Why is ITIL Certification important?

It is before your very eyes and under your nose the creeping cost tends to spiral leaving us fuming in frustration when things go haywire and out of control. But why do even allow that to happen is as perplexing a poser that’s always answered in the aftermath.   To save cost, cut cost. Organizations are looking into ways and means to weed out the unwanted, but first identify the wanted. How do you recognize the imminent need?

Forget for a moment being bookish. Don’t be pedantic but pragmatic by drawing from experience.  We were tasked with developing a portal, and the heads that went into the exercise of effort estimation discussed and deliberated the cause and ensuing cost. There was enough padding and buffer to accommodate last minute changes and mitigation of risk.  The customer, from an open-source moved diametrically opposite and chose SharePoint; consequently, the pricing was put on hold pending conclusion from the client.  For us, the technology wasn’t a stunner as worse as the hardware because the amount on the paper was a preposterous eye-popper figure.  The system analyst was sought for expert opinion and that would change the course of the game. Straight the analyst asked “are we ready to invest so much in server? This one not only stores but sinks deep its teeth into your flesh. So it’s a call to be taken.” It was a head-turner statement and the looks exchanged said it all. “Why should we invest? Let the client”, and the response from the calm analyst was nerve-racking “the farm version is needed for development. You can write a line of code” and when the consent for purchase was provided, another one followed “the machine does the math; who will man the machine? Get a system administrator onboard.” And team frowned upon this new inclusion, as the cost of a new hire would saddle the project with more spending.  Along with the system administrator, the allied requirements too were pieced together into the frame, and one look at the image made it inordinately expensive.

The catch in the cacophony that prevailed was ‘why weren’t the system in place to meet the shifting demand? The system analyst notwithstanding, we need strategic system initiatives.”  Why strategic? The investment on servers is going to be high which won’t justify the cost implication. So better hire server or lease? What happens if the client wants support that can be billable? Even then, will the odds favor an outright purchase? The project undertaking proved to be an eye-opener and the undertaking an education in itself about the stress on IT Service Management, which is either overlooked or obscured.  

The project requires a project manager; the system a system manager. This storage and service related issues are not an occurrence in isolation or confined within the IT realm. This is applicable to wherever data resides ad it could be hotel or hospital or factory or library. Of course, the scale differs but the severity stays on. There is a growing need for IT service related professionals – both from management and process standpoint. Hence soft skills complemented with specialization especially trained in ITIL or COBIT makes your identification and validation stand head over shoulders. You might wonder what is the brouhaha about certification. Is it the clincher? Well, we have been in this business to acknowledge the need and underscore the importance of certification as one of the criterion for knowledge quotient. They are not the scales to weigh your expertise nor as a symbol to attest your knowledge base.   You need to speak loud to be heard. Amplify your credential with help of certification. 

The Perils in Project Scope - a personal account

As Jobs puts it ‘we can only connect the dots afterwards’. That’s the benefit of hindsight? Well, if you have that as foresight, it makes you a visionary. Las Vegas was just a desert till one guy redrew the map toasting success on the sand dunes, and Vegas couldn’t have been just conjecture then.  

When I took over the reins, the project looked promising. Communications were open and the client very forthcoming in comments. One look at the team composition and my hopes were inflated: a trusted hand, a familiar figure and a total stranger, rest of the crew comprised of tester, Us Ex, web developer. The lead developer is more of a man-Friday as we have engaged in couple of projects and hence a tried and tested chap. It looked good and should have soared to great. We could spot the shore. If wishes were horses then beggars would ride!

We prepared the plan, sized the effort, scoped the requirement, and swung into action. The progress too was pretty much in line. We built a good rapport with the client and the stinkers were sporadic. The plan and progress almost matched with some slippage. A qualified tester got onboard and it was a shot in the arm. I had several sessions with the team and joint calls with client in understanding the requirement.

The long evenings, late nights, brainstorming sessions, soaring rhetoric and sizzling arguments, and not to miss the cat-fights, we saw it all as a team. The phone would suddenly scream followed by a volley of questions growing in decibel, and my team mate would politely hush her husband ‘I will be leaving in 5 minutes’. Remarkably, she taught me what I can never achieve no matter how much ever I aspire – that patience and politeness in answering an agitated call.

