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Author  Michael Macgregor, Axelos Project Manager

May 23, 2019 |

 3 min read

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Take your own medicine. Practice what you preach. Walk the talk.

These clichés were circling my mind as I stepped into the classroom recently to begin the new ITIL®4 Foundation training.

Having worked in Axelos as Project Manager for the Foundation product for over a year I wasn’t sure where to focus my energy during the three-day training:

  1. On (finally!) seeing, as a customer myself, the reactions of real candidates to the new product that we are all so proud of or,
  2. On worrying that I would fail the exam and would not be able to show my face in the office on Monday?

So, it was with no small degree of trepidation that my journey to the magical land of ‘ITILopia’, to borrow a term from our wonderful trainer, began.

Having now completed the training, I would like to share with you my top tips for taking the exam.

I must confess that this is the advice of a humble Project Manager without an SME-level of expertise. It is intended as practical advice for anyone taking the exam, whether new to ITIL or with years of experience applying it ‘in the field’. When deciding whether or not to follow it, I hope you will take comfort in the knowledge that I was able to come to work the following Monday.

  1. Link the material to your own experience
    ITIL is a practical framework that is used across all kinds of industries by organizations as diverse as NASA and Spotify. Therefore, courses attract delegates from all kinds of backgrounds. As you work your way through the training material, draw on your own experience, and that of your colleagues, to show how the ideas outlined in the book can be applied. This will help you bring the material to life, pass the exam and apply your knowledge once the course has finished.
  2. Refer to the syllabus
    To help guide learning, your training organization will provide you with the ITIL 4 Foundation syllabus. This outlines what material is examined and how it is covered in the exam. It’s a great idea to keep this to hand during the training to refer to and help you understand how to focus your study
  3. Keep your Foundation manual by your side
    The manual contains the full ITIL 4 Foundation guidance, including an illustrative case study that runs throughout the book to highlight key learnings. Beyond helping you prepare your exam, the manual is an invaluable practical tool that you can refer to on an ongoing basis as you continue to use ITIL 4 to build the foundations of your professional success and career development.

Read Michael Macgregor's previous blog post for AXELOS,

Find out more about ITIL 4.

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