Preparing for Managing Across the Lifecycle (MALC) and ITIL Expert Certifications

This blog is in response to those IT Professionals who want to know what to expect for the “Managing Across the Lifecycle” (MALC) class, taking the exam and receiving both the MALC and ITIL Expert certifications upon passing the MALC exam. If you have talked with others that took this class and the exam a few years ago you will be happy to know that the format of this class has changed from what it used to be. Classes are filled with interesting dialogue, exercises and even laughter as IT managers and practitioners with varied skill sets work together to validate competencies and knowledge for:

Key concepts of the service lifecycle
Communication and stakeholder management
Integrating service management processes across the service lifecycle
Managing services across the service lifecycle
Governance and organization
Measuring and demonstrating business value
Implementing and improving service management capability

Sounds simple right? It's the level of detail in each of these areas and being able to apply ITSM best practices to them that gets interesting.

Prior to the class, you will receive a "Case Study" and pre-class assignments. During the week you will analyze this case study along with other IT professionals in the class as you transition from one assignment to another. Be prepared to take several passes through the case study with your class. Every single time there will be something new discovered that is relevant to the success of the organization in the case study. The great news is that when you take the exam you will have the exact same case study that you and your classmates used and analyzed all week long. Therefore, when in class, ensure that you solidify and validate any concepts with others as you work through the assignments and apply the concepts to the case study. Glean from others and work to pull out different perspectives. This will help you during class, for the exam and for ongoing activities that you are engaged in throughout your career. There might be a glaring risk in the case study that is identified by some and might go unnoticed by others. You might see something that others do not. It is like peeking through a prism and being able to see all perspectives of a service through the lifecycle. When you come into this class you already have the ITIL Expert knowledge. This class is there to validate, solidify and to fill in the gaps for you in order to ensure success. You have a starring role to play in this class as the instructor facilitates activities to draw out required knowledge and ensure that concepts can be applied to the case study and real world scenarios. Be prepared and come into class ready to engage.

MALC is a very comprehensive course and therefore the recommendation is to spend 15-20 hours of personal study prior to the course. In addition to the time you spend in class, I would suggest being prepared for 1-3 hours of study each evening after class to synthesize the information acquired during the day and to prepare for the next day. The time you spend each evening will vary based on your previous study time and knowledge. This is not the type of class that you can multitask in so be sure that you are able to fully commit during the week that you schedule the course. Some of the shared practices you gain here will be valued forever. After all, the real value is that you will be able to leverage this knowledge in practice. You have expert knowledge coming in, but after the class and passing the exam, you will be an official certified "ITIL Expert".

ITSM Academy's MALC dates/times.

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