 

Perplexingly the problems and posers kept piling, and from then on, we prioritized issues as critical, major and minor with color red, yellow and orange respectively. An open document was created and shared with client. And the bug count closely monitored with status reports both at start and end of day. The fixes left me vexed; flummoxed by failure after failure as I knew for sure that the bugs will be reopened.  I chewed my finger nails all the way to my knuckles and went bone dry when the count refused to climb down. We dragged out weary souls and worn-out soles day-in and day-after licking defeat in the hope that ‘we lost the battle but will win the war’.

The client is not to be blamed completely as for the team goofed up pretty bad in managing the scope. A little here and a little there and the result wasn't scope creep but a bloated scope with too many ‘bells and whistles’. It wasn't the foot in my mouth but the whole leg. Chewed more than we could swallow? It wasn't time to wallow in self-pity. But I couldn't help feeling sorry for the team; for myself and then DH Lawrence hit me hard where it hurts the most ‘I have never known a wild animal feel sorry for itself’. May be I am ‘domestic’ – heck, man is a social animal, if it can be used as a disclaimer. The client squeezing hard and the management make it clear about the climbing cost, the noose was tightening. The stakeholders had a simple mandate – the timeline. Problems and philosophy are a pair. When you muck-up big time, be prepared for your back to be blackened. But as they say if the progress is as per the plan, then there is something wrong with the plan. Then why plan? [we will discuss as a different thread]

Tell me something, only Results count? Is it? I checked this quote by Jacob Riis who, it seems, coined it for me.

“When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before” - Jacob Riis.

Results count but efforts can’t be discounted.

We narrowed down the action-items as in-scope’ and passed it around, armed ourselves with facts and figures as counterweight.  We managed to complete the project but not in the prospect and promise we had pinned our hopes, rather it was mixed-feeling of bitter-sweet that the final handover happened. Post the delivery, when we did the causal analysis, the scope creep sank our boat. Expectedly CRs (Change Request) were raised but they were either counted in as ‘courtesy’ or ‘cost-free’ who didn’t treat it binding as billable.

It was a lesson learnt about clearly recording your scope and securing a sign-off on the deliverables and we became more conscious and cautious about the creep in succeeding projects. It was indeed a slippery slope!

Join our PMP Certification program to learn more about countering scope creep. For further information, click http://goo.gl/9XoB5W  to know more. 

How to prepare for an ITIL Foundation Certification

Want to get certified in first attempt in ITIL Foundation certification exam? Well then, how do you prepare for the exam? This article will walk you through some insights considered critical and vital to successfully crack the exam.

ITIL is considered as the best-practice service management framework across the industry, especially for IT service and governance.  If your field of interest and area of expertise happens to center around IT services management, and serious about shaping a career, then we strongly recommend you to take up ITIL® certification. The certification will accelerate your career path and professional advancement.  

Now that you are sure of your interest and inclination, the stepping stone towards the ITIL® certification is the ITIL Foundation.

Start your research
Before enrolling to ITIL Foundation course, do a bit of research to gain a basic understanding about ITIL Foundation. This will help you to assess and analyze the knowledge gap as some topics might be familiar, which is a shot in the arm and makes you more confident.  It presents an idea of your own appetite as well.

Scout for a good learning providerExtend your research to check the available learning academies in and around your place. Alternatively, check and confirm if other modes of learning like instructor-led online class or e-learning can take the place of physical classroom. If your employment comes in the way of attending regular classroom training, other options should be open for consideration. So factor these aspects in your search ad don’t prioritize based on just proximity hoping to catch up on shortfall later. It should be well searched and informed decision before you can make your move.

Sign up

Once you screen and settle on a service provider, sign up after checking your calendar to ensure there are no planned events that might impact or interfere with your training dates. A dedicated effort always calls for a detailed plan. A systematic approach and meticulous plan and good balance bring in the much desired discipline.  Make sure everything in its place before the course begins. There are tons of literatures available in the public domain. Read and upgrade.

