed, this is not good enough to move ahead without further study.
Although the use of reference material is permitted, I did not use any. The reason I did not use reference material is that when I take the actual ITIL V3 Foundations exam, I will not be able to use reference material and I wanted this exam to give me a better idea on where I'm really at.
There were many diagrams (Perhaps 30%-40%) with questions asking you what they were or what is the missing process. All questions were multiple choice. There are 40 questions and you have 3 minutes to answer each question. I did not run into any time constraints.
There was also one calculation required, so I quickly opened an excel spreadsheet to perform the calculation.
I am still planning to take the actual ITIL V3 Foundations exam. I can focus on the "weak areas" indicated below to improve the chances of success.
Here is the "PASS" message displayed on the screen after the exam. Based on the data from the brainbench website, my actual percentile is 57% out of 298 completed tests:
Thank you for taking the Brainbench ITIL Concepts assessment.
Congratulations! You passed with a score of 3.19. You have now earned a Brainbench certification in ITIL Concepts, which is valid for 3 years from today's date.
Individual Test Results - Actionable Data Just For You
Test: ITIL Concepts
Date: 29-Dec-2009
Score: 3.19
Weights: 100% ITIL Concepts
Elapsed time: 22 min 34 sec
ITIL Concepts
Score: 3.19
Percentile: Scored higher than 50% of previous examinees
Demonstrates a solid understanding of core concepts within this topic. Appears capable of working on most projects in this area with moderate assistance. May require some initial assistance with advanced concepts, however.
Strong Areas
* Problem Management
* Change Management
Weak Areas
* Incident Management & Service Desk
* Capacity Management
* Service Level Management
I just passed the Brainbench exam on ITIL concepts. My score was 3.19 of 5, or roughly 64%. Candidly, although I passed, this is not good enough to move ahead without further study.
Although the use of reference material is permitted, I did not use any. The reason I did not use reference material is that when I take the actual ITIL V3 Foundations exam, I will not be able to use reference material and I wanted this exam to give me a better idea on where I'm really at.
There were many diagrams (Perhaps 30%-40%) with questions asking you what they were or what is the missing process. All questions were multiple choice. There are 40 questions and you have 3 minutes to answer each question. I did not run into any time constraints.
There was also one calculation required, so I quickly opened an excel spreadsheet to perform the calculation.
I am still planning to take the actual ITIL V3 Foundations exam. I can focus on the "weak areas" indicated below to improve the chances of success.
Here is the "PASS" message displayed on the screen after the exam. Based on the data from the brainbench website, my actual percentile is 57% out of 298 completed tests:
Thank you for taking the Brainbench ITIL Concepts assessment.
Congratulations! You passed with a score of 3.19. You have now earned a Brainbench certification in ITIL Concepts, which is valid for 3 years from today's date.
Individual Test Results - Actionable Data Just For You
Test: ITIL Concepts
Date: 29-Dec-2009
Score: 3.19
Weights: 100% ITIL Concepts
Elapsed time: 22 min 34 sec
ITIL Concepts
Score: 3.19
Percentile: Scored higher than 50% of previous examinees
Demonstrates a solid understanding of core concepts within this topic. Appears capable of working on most projects in this area with moderate assistance. May require some initial assistance with advanced concepts, however.
Strong Areas
* Problem Management
* Change Management
Weak Areas
* Incident Management & Service Desk
* Capacity Management
* Service Level Management
Monday, December 28, 2009
EXAM STRATEGY: Brainbench
Brainbench provides certification tests on different technology and business skills.
I really consider them to be more of a "competency exam" rather than a "certification".
They have an exam available for ITIL concepts that I thought would be worthwhile to try out as a preliminary step to see how ready I am. [Brainbench link to the ITIL Concepts exam]
The cost of an exam is $49 and a re-take is $29. Additionally, you can subscribe to unlimited tests and retests for one year for $200. A hardcopy certificate will cost you $14.99, but is not required.
Methinks it will at least get the ITIL keyword on my resume, should I pass, so I'm going to try it out.
Unrelated to ITIL, it could be worthwhile to go to their site, under Individual Certification, and do a search on "free", as they have a number of other exams that temporarily have no charge.
Good things about brainbench:
1) Easy to access the exam from any PC with internet connectivity.
2) Allows the use of reference material (but don't waste too much time looking things up!)
3) Low cost
4) Upon completion, it will identify weak areas for you to focus on
5) The Brainbench site indicates that many employers use their service.
6) Since the exam is online, there is no need to pre-register. You can take it whenever you like.
7) If you re-take the exam, only your highest score is used.
8) If successful, allows the use of the ITIL credential on your resume
Not-so-good things about brainbench:
1) You are on the honor system for not using anyone to help you. This is not a bad thing for most people, however, some employers will consider that the "possibility" exists to cheat on an exam. As such, the perceived value can be diminished. I still believe that it is considerably better than nothing.
