Why I Get ITIL Foundation After Being PMP Certified?

There is little doubts — well, maybe some — that getting professional certifications can be a great way to get advancements in one’s professional life (my story here). Usually the question is which certification(s) will be most advantageous for one’s professional achievement.

I have my background in the fields of project management and IT development and I got both Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification and the ITIL® Foundation Certification. Here I will try to explain why it is beneficial for PMP holders to get ITIL® certified.

Note to PMP Holders: this post is intended for those who are working as project managers (or equivalent) in the IT development or services industry. If you are not working or do not plan to work in the IT field, sorry this is not for you.

Top 5 Benefits of ITIL® Certification for PMP

Below are the top five benefits PMPs will find if they study for the ITIL® Foundation:

1. Get PDUs for Re-certification with ITIL® Exam Prep
   • The time taken to learn and study for ITIL® methodologies will contribute to the Professional Development Units (PDUs) for PMP re-certification. As a rough estimation, the PDU gained through ITIL® Foundation Exam preparation is around 25 PDUs.
2. PMP and ITIL® Methodologies Complement Each Other for Better Products
   • In the PMBOK® Guide, “projects” and “services” are distinguish concepts — the PMBOK® Guide deals with projects that are having definite start and end dates and unique in nature while services are usually considered as repeating operation as services are usually without a definite end date as support to the services must be continuous.
   • However, in reality, the deliverables from projects, in particular the IT industry, require continuous service support. The boundaries between projects and services are but a thin line. And the ITIL® methodologies incorporates both the project part and the service part of the product lifecycle as it is adopting a lifecycle approach — from design, transition, operation, continual improvement and phasing out.
   • IT Service Planning must be considered in the project of creating the IT product as quality service is considered one of the unique selling point of IT products nowadays, in particular most IT services are web-based.
   • The ITIL® knowledge gained through studying for ITIL® Certification will enable the IT project manager to have a more holistic view of the service lifecycle of IT products so that the highest quality in creation, maintenance and continuous improvements can be achieved (think of IT products usually adopt Agile project management approaches).
3. Eligible for Jobs in ITIL® Practising Companies
   • For companies practising ITIL® methodologies, it is a pre-requisite for most of their staff involving in IT to get at least ITIL® Foundation certified.
   • This will open up a lot more possibilities for IT managers especially in multi-national companies or large companies in Europe and Asia.
   • Getting another certification after the PMP will show your (future) employers your determination to advance and success in the IT industry, which is a big plus for job applicants in particular.
4. The Exam is Not Difficult
   • Having gone through and passed the rigorous PMP Exam, you will find the ITIL® Foundation Exam to be a relatively easy one.
   • It would only take as little as several day to be well prepared and pass the ITIL® Foundation Exam. The passing score is 26 out of 40 (65%). The Exam can be taken online at home/office or in paper based format in exam centres.
   • Many of the concepts in the PMBOK® Guide are similar to that of the ITIL® Methodologies. PMPs are already equipped with many of the knowledge for the ITIL® Exam.
   • And getting ITIL® Foundation Certification is not expensive, Aspirants usually get the Foundation certificate for around US$250-400 including the preparation courses, study materials and official exam fee (an example of online ITIL® Foundation Exam prep course + exam fee).
5. ITIL® Foundation Certification is Valid Forever
   • There is no expire day for the ITIL® Foundation Certification (except that if the version of the ITIL® has changed, one will need to sit for the updated syllabus for the new Certificate for the new version, otherwise there is no continuous education requirements).
   • PMP Holders would be glad to know that once they have been ITIL® Foundation certified, they will not need to worry about getting enough PDU. It doesn’t hurt to get one more prestige certification, right?

PMP or ITIL® Foundation First?

As you can see from above, there are lots of benefits for PMP holders to get ITIL® Foundation Certificate (in particular the PDUs). Therefore I would highly suggest you to get PMP certified first.

If you would like to know more about PMP vs ITIL®, please click here.

Wish you ITIL® success!