Study

The relentless pursuit of learning leaves you rich and rewarding. So scratching the surface won’t suffice, instead dig deep and deeper and find roots. Study every chapter and summarize your learning. The Foundation course will be more about terminology, core concepts, process, lifecycles stages and links within. The course summary for every chapter will help you in identifying the learned and missed. If required, start all over again until you are satisfied and confident to close. Always question and seek greater clarity through illustration and examples. Try to reinforce learning through workplace experience and scenarios. After the completion of every chapter, attempt without fail the chapter test as this exercise will help you close the gaps that may exist and provide you the opportunity to assess your own standing based on the test outcome.

Self-study

Classroom study must be supplemented with self-study. The chapter tests taken in classroom can be replicated through tests available online. Today, the internet presents a wealth of information and poses hundreds of questions to test your skills and strength and as part of self-study, attempt as many as you can in the time available – that’s why the need for the systematic study and meticulous plan to apportion time accordingly. Usually, candidates are provided some time after the course completion to schedule the exam. Use this time effectively.

Self-assessment

The mock-exam or final test will be a comprehensive question papers simulating the severity of the Certification exam. You must endeavor to take as many as possible. Further, the official site hosts mock exam for participants to prepare themselves. Become conversant with course by scoring more than 90% in your mock exam. The ITIL Foundation is an objective-type 40 questions, and its possible to get all 40 correct. Your score above 90 must become a pattern from the series of mock exam attended. The score is a clear indicator of your learning and in case the score dips below 90, then restart by revisiting the chapters where the marks went missing. It’s plugging the holes and closing gaps that one scales. It’s very much possible and, with effort, achievable.

Sit for the examination

With the kind of strenuous preparation, just keep your cool and calmly appear for the exam. Make sure you read all the answers and most importantly understand the answers from the perspective of the question, and not misunderstand with your professional experience. Often candidates confuse the questions with scenarios experience in their professional front and as a result get sidetracked and struggle to find our way back. 

The percentage of pass is 65% which is answering 26 question correctly  out of 40. The insistence in scoring 90 and above  successively in a series of mock exam is to make oneself fluent and assure a safe passage to the subsequent level of certification exam, namely ITIL Intermediate.  Wish you well in your endeavors. As the next step in your professional ITIL certification, you can either opt for Intermediate-Lifecycle modules for those wanting to pursue managerial openings or Intermediate-Capability modules for those who wish to involve with process or mix of both Lifecycle and Capability.

About ITIL®

ITIL^®, an acronym of Information Technology Infrastructure Library, is a collection of best practice in IT service management. ITIL is considered as the best-practice service management framework across the industry, especially for IT service and governance.  If your area field of interest and area of expertise happens to center around IT services management, then we strongly recommend you to take up ITIL certification. 

There are currently six levels for the ITIL^® Qualification Scheme (ITIL® Certification):

§  ITIL® Foundation Level

§  ITIL® Practitioner (newly added in 2016)

§  ITIL® Intermediate Level (Lifecycle Stream / Capability Stream)

§  ITIL® Managing Across the Lifecycle

§  ITIL® Expert

§  ITIL® Master

The ITIL certification is a platform independent, vendor neutral and non-prescriptive credential, that’s widely accepted and recognized across the industry with regard to IT management and service advancement initiatives. 

Certification & Competency Enablement - Makes You Elite and Eligible

The more the merrier. Just as our quest is insatiable so are the expectations. Try meeting a hiring head or a business investor and you will be questioned more about your skillset. Yes! Your primary skills are a given. While the focus on primary skills is paramount, the stress is always about  developing additional abilities considered vital in competitive analysis. Those interested in your profile would want to know ‘more’.  It’s the additional information that elicits more interest. A quintessential professional is versatile – like a player on the field ready to be placed in any position. So possessing the technical skill (read primary skill) wouldn’t provide that edge over peers, rather when supplemented and complimented with strategic and leadership traits places you in a formidable position clearly pushing your boundary further.  