2) There are no means of skipping over a question and returning later. You need to answer the question at that time.
3) You are not given feedback on which questions you answered incorrectly. This is not unusual for certification exams.
Here is a 2000 article about brainbench on InformationWeek.
I really consider them to be more of a "competency exam" rather than a "certification".
They have an exam available for ITIL concepts that I thought would be worthwhile to try out as a preliminary step to see how ready I am. [Brainbench link to the ITIL Concepts exam]
The cost of an exam is $49 and a re-take is $29. Additionally, you can subscribe to unlimited tests and retests for one year for $200. A hardcopy certificate will cost you $14.99, but is not required.
Methinks it will at least get the ITIL keyword on my resume, should I pass, so I'm going to try it out.
Unrelated to ITIL, it could be worthwhile to go to their site, under Individual Certification, and do a search on "free", as they have a number of other exams that temporarily have no charge.
Good things about brainbench:
1) Easy to access the exam from any PC with internet connectivity.
2) Allows the use of reference material (but don't waste too much time looking things up!)
3) Low cost
4) Upon completion, it will identify weak areas for you to focus on
5) The Brainbench site indicates that many employers use their service.
6) Since the exam is online, there is no need to pre-register. You can take it whenever you like.
7) If you re-take the exam, only your highest score is used.
8) If successful, allows the use of the ITIL credential on your resume
Not-so-good things about brainbench:
1) You are on the honor system for not using anyone to help you. This is not a bad thing for most people, however, some employers will consider that the "possibility" exists to cheat on an exam. As such, the perceived value can be diminished. I still believe that it is considerably better than nothing.
2) There are no means of skipping over a question and returning later. You need to answer the question at that time.
3) You are not given feedback on which questions you answered incorrectly. This is not unusual for certification exams.
Here is a 2000 article about brainbench on InformationWeek.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Free Webinars?
I just received notification of some free ITIL webinars.
I don't know how good they are, but there are a lot there and may be worth investigating.
http://www.brighttalk.com/summit/itilversion3
I don't know how good they are, but there are a lot there and may be worth investigating.
http://www.brighttalk.com/summit/itilversion3
Friday, September 11, 2009
GOYA
I had a professor that handed out buttons that had the acronym "GOYA" on them.
It stood for "Get Off Your Ass"
I'm going to try to find that button and pin it to my forehead.
Time to get moving ...
It stood for "Get Off Your Ass"
I'm going to try to find that button and pin it to my forehead.
Time to get moving ...
Unfinished Business Remains.
Well, it's been a while since I've posted. Again.
I haven't reviewed the material in months, but I am going to register to take the exam. A new dean at one of the colleges I teach at is big on ITIL. I hear about it more and more all the time ... It's time to finish the task.
I did attend Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training a couple weeks ago. This is sponsored by the US Department of Homeland Security and our State Police. Some useful information to know in the event of a disaster, but not much use in ITIL.
Exam registration doesn't seem to be as straight-forward as other certification exams that I've taken, but I think I've finally found a good site.
OK, so where am I at? To see how much I've forgotten, I've taken a couple sample exams identified in earlier posts:
www.ITServiceSuccess.com
60 minutes allowed, I took 20 minutes.
26/40 needed to "pass" and I scored 21/40.
www.taruu.com
26/40 needed, and I scored 24/40 correctly .
That's close enough for now. Many testing philosophies state that you should be scoring at least 10% higher on practice exams to ensure that you pass. It sounds like a good tactic, but I've never needed that in the past. I can make up the difference in the next couple weeks. At least I think I can. Scheduling the exam will force me to hit this hard.
I haven't reviewed the material in months, but I am going to register to take the exam. A new dean at one of the colleges I teach at is big on ITIL. I hear about it more and more all the time ... It's time to finish the task.
I did attend Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training a couple weeks ago. This is sponsored by the US Department of Homeland Security and our State Police. Some useful information to know in the event of a disaster, but not much use in ITIL.
Exam registration doesn't seem to be as straight-forward as other certification exams that I've taken, but I think I've finally found a good site.
OK, so where am I at? To see how much I've forgotten, I've taken a couple sample exams identified in earlier posts:
www.ITServiceSuccess.com
60 minutes allowed, I took 20 minutes.
26/40 needed to "pass" and I scored 21/40.
www.taruu.com
26/40 needed, and I scored 24/40 correctly .
That's close enough for now. Many testing philosophies state that you should be scoring at least 10% higher on practice exams to ensure that you pass. It sounds like a good tactic, but I've never needed that in the past. I can make up the difference in the next couple weeks. At least I think I can. Scheduling the exam will force me to hit this hard.