HP ITIL v2 Practitioner Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the facts about Practitioner Training and Certification?
2. What are the requirements for Practitioner certification?
3. Can you describe what a practical assignment includes?
4. Are the practical assignments individual or group activities?
5. Can I complete the practical assignments during class, or is evening study required?
6. Do I need to bring my ITIL Service Support book (for IPSR and IPRC) or Service Delivery book (for IPAD and IPPI) with me to class?
7. Do I need to bring my ITIL Foundations certificate with me to my Practitioner class?

1. What are the facts about Practitioner Training and Certification?

Practitioner training is more advanced than Foundation level training and allows for those in an IT organization responsible for specific ITIL process areas to receive focused training and certification. Training includes more hands-on and group exercises. An example of a strategic use of practitioner training is to get the entire team aligned for an upcoming change. In this case, change, configuration and release management training would be particularly important.

HP currently offers the four clustered Practitioner courses and exams:

• UA575S ITIL Practitioner Support and Restore (IPSR) - Service Desk, Incident and Problem Management
• UA576S ITIL Practitioner Release and Control (IPRC) - Change, Release, and Configuration Management
• HE632S ITIL Practitioner Agree and Define (IPAD) - Service Level and Financial Management
• HF536S ITIL Practitioner Plan and Improve (IPPI) - Availability, Capacity, and IT Service Continuity Management

Note that:

• Though these are v2 courses, they are likely to be available through mid-2009.  If you are trying to decide between Practitioner training now and v3 Capability courses later, HP recommends taking Practitioner training now - read this for more on this recommendation.
• "Single process" courses and exams are no longer supported by the examination institutes.  However, if you have previously become certified in one or more single processes, those certifications are each worth 2 credits toward ITIL Expert certification.  You can see a complete list of the single process courses in this roadmap.

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2. What are the requirements for Practitioner certification?

The requirements to sit a Practitioner exam are:

• Candidate is either ITIL v2 or ITIL v3 Foundation certified
• Candidate attends an accredited Practitioner training course

To achieve certification the candidate must:

• Successfully complete three practical in-course assignments
• Score at least 26 out of 40 correct on the exam, a two hour multiple choice paper

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3. Can you describe what a practical assignment includes?

The three practical assignments that are part of the certification are group activities conducted in class. Groups will be presented with a scenario for each assignment and they will be expected to complete specific tasks set around the scenario. The results of these tasks will then have to be presented to the rest of the class. Each of the three assignments has been designed to enable candidates to demonstrate skills in each of the processes. The skills to be judged may vary, depending on the nature of the assignment but in general will involve elements of:

• Creativity
• Analytical thinking
• Oral communication skills
• Writing skills
• Release and Control skills

All candidates will be expected to take part in presenting and justifying their groups’ findings to the rest of the class.

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4. Are the practical assignments individual or group activities?

The practical assignments which are part of the certification are all group activities. There are also some non-certification assignments that are a mixture of group and individual activity; some of these will be conducted in class and some will form homework.

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5. Can I complete the practical assignments during class, or is evening study required?

The practical assignments that are part of the certification are all completed during class. There are other assignments that are not part of the certification that will involve some evening work. Students will also be expected to study any theory learnt in preparation for the exam; this will be private study outside of the classroom.

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6. Do I need to bring my ITIL Service Support book (for IPSR and IPRC) or Service Delivery book (for IPAD and IPPI) with me to class?

A master copy of the appropriate book will be available for the class to use.  You are encouraged to bring your own book or CD for your own personal use.

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7. Do I need to bring my ITIL Foundations certificate with me to my Practitioner class?

You should plan on bringing either a photocopy of your certificate or your Foundations certification number to class.

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