By ITIL 5 Master – Jacqueline (Jaqi) Haworth

Today I became an ITIL V5 Master, adding to my V4 Master, V3 Expert and V2 Manager certifications. I’m genuinely proud of that.  Little did I realize when I took my ITIL V2 Foundation 20 years ago that ITIL would become a thread running through so much of my career — shaping how I train others, advise organizations, lead teams, solve problems and challenge my own thinking.

The certificates, though, are probably the least interesting part.  Passing an exam and applying what you learn are very different things.

– You can know every definition and still design a terrible process.
– You can meet every SLA and still provide a poor customer experience.
– You can implement an expensive ITSM platform and simply automate your problems.

The Value of a Framework

A framework is only useful if you use it to make things better.
ITIL has evolved enormously over those 20 years.  V2 gave us process discipline and structure.  V3 taught us to think about the service lifecycle.  ITIL 4 shifted the conversation from following processes to creating value.  And Version 5 evolves again for a world of digital products, experience, transformation, automation and AI.

Three Things from Version 5 that Stand Out For Me

1. Understand the value stream first. Improve it second. Automate it third.
   If the process is poor, automation can simply make a bad process run faster.
2. Customers don’t care about our organizational chart or how green our SLA report is.
   They care whether the service works, whether someone takes ownership when it doesn’t, and what the overall experience feels like.
3. AI doesn’t fix bad foundations.
   Before asking “How can we use AI?” we should ask what problem we are solving, whether we can trust the data and knowledge, who remains accountable, and how we will know it actually improved the outcome.  AI still needs good data, governance, knowledge, value streams and people who understand what they are trying to achieve.

Passing the exam is only the start.
After many years of teaching ITSM frameworks, one lesson has stuck with me.  The real value comes when you go back to work and use what you learned to simplify something, remove waste, improve an experience, challenge a poor metric or question something being done simply because “we’ve always done it that way.”

Remember, a qualification is a milestone.  It’s not the destination.  It’s the beginning of your journey.

AI is good and AI is bad.  We live in a litigious world.  If you don’t have the right controls in place, you can be broke and out of business tomorrow.   AI use can quickly spiral out of control, leaving you with massive bills, and a huge number of AI application to support and manage.  If you thought you had technical debt today, it’s about to grow by a factor of thousands.

AI is everywhere and you and your company need to be prepared:

• Prepared to protect your brand.
• Prepared to ensure legal compliance.
• Prepare  to validate the data your AI tools will be using.
• Prepare  to manage access to confidential and sensitive data.
• Prepared to provide information the business needs.
• Prepared to safeguard your reputation.
• Prepared to maximize your financial return of AI assets and investments.

To do this companies need to adopt ITIL AI Governance.

ITIL AI Governance is a certification module from PeopleCert that shows the ITIL perspective on AI governance and helps organizations manage the risks, ethics, and compliance challenges of artificial intelligence in service management. Unlike static traditional IT controls, it provides a dynamic approach to handle autonomous, fast-moving AI systems across four key perspectives–View Full Course.

When you Safeguard Brand Reputation with ITIL AI Governance you will:

• Mitigate risks related to Shadow AI.
• Mitigate bias by building testable frameworks to catch discriminatory outputs before they reach customers.
• Control AI hallucinations by setting up strict accuracy boundaries so chatbots do not fabricate false promises or bad advice.
• Maintain Trust by proving to clients and stakeholders that the company uses AI responsibly and ethically.

ITIL AI Governance also Improves Operational Efficiency by:

• Reducing Model Drift
• Standardizing Procurement
• Speeding up Adoption

ITIL AI Governance is an OPPORTUNITY to Save Your Company and Your Career – Can You Afforce to Miss Out? 

• If you are responsible for spearheading automation strategy (CTOs, CIOs & Digital Transformation Mangers) – You Can’t Miss Out!
• If you are responsible for integrating AI tooling into operational workflows (Service Desk Managers, Practice Owners and Solution Designers) – You Can’t Miss Out!
• If you are responsible for enforcing ethical boundaries and data privacy (Data Protection Officers, Internal Auditors and Risk Managers) – You Can’t Miss Out!
• Are you beginning your ITSM or Digital Product & Service Management Career? – You Can’t Miss Out!

