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ITIL 4 Master – ITIL Mastery can lift a practitioner’s skills to a new level

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Donna Knapp is the curriculum development manager for ITSM Academy, where she is responsible for  the development of ITIL course content. By her own admission, it’s a role that indulges her love of learning and passion for sharing her knowledge with others. Gaining the ITIL 4 Master designation is an unexpected outcome to the career path Donna Knapp first set out on. However, she now realizes it’s the culmination of her ITIL journey.  “Early in my career, I was the IT liaison for my organization’s Lean initiatives. At the time, I wasn’t aware of ITIL . Instead, we used IBM’s IT service management framework.” Donna said. “The IBM philosophy was well respected in the IT industry at that time, and dovetailed much of what I was doing in terms of designing and improving our IT service delivery and support processes.” “IBM went on to contribute to the birth of ITIL and by 2005 I was using ITIL as a consultant and educator,” Donna explained. “As I look back, I appreciate that this was the st
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Live vs. Sample Exams: Which is Harder?

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By Felipe Villegas and Donna Knapp (Reposted with permission from Professional Designations) A frequent observation among certification candidates is the notion that sample exams are less daunting compared to real certification tests. Despite both types of exams being designed to mirror each other closely, this perception persists. In this blog post, we will explain how exams are built and will speculate about the underlying factors contributing to this perception. Certification exams, whether sample or live, are constructed based on a standardized blueprint that outlines the distribution of questions, desired difficulty levels, and other technical details. These exams are assembled using a comprehensive pool of questions, each of which is classified by learning objective, topic, and level of difficulty. Once multiple exams are built, one or more are selected at random to be distributed as sample exams. If all exams are constructed the same way, why are sample exams often perceived a
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Aligning the Power of Certifications with Your Ikigai

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By Donna Knapp and Gabrielle Davidsen In today’s dynamic world where things seemingly change overnight, there’s always something to learn. Whether you’re starting a new career, transitioning to a new job, beginning a new hobby, or simply striving to be your best, you’ll need to acquire new knowledge and skills. Being committed to lifelong learning has many benefits. Perhaps one of the greatest benefits is that it helps you to discover on a personal level what you’re passionate about… your why! The Japanese call this ikigai. Your purpose. Your reason for living. It’s as much about understanding what brings you joy as it is about understanding how what you do benefits others. We all have days where we’re just trying to get stuff done or where we are reacting to whatever is the crisis of the day. We all have those days where we must do those parts of our jobs that we don’t enjoy. After all, does anyone enjoy paperwork? It’s the way of the world and on those types of days we need to just
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I am the Incident - is BACK and Better than ever

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At ITSM Academy, we take pride in delivering courses that offer a hands-on, experiential approach to learning. Our commitment to practicality is evident in all our classes, where assignments and discussions are designed not only to reinforce examinable terms and concepts but also to provide students with opportunities to apply their knowledge in real-world scenarios. In 2004, the genesis of one of our most popular assignments, "I am the Incident™," took place on the pages of a hotel notepad. This case story-based series of assignments serves as a powerful tool, emphasizing the importance of establishing a common vocabulary and a shared understanding of key practices such as service level management, monitoring and event management, incident management, problem management, and change enablement. In the I am the Incident™ exercise, students are tasked with focusing on a specific service and considering a service level agreement (SLA). Each assignment presents a scenario related
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Take Your &!#$ Exam

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By Donna Knapp You have signed up for a certification class. What that tells us is that you want to pass the exam. But first, you have to take the exam. Here are a few things that we know. The most successful people are those who take the exam within the first 10 days after the class. Once upon a time students took their exam at the end of class or at the end of a semester. They knew ahead of time when they were going to have to take the exam and prepared accordingly. Today, courses often come with vouchers that enable learners to take the exam at a date and time of their choosing. There are pros and cons to this. A pro is that if you are a night owl and want to take your exam at 2 a.m., you can. A BIG con is that you can put off taking the exam. What we see statistically is that the further away from the end of class we get, the lower the scores, and the less likely it is that people will ever take the exam at all. You are never in the zone more than you are in the days immediately f
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Study Smarter, Not Harder

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By Donna Knapp You have signed up for a certification class. What that tells us is that you want to pass the exam. But first, you have to study for the exam. Here are a few strategies you can use to stay calm and focused and build the confidence needed to crush that exam. 1. Prepare for class In a perfect world, you start preparing to take the exam before you enter the classroom. For each of our certification classes we provide pre-class assignments that are designed to introduce many of the key vocabulary terms and concepts you need to know for the exam. Completing these assignments will enable you to become familiar with the content, making it easier to follow along and participate in class. You will also be more likely to remember and retain the information as it will be reinforced in class. We also encourage you to block out time on your calendar for 1 to 2 hours of homework, in addition to the class itself. This time before or after class each day is essential to reinforc
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ITIL Master -- The Why and the How

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Becoming an ITIL Master - the Why: Enhanced Expertise: The ITIL Master designation demonstrates a deep understanding of ITIL concepts, methodologies, and best practices. It showcases your expertise in managing IT services effectively and efficiently. Value to Employers:  Organizations are constantly looking for professionals who can improve their IT service management practices. Holding the ITIL Master makes you a valuable asset to employers seeking to enhance their IT service capabilities. Career Advancement: Holding the ITIL Master can open up various career opportunities. Many organizations value certified professionals for leadership roles, strategic planning, and process improvement initiatives.  Industry Recognition: ITIL is globally recognized and widely adopted by organizations of all sizes. Being an ITIL Master adds credibility to your profile and can make you a sought-after professional in the industry. Problem-Solving Skills: The certification process involves solving co
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