ITIL V3 Intermediate Certification Examination Taking Tips

The ITIL V3 Intermediate courses are being launched in most countries and I have the pleasure (or pressure) of sitting for the OS&A and RC&V exams recently, both on the same day. The RC&V in the morning and the OS&A in the afternoon.

The exams consists of Eight (8) multiple choice, scenario-based questions and is gradient scored.

Gradient scored means each question will have 4 possible answer options, one of which is worth 5 marks (best answer), one which is worth 3 marks (second best), one which is worth 1 mark (not so good), and one which is a distracter and achieves no marks.

To pass, you need to score at least 28 marks, i.e you cannot afford to lose more than 12 marks. This means you need to choose the best answer for at least 4 questions to have a good chance to pass.

Here are my personal experiences and tips.

Tip #1: Time is of the essence

Having to answer 8 questions in 90 mins, you have only about 11 mins per question. There is a lot to read - 1 page scenerio and 4 possible answers (1 paragraph per answer). Don't spend more than 11 mins per question, especially the first one. If you feel you are struggling with a particular question, SKIP it first and come back to it later if you have time at the end. You can still pass the exam if you have answered the remaining 7 questions well.

Tip #2: Eliminate the obvious and focus your time on the best 2 answers

There will be a distractor answer and it is often easy to pick this out at first glance. I also used a process of elimination to further narrow down the answers to the final 2 or final one.

Tip #3: Differentiating between the best and second best answers may require you to read the Question again and again. 2 marks may be all it takes to make or break. Spend time to analyse the Q&A after you have narrowed your answers to the final 2. Underline Keywords and "score" the answer using a series of + and -, like you are grading your own work. Often, you will find the best answer is the one with the all pluses and no minuses...which leads me to the next Tip.

Tip #4: Generic vs Specific Answers - Read the question

Sometimes, the generic answer containing all the right ITIL statements may seems like the best answer BUT if the question asked for "your recommendation", "what specific actions would you take", then the Generic answer may not be the best answer. You should look for Answers that is more specificly related to the case study.

Tip#5: Study the materials and make full use of the classroom session to understand ITIL concepts and how it is applied. As this is case study, scenerio-based exam, just pure memory work will not be enough.