Are There Prerequisites?

• No
• None
• Not even ITIL Foundation is required – go straight to ITIL AI Governance
• Note – Mandatory training through an Accredited Training organization or Official eLearning is required.  Learners can go straight to the AI Governance Certification with no Foundation requirement.

Is IT Governance Part of the ITIL 5 Pathways (Foundation, Managing Professional, Practice Manager, Strategic Leader or Master?

• No
• ITIL AI Governance is a standalone module, and it is not attached to any of the main certifications nor does it count toward any other ITIL Designations
• Available to everyone!  Start Today!

This Critical AI Governance Certification Covers::

• AI Governance Foundations and Leadership – Understand the difference between having an AI policy and having real AI governance. Describe where an organization sits on the governance maturity spectrum and what good governance makes possible.
• The ITIL AI Governance Improvement – Apply the four-step model: Assess (evaluate current governance maturity and stress-test arrangements), Design (define governance requirements and controls), Implement (deploy governance adjustments), and Maintain (assure, monitor, and continually improve governance).
• The ITIL AI Capability Model (6c) – Identify and describe the six AI capabilities — Creation, Curation, Clarification, Cognition, Communication, and Coordination — and how they shape governance boundaries, risk profiling, and combined behavior.
• Governance Controls and Shadow AI – Design governance controls (preventive, detective, corrective) and decision boundaries. Design Shadow AI controls and apply ethics using a likelihood × impact risk matrix.
• AI Risk, Ethics, and Countermeasures – Identify and describe AI risk categories (bias, privacy, hallucination, opacity), ethical principles, and countermeasures. Apply the capability model and risk-control reasoning to real-world scenarios.
• Cross-Framework AI Governance – Describe how ITIL, PRINCE2, and DevOps provide complementary approaches for AI-enabled work. Apply AI governance within DevOps practices and PRINCE2 methods across stages and decision points.

Exam Details

• Exam body: PeopleCert
• Duration: 90 minutes (non-native English speakers receive additional time)
• Format: Multiple-choice, open book
• Number of Questions: 40 Multiple Choice Questions
• Passing Score: 70% or 28 out of 40 questions answered correctly
• Open-Book Exam – Candidates are allowed to reference official PeopleCert core Guidance eBook
• Delivery Options: Online proctored exam (available anytime, anywhere through PeopleCert)

Note: The ITIL® AI Governance exam is open book and scenario-based, consistent with other ITIL (Version 5) advanced modules. You may use the official eBook and Scenario Booklet during the exam.

Getting to ITIL 5 from ITIL 4 is very easy.  Take a look at the options below and Contact Us with Questions.

1. If you have an ITIL 4 Foundation Certification (Active or Not) you can upgrade your Foundation Certification to ITIL 5 by taking the ITIL 5 Bridge Certification. This is the fastest and least expensive way to update your ITIL 5 Foundation and recertify for 3-years. This is for people who are Foundation Certified and have no plans to go on to advanced ITIL 5 certifications.
2. If you have the ITIL 4 Practice Manager or Strategic Leader Designations you only need to take 1 course & exam to achieve the ITIL 5 Designation. The Certification is ITIL Transformation, and my understanding is that it is an amazing class. Probably the best ITIL 5 class because it gives you the tools you need to use in the real world.
3. If you hold the ITIL V3 Expert, ITIL 4 Managing Professional or ITIL 4 Master Designations you too only need to take 1 Certification to upgrade to ITIL 5. The Certification is the Managing Professional Transition. It is a 5-day course in the classroom (about 20 hours in eLearning) and includes 2-exams (one for MP and one for Transformation).
4. If you hold only ITIL 4 Foundation you have the option to go right into any ITIL 5 Advanced course without having to take the ITIL 5 Foundation.
5. If you are New to ITIL you have the choice to do either ITIL 4 or ITIL 5. ITIL 4 will be available until December 31, 2027. If your organizations uses 4 or you are going after a job that requires V4, go for V4. Otherwise you can go straight to ITIL Version 5.

The world is constantly changing. As IT Service Providers, Digital Product and Service Vendors and those employed in these organizations we need to know how change impacts our business, when transformation is required and how to design successful transformations.

