My Journey to Passing the ITIL Foundation Exam

As an IT Manager, I have always been focused on improving the way we deliver services, making processes more reliable, transparent, and value-driven. Over time, I noticed that many of the improvements I was introducing naturally aligned with formal frameworks like ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library).

Recently, I decided to pursue the ITIL Foundation certification to solidify my knowledge and back up my practices with a recognized credential. Here is how I approached it and what I learned along the way.

Why ITIL?

Before studying for the exam, I had already been practicing several of ITIL’s guiding principles, such as focusing on value, collaborating and promoting visibility, and keeping things simple and practical.

Formalizing this knowledge through certification seemed like a natural next step. I wanted to:

• Learn the full ITIL vocabulary and framework
• Align my terminology with that of other IT professionals
• Validate my approach to service management
• Open new opportunities for improvement in my team and processes

My Study Approach

Since I already had a good intuition for the principles, my goal was to familiarize myself with the exact structure and expectations of the ITIL Foundation exam.

I gave myself about two weeks of preparation, studying during evenings and weekends. This allowed me to absorb the material at a comfortable pace.

Here is what worked for me:

Official ITIL Foundation E-Book

I started with the official ITIL Foundation e-book. It gave me a structured understanding of:

• The Service Value System (SVS)
• The Four Dimensions of Service Management
• The Guiding Principles
• Key ITIL practices

Reading it cover to cover helped me understand not only what to do, but also why certain approaches are recommended.

Practice Questions on YouTube

I supplemented my reading with mock question videos. I highly recommend this playlist: ITIL 4 Foundation Mock Exam - 40 Questions & Answers.

Doing mock questions was essential to getting used to the question style and improving my test-taking speed.

Interactive Quizzes on GitHub

Finally, I used this GitHub quiz site: https://d12.github.io/itil-quiz/game.html. The interactive format made it easy to do quick practice sessions whenever I had spare time.

The Results

I am happy to share that I passed the ITIL Foundation exam with a score of 88 percent.

More importantly, I now feel slightly more confident in how I communicate and structure IT Management efforts.

Key Takeaways

• I realized that many ITIL principles were already guiding my work. I just did not have the formal language for them.
• The structured approach of ITIL helps frame discussions with both technical and business stakeholders.
• Preparing for the exam does not need to be overwhelming. A focused two-week effort with the right materials was more than enough. (If you have previous work experience)

Final Thoughts

If you are an IT professional already thinking about improving service quality and processes, you may be closer to thinking in line with ITIL than you realize. Formalizing this through certification can sharpen your skills and give you a shared language to collaborate more effectively.

I definitely recommend giving it a try. When you do, leverage all the great resources out there to make your journey smoother.

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Happy learning!