With business needs growing with greater unpredictability and technology advancement defying expectation through groundbreaking innovations, the  landscape seems to be shifting perpetually, and hence there is admittedly a paradigm shift  from the professional perspective without an exception. With time Individual assessment has changed. The organization is looking to fill the slot as Musterberg stated “finding the best possible man, how to produce the best possible work, and how to secure the best possible effects”. What it takes to become top performer with top potential. Potential is the possibility of an individual to do more than current contribution.  Aon Hewitt defines potential as the assessment of an employee’s ability to rise to and succeed in a more senior or expanded role. Potential considers individuals’ performance, character, capability and motivation.

Courtesy: 2013_Building_the_Right_High_Potential_Pool_white_paper

Today, the critical talent is evaluated in terms of knowledge, skills and abilities. The PMI Talent Triangle™ clearly lays emphasis on ‘more than’ technical skills by subscribing to Leadership  and strategic & Business Management  As inferred from the   PMI’s  ‘Pulse of the Profession 2016’, the most successful organizations seek added skills in leadership and business—competencies that support and sustain long-range strategic objectives. The ideal skill set—a combination of technical, leadership, and strategic and business management expertise—is embodied in the PMI Talent Triangle™. When organizations focus on all three skill sets, 40 percent more of their projects meet goals and original business intent.

courtesy: Pulse of the Profession 2016 - PMI

As one of the leading educational powerhouse enabling to become professionally trained and certified, especially PMP®, PRINCE2, ITIL, Six Sigma, we interact with professionals on a daily basis. They are the folks wanting to stand out in their sphere of work. And we regularly hear how ‘Certification’ validates competency and enables your candidature as ‘eligible’.

What is the value add You bring to the table? Your bona fide already vetted, increased scrutiny would be on the ‘what else’ as the key differentiator. It’s always about ‘what more do I get’ and it applies to one and all. With the raw aggression witnessed like never before, it will be hard sell in promoting your profile given the spiraling number of applicants competing alongside and here is where ‘the more you have’ makes you leapfrog into the short list – a short one.

So dear Professional, what makes you so elite and eligible? Is the spotlight on you to single out in a crowded room? How do you distinguish yourself to differentiate? We, at iCert Global, besides the benchmarked certification courses also offer career counseling whereby our expert panel will engage with you to chalk out the future course of action to steer ahead the crowd and cacophony.  We conduct exciting programs that shape your personality and profile to become more competitive and complete . Follow the link http://www.icertglobal.com/all-courses.php to get a glimpse of our offering and feel free to schedule a call with us. 

Together We Win!

PMP® Certification Compliments Compensation: See Your Salaries Soar

Did you know the average annual salary can go up to $81,000 USD?  It’s exciting to study the  top 10 countries with the highest median annual salaries for project practitioners.

 

courtesy: pmi.org

Your resume gets only 6 seconds to strike an impression. The threshold is that small a window. The initial credibility has to be telling to take the conversation forward. The door opener ought to be something valuable. As testified by Project Managers in a survey published in techrepublic online journal, many accounted PMP^®  certification as ‘the compelling factor’ in being counted. Else they won’t consider your CV. So the counsel is a PMP-packed profile will surely get past the screening process. Experience can further be strengthened with education. The PMP^®  certification is more about the science of project management in delivering successful projects. Certification is a clear indicator that you possess the relevant knowledge and expertise. Research undertaken by PMI^® shows that  Organizations that fully understand the value of project management  and place a high priority in creating a culture that recognizes its importance report 71 percent of projects meeting original goals and business intent versus 52 percent that place a low priority on it.

courtesy: Pulse of the Profession 2016 - PMI

Besides, chances that one can clear the checks and balances created by PMI are favorably presumed to be equipped with expertise and proficient in their profession. Does a PMP^®  certificate make a Project Manager more successful in managing project with time, scope and budget? There is a business value to every deal signed. What’s the assurance the Project manager will deliver? Study reveals that a certified Project Manager, when weighed from all distinguishing parameters, has a better shot at success. And more often delivers.  For that kind of competence, the PMP^®  professional commands an attractive compensation as compared to their non-certified counterparts.