Enter the New ITIL 5 Transformation Certification

The New ITIL Transformation Certification is the only ITIL Certification that addresses the real world.  It does this by giving IT Service Providers, Digital Product & Service Vendors, and their employees the tools they need to make successful transformation decisions and create successful outcomes.

What Does This Mean to You?

Whether you lead an organization or are a member of an organizations, contributing to successful transformations means success for you and your organization.

Transformation Teaches “How To”

The Transformation Certification provides a detailed overview of the most common situations that IT Service Providers and Digital Product & Service Vendors deal with and provides the tools required to manage the situations when they arise.

Who Qualifies to Take the ITIL Transformation Certification?

Everyone. Isn’t that interesting?

The ITIL Transformation Certification is a part of EVERY ITIL 5 Advanced Certification Path (Practice Manager, Managing Professional and Strategic Leader) or you can go straight from Foundation to Transformation and stop there.

ITIL 5 Foundation and ITIL 5 Foundation Bridge released in February. Feedback is good on both courses.

We get a lot of questions about which version to take (4 Foundation or 5 Foundation) since ITIL 4 Foundation is also available. Standard answer is to take V4 if your job or job search requires V4. We don’t expect job postings to list ITIL 5 until the end of the year since it just released.  If you are new to ITIL, then start with ITIL 5.

ITIL 4 includes 15 of the 24 practices and that is valuable to many students. ITIL 5 Foundation does not include the practices.

• If you are interested in what’s different between ITIL 4 and 5 Foundation, here is a complimentary 40-minute presentation we put together for you. Click Here to Watch.

For everyone who has ITIL 4 Foundation and is not going on to advanced certs, then you can take advantage of the ITIL 4 Foundation Bridge Exam. It’s short (half the length of Foundation) and much less expensive ($263 versus $690 for Foundation).

• It is a great and inexpensive way to renew your certification and update your resume to ITIL 5 Foundation. Click Here to Save an extra $50 (Bridge Exam $199).

After Foundation, PeopleCert released the new ITIL 5 Managing Professional Courses (Product, Service & Experience).

Next, they released ITIL Transformation. From what I hear it a very valuable course and it follows in the footsteps of ITIL V3 that was much more prescriptive. We have a short video overview (9 minutes) on what makes it so good. Click Here to Watch. Transformation is part of ITIL 5 Practice Manager, Managing Professional and Strategic Leader designations.

• ITIL Transformation is also the course that ITIL 4 Practice Managers and Strategic Leaders will need to take to receive their ITIL 5 Designation.  The GogoTraining eLearning Transformation Course will be released by June 15^th.  You can purchase the course & exam package now for $999.  It will be $1,499 when released.
• Save $500 when you purchase the Pre-Release Package.

Coming in May is the course that all Managing Professionals, ITIL V3 Experts and Masters, ITIL 4 Managing Professionals and Masters, have been waiting to take – ITIL 5 Managing Professional Transition. It will take all ITIL V3 and ITIL 4 Master’s and bestow the ITIL 5 Master Designation and it will take all ITIL 4 Managing Professionals and bestow the ITIL 5 Managing Professional Designation.

• PeopleCert has not release the exam price to us yet so will be back in touch when we have it to offer you a prerelease sale.
• If you would like to receive the offer, Click Here to let us know.

Have ITIL 5 Questions?  Click Here or call 877.546.4446.

Ready to get ITIL Certified or move on to Advanced ITIL Certifications?

If you answered YES, then NOW is the to act. Offer Valid August Only!

This August GogoTraining is offering 25% off all PeopleCert Products.  This includes PeopleCert Exam Vouchers, eLearning and eLearning+.  PeopleCert is offering 20% off, but the deal is better at GogoTraining!

Contact US to SAVE 25% – Course & Exam Valid for 1-year.

See Which Courses Go With Each Certification

There are 32 ITIL 4 Certifications and 28 Certification Exams. How could this be possible?

The short answer is that students achieve the Practice Manager, Managing Professional, Strategic Leader and ITIL Master designations after they take the certification exams in that category. There is no extra exam to achieve the designation that covers the courses in the respective category.

For example, ITIL 4 Managing Professional consists of 4 courses and 4 exams. When completed students hold the designation for each exam taken PLUS the exam for the category which is ITIL 4 Managing Professional.

