Among the requisites to be able to sit the ITIL® 4 LEADER DIGITAL & IT STRATEGY (ITIL 4 LEADER DITS) exam, there is also the following: "Complete and receive a passing score on the 4 Case Study Assignments included in the course".

This article will provide more information about the Assignments and the related processes.

The assignment and case study

There are four assignments which cover five assessment criteria, as described in the table below.

Each assignment is described in an individual document and the candidate will refer to a case study to provide results. The case study describes three fictional companies; any resemblance to real companies is unintentional.

Participants of the course are expected to work on the practical assignments in small groups (for classroom courses), or individually, if they are undertaking a self-paced online course. Each group/individual shall select one company from the case study for all assignments completed during the course. However, all participants are expected to be familiar with the entire case study.

Besides descriptions of the companies, the case study includes a brief overview of a major risk, which is likely to affect all the described companies. Where relevant, this information should be used to fulfil the assignments.

In the group work format, there will be 60 minutes of time to complete each of three assignments and 90 minutes for one. In the individual assignment format, there will be 60 minutes of time to complete each assignment.

The assessment procedure

Practical assignments are assessed by accredited trainer(s). To do this, a detailed assessment guidance and an assessment tracking and reporting tool (Excel spreadsheet) is provided to trainers.

The assessment of the practical assignments is completed by the trainer(s) at the end of every practical exercise during the classroom training. If the training is online, the candidate will submit their individual assignments to the trainer using the ExamSimul Platform, and the trainer will process them within two working days.

For classroom courses, the assessment is performed in groups when possible. All members of the group who completed the exercise will receive the same marks. Trainers will facilitate the group work to ensure that all members of the groups contribute to the results.

After the last assessment is finished and all data has been inputted, the assessment report is submitted to the Examination Institute (PeopleCert).

There are 8 marks available for each assignment: 40 overall. There is no negative marking and a candidate shall achieve 75% or higher to pass the Assignments (a raw score of 30 marks or above).

Summary of practical Assignments test specifications:

Scenarios if a candidate fails practical Assignments

If a candidate fails to pass the practical assignments, they will be assigned additional assignments to have another opportunity to pass. These additional assignments will be the one(s) that the candidate missed or failed on their first attempt. These assignments are assessed and marked by the trainer(s) too.

Once a candidate passes the practical assignments, he or she can attempt the Multiple Choice Quiz (MCQ) format exam. The following table shows all the possible scenarios and the steps to follow based on them.

MCQ Exam specifications

SCORING

• Number of questions: 30
• Marks: Each question is worth 1 mark. There are 30 marks available. There is no negative marking.
• Pass mark: 70% or higher - a raw score of 21 marks or above

WEIGHTINGS BY BLOOM'S LEVEL

• There are 12 questions at Bloom's Level 2 = 40%
• There are 18 questions at Bloom's Level 3 = 60%

WEIGHTINGS BY LEARNING OUTCOME

These weightings are for the MCQ exam only.

EXAMINATION ADMINISTRATION

• Duration: 60 minutes. NOTE: Candidates taking the exam in a language that is not their native or working language may be awarded 25% extra time, i.e. 75 minutes in total.
• Materials permitted: This is a 'closed book' examination. No materials other than the examination materials are permitted.
• Prerequisites: The candidate must have passed the ITIL® 4 Foundation examination. In addition, the candidate must have attended an accredited training course for this module (the recommended duration for this training is 18 hours including the examination). This includes 4.5 to 5 hours of group work on the practical assignments or 4 hours of individual online assignments.