ITIL needs to be memorised to pass the exam, but understanding requires implementation within an organisation. Implementation will be a continuous learning process.

ITIL V3 exams are based on "Information" presented within the various pieces of ITIL literature, depending on your level of exam. You have to recall this information to show you have understood the various management models which now support ITIL, "good practice", for each of its processes and functions.

Only by using this information within the context of an organisational implementation do you begin to create understanding, "Knowledge", about how ITIL should be usded within that organisation. This takes time to buld up and requires regular review - Continuous Service improvement.

This is the "data - information - knowledge - wisdom" (DIKW) model, now included in V3.

An analogy in the UK would be that you wouldn't be called a lawyer if you only had a law degree. You need to do law school for a year and be an articles clerk for two years first.

I agree with your statement that ITIL can be memorised not necessarily understood to pass the ITIL exams. This on it’s own will not get you work in the IT world.

I read as much as I can about what others are saying and doing. In my experience those who talk and write about it normally only talk about it, those who do it don’t write about it. WHY?

ITIL is a check list of activities that assist you through the maze of junk thrown at us by so called experts and hard sell software vendors. What is a SME (Subject Matter Expert) in ITIL?

ron.com

Your statement is very true if you are refferring to ITIL Foundation. This is not bad as the certification was designed to ensure people know the lingo.
However, you will not be able to do much around ITIL with just the foundation - you need other certifications.

In the past you could walk out of a foundation and "think" you know ITIL - we had quite a few ITIL experts with a foudnation qualification... I believe it won't be that easy with v3

Many persons who realize the course of ITIL Foundations have as aim approve the examination because your companies need the certificate not because they believe in them. I am Consultant & Trainer in Spain.

Because of it the participants meet obliged to memorize, in fact the success of the course though the evaluations are excellent according to the attendees to the course the success of the course will measure up according to the percentage of passes.

Are 2 different situations:

1- The organizations that need to have certified personnel (though they do not have the concepts clear).

2- The organizations that really they believe in: ITSM, IT Governance & Human Capital.

Attended the foundation course this weekend and I agree only upto an extent.

The ITIL designers seem to be trying to do a lot in this version,
with the expectation to have everyone know everything.

While strategy would have made more sense to a C - exec, the rest of it makes greater sense to implementing managers and those are definitely different audiences.

Depending on what segment you fall under, you would need to use rote for the other section.

The service design, operations, transition made sense to me.