This January, ITSM Academy proudly celebrates 21 years, and we couldn’t be more excited to share this incredible milestone with our extended community of learners, partners, and ITSM professionals. When we launched in 2004, our vision was both simple and ambitious: to create a space where IT service management professionals could come together to learn, grow, and thrive. Over the years, that vision has transformed into a vibrant reality, made possible by the trust, support, and dedication of everyone who has been part of our journey. As we mark 21 extraordinary years, we take this moment to reflect on the milestones achieved, the memories created, and the magic that continues to inspire us. From the very beginning, ITSM Academy has been built on a people-first foundation. We’ve always believed in the transformative power of education—not just to advance individual careers but to drive organizational success and innovation. Along the way, we’ve been honored to witness countless “aha!” m...

In part 1 of this series – From Fear to Focus: Acknowledging the Reality of Exam Anxiety – we explored the universal experience of exam anxiety and its contributors. We described the interconnected nature of these contributors, and how peoples’ experiences with exam anxiety are based on their own unique beliefs and triggers. Identifying the personal beliefs and behaviors that contribute to exam anxiety is an essential first step. Taking this step allows individuals to begin developing strategies for facing exams with confidence. Strategies for Overcoming Exam Anxiety While the strategies that follow are loosely aligned with the contributors described in part 1 of this series, like the contributors they are all interconnected and so can all be applied as needed. Feeling unprepared: Get to know the syllabus. The course syllabus outlines the expected learning outcomes, what source material(s) the exam is based on, and the exam format (duration, types of questions, etc.). This cl...

Attending a quality online Instructor-Led Virtual Classroom  allows you, the learner, to immerse in material that is presented in a fun, practical manner.  This is NOT a Webinar! This is NOT an e-learning self-paced computerized course.  You are not on your own!  Instructor-Led Virtual Classrooms allow you to :  Learn online with a live experienced instructor. Interact in group discussions and activities with others in the class. Engage your instructor with ongoing Q and A throughout. Listen to or share real-world examples. Participate in analyzing sample exam questions with the instructor.  Collaborate with chat, open mic, polls, and other interactive tools – VOIP or phone!  Learn from; review sessions, videos, workbook activities, study aids, Reference Cards, and more! Benefits Include: Take a class at your home or office – more time for you and yours! Receive materials online – no shipping.  No travel, no TSA, stay safe an...

By Donna Knapp Exams have a way of making even the most prepared students feel nervous and anxious. The ticking clock, the pressure to perform, and the fear of failure, can all combine to make even the most confident student feel overwhelmed. Exam anxiety is a universal experience that affects students of all ages and backgrounds. Understanding its causes and learning how to overcome its hold can enable individuals to face exams with confidence. Acknowledging the Reality of Exam Anxiety We will explore strategies for overcoming exam anxiety in part 2 of this series but let us first acknowledge that it is normal and even okay to feel some stress before an exam. It is a sign that you care and that you want to do your best. In this case, what you are experiencing is eustress, a type of stress that is viewed as positive or beneficial. It is what propels us to learn and improve. It is what drives us towards a desired goal, even if getting there is a challenge. Conversely, the stress associa...

How well-prepared are organizations to start their sustainability journey in digital and IT? It’s often difficult to start, either through a lack of awareness about the problem or engaging in too much talk and little action. However, with a greater understanding of how sustainability will make organizations’ and other people’s lives better – while supporting their business goals – we realize that it’s a problem to solve now, not in the future. Equally, many companies associate sustainability only with reducing greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. But there are three sustainability pillars: social, environmental, and economic. And there are numerous areas connected to each pillar: e-waste, responsible sourcing, digital poverty, fair salaries and digital carbon footprint – topics that still surprise many business leaders. ITIL® 4: Sustainability in Digital and IT is a professional guidance to help digital organizations start with sustainability. The book follows the steps of the...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...