Who was Bloom and why should I care?

Benjamin Bloom (1913 – 1999) was an American educational psychologist who developed a taxonomy, or structure, through which educational objectives could be organized according to their cognitive complexity. The cognitive domain deals with a person's ability to process information and use it in a meaningful way. Bloom identified six levels within the cognitive domain, from the simple recall of facts, through increasingly more complex and abstract levels of thinking.

Simply put, Bloom’s Taxonomy helps teachers categorize learning objectives and, from there, assess learning achievements.

Why should you care? Many popular certification exams – such as the ITIL V3 exams – are based on Bloom’s Taxonomy. Understanding the Bloom level at which you will be tested and using appropriate study techniques greatly increases your ability to

Engage effectively in class
Prepare properly for the exam
Achieve success on the exam

It is also useful to understand your learning style, or approach to learning. Learning styles include:

Visual – learn through seeing
Auditory – learn through listening
Kinesthetic – learn through moving, doing, touching

The ITIL V3 Foundation and Foundation Bridge exams (and most “foundation” or “essentials” exams) use Bloom levels 1 and 2

Bloom 1 – knowledge – measures recall of terminology and specific facts
Bloom 2 – comprehension – measures understanding of ideas and ability to translate or explain concepts

Effective learning and study techniques for learners taking Bloom levels 1 and 2 exams include:

Take notes/rewrite notes (visual/kinesthetic) - highlight important points in color
Reread course materials (visual/auditory/kinesthetic)
Complete available study aids (visual/auditory/kinesthetic)
Create and use Flash Cards (visual)
Record notes, read notes aloud, discuss terms and concepts aloud (auditory)
Create mnemonics to aid memorization (auditory)
Partner Quizzing (verbal)
Create simple mind maps and diagrams to tie terms and basic concepts to key topics (visual/kinesthetic)
Read a composed document such as the Introductory Overview of ITIL V3 that provides a “big picture” perspective www.itsmacademy.com/files/itSMF_ITILV3_Intro_Overview.pdf

The ITIL V3 Lifecycle, Capability and Managers Bridge exams use Bloom levels 3 and 4

Bloom 3 – application – measures ability to use information in new ways to solve problems, predict results, tell how, when, where and why
Bloom 4 – analysis – measures ability to distinguish between different parts, understand how parts fit together, identify causes, recognize hidden meanings, draw conclusions

Effective learning and study techniques for learners taking Bloom levels 3 and 4 exams include:

Actively participate in class discussions, debates and assignments
Use the SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review) reading and study technique
Create complex mind maps to tie terms, concepts, and activities to key topics (Visual/Kinesthetic)
Practice mapping ITIL concepts to real world situations/problems
Create inductive diagrams - diagrams that illustrate inductive reasoning which involves moving from observations to a theory
Create deductive diagrams - diagrams that illustrate deductive reasoning which involves starting with a theory and confirming (or not) that theory

Despite its popularity, cramming doesn’t work when preparing to take an exam. Your mind needs time to assimilate new information. The best ways to ensure success on any exam are to (1) pay attention and participate in class, (2) take notes, and (3) use a variety of study techniques. The most effective techniques are those that reflect the Bloom level(s) of the exam you are taking and your personal learning style.

The Four Ps of Service Design - It’s not all about Technology

People ask me why I think that many designs and projects often fail. The most common answer is from a lack of preparation and management. Many IT organizations just think about the technology (product) implementation and fail to understand the risks of not planning for the effective and efficient use of the four Ps: People, Process, Products (services, technology and tools) and Partners (suppliers, manufacturers and vendors). A holistic approach should be adopted for all Service Design aspects and areas to ensure consistency and integration within all activities and processes across the entire IT environment, providing end to end business-related functionality and quality. (SD 2.4.2) People: Have to have proper skills and possess the necessary competencies in order to get involved in the provision of IT services. The right skills, the right knowledge, the right level of experience must be kept current and aligned to the business needs. Products: These are the technology managem

What Is A Service Offering?

The ITIL4 Best Practice Guidance defines a “Service Offering” as a description of one or more services designed to address the needs of a target customer or group . As a service provider, we can’t stop there! We must know what the contracts of our service offering are and be able to put them into context as required by the customer. Let’s explore the three elements that comprise a Service Offering. A “Service Offering” may include: Goods, Access to Resources, and Service Actions Goods – When we think of “Goods” within a service offering these are the items where ownership is transferred to the consumer and the consumer takes responsibility for the future use of these goods. Example of goods that are being provided in the offering – If this is a hotel service then toiletries or chocolates are yours to take with you. You the consumer own these and they are yours to take with you. Note: Goods may not always be provided for every Service Offe

What is the difference between Process Owner, Process Manager and Process Practitioner?

I was recently asked to clarify the roles of the Process Owner, Process Manager and Process Practitioner and wanted to share this with you. Roles and Responsibilities: Process Owner – this individual is “Accountable” for the process. They are the goto person and represent this process across the entire organization. They will ensure that the process is clearly defined, designed and documented. They will ensure that the process has a set of Policies for governance. Example: The process owner for Incident management will ensure that all of the activities to Identify, Record, Categorize, Investigate, … all the way to closing the incident are defined and documented with clearly defined roles, responsibilities, handoffs, and deliverables. An example of a policy in could be… “All Incidents must be logged”. Policies are rules that govern the process. Process Owner ensures that all Process activities, (what to do), Procedures (details on how to perform the activity) and the

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