The ninth edition of PMI’s Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey states that “those with a PMP certification garner a higher salary (20% higher on average) than those without a PMP certification.”

Before we arrive at why salaries surge for certified PMPs as compared to the non-certified, let’s first deliberate why certifications count at all. Statistics reveal seven out of 10 projects fail. So what’s the best bet that a certified professional will perform? The PMI's 2008 Pulse of the Profession research found "that having project managers without PMP certification results in a lower percent of projects coming in on time and on budget—especially when less than 10 percent of the project managers in the company are PMPs. Organizations with less than 10 percent of project managers who are PMPs are also much less likely to indicate an increase in projects successfully meeting the goals and business intent."

This is not to drive home that certification alone is the clincher as there are other factors that do impact project completion, but one cannot downplay or undermine the significance certification lends to success. That’s the point.  The grind in getting a PMP certification is certainly rigorous given the prerequisite of practical experience and the hours invested in preparation to earn the credential. And the paycheck as well.

The informed insights as published in PMI’s Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey  In the United States, keyed out project managers in the pharmaceuticals industry reported the highest median salary ($125,500), followed by those working in agriculture, mining and natural resources ($120,640) and consulting ($120,000). Other industries posting high median U.S. salaries include aerospace ($115,000), engineering ($112,000), utility ($110,425), government ($110,000) and information technology ($110,000).

The median salary of U.S.-based respondents holding a PMP certification was $111,000 versus a median salary of $91,000 for participants without PMP certification. 

Interestingly, the median salary was based on a number of key demographic factors, especially the Country of employment, PMP status, and years of project management experience, project team size and budget.  Some of the salient highlights listed below for your immediate attention:

Number of Years of Experience in Project Management

The median salary ranges from $47,657 (USD) for those just starting out in the project management field to $131,972 (USD) for those who have been in the field for 20 years or more. This represents an increase of 177% from low to high experience in the field. The difference in median salary is not as striking in China. For those with less than three years’ experience, the median salary is $21,073 compared with $29,178 (USD) for those practicing project management for 20 years or more.

PMP^® Certification Status

The majority of participants in this study have the PMP^® certification. Those with the certification earn more than those without in virtually all of the countries, though differences do vary by country. The largest differential is noted in South Africa where PMP^® holders have a median salary 47% higher than those who do not hold the certification. Another telling factor is the length of time a person has held the designation of PMP^® In nearly all countries, median salary steadily increases with PMP^® tenure. In Taiwan and Saudi Arabia, the median salary of those who have been certified for 10 or more years is more than double those who have been certified for 5 years or fewer.

Position

Within the various levels of project managers, salary appears to increase with added responsibility. The rate of increase again varies by country. In Belgium, the median salary increases from $55,927 (USD) for a project manager I to $77,738 for a project manager II to $89,482 for a project manager III. In Saudi Arabia, program managers earn a median salary of $79,962 (USD), and portfolio managers earn upwards of $11,500 (USD) more than program managers and over $23,500 (USD) more than the highest level project managers.

Project Size

The size of projects managed, in terms of average number of team members and average project budget, also appears to have a positive correlation with annual salary. For instance, in South Africa, those managing projects with larger teams (20 or more people) have a median salary that is 72% higher than those managing teams of one to four people. Likewise, in Hong Kong, those managing projects with budgets of $10 million or more earn 81% more than those with projects under $100,000 and 54% more than those with projects with budgets between $100,000 and $499,999.

The detailed report can be accessed vide PMI’s Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey.  This article should help you decide about choosing the course about career acceleration development, especially Project Manager aspirants and Project Manager at the start of the career.

Good luck with your endeavors.

DOES CERTIFICATION STILL COUNT?

image courtesy: https://goo.gl/p2o2S3 

More often parroted of any other virtues and clichéd by now, the strength and success behind every organization is always attributed to its assets – human assets. And corporate capitalize on their human capital. It’s only a natural corollary in terms of objectives and accomplishment for every organization to get its recruitment process right. Skill and strength go together.  Given the backdrop does Certification count? We will come to it soon….

