If you have just started on your ITIL® 4 journey, these next few words might make you a little anxious.

ITIL® 4 Foundation Exam...

The ITIL® 4 Foundation examination is one of the most important exams you will take in your IT Service Management career.

It sounds pretty scary, doesn't it?

This article will list the five main reasons why you may fail the ITIL® 4 Foundation exam.

But, please don't worry - we are also going to provide you with some tips and tricks to build up your confidence and help you to pass on your very first attempt.

What Is The ITIL® 4 Foundation Exam?

The ITIL® 4 Foundation examination was created to test your knowledge of ITIL® concepts. The information for the exam is below:

✔️ 60 Minute Duration

✔️ 40 Multiple-Choice Questions

✔️ The Pass Mark Is 26/40, Or 65%

Why Should I Take The ITIL® 4 Foundation Exam?

That's a great question!

The ITIL® 4 Foundation exam is the entry-level certification if you are looking for a career in IT Service Management (ITSM skills).

If you pass the ITIL® 4 Foundation exam, you will improve your career outlook by having a globally recognised qualification on your CV.

Who Conducts The ITIL® 4 Foundation Exam?

The ITIL® 4 Foundation examination is conducted by AXELOS Accredited Training Organisations (ATOs) such as Purple Griffon or Accredited Examination Institutes like PeopleCert.

How Do You Take The ITIL® 4 Foundation Exam?

The ITIL® 4 Foundation exam can be taken in two ways:

✔️ Paper-Based Exam

✔️ Online Webcam Proctored Exam

What Can I Do To Prepare For The ITIL® 4 Foundation Exam?

Are you looking to schedule your ITIL® 4 Foundation exam soon?

Here are five common reasons why you would fail the ITIL® 4 Foundation exam, and most importantly how you can avoid them:

1. You Haven't Spent Enough Time Studying The Material

This one may seem totally obvious, but you'd be surprised by the number of people who don't pay attention during their ITIL® 4 Foundation training course, who read a few ITIL® related blog articles and expect to pass the ITIL® 4 Foundation exam with flying colours.

The ITIL® 4 Foundation exam is designed to challenge you. You should spend around an hour each evening after the training course studying the key concepts of ITIL®. And, please don't be tempted to pull an all-nighter the night before the exam - it won't help you.

You are going to need to learn a ton of new vocabulary, such as terminology and acronyms for the ITIL® 4 Foundation exam. But, if you can't understand how to put them into real-life scenarios, simply memorising the vocabulary isn't going to be enough to pass the exam. It really is like learning a foreign language, you can memorize all the words you like but if you can put them into context, they won't do you much good.

(You might also like to read this post: What is Service Management ITIL?)

2. You Haven't Used Real-World Examples

If you are attending an instructor-led training course, don't be afraid to ask your tutor how ITIL® 4 relates to your workplace experience. Your tutor will also use real-world examples when delivering the training course.

You shouldn't just memorise the concepts, you need to truly understand them. If you familiarise yourself with the concepts, ITIL® will begin to make much more sense. While studying for the examination, you should try to incorporate these concepts in your work or life, so you can understand ITIL® better.

Throughout our ITIL® 4 Foundation training course, our instructors use their real-life experiences to bring ITIL® concepts alive and help to ensure exam success.

3. You Get Flustered When Answering Questions

What should you do if you are in the ITIL® 4 Foundation exam and get stuck on a question?

It's a horrible feeling when you have so little time, being stuck on a question drains valuable seconds away from answering the other questions.

Now, you need to close your eyes, take a deep breath and clear your mind. Everything you have studied will come flooding back. Your gut instinct is often right, so be careful when changing answers during the exam. You should only change the answer if you know you have made a mistake.

You're allowed to go back and forth to any question, so simply move on and come back to it later. You may find clues from other questions. You could always guess the answer if you have drawn a blank - any answer is better than no answer, right?

4. You Aren't Answering Questions From An ITIL® Perspective

Remember, you need to answer questions from an ITIL® perspective, not from your own personal experience or previous organisational practices.

When you are taking the ITIL® 4 Foundation exam, you need to focus your thoughts to ITIL® Best Practice. The ITIL® 4 Foundation examination is going to evaluate your understanding of ITIL® practices and concepts, not how your organisation operates.

5. You Haven't Read The Question Properly!

In the ITIL® 4 Foundation exam, there are some questions that will be worded in a way to trip up someone who didn't read the question properly. Don't forget, one word can change the entire meaning of a question.

If you read the first couple of words, then jump down to the answers, then you are going to fail the exam. Every question has some kind of keyword that will make the answer clear to you or will help you to eliminate answers.

Don't be the person who rushes through the ITIL® 4 Foundation exam and ends up losing a few marks as a result. Take your time, be methodical and it should show in your exam mark.

When taking the ITIL® 4 Foundation exam, you don't need to be a perfectionist. The exam is only a pass or fail result, and there is no bonus credit for answering more than 26 questions correctly.

Purple Griffon's one-hour, 40 question ITIL® 4 Foundation Quiz will really test your knowledge of the very latest thinking in IT Service Management Best Practice.

Start Quiz Now

Good luck for your ITIL® 4 Foundation exam!

Life After The ITIL® 4 Foundation Exam

Okay, you now hold the ITIL® 4 Foundation Certificate. That's one step forward. You might be thinking, what happens now? What should I do?

The fundamental knowledge contained in ITIL® 4 becomes more and more practical as you move through the ITIL® 4 Certification Scheme enabling you to apply it in real-life situations and become a true leader in your area of expertise.

ITIL® 4 Foundation is only the beginning of a much longer story.

Once you’re ITIL® 4 Foundation certified, you need to learn how ITIL® is always connected to the needs of the business. This is about understanding the business demands of your organisation and coordinate those demands with ITIL®. It’s important to adopt and adapt the parts of ITIL® that suit you and your organisation best.

There are a couple of routes that you can take to progress your IT Service Management professional development:

Get To ITIL® 4 Strategic Leader Designation:

Route 1: ITIL® 4 Foundation + ITIL® 4 Strategist Direct, Plan & Improve (DPI) + ITIL® 4 Leader Digital & IT Strategy (DITS)

Route 2: ITIL® 4 Foundation + ITIL® 4 Managing Professional (MP) + ITIL® 4 Leader Digital & IT Strategy (DITS)

Get To ITIL® 4 Managing Professional Designation:

Route 1: ITIL® 4 Foundation + ITIL® 4 Specialist Create, Deliver & Support (CDS) + ITIL® 4 Specialist Drive Stakeholder Value (DSV) + ITIL® 4 Specialist High Velocity IT (HVIT) + ITIL® 4 Strategist Direct, Plan & Improve (DPI)

Route 2: From ITIL® 4 Strategic Leader - Take the ITIL® 4 MP exams for ITIL® 4 Specialist Drive Stakeholder Value (DSV) + ITIL® 4 Specialist Create, Deliver & Support (CDS) + ITIL® 4 Specialist High Velocity IT (HVIT)