• ITIL 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver & Support
• ITIL 4 Specialist: Drive Stakeholder Value
• ITIL 4 Specialist: High Velocity IT
• ITIL 4 Specialist: Direct, Plan & Improve
• Complete all 4 courses & exams and you achieve the ITIL 4 Managing Professional designation.

Same holds true for ITIL 4 Strategic Leader. When students complete the 2 courses in this category, they hold the designation for each certification and automatically hold the ITIL 4 Strategic Leader Title.

• ITIL Strategist: Direct, Plan & Improve
• ITIL 4 Strategist: Digital & IT Strategy
• Complete both of these courses and you achieve the ITIL 4 Strategic Leader designation.

Same for Practice Manager – Only a bit more complicated. With Practice Manager there are 3 categories each with 5 individual courses/certifications and an option to take each course or to take 1 course that is 3-days long and covers the same information.

In terms of differences, the main thing that I see is that the Tesla hit the market fully ready to drive whereas the  AXELOS release of ITIL 4 is taking more than a year.  The Foundation course was released and then Managing Professional Transition for people with a strong ITIL V3 background.  However, for others wanting more information to understand how to adopt and adapt ITIL 4 into their organizations, we are just now getting the details and it will not be fully released until the second half of 2020.

ITIL 4 Tracks

ITIL 4 has two tracks:  Managing Professional and Strategic Leader.  The full four Managing Professional courses are now released, and we expect the standard updates to the syllabuses to take place over the next several months.  This is a common practice.  Can you take the MP courses now?  Sure.  Will there be changes that take place over the next few months?  Almost certainly.  The Managing Professional Transition course has been available for six months and we received several syllabus updates over that time.  The four full Managing Professional courses are new and for sure, will receive syllabus updates over the next several months.  Can you get started now?  Absolutely.  Make sure you stay on top of the syllabus updates.  The other path is Strategic Leader and it is expected to be released second half of 2020.

Where to Begin

Both tracks begin with ITIL 4 Foundation which is designed as an introduction to ITIL 4. If you are new to ITIL or interested in taking your organization from V3 to 4, then ITIL 4 sets a good foundation. The Managing Professional track is designed for IT Practitioner and provides the knowledge needed for individuals running IT projects, teams and workflows.  The Strategic Leader track takes ITIL beyond IT operations into digitally enabled services across the organization.  The class is currently under development.  As soon as we know more, we will let you know.

Why Get Started Now?

All updates have features that are designed to enhance performance so now is a good time to explore how to improve organizational performance.  A good way to do that is the ITIL 4 Foundation course and the Managing Professional Transition course.  Foundation is perfect if you are new to ITIL or just want to get an overview.  Managing Professional Transition is designed for the more experienced ITIL V3 professional. If you have 15 or more ITIL V3 credits, this is the way to go.  If you are somewhere between Foundation and 15 V3 credits, you have several options:

• Achieve 15 ITIL V3 credits, take ITIL 4 Foundation and then become an ITIL 4 Managing Professional by taking 1 course, the Managing Professional Transition course.
• Achieve 17 ITIL V3 credits and jump straight into ITIL 4 Managing Professional Transition to become an ITIL 4 Managing Professional.
• Go straight to ITIL 4.  Take Foundation and then the 4 Managing Professional courses.

Which path makes the most sense?

If you work for an organization that has adopted and adapted ITIL V3, then that is the route to go.  If you are new to ITIL and want to get a good foundation in ITIL, then taking both V3 and the ITIL 4 Foundation certifications makes sense.  If you have some V3 credits and want the most cost effective solution, then getting your 15 to 17 V3 credits is most economical.

Would you like some help determining which path is best?

As ITIL 4 comes into full swing you may be asking yourself – it is time to get started and if so, what path should I take?  At GogoTraining we offer a free training plans service for individuals and organizations.  If you are wondering what the best path is for you or how to get your organization up to speed flexibly and cost effectively, Contact Us and Tell Us Where You Are At.  Our experts have over 30 years of experience in all training methodologies (classroom, live online and eLearning) and are here to help you.  EXTRA Bonus:  Everyone who contacts us will receive a $100 off one ITIL Exam.

We are standing by to help.  Contact us by email or call us at, 877.546.4446