‘ whatever carried you this far won’t take you no forward’ – is well worn by now but that’s the truth of the matter. Someone who wish to be employed or already employed needs to hone skills; keep sharpening the axe and as much a software is updated with frequent release, the software professional  is expected to shop for more soft skills. Technical competence is the cornerstone on which the career is built. Scenarios wherein recruitment would routinely involve the rigor of clearing an online test was ensured without refrain. ‘Online’ exams which came free, without cost was clearly the challenge in the candidature being shortlisted for the successive round. Certification from a reputed governing body  was a clear indicator  about caliber and still some selection process did involve sitting for an unscheduled test. Didn’t Certification count? 

Present times poses perplexing pathways to steer past peers without nudging or edging but succeed through outshining others in advancing one’s own career path. Could be chaotic and would it send alarm bells rings given the competitive spirit of the market? Education is paid its due respect; experience is rewarded but  the proof of the pudding about your expertise and experience can be coalesced in certification. Let’s elaborate: a PMP certified professional stands for someone with stipulated education and substantiated experience without which the eligibility criteria will fall short.  Certification is met with instant recognition. Still second thoughts about certification? Yes and No.

We will help you cast your doubts aside. Will your mentioning about your competency on a piece of paper and pass as Resume advance as compared to an Accredited Governing Body attesting your proficiency as a ‘professional’. Certificate, too, is a piece of paper – with a difference. Incredible difference. It’s all about recognition and reward follows. Not the other way around.  Yes, there is the acid test one must endure to prove proficiency and experience is baptism by fire.  As a prelude to the final performance, we at ICert conduct  online exams for you to self-assess your standing, and if you successfully pass our exam then a Certificate is awarded in your name recording the grade as well.  http://www.icertglobal.com/free-resource.php  Try cracking the exam. And check for yourself the ‘value-add’ of our certification. The results will speak for itself. While you are at it, we at iCert wish you the very best in your endeavors.

Get Certified; Get Recognized.

The year that was……and the year that will be….

image courtesy: http://goo.gl/HgmisP

When the clock chimed 12, and crackers burst open ushering the new year , greetings galore and goodies strewn around, it was a moment to reflect about the past and look right ahead with renewed hope.  How did we fare in 2015 and what’s the forecast for 2016? This probably is deliberation of many a minds both from a personal and professional perspective. 

2015 witnessed some great happenings which will make a geek beam with pride – gadgets, gizmos, apps and what not. India observed with heightened expectation the numerous startups, the growing number of entrepreneurs, the surpassing rise in technology as never was the adage ‘happening today, history tomorrow’ proved so plausible. And in all these, the overriding factor and dire demand proved to be the digital presence and exceptional soft skills. Just as we are increasingly online and extremely mobile, the medium and means have changed dramatically.

As much as technology is becoming the key differentiator, technologists are the game-changers. 2015 was more about delivering technology at doorstep. Brick and mortar gave way to online offerings and our niche product offerings to professionals saw a surge in Live Virtual Class and e-Learning with corporate accounts in our clientele. In all it was a successful year, having posted results close to the projections. So the ride was bumpy sometimes and smooth as well. 

Farewell 2015.

The road ahead is full of opportunities if one knows how to count and capitalize. There is going to be exciting and engaging times . ‘Education never ends’ – it’s for a lifetime.  Knowledge is the key and Technology-enabled services will be the touchstone.

Today there is a surplus in headcount if supply is anything to go by, but do they really meet the demand? That’s a million-dollar question. There is indeed a growing gap – from both the employers and employees standpoint. The fitment is really a hard-find. Hence, grooming the greatest asset – human capital – is the critical need as exponential growth in technological developments makes it mandate to embrace existing and emerging technologies.

It’s the innovation in serving the  digital experience that holds the key to unlock the fortune.  More than reaching out to the customer, much will rest on customizing.  The blended training is a tested approach and going forward we need to try other practices with technology leading from the front. We will have to rejig our offering by stacking with latest learning and impart to the niche segment.  The focus will be on Big Data, Cloud Computing,  Digital Marketing, SalesForce and list is expected to grow. 

2016 – Welcome!