What We’ve Seen Go Wrong (After the Class Ends) After two decades of delivering ITSM training, we’ve had a front-row seat to what happens after the exam is over. And here’s the truth that many providers don’t talk about: passing the exam is not the hard part. What goes wrong usually happens when learners return to work, and good intentions collide with real organizations, real constraints, and real habits. Here are the most common patterns we’ve seen. 1. The credential becomes the finish line Too often, certification is treated as the outcome instead of a milestone. Learners celebrate (as they should), but there’s no next step defined for application. No time carved out to try something new. No expectation that behavior will change. Without intent, learning quietly fades back into routine. 2. “We took the class.” replaces “We changed how we work.” Organizations sometimes check the training box without addressing the environm...

What Actually Sticks After Class (And Why) After two decades of delivering ITSM training, we’ve had a front-row seat to what happens after the exam is over. What makes training stick isn’t memorizing a definition perfectly; it’s understanding the thinking behind it. It sticks because something shifted . Over the years, we’ve noticed a consistent pattern in what learners carry forward long after class ends. 1. Mental models, not mechanics The most durable takeaway isn’t a process diagram; it’s a new way of seeing. When learners grasp why practices exist and how value is co-created, they begin making better decisions, even in situations not covered in class. That mindset travels with them. 2. Shared language When teams learn together - or at least align around the same concepts - conversations change. Suddenly, people can say: “What outcome are we optimizing for?” “Who actually experiences this?” “Is this adding value, or just acti...

The next evolution of ITIL is officially here. The ITIL (Version 5) Foundation exam goes live on February 12, 2026, marking a significant milestone in the progression of modern service management and digital product and service management (DPSM). For professionals and organizations asking, “What does this mean for us?”  The answer is both practical and strategic. What ITIL (Version 5) Represents  ITIL (Version 5) is not a reset. It is an evolution. It builds on the strengths of ITIL 4 while expanding guidance to reflect the realities of modern digital organizations: Unified digital product and service lifecycle management AI-ready governance and digital-first operating principles Stronger integration between strategy, delivery, and measurable outcomes Experience-centered service management Clearer, role-aligned guidance for practitioners and leaders In short, ITIL (Version 5) aligns the framework with how organizations actually operate today. T...

ITIL evolves. Your expertise remains valuable. A confident step forward for the ITIL community The new ITIL builds on everything professionals already value in ITIL, evolving the framework to reflect today’s digital, product-centric, and AI-enabled reality. Existing knowledge, experience, and certifications remain fully relevant as part of this evolution. If you are already certified or familiar with ITIL, this is not a reset. It is a natural next step that allows you to move forward with confidence, when and how it makes sense for you. The key innovations in New ITIL The new ITIL evolves to match today’s AI-driven, fast-changing environment. It provides practical, role-relevant guidance in digital product and service management that helps professionals and organizations deliver measurable value with consistency. Modern, integrated, and comprehensive ITIL (Version 5) provides guidance that works across the entire organization, from leadership and strategy to day-t...

This blog was written in 2015. The OSA class was sunsetted along with all of ITILv3.  For a more recent perspective, visit our latest article on the importance of modern operational practices and the ITIL Practice Manager path on How to Align ITSM with Organizational Goals: A Step-by-Step Guide What if we did not build an operational support system to meet current business requirements?  That might sound a bit outrageous and contradictory to everything we have learned.  If you are a service provider, then you are aware that what we consider premium service support today could be accepted as the norm and sometimes can be outdated before it becomes a reality. The key to sustaining underpinning operations for any industry is in the constructs of the system. If we build a system to provide what the customer and business outcomes require now, then that is what we will have. The likelihood is that we will have a system that provides for a service that will ren...

Are you a manager or practitioner in the IT Service Management Profession?   Would you like to advance in your IT career?   Perhaps you have many years’ experience in IT and service management and would like to increase your credibility.   According to information on ITIL-officialsite, ”The ITIL Expert level of qualification is aimed at those individuals who are interested in demonstrating a superior level of knowledge of the ITIL Scheme in its entirety.  Achieving this level of ITIL qualification will benefit a candidate in both their personal and professional development, by aiding career advancement and progression within the IT Service Management field.  Candidates who achieve ITIL Expert level will also satisfy the prerequisite entry criteria for the ITIL Master Level; the highest level qualification within the ITIL scheme.” The ITIL qualifications scheme offers a modular approach to the ITIL framework. In this scheme, candidates are free to sel...

In 1911, Frederick Winslow Taylor initiated the modern practice of business management. In his work Principles of Scientific Management , Taylor put forth the idea that running and managing a business is a science based on data and proven methods, rather than a series of ad hoc, unguided and uncontrolled actions. Unfortunately, Taylor was a victim of his day and age. He had good intentions in putting forth “scientific management”, but based his ideas on some flawed principles. Taylor stated one these principles in this way: “Now one of the very first requirements for a man who is fit to handle pig iron as a regular occupation is that he shall be so stupid and so phlegmatic that he more nearly resembles in his mental make-up the ox than any other type. The man who is mentally alert and intelligent is for this very reason entirely unsuited to what would, for him, be the grinding monotony of work of this character. Therefore the workman who is best suited to handling pig iron i...