ITIL4P-PM is a certification that verifies your ability to build standardized problem management processes and implement permanent solutions and preventative measures.

1. Introduction to the ITIL 4 Practitioner Problem Management (ITIL4P-PM) certification

ITIL 4 Practitioner Problem Management (ITIL4P-PM) is an ITIL 4 intermediate practical service management certification launched by AXELOS in the UK. It belongs to the core cross process practice certification in the ITIL 4 service operation field and is one of the "service operation golden triangle" qualifications highly coordinated with monitoring and event management. It is also a modernized upgraded version of ITIL V3 problem management content.

ITIL4P-PM certification breaks the limitations of traditional problem management, which focuses on root cause analysis, neglects process collaboration, and neglects prevention and implementation. It deeply integrates modern service operation practices such as DevOps/SRE fault review, known error closed-loop management, and preventive control. The core focus is on the root cause positioning of IT service failures, the end-to-end practical ability of permanent solutions and pre prevention, and the core solution to the core pain points of enterprises, such as frequent repeated events and superficial faults

The core positioning of ITIL 4 Practitioner Problem Management is "standardized operational capability verification for root cause cure and pre prevention of IT service failures." Unlike ITIL 4 Foundation's basic understanding of the concept of problem events and pure technical troubleshooting, this certification focuses on service-oriented problem lifecycle management throughout the entire process.

2. The Competitive Edge of ITIL4P-PM Certification

AXELOS' ITIL 4 certification is a universal standard in the global ITSM field, and it is the only ITIL 4 intermediate certificate that focuses on practical problem management. Different from practitioners who only know how to troubleshoot technical problems and do not understand process collaboration, it is the core standard for enterprises to select talents who understand processes, can analyze, can cure problems, and are good at prevention.

The certificate holder can apply ITIL 4 standardized problem management methods to identify the root cause of faults and achieve permanent solutions, while establishing preventive control measures to reduce the occurrence rate of repeated incidents in the enterprise by 50%-80%, significantly reducing the passive disposal work of the operation and maintenance team, allowing the team to focus on service optimization and value delivery, and improving overall operational efficiency.

The ITIL4P-PM certification core emphasizes "root cause cure+pre prevention," and the certificate holder can establish a standardized problem management system, upgrading from "temporary recovery after an event" to "identifying problems in advance and eliminating faults from the root," fundamentally ensuring the continuity and stability of IT services, and reducing the economic losses and business impacts caused by IT failures.

ITIL4P-PM certification deeply integrates modern practices such as DevOps/SRE fault review, observability, and intelligent root cause analysis. The certificate holder can understand the characteristics of faults under digital transformation, build a standardized problem management system adapted to cloud native architecture for enterprises, solve the core pain points of "difficult fault location, multiple systematic problems, and frequent repeated events" in digital transformation, and ensure the smooth progress of digital transformation.

The service operation golden triangle qualification formed by combining ITIL4P-IM and ITIL4P-MEM covers the full chain capability of "early warning disposal cure" and is the priority recruitment standard for core positions in the enterprise service operation field. Holders of the three certificates have significant competitive advantages in salary negotiations and job promotions.

Problem management is the core high-level capability of SRE. This certification is a key proof of the ability to advance from pure technical operation and maintenance troubleshooting to SRE engineers and IT service operation managers. It is also the core foundation for obtaining ITIL 4 MP high-level certification, providing a clear path for practitioners' career development and achieving the transition from "technical practitioners" to "expert talents."

3. Overview of the ITIL4P-PM Certification

The core of ITIL 4 Monitoring and Event Management Practitioner certification is to elevate the traditional passive alarm response to an actively designed monitoring system, intelligently identify events, and achieve predictive operational activities that are automatically linked across processes.

This certification uses over 75% of scenario analysis questions to deeply test your comprehensive decision-making ability in designing monitoring indicators, managing alert storms, and driving efficient event handling under complex architectures such as cloud native and microservices.

The certification content strictly follows AXELOS's official practice guidelines, building a complete operational loop from perception to action. The basis of certification is the construction of a standardized monitoring system and data collection module. It requires you to design a full chain monitoring indicator system covering technology, application, and business layers from the perspective of business value, and effectively utilize four types of data: indicators, logs, links, and events.

The core and focus of authentication is the event recognition, grading, and linkage alarm handling module, which deeply examines how to transform monitoring data into actionable events, and ensures seamless integration between information flow and handling flow through scientific alarm convergence, upgrading, and cross team automated notification rules, directly driving ITIL event management processes.

The integration module of monitoring and event management with modern practices and tools integrates methodology with modern operational concepts and mainstream monitoring tool stacks. Finally, the performance evaluation, review, and continuous improvement module guides you to establish a data-driven measurement system, upgrading operational activities from "firefighting" to "fire prevention" and "optimization."

4. What are the requirements to be an ITIL4P-PM certification holder?

(1) Qualification prerequisites:

The prerequisite for applying for ITIL4P-PM is that you need to hold a valid ITIL 4 Foundation certification and complete the official training courses of AXELOS authorized ATO institutions. Without official training certificates, you cannot complete the exam registration.

We recommend that you have 1-2 years of experience in IT service operations and technical support, SRE related work, and be familiar with real IT fault handling and root cause analysis scenarios.

Understand basic root cause analysis methods, use ITSM tools, and have experience with event grading and change control processes; those who have a basic understanding of cloud native, microservices, and DevOps/SRE and can better comprehend the modern practice integration scenarios in exams are preferred. 

(2) Training and examinations:

ITIL4P-PM has 20 Single choice question questions, including 14-16 practical situation analysis questions and a few concept matching multiple-choice questions. 

The exam duration for native English speakers is 30 minutes; Non native English speaking candidates can apply for an extension of 75 minutes. The maximum score is 20 points, with a passing score of 13 points or above. The score is globally standardized and there is no fixed pass rate. The exam fee is approximately $200-250. 

(3) Qualification maintenance:

The ITIL4P-PM certificate is valid for 3 years, and the renewal requirement is that you must complete 22 AXELOS recognized CPD credits or obtain ITIL 4 Advanced Certification before the certificate expires, which can be automatically renewed.

5. Comparable Certifications to ITIL 4 Practitioner Problem Management Certification

• ITIL 4 Specialist: Monitor, Support and Fulfil (MSF)
• Pink RCA Specialist
• ISO 20000 Lead Auditor